A very wet, grey day. We had a practical assessment for composting today, but put it off until the end of the day hoping for a fine break. Fortunately, we just got one before the weather closed in again after class finished for the day. So, we began the day with theory. First we went over what we need to do on our compost and worms rostered weeks ( ( Read more... )

This morning's work experience day started with watering in the propagation and shade houses (as well as watering the grafted apples and removing shoots from the root stock ( Read more... )

As part of our course requirements, we need to complete a certain number of work experience days. As a part-time student I need to do eight over the course of the year. We can do these with quite a number of farms, businesses and organisations, and our days can be completed either in the three weeks set aside for work experience or on any other ( Read more... )

Got to Lincoln today to bad news: there'd been a frost out there, on Monday night/Tuesday morning. Just after I'd planted out my tender little corn seedlings ( Read more... )

This morning I spent some time before class preparing my personal plot for planting out my sweetcorn seedlings. I made holes in the pea straw mulch down to the soil and added a bit of compost to each hole, which was all I had time for before 9am ( Read more... )

Wednesday's class started with botany again, today looking at the cell structure of plants. It was a class that had me reaching back into the very dark and distant recesses of my mind to recall fourth and fifth form science. That was a long time ago... ;-) All made pretty good sense though. We're starting to get assignments - most of out ( Read more... )

Well, muck anyway. :-) I am feeling slightly like less of a weakling than I usually do, however, since today we were assessed on our ability to double-dig a short patch of ground. To double dig, you first remove a trench of topsoil to a spade's depth and place it to one side. Then you dig down another spade's depth into the subsoil below (in our ( Read more... )

Today's classes started not at the BHU but at Landcare Research Manaaki Whenua, down the road towards Lincoln township. The bus got me there early and I stopped into the New World supermarket across the road before heading over. This New World has only been open 5 weeks, according to the shop assistant I spoke to. It has two wind turbines in the ( Read more... )

Today's classes were on planting and sowing in the morning and worms in the afternoon. Our tutor for these classes prefers to teach out in the field while we're actually doing stuff, which I think suited the class just fine. It's getting hot already though - I had a hat and long sleeves on, but forgot my sunblock and that's definitely not a good ( Read more... )

Monday being a public holiday (yay!) there was just the one class this week, which I'm a bit late on writing up since we seem to have suddenly become social butterflies. :-) Started the day digging over a bit more of my patch. I'm torn about taking out the artichoke - there are quite a few little artichokes forming on it, but it takes up well over ( Read more... )