Community Garden News

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret Atwood

Well, we certainly know that it’s spring…warm days, chilling frosts, gentle breezes and destructive winds: hungry birds; wind machines and helicopters, and the sudden death of wee plants that have been the folly of enthusiasm to get things going for summer harvest!

Our enthusiasm to populate our cunningly crafted bean support, with borlotti and runner beans has been a wee bit of a disaster and unfortunately fallen victim to the recent frosts. However, fortunately we have a substantial reserve of well cultivated seedlings to replace the early disaster.

This leads nicely to few tips for raising seeds; much cheaper way to fill the garden, and very satisfying!

• Sow seeds in a good quality seed raising mix in either pots or trays
• Fill the container to within 2 cms of the rim of the container; moisten the soul, and when it is entirely damp, sow the seeds
• Cover the seeds to a depth of no more than twice their diameter. Very fine seeds need no cover, but just to be pressed firmly into the mixture.
• Ensure that they are kept damp…not flooded. Covering them with newspaper or a piece of glass works well.
• Keep seed moist at all times…if they dry out, give them a good watering, but not a drowning!
• Once seed germinate, remove covering and expose them gradually to sunlight. Keep them warm at night when it cools.( Bring them indoors or cover with glass or plastic.)
• Delicate  plants may need to be planted on into a larger pot before planting into the garden : more robust plants ( most veges) can be planted straight into the garden.

… Continue Reading

Calling all gardeners…your Rose Show is back!!

We are delighted to announce that the Martinborough Rose & Flower Show is back for 2019. After a small hiatus while the Town Hall was renovated, we are back with a bang. The show will be held on November 9^th at the Waihinga Centre. 

This is our community’s show, so please come along and support it. Classes are free to enter so why not give it a go! We welcome spectators in the afternoon to come and view all the stunning displays; there are stalls to purchase plants and raffles to enjoy.

We look forward to hosting retuning and novice Rose exhibitors. If you have an interest in roses but are new to showing; we have lots of experienced rose lovers who are on hand to help you on the day guiding you how to stage your roses. While the exquisite rose takes centre stage, we also have sections for Cut Flowers, Home & Garden and Floral Art. The Theme Arrangement class is titled ‘Celebrate Martinborough’, we can’t wait to see what creative ideas people will come up with.  … Continue Reading

Martinborough Junior Hockey – 2019 Results and Prizegiving

Martinboprough 1st 11 and MIS Falcolns on Grand Final day

Our 1^st XI team came so close to victory in their final of the A-grade competition against rivals, MIS Falcons.  Martinborough scored an early goal in the first half of the game and held their defence until MIS scored a late goal in the final 3 minutes to draw 1-1 at full time.  Martinborough was then defeated 3-1 in a penalty shoot out to finish runners up for the second year in a row.  We will try again next year!  Congratulations to all of the players, Neens Bruce (coach) and Carolyn Jephson (manager) – a champion team.  

We held our prizegiving and breakup on 9^th September.  A big thank you to all the coaches and managers for their time and commitment at weekly games and practices.  Well done to all our players and in particular the following trophy winners this year:

Marty Comets (6-aside D) – coach Olivia Aring/manager Moreton Anderson:

Most Valuable Players:  Flinn Aring and Zak Gudsell

Most Improved Player:  Lena Teofilo-Larkin

Most Conscientious Player:  Jamie Anderson … Continue Reading

Kahutara School Hockey Wrap-up

Kahutara School 1 st 11 Hockey team

Kahutara School managed to enter a total of three teams in various Wairarapa Hockey Association junior grades played at Clareville Hockey Stadium this season, a mean feat for a school of our size. 

The Kahutara Blue team played Tuesday nights in the 6 Aside quarter field grade. The team did so well in the early season grading games they ended up in a tough grade for a young team. Made up of our youngest players, comprising 5 to 8-year olds, they were a competitive team showing some great promise. MVP for the season was Samantha Morgan. 

The Kahutara 6 Aside A team played Friday nights in the half field grade. This grade is designed as a step up from the quarter field grade, with a lot more space for players to pass. More emphasis is placed on learning the rules of hockey with penalty corners, long corners and feet obstructions all played. This team was made up of mainly 9- and 10-year olds, and has a number of talented players. MVP for the season was Grace Jaspers. 

The Kahutara School 1^st XI remained in the 11 Aside B grade this season. After two challenging grading games at the start of the season, the team rallied well finishing with 3 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. Backing up last years’ runner-up performance in the grade was always going to be tough, especially having lost six Year 8 boys to College at the end of last season. Despite this, the group worked really well as a team, with the younger members certainly contributing to the team performance. The team were capably led by Captain Billy McCreary and Vice-Captain Tom Clarkson. Trophy winners this season were; Most Improved Player: Makaela Murray, Most Dedicated: Guy Jaspers and Marci Pillar, with also special mention of Guy Handyside and Rhiannon Clark, and Most Valuable Player: Billy McCreary.   

Honor Clark   Kahutara School Hockey Co-ordinator