Addington Green Thumbs Team

Spring Vege Garden Mahi!   Yes we had a very productive day in our vege garden on Friday 26th of November. Green Thumbs were joined by Elissa (from Junior Neighbour Support), Casey (Addington parent) and several Waonui children. They got the gardens cleared of weeds, and  just to name a few;  squash, beans, sunflower, raddish and carrots were planted. Ka rawe (excellent) everyone and a big kia ora Elissa and Casey for your contributions and help.

Look what we found!    

School Gardens Update Summer is here and Te Kura Taumatua children are enjoying the raspberries in our orchard.  It also looks very picturesque with  blue phacelia and orange California poppies growing in between the trees.   Unfortunately, this term we lost some of the orchard to the new pipeline installation, but the rest of the fruit trees are coming on and I can see other fruits -  apricots, apples and pears growing. If you have a small amount of free time over summer to come in and water the orchard please let me know as it will save me a trip or two. During the year Green Thumbs received some native plants from 'Trees for Canterbury'. These were planted in our native area, on the east side of the school, mostly around the Matariki stars. Jan Blackburn and the Green Thumbs planted the lancewood trees 2 years ago – laying them out in the same position as the Matariki  (Pleiades)  cluster of stars. A little team of helpers from our recent Golden Time planted and stak

A big THANK YOU especially to Caleb and Cat for showing us around their property and teaching us how to grow microgreens and plant natives. Thank you Ruth, Jo, Daniel, Whaea Jenny and Whaea Lyn for helping us get there and organising the day for us. Without you all, we would not have had this wonderful opportunity for new learning and a fantastic fun day.... from the Green Thumbs Team at Addington Primary School. Thank you for taking your time to show us what it is like in Little River - James Thank you for showing all of us around - Alex I wish I was there! Vicky I would love to name your lamb "Nibbles" - Courtney Thank you for letting us go to Little River and taste the microgreens. Thank you for letting us make huts and pat the lamb. I loved playing by the river and having fun! Alysia Could you build the tree hut bigger for next time? I would love to help renovate it! James I really enjoyed patting the lamb and going up the hill to make the huts in the

Microgreens  are tiny vegetable or herb  greens  grown for their visual appearance and complex flavours and textures. They are larger than sprouts but smaller than baby salad  greens. They consist of  a central stem, seed leaves and the first young two true leaves.  Unlike sprouts, microgreens are grown in the light and in soil and the root is not harvested. When they are ready the stem is cut leaving the root behind. Because they are grown in the light, both the flavour and the nutritional content is greater than sprouts. M icrogreens are very healthy, with an average five times the level of vitamins and carotenoids than the mature plant. I never knew something so small could have so much taste. It was interesting learning about microgreens. Lettuce visit again! Daniel Thank you for lending us your time to go to Little River. I'm thanking you for letting us make huts, taste the microgreens, and patting the lamb. Another highlight was putting the shades on the plants! - Hann