Transition Town Point Chevalier

Kia ora e hoa mā,

Thank you for all the hard, focused work so many of you have put in over the last few weeks. There have been hours of seed sowing and patient pricking out of tomato seedlings, a job that calls for an attentive and steady hand. We really appreciate everything you’ve put into our upcoming seedling sale. There are now hundreds of gorgeous tomato seedlings growing and ready to find their new homes in less than two weeks.

Make sure you’ve saved the date: Sunday 25 October, 11am–1pm. More info below.

We also have a correction from last week. Now that we’re in daylight saving, our Thursday sessions run from 5pm to 7pm. Apologies for the confusion!

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Kia ora e hoa mā,

Tomorrow’s working bee is turning into a kid-friendly event for our school holiday session! Bring along your smallest gardeners for a snail hunt, leaf foraging, seed ball making and more. Kids’ session runs 10am–12pm, tamariki must be accompanied by an adult. Hope to see you there.

Read on for an update on our composting adventures, plus save the date for our upcoming seedling sale.

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Kia ora e hoa mā,

Hopefully you’re enjoying the strong pull of Hina as we farewell Te Rākaunui, the full moon.

It’s definitely been a wet start to kōanga. Not ideal for our events, but great for the māra as we get our crops established. The soil moisture is staying consistent and the soil’s water “bank” is filling up, which we can preserve with thick layers of mulch before the dry season kicks off later this year.

We hope to see many of you tomorrow for our biocomplete compost build! The working bee starts at 9.30am, and Luke will kick off the compost making around 10am. More on that below.

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Kia ora e hoa mā

Just a reminder we’re cancelling tomorrow’s composting session and pizza due to the forecast rain. Instead, we’re building our biocomplete compost on Tuesday morning during our normal volunteer session. Come along and join us!

Tuesday’s session starts at 9.30, and we’ll get composting from about 10-12. We’re really excited about this compost pile – we’ve been soaking our woodchip and chopping up green materials so we’re all ready to go. This style of composting is the foundation of Dignan Street Community Garden’s fertility, and a great way to learn more about how soil microbes are essential to a healthy māra. Plus, learn tips and tricks to use for your own at-home composting set up.

Enjoy a cozy weekend inside, look forward to seeing those that can make it on Tuesday!

Ngā mihi,

The Growing Point team

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Kia ora e hoa mā,

Flowers are a-bloomin’! Broad beans are a-swayin’! Hoping you’re each enjoying the tohu of kōanga around you every day: the flowering of the kōwhai, increased bee activity, asparagus stretching out of its winter slumber. We even have the first tupu appearing in our kūmara tāpapa, wahoo!

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Kia ora e hoa mā,

We were so proud of Matua Rob’s talk at the Point Chev Library last week. Not only was there a great turnout, but it was really cool to see such broad interest in the kūmara project and the mātauranga Rob’s been gathering.

Looking ahead to the next couple of weeks, our focus turns to seed sowing and compost making. Read on for a seed sowing update, plus dates and times for our end of month compost build and pizza event.

Also, a quick reminder that Di has about 20 jars of kimchi (380g) to sell at $15 each. She’ll keep a few jars in the fridge at the Bowling Club to sell, and bring the rest in as needed, so flick her an email if you’d like to reserve a jar (bozndi@gmail.com).

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Kia ora e hoa mā,

This spring rain is doing a wonderful job softening the soil ahead of our upcoming busy planting period. If you’re around tomorrow, we’d love for you to join Matua Rob for his talk at the Point Chev Library about our book, Te Taonga o Ngā Kūmara. Come along after our Tuesday volunteer session to support him and hear more about the process of making the book, plus what he’s been learning through his research into kūmara. That’s Tuesday 8 September, 2pm, at Point Chev Library.

Read on for an upcoming compost build, an update on the situation with the bowling club land, and this week’s jobs in the māra.

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Kia ora e hoa mā,

Last week was a really lovely, productive time in the māra! We laid out our tāpapa, got a heap of pruning done, added a new hugel bed, and topped it all off with pizza and screenprinting yesterday. Thanks to everyone who’s been showing up and lending a hand, it’s awesome heading into this growing season with such an active and passionate volunteer rōpū. This week’s newsletter is mostly looking back at some of the lovely photos from recent events.

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Kia ora koutou,

Mahuru continues to work its magic in the māra, with warmer days creeping in between the last of the cold snaps. There’s a real sense of anticipation building around the place at the moment, with tāpapa season about to begin and spring events on the horizon (pizza and screen printing this Sunday!).

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Kia ora koutou,

We’re well and truly into Mahuru, the transitional period between winter and spring. It’s a curious time where the weather blows cold from the south while the sun warms the soil, and plants are slowly but surely setting their sights on the hot, sunny days ahead.

Also, if you haven’t already ordered your copy of Te Taonga o Ngā Kūmara, we encourage you to do so soon. We’ve only got around 30 copies remaining, and once they’re gone, that’s it for this print run. Head to our website to order yours.

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