Seeds 'R Us

What has Seeds R Us been up to lately? 

Well we are just about to begin our trials for different types of pasture.  Thanks to PGG Wrightson we have some different varieties to test and study closely.  PGG Wrightson have also offered a beanie each to the team who grows the best seeds!  Wow - corporate sponsorship :-)

Firstly we needed to make our little greenhouses to put the seed trays into.  This means that we can be frost free and keep in some warmth to make the seeds grow in the winter.  We are planning to measure:

• Growth rate
• Soil nutrients
• The effect of different nutrients on growth, looks and nutritional value. 

We have also been looking at clover.  This is an interesting and clever plant that takes nitrogen from the air and turns it into a chemical that plants can use.  The nodules on the clover's roots have bacteria which turns nitrogen from the air into useable chemicals that plants can absorb.  This could lead into some really interesting trials that farmers could use!  Mmmm interesting food for thought! 

We look forward to seeing some experts in this area over the next few weeks and widening our field of expertise! 

Pukemata Station - May 9

Today we went to Pukemata Station with Rongomatane. We spent the morning learning about farm life and the job of a farmer.  This introductory visit was to familiarise ourselves with a farm and the types of jobs and needs that a farmer has to do.   We watched the dogs working and a sheep being shorn!  Not a single nick!  Well done Wock!  And well done Angus for your wool sweeping skills!

From there we went to lunch and Wock even cooked us some sausages!  What a treat.  Angus, Mrs Allan and Wock were excellent hosts and we had a lovely time playing on the tennis court and tramp!

After lunch it was time for some science.  We put our square metres out with tent pegs and began to investigate what was in the soil and around the stems of the grass.  We had to count the species.  For some species there was too many to count so we had to use < and > to describe the amount.  It is interesting how farmers use different types of pasture to fatten the stock up!  Scientists work with farmers closely and lots of data collection is done the same way we did it!

Thank you to the parents who accompanied us, Ro, Tracey, Karen and Pam - Ethan's Nana.  Thank you also to Mrs Spence and Rachel who helped us in the morning.

It was a lovely day and we were treated to some spectacular views.  Thank you Allans!