Let it Grow

Maramataka Ohua A favourable day for planting and being in your māra; come together as whānau, assess what you have been doing and plan for what needs to be done. A time to reflect and connect, take your time before the high energy marama returns. Me matua mōhio! - Be knowing. Selecting Plants The first step for good plant selection is know the area you will be working with, when a plant likes where it is then there is less work involved in keeping it happy. A good foundation is where a good māra should always start; not just get plants because they look good... This will be a challenge for me moving forward, whenever I go to Mitre 10, Bunnings or even the warehouse i will scour the plant sections and choose willy nilly on what is there and what looks appealing to my eye and I guess my mood for the day.... My new plant tip I will have to start living by is " look at the garden or site first and match the plant to the conditions you find". Living by this concept should mean an...

 Maramataka Tamatea-a-aio (or Tamatea Kai-Ariki) A time to be aware of your surroundings, be prepared for the unpredictable. Things may appear calm but under the surface things may be churning and bubbling. Miss W and I were meant to be on an excursion to the beach today with kohanga, Miss W was keen for a day at home relaxing after 3 full days before another excursion to a farm tomorrow. This was before I looked at the maramataka and I am pleased I listened to Miss W and we stayed home. Toddlers and preschoolers are already unpredictable on an outing without the added pull from the moon. Me tūpato! - Be careful. A dozen words to describe a leaf... Module 2: Plant Portfolio i s covering the identifying features and appearance of flowers and leaves. With a leaf we look at the shape, margin (leaf edge), dispostion and venation (speard of veins). With leaf shape there are a heap of descriptive words e.g ovate, oval, obovate, awl-shaped,lineal, elliptic and heaps more. Thankfully I don...

 Maramataka Okoro We are once again in Okoro, a time that is good for planting kai in your māra. This time is also good to review and reflect on the past weeks and also set your intentions and plan new learningsd for the month ahead - set out your to do list for the coming weeks. Be inspired by early morning skies and crashing waves. Me auaha! - Be creative! Course 2: Plant Health (Completed) From mid-August through to early Septmber I was studying Plant Health.  This module was largely focused on pest management particularly weeds and bugs. I learned a lot from this module, the key point I found was if there was a problem you can fix it naturally without pumping our world with chemicals. In the past I have used predators bugs to help control aphid issues and with weeds I am a hand puller. On the subject of weeds I learned that many of the common weeds we have here in Aotearoa actually have some great benefits to them either medicinally or as food! A weed is usually only a wee...