What's Happening in the Gardens?
What's Happening at Living Campus this Week?
Living Campus workers have finished the main gravel path at the Student Allotment garden providing wheelchair access to the garden. The no-dig garden beds have also been completed ready for green manures to be sown in spring. The Living Campus workers leave us after six months of hard work with a completed Student Allotment garden and Hazelnut Havens. The B-block permaculture garden is open to the public again come and enjoy the garden! Only the newly sown lawn is cordoned off while the grass seed germinates. New compost bins have been built here and at Manaaki to increase the amount of compost we can produce here at Living Campus, reducing and hopefully one day eliminating, the amount of compost we need to buy in.
Come and check out the flash new fence at the Manaaki garden. The fence at the back of the garden has been painted red giving the garden a real lift, the rest of the fence will be painted another colour at a later da
The seasonal needs of your garden...
Now is a good time to prune and take berryfruit cuttings of currants, gooseberries and raspberries. Pruning techniques are different for different berryfruits so care should be taken to find out the correct technique to maximize fruiting and maintain plant health.
For hardwood cuttings take vigorous shoots formed during summer into 20-30cm lengths. Trim the lower end of each to just below a bud with a sharp knife. In the propagation bed horticulture sand should be dug in to improve drainage and reduce the chance of the cuttings rotting. Plant cuttings so that at least 6-8cm remains above the ground and water and weed during the growing season as necessary. The cuttings will be ready to lift and transplant the following autumn.
Winter is also the time for planting shallots. Shallots are usually planted from sets, similar to planting garlic cloves. Each set will grow a clump of small shallots, if grown from seed each plant will produce a single bulb. Push sets into a light soil leaving the tip of the set at soil level. As with garlic and onions, shallots are ready to harvest when the leaves start dying back, usually mid to late summer.
W.O.W! LivingCampus Wednesday Organic Workshops!
When? 12.10 - 12.50 pm
Where? Meet at the Quad 'Hazel Haven' (garden to the east of the quad)
Who's it for? Open to all staff and students
What to bring? Gumboots or other sturdy footwear, and gloves if preferred
Who's showing you how? Organic by Design Staff
WOW! Wednesday Organic Workshops 12.10-12.50pm
Term 3 Dates and Topics:
August 4th
Soft Fruit Cuttings for Berry Lovers - Learn how to grow your own delicious gooseberries, black and red currants from cuttings. You may even be able to take some cuttings home to grow, saving you $$$$$ on buying plants and frozen berries.
August 11th
Repeat offering of Soft Fruit Cuttings for Berry Lovers - save $$$$$ on buying plants and frozen berries.
September 1st
Seed Sowing for Beginners - Grow your own seedlings for spring planting in October - learn the basics of seed sowing and how to make your own organic seed growing mix - save $$$$$ on plants this growing season! Punnets and seed supplied.
September 8th
Garlic Planting for Solstice Snoozers - if you missed the mid-winter garlic planting date, don't panic, you have another chance! Learn how to grow a bumper garlic crop using organic fertilisers and easy weed control methods.
September 15th
Compost Making for the Home Gardener - ever wondered how to make a weed-free, high nutrient compost from your garden and kitchen wastes? Come along and see how easy it is to make a top quality compost that will be ready for use before Xmas!
Meet at Student Allotment Gardens (west side of D Block) at 12.10pm. Workshop locations will vary, so please meet at the Allotment Gardens on time.
Wear sturdy footwear & bring gloves if preferred.
You are encouraged to join in, but you are welcome to bring your lunch
and just watch!
Cancellations will be posted at the Allotment Garden on the morning of the workshop.
See you there! Michelle Ritchie - Organic by Design
michelle@organicbydesign.co.nz
Makaana Courtyard and Kithchen Garden
Two organic edible gardens have been developed for use by the School of Hospitality. These are an upper level container garden in the TECHnique Restaurant Courtyard (Makaana Courtyard), and a lower level formal Kitchen Garden adjacent to the courtyard, which will incorporate a hangi pit, wheelchair access and seating areas.
The gardens surrounding the new restaurant will provide hospitality students with the opportunity to learn about edible plants - fruit, nuts, vegetables, herbs and flowers - and how they are grown organically. Students will harvest fresh, sustainably grown ingredients for the Restaurant and Student Centre Cafe. These gardens also aim to inspire visitors and diners to grow their own gardens at home.
Many of the required plants will be grown in-house by Horticulture students for their Nursery Production Unit Standard.
SO FAR>>>
The Kitchen Garden area has been sowed with legumes (broad beans to fix nitrogen) and insectory plants for beneficial insects (Phacelia, Californian Poppies etc)
- Macrocarpa planting boxes (with recycled copper corners) have been producing a variety of herbs and vegetables.
WHAT NEXT?>>>
Lunchtime workshops and working bees will allow staff and students to participate in the development of the gardens. This will be a chance to get out in the sun and fresh air, and learn an organic trick or two for your own plot at home. Watch this page for workshps!
Fruit trees including Pear, Apple, Plum and Fig will be trained (espaliered) along the NorthWest Wall of the Kitchen Garden. These will be underplanted with various flowering companion plants and herbs. Summer salads, tomatoes and zucchini will crowd towards the path which leads on to a restful pergola in the shade of the beautiful kowhai and lancewood grove..
The Makaana Courtyard will be divided into 'garden rooms' with living screens of espaliered Sour Cherry varieties, along with berry bushes, herbs, grapes and scented climbers. Landscaping will utilise sustainable materials such as local Mt Kettle stone, macrocarpa, larch and wool weed mat.
Maori Cultural Garden
The design of this garden aims to encapsulate the qualities of a traditional maori garden, the diverse range of plants used (both native eg. puha and introduced eg. potato) and their continuing relevance in a modern society trying to find sustainable solutions - for example the use of flax for textiles as a replacement for cotton. The garden will also serve to remind us of the interdependent relationship between native plants, insects and birdlife and the importance of conservation efforts in our country.
Draft designs from 2008 are being re-visited, following installation of the new Whanau Room.
The Botanical Gardens Flax Collection was uplifted last year, and the polytech was lucky enough to receive a number of these wonderful plants - they have been selected specifically for their superior qualities for traditional textiles, as well as soil conservation and nectar sources for birds. The majority of plants will border the entrance path to the Whanau room, with the remainder to be planted in the Art school for students studying textiles. The flax will hopefully be re-planted by mid spring.
Once designs are confirmed, food gardens can be developed using no-dig mulch garden techniques - the planting of maori potatoes is a priority. The no-dig approach will be used due to the compacted nature of the soils of the site.
Permaculture Gardens - L and B Block 
Permaculture, literally translated means 'permanent agriculture'. Seeking to cycle garden wastes back into the soils for food production is just the beginning. Permaculture provides the ecological design template for for applying organic growing methods - a truly sustainable approach to food security in current times.
This well established example of a permaculture garden is a hidden jewel in the LivingCampus. If you haven't visited the garden, take the time to step across the busy Anzac Ave and into a lush edible paradise! Permaculture courses run through spring - check out the website for more information.
A horticulture student has been hired to assist with the maintenance of the L Block Garden.
Entrance and plant interpretation signage is being planned.
The continued planting of fruit trees and shrubs, and the propagation of other food plants continues to make this an abundant permaculture experience.
Existing garden beds are being edged with local Mt Kettle stone - bark and paver pathways will follow, allowing all-weather foot traffic.
Several staff joined in on Garlic Planting Day last month. The bulbs have sprouted happily and are looking healthy along the pathway to the front of B Block. Later in the season these will be accompanied by tomato plants - good companions in the garden.
Broad beans are standing strong along the B Block wall - above them are two new arrivals - espaliered sour cherry trees. Further fruit trees will be planted by mid spring.
New no-dig vegetable beds are being laid out to the north of B block.
A rainwater collection tank will be installed at the southwest corner of B Block, later in the year.
Interpretive signage including plant identification, growing instructions and hints, are being developed
Art School funded Textile Garden - a number of plants from the flax collection will be moved to this garden at Art School. The school is sourcing further plants from L Block Nursery where available.
The School of Occupational Therapy has an interest in developing student allotment gardens. This will provide further opportunity for student learning through the care of their own organic gardens.
Horticulture School Worm Farm. In 2010 the Vermiculture Unit Standard will become part of a horticulture qualification, and will be managed by horticulture students. This is an exciting advance towards sustainable practice within the Horticulture School.