How it all began

Once upon a time I lived in an apartment. I had zero grass, about 2x1 m of a connection to the outside world - consisting of a balcony usually full of clothes airers and the neighbours' cigarette butts, and lived an existence of no garden, no lawns, no fertilizers, no pump cycles, no timed fluro lights.

I enjoyed "hot food" - which meant a medium, not mild, butter chicken and the occasional Subway sandwich with all the salads "including jalapenos."

My wonderful green-fingered mother ("Mams") decided this existence would be better with a herb garden. A modest and easy to keep garden of about four pots with diagrams and pretty hard to muck up instructions. I loved it. Basil, parsley, rocket, lettuces - salads had never been so good. And two chilli plants - the variety was Wild Fire. And so it began.

This was Mams' Christmas present to me for 2011. A curious Elliot, who had been on the scene for about two months, took an immediate interest in the garden and how everything grew. A particular fondness for the Wild Fire plants developed.

This was quickly followed by a "we should grow jalapenos" suggestion - most probably over a Mexican lunch somewhere. "Yes", I agree, "what a great idea". So off we pop to the garden shop (after having to first find a garden shop - now I could point out our closest 12) to buy two small jalapeno plants. Success, we found jalapeno plants, but alas, there are about 26 different types of potting mixes - what one to get? One quick phone call to Mams and we were set.

The jalapenos went on the balcony and they grew. As did the collection of plants. A habanero and bhut jolkia joined the gang and pretty much filled up the balcony - oh no wait, that was the two small grow houses that had to go out there. Who needed a table and chairs on the balcony anyway?

We knew next to nothing about growing chilli plants and this was evident in the results. While they did a bit better being in the grow houses, temperatures would soar greatly and I was left to open and close the doors when Elliot was on his side of town. Photo updates and advice were sent back and forth but it was the blind leading the blind and not much happened.

We managed a few jalapenos which were pickled and consumed and very much enjoyed. Nothing quite like the feeling of eating something you have grown (even more satisfying when done from seed which was to come).

Much was learnt and that was the tiny beginning of what has grown into a passion for Elliot and I.

We moved to the North Shore in July 2012 and were lucky to find a house with decent garden space and a conservatory. We now have three planter beds (which I helped build by holding a tape measure), a whole lot of plants in pots, a wheelbarrow herb garden, a compost bin, a worm farm and the dodgiest looking conservatory in Sunnynook.

Elliot researches. Elliot researches like no one else. He can go from asking "I wonder how you would set up a hydroponics system?" to being a fully fledged expert on the subject in a matter of days. He explains things well (despite his mum Elsie saying I have the patience of a saint, I think it definitely goes both ways), especially when I ask why I am forking out money for some plastic tube thing.

We have a pretty good system going on actually. Elliot does all the research (God bless the internet and YouTube), I get the summary during the ads of whatever I'm watching, Elliot buys all the equipment and constructs, tinkers, does whatever men do, I hand over half of whatever it costs, we tend, water, nurture, I get given the fruits of our (his) labour and get to do with them what I wish and we then both get to eat said fruits.

It is fun. We have a great time doing it and have learnt loads. And oh how there are many more things to come.

The dream one day is a much bigger operation, hotter and crazier chillies from far away lands and a whole lot of new recipes and food I plan to share with whoever wants to know.


Elliot's passion is chillies and we have some freakishly hot chillies on the grow. Elliot has an equally as mad mate, Hunt, whose idea of fun is also growing and eating these mentally hot chillies. We have been to chilli eating competitions - who knew these existed? and eaten a fair few hot varieties of chillies (usually after a drink or six). There will no doubt be many more stories and spicy moments to come...

My passion is cooking and I love finding new and exciting recipes to try. I am getting into preserving and sauces and the like right now which is helpful when you have kilos of ripe tomatoes and chillies to be used.

I've got a good thing going on here and I am grateful to a wonderful Mams whose knowledge is priceless (knowledge which often comes from my amazing Grandpa in Picton who was master of the best vege garden I've ever seen), our landlords who have just given us another six months in our crazy little house (even after seeing the hydroponic set up!), and a wonderful boyfriend whose passion and commitment towards everything he does is an inspiration - and his technical skills are pretty amazing too.

What's happening now... we are currently on summer holiday which can mean one thing for Elliot - tinkering. We are in the process of creating the aquaponics system (hydroponics but with fish whose poop provide the nutrients for the plants), germinating some awesome seeds Mams bought Elliot for Christmas and eating and creating new recipes to use the abundance of tomatoes and chillies which are now to hand - posts about all to follow...