Soil, soil, soil...

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 identification tools for the soils of the world.

My task today is to look further in to the soil of my community as I may have mentioned before we are in a climate that has hot summer days and a decent amount of wet winter days, this has led me to conclude (thanks to the soil maps provided by Manaaki Whenua) that our soil is a Pallic Soil; there are 15 soil order in Aotearoa!

"Pallic soils have pale coloured subsoils, due to low contents of iron oxides. The soils have weak structure and high density in subsurface horizons, are dry in summer and wet in winter.
They occur predominantly in the seasonally dry eastern part of the North and South Islands, and in the Manawatu. Parent materials are commonly loess derived from schist or greywacke. They cover 12% of New Zealand."

Our soil is a fertile soil with a mix of clay, sand and silt which performs medium to high in regards to the properties and behaviours of soil textures. Also makes for an ideal area to grow fruit and vegetables; also explains why we are surrounded by farm life. 

The science of soil is proving to be a much bigger task than I originally anticipated. There is so much information I need to take in and a handful of hands on tasks I need to complete out in the māra.
These activities feel like weekend activities where I will have extra hands on deck to help wrangle the preschooler and extra time to focus on my studies that won't be dedicated to assisting W with the kohanga transition.

The Botany modules were amazing, inspiring and I ate them up so fast they were definitely up my alley; pedology (soil science) is a challenge for me to focus on. 

I only have 8 pedology modules, 3 quizzes, 2 soil science discoveries and 4 videos to complete by Monday; thats only 17 things to tick off. I've got this...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another Day, Another Module - Plant Stems

Image
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...
Read more

Let's talk about the birds and the bees and the FLOWERS and the trees...

Image
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 ...
Read more

Taking my first steps into the horticulture world

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 ...
Read more