North Canterbury News: September 05, 2019

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MainPower Live Lines Issue 177 September 2019 Have your say- $30,000 Community Fund voting opening soon! Votingfor the 2019 MainPowerCommunity Fund is set to open next week. MainPowerwillbeinviting allNorth Canterbury residents to cast their vote for thecommunitygroup and school they think shouldreceive ashare of the$30,000 sponsorshipfunding. Agroup of finalists wasselected from a pool of nominations that were placed by the people of North Canterbury in August. Visitmainpower.co.nzto learnabout the finalistsandtovote.Thevotingstage will close Friday 14 October. There is $20,000available for community groups servingNorthCanterburyand $10,000 available forNorth Canterbury school projects. Fundingwill be split between severalfinalists in each category. MainPowerArt Competition winners Younglocal artistshadthe opportunityto displaytheirworkatthe WaimakaririWinter Festivalearlier in the season. Therewas noshortage oftalent at the MainPower ArtCompetition, with Antonia Rankin(17)takingout thetop spotand receivingaprizeof$200. Isla-GracedeRoo (16)cameinsecond place, winning a$100prize. Ashley-Rose Rutherford (10)wonthe third place prizeof$50, with her foxpainting. Well donetoall entrants! Antonia Rankin’s winning entry. Isla-Grace de Roo’s second place entry. Ashley-Rose Rutherford’s third place entry. Annual Report available The MainPower AnnualReport for the 2018-19financial year is available for downloadonthe MainPower website. To download acopy,visit mainpower.co.nz If you would likeahardcopy mailed to you (free of charge), please getintouchto place arequest. Phone: 0800 30 90 80 Email: info@mainpower.co.nz LOOK UP, LOOK OUT Usingormoving aladder,trimming branches or flying akite with the kids? Always lookout for overheadpowerlines. 0800 30 8090 24 hour faultsline mainpower.co.nz MainPower24Hour Faults Line 0800 30 90 80
SPRING GARDENING North Canterbury News, September 5, 2019 31 The art of creating achicken-friendly garden For the sake of your chickens and your kitchen, consider creating aforaging garden, writes Wendy Megget. If there is one thing chickens are good at, it’sstealingthe greens from your vegetable garden. So, I’m switching things around. I’m goingtogrow greens specificallyfor the chickens, and then,when we needour own for the dinner plate, we can steal some fromthem. This planmeans my chickens not onlyget moregreens,but they’ll be able to indulge in their naturalforaging behaviourthey love to digand scratcharound for bugs,seeds,greensand more. This provides them with valuable minerals and vitamins,aswell as extraroughageand protein. Thereare severalways to approach growinggreens for chickens,depending on the nature of the gardenyou have available and the restrictionson your chickens’ space. If you havealarge space, a greatidea is to create several separate foraging areasoff your chookhouse.Whileyour chickens are grazing on one space, the otherareas can be recovering and growing new greens forwhen it’s theirturn. If space is limited, youmight want to strategically place greens on the other sideofamesh fence, just within the reach of the chickens.They can pop their headsthrough and pick bits off, without getting the opportunity to completely stripthe plant. Speaking fromexperience, please test therequired distance with some handheld greens. It is gobsmacklinglyamazinghow far they can reach! You can also try growing greens in aseparatearea (or containers), and then pick them as needed. Alternatively, container greens can be popped into the chicken run and removed again beforethey are depleted. If youchoosethe right plants, they should growback quickly to be eaten another day. If you wanttokeep things simple,consider growing wheatgrass on the windowsill. You can just snip someoff and add it to your breakfast. You are not limited to just growing greens. We have eliminated codlingmoth in our apples since we’ve had chickens to feast on the larvae in thesoil. Some chickens will eat fallen fruit, but I’vefound that differs from chicken to chicken. It can help if you cut the fruit in half so that they can peck outinnards. Feijoas areagood example. Our first chooks left them alone unless we cut the fruit open for them.Our current girls won’t eat them at all. Ahandy hint: Pop asquareof old carpet over the rootarea undersmall treesifyou have foraging chickens. It willstop them digging aroundthe roots. Alternatively, consider growing fruit or vegetable vines on the mesh of your chicken run. This not only provides funfor Caring and sharing... Why not share your greens with your chickens? PHOTO:NZGARDENER your chickens, whowill haveto jump for hanging produce, but it can alsoprovide valuable shade in summer. Some suitable plants wouldbepeas, beans or banana passion fruit. If you wanttogrow fruit for your chickens, check they likeit first. Ithought our eatinggrapes wouldbeafavourite, but ourgirls won’tgonear them. At least the blackbirds enjoy them. When choosinggreens for chickens,provide avariety but keep it simple.Remember, you need to provide greensthrough different seasons. Some great winter options include pak choi and silver beetmy girls love them both.Don’t dismiss the idea of planting greens considered weeds, suchaschickweed, dandelions and puha. If you are picking them regularly and don’t let them go to seed, you won’t end up with them all through your flower beds. Often, thegreenschickens enjoy are the sameones we eat lettuce,Asiangreens, silver beet, kale, celery leaves, watercress and spinach.Inaddition, plantain and chicory are tasty perennials for extra diversity. Usually, chickens prefer green leaves over tough stalks. Isave the silverbeet stalks and dice themupinthe blendersothat the pieces are smaller. While it’snot their favourite, it stillseemsto disappear by theend of the day. Unless you particularly wantto growthe aboveplants for your kitchen, you may find it easier to simply buy amix of seeds. Kings Seeds has aChicken Green mix containingplantain, minutina,cocksfoot,sorrel, dandelion, subterranean clover, red clover, beet blend and chicoryblend. Most of these plants havegood root systems,so if you or yourchickens pick the leaves, they should regrow and recoverquickly if given the chance. —Published courtesy of www.gardener.kiwi. Tidying up the garden? As well as using the kerbside organics bin, you can turn excess garden waste into compost by dropping it at the Southbrook Resource Recovery Park. Southbrook Resource Recovery Park 284 Flaxton Road, Southbrook Kiosk: 03 313 5499 ReSale Store: 03 313 5798 Openinghours: Mon-Sun 8.30am-4.30pm waimakariri.govt.nz/rethinkrubbish Kit-set & Custom-Designed Sheds in Macrocarpa, Oregon&Pine Phone: 027 441 4010 | info@thewoodenshedco.co.nz | www.thewoodenshedco.co.nz 2049275-2/8
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North Canterbury News: September 05, 2019

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