Arataki Term 1, 2023
We returned to the school gardens after a wet summer, to find a jungle of overgrown beds, but thanks to the hard mahi of our lunchtime garden club, we have got some order on it again! A big focus for us this term has been on feeding the soil and composting.
In preparation for some new planting, we have also planted green manure, a mix of plants which we will soon dig back into the soil to add nitrogen and revitalise our tired garden beds.
We have started two new worm farms in the garden and it turns out that we have some super keen worm farmers in our new entrant classes who have been doing a wonderful job , feeding them with leaves from any overgrown greens and remembering to bring fruit scraps along. We shred newspaper and add coffee grinds from our local cafes - thanks to Special Mention at Arataki shops and George at Omanu we have a constant supply!
With our shade house complete (thanks Steve!), we have a great space for starting our own seedlings, and the tamariki in Hikurangi are keen to visit at lunchtimes and break times, with their water bottles, to give their seeds a gentle watering.
It’s looking more colourful in the orchard area too, as our gardeners have shown a wonderfully artistic side. We asked them to create signage, so that everyone could identify the fruit trees.. We
had no idea how beautifully they would do it!! Amazing work!
Now that some veggie seedlings have been planted out, slug/snail control is underway, with mulch mats and slug traps set to deter them!
Our Montessori class have taken on a new project, setting up a sentinel garden as a part of a pilot project by Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital (TMBC). Having planted species which attract invasive pests, they are now keeping track of any visitors to their garden and are ready to report any of their finds, as kaitiaki for our local area.
We have discovered more artistic gardeners too, this time among our new entrants, who were exploring the sizes and textures of various leaves they found in the garden, using them to create some beautiful watercolour leaf prints.
