My class was conducted by Lisa Short on Plant Propagation Unit in the morning. We work out in nursery. In the morning section monitored on the seedlings such as Sophora tetraptera seedlings are still quite slow but there are more growth. Juniper media blaauw plant was healthy but growth is still slow. Digital summer king seedlings doing good growth and plant is shifted to the green house on ground. Sweet pea - cupid drawrf (Lathyrus cupid) seedlings was given away after vast growth. Dianthus confetti seedlings was doing good and transferred to green house. Veronica topiaria was healthy and no traces of wilting. Thymus vulgaris cutting was also transferred to green house. Lupin gallery mix has more healthier leaves and good growth. Clianthus puniceus was doing good and is moved to green house. Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon ciratus) seed still slow in growing. Origanum vulgare was not doing good because there are slightly trace of wilting. Sugar snap dwarf (Pisum sativum) seedling show good growth and healthy looking with no trace of nutrient deficiency. Digital Summer king was doing good and was transferred to green house. All plants are free from pest and diseases.
Veronica "Emerald Green" hardwood cutting are healthier and no wilt traces of pest and diseases. I pricked out and potted on to the bigger tube around 35 blue tubes.
I pricked out and potted on Tigerella tomato seedlings around 30 tubes. Tigerella tomato is a bi-coloured tomato cultivar, relatively small, 2 to 4 ounces (60 -120 gms) and early (59 days). Upon maturity the fruit is red with yellow stripes, essentially the same except that the fruit is red instead of green and has a sweeter flavour. The colour occasionally varies in New Zealand for instance, commercially produced Tigerella is dark crimson red with very dark green stripes.
In the afternoon I had my class with Alan on Turf Unit. We went around University of Otago Campus and looked around at the condition of the growth of grass.
Once we backed we move the lawn behind the O Block and lawn aerated the soil in L Block. This aeration is a garden tool or machine designed to aerate the soil in which lawn grasses grow. We returned all the equipment and end the section.
On Permaculture with Kim Thomas on 17/10/2013 we went to Permaculture Food Forests and meet Mr. Jason Ross. Mr. Jason Ross – Owner / Operator of Sutherland Nursery and Edible Garden Design, based in Waitati. He works with Waitati Stores, growing vegetables, herbs and fruit for Taste Nature, Dunedin’s Organic Shop.
Forests and woodlands provide great inspiration in their diversity, resilience, self perpetuation and beauty. He was explaining that can we use a forest model to inspire design for integrated edible and useful gardens and landscapes? He said definitely, he has inspired by this question for the last ten years and pointed outline some key aspects of temperate food forest design and thinking.
Sutherland Nursery provides a delicious range of heritage and disease resistant food plants for low maintenance growing. Mr. Jason stock many interesting heritage fruit trees that are diverse in both flavour and use a perfect for home and lifestyle block. His edible garden and orchard on permaculture design services bring these and other great plants to the kitchen door. His goal is to help to enjoy the satisfaction of growing healthy and abundant food at home and enhance all aspects of food growing at home.
In the afternoon we had a class with Lisa Burton on Plant Identification Unit. She was emphasising on the Assessment on Plant ID Unit on three common climbers and one common tree or shrubs for the list that she has provided for us. She also guided us on the plants that are situated around the Polytech and list us the common names and botanical names. We adjourned the class after the walk around the plants section at 3.00pm.
On Revegetation Unit on Friday 18/10/2013 with Lisa Burton we went field trip to Styles Creek Bush in a native forest on land owned by David and Marie Jensen. This is a pioneer farm the covenant includes two bushy gullies and a central grassy spur. To keep grazing animals out and allow the bush to regenerate, the area was fenced in 1987.
Styles Creek Bush still has at least 23 different native trees and shrubs, 8 sorts of native vines and a dozen species of ferns. The bush Styles Creek represents a rather dry coastal forest type of east Otago, where the main trees such as ngaio, kowhai, broadleaf's, narrow-leaved lacebark, lemonwood, lancewood, fushia, mahoe, matai and Hall's totara.
We were assist by Lisa on the wall around the native forest to view on the different kind of plants for the Assessment on Revegetate Indigenous Plant Areas. The weather was wet and we have to leave the plant due to heavy rainfall.
In the afternoon I had my class with Kim Thomas on Vermiculture. She assessed us on Assessment No 4 regarding Worm Farm in Central Wormworx, in Cromwell 60km east of Queenstown Central Otago. Once the assessment is completed we went to the Polygrow Nursery to monitored the worms and as well as doing some pricking out and potting on some seedlings. I pricked out coriander seedling which is grown under vermicompost.
The business operation has proved successful; literally thousands of tonnes of waste has been taken out of the Community’s waste stream and converted into Worm Castings or Vermicast.
The Worm Castings are primarily used in the Central Otago Region but latterly have been distributed throughout the South Island with orchards, vineyards and private gardeners using this high quality soil conditioner to improve the quality, yield, vibrancy of their plants. They sell Tiger Worms, Topsoil, Compost, and have sold over 500 Home Worm Farms. Worm Farms and gardens have been set up in many schools in the area.
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