The Southland Community Nursery is supporting the Waihopai Planting Project. We have teamed up with Environment Southland to share our knowledge of all things plants with the students involved in this riparian planting project. Students from James Hargest College have recently volunteered to help with the design of a new information panel that will be placed at the gate of the planting site. Watch this space for future updates on this exciting collaboration.
Bronwyn
Posted: 22 February 2022
Working with the Ag&Hort teacher at James Hargest College (Senior Campus) we covered the basics of sowing seeds and planting out seedlings, getting hands on in the Ag&Hort growing area on campus. The Year 9 and 10 classes started by learning a bit about what seeds to direct sow into the vege plot, and which seeds can be sown in trays. This was followed by the sowing of lettuce, cabbage, cauli, onion and silverbeet seeds, learning how deep to sow them and how to care for the seeds to ensure they grow. Seedlings were also planted out into the newly dug over plots. Discussion with the students included that around the growing season in Southland and the optimal times of years to be sowing seeds and planting seedlings, learning about the equipment needed to plant and grow, and what vegetables are grown at home by the students.
Bronwyn
Posted: 22 February 2022
On 10 February we had three important visitors to our property – pest species dogs, Mawson, Finn and Mica who brought their owners Sandy, Graeme and Karen, to do part of their training certification. The day jobs for the dogs is to sniff out invasive species – rats and mice and weeds, but today they were doing their kiwi avoidance training. It is a requirement for all dogs in the conservation dog programme to have a current kiwi avoidence training certificate to work in areas with kiwi. It’s also recommended that any pet dogs that may go into places where kiwi live also go through the training.
Special kiwi lures were set around the pond track (only kiwi poo and a dead kiwi that had been found as roadkill) and the dogs, with electric collars, walked freely on the tracks and needed to ignore the kiwi lures, which they did successfully. Sandy King had come over from Stewart Island to lead the training and our property provided a good place where the training could be held without potential interruption from the public.
Thanks Sandy, Graeme and Karen for insights into this special world.
Chris
Posted: 17 February 2022
It feels to me that seeds are ripening earlier this year in Otatara. We had a wet spring and a dry hot summer (mostly) so lots of seed collecting commenced early – from Clematis, red tussock, toe toe and other grasses in December, Olearia daisy seed starting in January and now on to the fruity seeds of Coprosma’s, wineberry, tree fuchsia, as well as Carex.
Later will be Pittosporum, kowhai, pate, cabbage tree, broadleaf, flax, manuka
Because of Covid uncertainties we haven’t booked in any workshops yet but we do intend to run some depending on interest. Here are a few options – if you email your interest in any I will keep a list of people and arrange an appropriate time to hold the workshop
Here are a few examples but feel free to email me if there are other workshops you would like arranging. We did have Jo Ogier booked in for March but that has been postponed and will be held later in the year.
- Seed collecting and plant ID
- Seed cleaning and sowing
- Native Plant identification
- Propagating plants from cuttings
- Growing vegetables in Southland
- Foraging
- Apple Pressing
- Apple Grafting
Friday volunteer mornings are happening with restrictions, see our covid red banner info above.
Keep safe
Chris
Posted: 10 February 2022
Over the holidays its been a case of watering, watering and more watering! Then weeding, weeding and more weeding! We have also taken the opportunity to plant out at our place – one of the advantages of living on a wetland in a dry summer! The warm dry spell looks set to continue. Because of the hot summer weather seed collecting has already begun – the fluffy seed of native Clematis has been collected, and the first tussock and toetoe has been collected after Chris observed waxeyes eating the toetoe seed (always a sign!!). Also collected salt-marsh ribbonwood seeds much earlier than usual – so keep a lookout for seed as the seed collecting season swings into action – its going to be a bumper one! We have also had a prolific veggie garden and I couldn’t resist a photo of two of my successes – the climbing zucchini (Z. ramplicant) and broccoli (normally a failure for us!).
I know you are all champing at the bit, but the Nursery will officially re-open on Friday 21 January 2022. If you are new to the Nursery, don’t forget to bring your Covid passport.
If anyone can help with watering in January please let me know as we have a few trips planned in the near future.
Chris
Posted: 10 January 2022
