These Pages.. Stewart Island Tourism oper-

ators Peter (Pictured) and Iris Tait don't

just pack their life jackets when they take

guests on charter yacht trips. They also take

trays of mesclun salad and fresh produce

from their expansive vege plot

Peter and Iris Tait don't mind if their

guests turn a little green as they sail

around Stewart Island's secluded

bays, because they're invariably turn-

ing green with envy - and not a quea-

sy stomach. Every year the Taits host

hundreds of international visitors who

come to this tranquil spot for a spot

of R&R and a hearty dose of Kiwi

hospitality. The Taits met and mar-

ried on Stewart Island 33 years ago.

Peter was working as a conservation

ranger and fisherman when Iris, hen

a student nurse from Auckland

turned up with a group of girlfriends.

She only ever intended to stay for a

holiday but love - and a job as the

Island's district nurse- lured her back

for good. For the past 9 years the

Tait's have run chartered yacht tours

on their 57ft ketch Talisker, and host-

ed guests at their luxury B&B, Sails

Ashore. (their daughter Anne also

has a B&B on the Island called Kow-

hai Lane. Three quarters of their

guests hail from the UK, which Iris

credits to comedian Billy Connolly's

televised tour of New Zealand. "His

programme has done wonderful

things for us. Everyone wants to do

Billy's tour when they're down

here" (As well as a meal at the local

chippie, the tour Includes a trip to the

sculpture at the entrance to the Is-

land's national park. One of the lo-

cals, disgruntled by the lack of con-

sultation before the park was official-

ly opened, famously fired a shotgun

at It to vent their frustration. Some

International visitors come to the

Left : Iris harvests new potatoes

with help from Emma the "elderly"

border terrier. Iris says root crops

grow best in the free draining soil.

Above : When the Tait's bought

their property 20 years ago they

put up their glasshouse before

they'd even unpacked their furni-

ture.

Below: Guests at Sails Ashore en-

joy tasty meals made from garden

produce. Photographer Steve

Wooster turned up just in time to

feast on potatoes, fresh salad and

salmon - the Tait's had just fin-

ished smoking it from the local

fish farm.

bird sanctuary at nearby Ulva Island,

others prefer quiet contemplation. From

the front deck at sails Ashore there are

uninterrupted views over the sheltered

settlement at Half Moon Bay- But it's the

sunny, sloping vegetable garden out the

back that really gets the guests talking.

Iris grows almost everything that's eaten

here from fleshy parsnips and huge car-

rots to plump red tomatoes, trays of

mesclun solid greens and tangy spring

onions. Silverbeet, spuds, cabbages,

cauliflowers and courgettes are staples

too. In fact the only things she buys In

are onions and garlic. "And I actually

grow those too, but I Just can't grow

enough to keep us going."

Most of the crops are raised from seed,

which Iris orders each season from the

nearest garden centre, Diacks Nurseries

in Invercargill. "1 just ring them and

they post it over" she explains. Ordering

over the phone rules out impulse shop-

ping but Iris isn't fussed. "I find now that

after 30 years of gardening I can't be

bothered experimenting anyway. I just

stick to things that I know will grow well

here.

She says root crops like potatoes and

carrots do best in the free draining

soils. We are very lucky because the pre-

vious owners were good gardeners so

we Inherited excellent soil, plus we are

always putting a lot back into it

We have got two large compost bins...

each is as big as a single bed... and all

our lawn clippings and pruning's and

vegetable peelings go in there.

In July the mature compost is hauled out

and spread on the vegetable garden "I

just throw it on top and let the worms do

their thing to take it down into the

soil".

In August each year. Iris also orders 10

bales of pea straw to mulch the soil

"It's trucked down to Bluff and ferried

across, so its a big effort and a drama

but it stops all the weeds" she says.

From the front deck there are uninterrupted views over Halfmoon Bay but it's

the vegetable garden out the back that really gets the guests talking

To extend the season a glass house

was a must have. “The first thing we

did when we moved was to put up a

hothouse, even before we moved in

the furniture. Last summer we were

eating our first tomatoes in Novem-

ber. It’s not a heated glasshouse, but

I put the seeds in back in July and

just keep everything closed up and

my fingers crossed. Although most

of the seedlings are planted out in

the garden, Iris harvests baby mes-

clun salad leaves straight from their

seed raising trays. She's only been

growing this popular salad mix for 4

years (she bought her first packet of

mesclun seed as part of a fundrais-

ing project to help sick penguins !)

but now wouldn't be without it. "I sow

it in recycled mushroom trays from

our local shop and always have one

tray ready for eating and another

coming on, right through summer.

It's easy to grow and keeps very

fresh at sea". Iris doesn't use Insecti-

cides, preferring to outwit the slugs

and other bugs. In spring when she

plants out her seedlings, she sur-

rounds each one with a 15cm length

of plastic down pipe to protect them

until they're growing well.. "That why

I like growing things from seed - be-

cause you can plant 3 or 4 dozen at

a time" she explains. The interna-

tional guests aren't the only visitors

who admire the garden. Native weka

and Kaka parrots are partial to

Iris'tiny seedlings and would happily

scoff the lot if given half a chance. "I

have to cover all of my seedlings

with bird netting - I learnt that lesson

fairly early, so now I grow enough for

the birds, for the slugs, and for our

selves. We get a third each" she

jokes. So what are the other chal-

lenges of gardening on Stewart Is-

land ? "Definitely the weather", Iris

says emphatically. "You never know

what you're going to get down here.

If we have a warm winter, then we

get all the bugs in summer. If we

have a wet summer the moss in the

cobblestones grows faster than the

grass in the lawn. And when it's

windy everything gets completely

battered but all ft takes is a fine day

and a bit of a tidy up to get the gar-

den back into shape

Visiting

For more details about Iris & Peter Tait's

B&B and tours ph 03 219 1151 or visit

www.satlsashore.co.nz. The website also

includes Iris' favourite recipes for seasonal

produce - she says she was endlessly

photocopying them for guests so decided

tp publish them online instead.

"I cover all my seedlings with bird netting and I

always grow enough for the slugs, for the birds, and for our-

selves. We get a third each"

Stewart Island Gardeners are

encouraged to plant native

plants like these bronze carex

grasses. As for the bright or-

ange calendulas Iris says she

never planted them. “They

were here when we came and

the self-seeded every year.”

Hothouse Crops

Black Hamburgh Grapes fruit prolifical-

ly in Iris & Peter Tait's glasshouse. Their

single vine has 4 huge branches "as thick

as your arm" and produces huge bunches

of sweet fruit in January

Growing Grapes so far south s a real

talking point - in fact the Taits could be

proud owners of the world's southernmost

fruiting grape vine. A few years ago a jour-

nalist from an American wine magazine got

wind of it and phoned up for an interview,

thinking they were running a vineyard on

the Island

MoneyMaker Tomatoes are Iris' favour-

ite hothouse variety. "I've gone through

most varieties here but they're the best. I

grow them in 12 old salvaged fish tubs filled

with 50% soil and 50% compost.

Automatic Vent openers and an

irrigation system are essential for keeping

growing conditions under control in the

glasshouse.