gardening corner
Chooks in the backyard The main reason to keep chooks is the fabulous eggs of course, but what fun they are and so useful! They will eat all household scraps, love all the gone-to-seed and unwanted greens from the vegetable gardens and then make wonderful organic material to put in the compost. Chook poos are high in potash and potassium, which is essential for the production of fruit and flowers. Gardening with chooks is almost as daft as gardening with a goat so a proper run or fence is needed. A house and run can be a simple moveable A-frame with a small run. This is fine for two-to-four hens but after that a larger permanent structure might be better. An area of ground they can make a dust bath in is very important. A good trick if you have a small moveable run (no netting on base) in the veggie garden is to let them dig over that part of the garden for you then move them onto a fresh patch. Barley straw is best for the nest boxes because it does not get damp and bugs don’t like to live in it. Household scraps are all good except salted
meats, which can make them very ill, and no one likes orange peel! Wheat and hen layer pellets are sold in most supermarkets to complete their diet. It takes a lot of water to make an egg so clean fresh water is essential. The best fence for your veggie garden is just a simple wire netting with hardwood tomato stakes as posts. Chooks like to fly up and land on the fence top then fly back down, so keep the fence wire light with no wood. I paint my netting dark green or brown then the fence becomes almost invisible so the garden area still looks good. Buy the Brown Shaver breed, which are bred to lay consistently, will not go clucky and are very gentle natured and great with kids. There are some beautiful heritage breeds that make a fun hobby to keep as well as being useful. Alan Jones (Jonesy) is the 2010 New Zealand Gardener of the Year. He looks after Leeston Consolidated School’s veggie gardens and keeps school parents up-to-date with tips for home gardens.
WIN,WIN,
WIN!
Does your little princess dream of a fairytale bed as you read her a bedtime story? • Can you imagine the excitement on your little one’s face as you tell your car-crazy son that he can have his very own car bed that comes with flashing headlights? • How about letting him take off on an adven-
Day Enrolments are now open Years 11-13 and all Adult Students
ture with his friends in a make-believe world of Formula One racing, pirates and sailors? • Do you know of any self- respecting sixyear-old who wouldn’t want his very own pirate bed with a tent and a tower attached to it? Enter the enchanting world of fun, fantasy and fairytale furniture at Windmill Kids Furniture
After Three
Evening Pathway Programmes for Adults
2013 PROSPECTUS OUT MID SEPT
For more information call us on 0508HAGLEY or visit our website www.hagley.school.nz
Call: 0508HAGLEY after 3pm to register for your copy of our prospectus or visit: www.hagley.school.nz Zero Enrolment Fees • Low Material Fees
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ol o h c S Terms Date
Calen
Monday 15 October to no later than Thursday 20 December
ol Scho Terms Date
School Term Dates
Fun, fantasy and fairytale furniture •
2012/2013 primary and Birintermediate thdayterm school s dates Term 4, 2012
located at 145 Blenheim Road, Christchurch. At Windmill Kids Furniture we help you turn your child’s fantasy into reality by indulging them with fairytale bedroom furniture in a range of brilliant colours, designs, storage ideas, accessories and other designer furniture to match.
Calendar
Term 1, 2013
Between Monday 28 January and Thursday 7 February to 19 April
En
Term 2, 2013
Monday 6 May to Friday 12 July
day prtoogFriday 27 September Monday 29 July oli Term 3,H 2013 rammes
2012/2013 secondary and composite school term dates WIN! IN,2012 IN, W4, WTerm
Aximusam qui be quod excepta eca epta quod excto Tuesdaybea 15rum October no later than Friday Aximusam qui molor mos apictu e mintius lor mos apictusda mo December ecabor14 mintius erum nob reri rat ero eum sundi erum nobis dolor lorero eum sundi r tiorrum enducid molup pelloreium, od pelloreium . IpsumExerit, ignis atquatem aci vel ta volup Between, Monday 28 and Thursday enducid moluptiorrum te January tem qui sun inimus ad quam velignis atquatem. IpsumExerit, aspidi dem et qu sed19 conto 7 February April verunt expercia ad quam, tem qui sunte et o cus qu di en im ess vernatur sint pel volupta verunt expercia t ulliquis na ia qu rum pa quame nobite consed et quaspidi dem vernatu s idu i qu es sundis6 May to Friday 12 July Monday dolor pelessimendi quo cus et quame parum quia nat ulliquis dolores qui idus
Term 1, 2013
Term 2, 2013 Term 3, 2013
Monday 29 July to Friday 27 September
2012 public holidays remaining
Labour Day - 22 October (Monday) Christmas Day - 25 December Boxing Day - 26 December