Let it Grow

Maramataka Hina is in her countdown to her next full moon, today is Huna. This day is a take it easy day, a lacklustre day; the low energy from yesterday's moon (Ariroa) is still present today. Don't plant food and don't try and fish for kai. Meditation and reflective hīkoi are recommended today. Well a take it easy day was not on the cards for me... W is transitioning in to Kohanga, with her first day yesterday, this kid is high energy! I'm still with her on these visits and as much as a reflective walk or mediation would have been nice there was no chance of this happening this morning. I am definitely feeling the low energy pull though and my study of soil lately has been a struggle. In other news I did get 93% on my first horticulture assessment I sat last night so there is that win. A soil by any other name is still a soil... As this module has taken a day and an age to get through (ngā mihi Hina...) I am still learning about the names, the histories and the identi...

Maramataka Tamatea-whakapau, a day to maintain patience and understanding. Well I have needed to practice patience with the preschooler today who insisted on helping me take notes for this module. Planting food in the morning through to midday is optimal today and a good day to be out with Tāne Mahuta, refresh in the fresh air and listen to our surroundings.   A Welcome to Soils The earth's body of soil is called the pedosphere and it acts as: a medium for plant growth a means of water storage, supply and purification a modifier of earth's atmosphere a habitat for organisms. Effectively the soil of our earth is like an engine that needs to run smoothly to ensure all living things around us are sustained and survived.  Fun fact: in just one teaspoon of soil you would find more organisms than the world's population!  Soil provides the nutrients and support for plant life and no two patches of soil are the same. History is told through our soil as well, we can see what ...

Maramataka Tamatea-kai-ariki a day for planting food, today is the day we will plant that potato! No school today but that doesn't mean the learning stops. I am up to date with my modules for the week so W and I took a walk around the neighbourhood. We were encouraged by the sounds of cows calling; we weren't able to easily spot the kau, they were too many paddocks away. On our walk we stopped and appreciated the plant life especially stopping to sniff the rosemary and the lavender. It was the perfect day for a hīkoi with W walking the majority of the time (a full 1.5 hours) only needing to be carried in the last 5 minutes until she spotted our letterbox.  We were rewarded by a beautiful monarch butterfly waiting for our return down the driveway. Always stop and smell the rosemary Lavender exploring A cheeky selfie never hurt anyone... The beautiful kahuku waiting for us on our return. The next thing we needed to tick off our to do list for the day was to plant that potato we w...

Maramataka Our moon is in Okoro, another good day for planting food; fun fact: I still haven't planted the potato... Plant Reproduction Essentially a flower is a massive reproductive organ and I can't look at a bouquet of flowers without being reminded of this... Most flowers are brightly coloured and attractive to pollinators (the birds, the bees, bugs, bats - little critters), give off a scent that is irresistible to the critters, spread their pollen and pay the visitor with sweet treats. The flowers have ovaries and eggs, and make embryos when met with plant sperm (pollen grains). Fun fact: I have discovered I am highly allergic to Camelia sperm (pollen). Our first task of the day was to find a flower to dissect, we initially could only find tiny specimens which made identifying the organs tricky. Then my mother picked up a beautiful pink camelia in her travels (the culprit of today's hayfever).  Hunt for putiputi Our tiny finds A gorse flower showing the outside Sepals ...

Maramataka Ouenuku, this is a good time for establishing tuber beds; I am going to take this as a great time to establish further understanding of the root system - the basis of a good tuber. I really should have forward planned and noticed this earlier as I still have that potato planting task on my to do list. A bucket and soil are officially on my list, tomorrow is still a good day for planting. And a bucket isn't really a bed to establish tubers so we are good... Roots, their functions, structures and how do they actually work? Plant roots are a vital part of the plant and the first part of the plant to emerge from the seed (a radicle) and have several functions: they anchor the plant to the ground they absorb water and nutrients from the soil they transport water and the soil nutrients up in to the rest of the plant they store food as carbs for when the plant needs them. Fun fact: the roots of a tree in an open area often extend two to three times the radius of it's crown!...

Maramataka Our moon is in Hoata, a good day for in the māra. Hina is still on her return so our nights are still dark, these times are good to be spent at home, reflecting, learning and spending time with whānau. Again the perfect time to be online learning. What does a leaf actually do? I finally understand how our trees and plant life keep our air clean I knew trees took the carbon dioxide in our air and gave us cleaner oxygen, I never knew the magic that took place to do it though. All the leaves on all the plant life work like our lungs but in the opposite direction.  We inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide; leaves inhale carbon dioxide and release oxygen. On the rough underside of a leaf there are these microscopic sausage like guard cells that open and close called stomatas. when they are full of water (from the roots) they swell and create an opening drawing in the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Add this to the water drawn up, the sun's energy absorbed and the green ch...

Maramataka Tirea, our moon is in the new moon phase, a new cycle, Hina is beginning to return. On reflection, the new moon and commencing my studies in this phase is symbolic; I am entering a new phase of my life as is Hina, she has refreshed and is returning anew as I plan to also one the other side of these papers. Tirea is similar to Whiro and is the perfect time to review, reflect and discuss new learnings. It is a time to set intentions and plan for the lunar cycle ahead.  Me Auaha! Be Creative! Stems and Their Functions This module begins by expanding on the root & shoot systems that the last module taught me. I never realised the huge job the stem does, it is like the heart of the plant, a vascular system pumping (transporting) water and minerals up from the roots and sugars from photosynthesis down from the leaves - just like our hearts pumping our blood in and out. How amazing. There are three main types of stem structure. Woody Herbaceous Monocotyledon Herbs have soft...

Maramataka It is Monday morning, our maramataka is entering Whīro... The moon is entering a new phase - a new moon which is an unfavourable for planting... Ominous... This period is a good time to knuckle down, stay close to home, be mindful and plan forward; so not that ominous. Whīro sounds like the perfect time for this hīkoi to begin, online learning and discovery of Horticulture is definitely a way to stay close to home and forward plan. Plant Cells  "Plant science , also called  botany or plant biology , is the  science of plant life and a branch of biology ." I never did Biology in school, the components of plant cells are somewhat new to me. But how amazing are cells? This was mind blowing discovering the components of a plant cell. Cell Walls:                This is what encloses the cell membrane and is only   found in plant cells. Cell Membrane:      This is a thin flexible sheet within the cell w...

Out of the COVID rāhui in Aotearoa our government created an opportunity for many trade and apprentice courses to open up fees free for the country - TTAF funded courses. I found a course that sung to my heart - New Zealand Certificate in Horticulture. My first step before commencing this online study was to complete the orientation checklist and create a learning journal. To save on our trees and resources from the list of suggested platforms Blogger was chosen. Horticulture and growing a functional māra has been in the back of my mind since  I completed the Tikanga Whakaaro course through Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in 2019. There was a module based around your māra (garden), having your māra work for you and learning to live in tune with the māramataka.  This really sparked a desire within me to learn more of how I can look after our whenua and in return our whenua will look after us as a whānau and hopefully our wider community. I enjoy getting in to the garden but my knowledge ...