Year Four Begin Our Kumara

Today Year Four worked to plant our kumara for the 2025 harvest. At the beginning of the term we learnt about the importance of kumara to Maori and how it was brought to Aotearoa. The kumara we put in water during our lesson then  has now sprounted with red stems, heart shaped leaves and white roots, so they were ready to plant out.  We watched this video to learn the tikanga of kumara planting: 

Room 5 helped to turn the compost and move it into the kumara beds.  We also harvested the last of the broadbeans to clear space. We'll dry out the pods and collect the seeds to plant next takurua/winter. We planted some kumara tipu in the beds.  The broadbeans help to put nitrogen in the soil, so we'll see if those tipu grow stronger than the other beds.

Unfortunately for Room 4 it was pouring with rain, so we spent our time recording instructions for how to grow kumara at home. Check out their mahi her How to Grow Kumara by Room 4 Just before lunch the sun came out so we managed to sneak out and plant a few kumara tipu.

Room 6 helped to weed the Fordyce entrance and then planted the last of the kumara tipu. We'll done!

We can't wait for next year to see how our kumara have grown.