SandRa Timmins

Maramataka Māori for June/Pipiri

June 10, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Happy New Year! Today (10th June 2021) is the start of the first month of the Māori year, the month of Pipiri.

Sweet violet, viola odorata — _{Frosty Sweet Violet}

To be honest, apart from reflecting on the year that’s been and planning on the year to come (gazing at seed catalogues) there is not a lot to do in the māra this month.

If you’ve ordered fruit trees and they’re coming this month there are certain days that are best for planting them out, I’ll list them out here for you…

Tirea, Haohaoata + Ōuenuku (12, 13 and 14th June)
Rākanui + Rākaumatohi (25 and 26th June- Full Moon period) If you haven’t planted out your garlic or shallots, do so during this period.
From Korekore tūroa – Ōrongonui (1st July- 7th July) This is the best period to do any tree and berry pruning too, Kath Irvine is my go-to for pruning advice.

That’s it folks, enjoy your harvests, congratulate yourself for growing, immerse yourself in seed catalogues, enjoy your family, keep warm and start planning for Matariki. Aroha nui xx

Tincture Sale

May 27, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Hey hey, all my tinctures are available for $10.00 now.

With the advent of me getting a new website soon I’m looking through what I’ve got and what I have available and deciding to do away with some products. Tinctures are in my firing line as is some of my plants, mainly the culinary ones. Most of you whom find me and buy from me are not here for culinary herbs, I’m totally down with that, so off they go! It certainly does not mean my plant list will be getting shorter, all going well (ie. my propagations strike) it will be getting longer with some beautiful plants in the pipeline, whoop whoop!

Short post today, I have cuttings to do whilst the weather is fine (but brrr, isn’t it cold!). Go here to find my tinctures. First in first served!

Maramataka Māori for May/Haratua 2021

May 10, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Kua uru ngā kai kai te rua, kua mutu ngā mahi a te tangata.
Crops have now been stored in the store pits. The tasks of man are now finished.

Haratua, the 12th month of the Māori year… Depending on what climate pocket you live in you may still have some planting to do but this month is more about prepping and putting things to bed.

Whiro, 13th May, day after New Moon

He rā kino tēnei mō te ono kai mā tehī ika, hoki. A bad day for fishing or planting, the moon is out of sight.

Tirea, 14th May – Ōkoro, 17th May

Prepare your strawberry beds, your garlic beds and shallot beds. You’re prepping with food for the soil, compost +manure, but you’re also making sure you have superior drainage – this is paramount for these crops. If you’re in a reasonably warm area you can still plant out your compost and/or green manure crops.

Tamatea whakapau, 21st May

Plant out your strawberry runners, remember to keep the crowns clear of any soil or mulch (pine needles makes a great -free- mulch for strawberries).

Rākaunui + Rākaumatohi, 27th + 28th May

Get your garlic in, tree onions, shallots and potatos onions too if you have them (Setha Seeds is a good source of these).
Mulch, mulch, mulch!
This is the time that I start doing my hardwood cuttings. I have an article here on propagating plants by this method.
If you have a tree that you’ve decided would be better in a different place and it’s a fairly decent sized tree, wrench one side now. The art of wrenching is cutting the roots in stages, well before you actually move the tree. It will shock the poor thing but not as shocking if you lifted the whole thing in one fell swoop. It will though encourage it to form fresh new roots. I have a 3-4 year old apple tree that I’ll be wrenching at this time and then moving in 2-4 weeks…weather dependant.
Mulch, mulch, mulch!
Make compost for Spring.

Korekore tūroa, 2nd June – Ōrongonui, 7th June

The last quarter period is hands down my favourite time of the moon calendar. It’s such a productive time, but at this time of year, not a lot of that productivity will be used in the garden. Of course, weed + mulch what is left to be done – if you have cloches’ or cold frames’ (and live in a warm-ish area) you could sow the last of your salad greens. Plant out the last of your seedlings. Move trees if need be.

Think about how else you can use this productive energy; is there something you can do together with your whānau or your community (stack firewood?) Do things that need to be done.

BTW, 2nd June is when Matariki will be setting, the stars will rise again in a months time. Ōrongonui (7th June) is a good day for business.

Mauri, 8th June

The world is moving into darkness as we get closer to the New Moon. Take a load off, keep warm, have you ordered or looked into what fruit trees you would like to plant this winter? New Moon is the 10th June.

Elderly Kokedama

May 4, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Really, this is a blog post about how I don’t have time to do a decent blog post! Personal life (as apposed to business life) is at full stretch this month.

So here’s some pictures of what happens to kokedamas’ as they age…

Two year old kokedama — This is the very first kokedama that I made two years ago! It’s a goldfish plant, obviously has a small root system as I’ve only had to restring it once (and not add moss)

succulent kokedama — He’s actually seemingly happy to wrap his roots around the ball, despite that I have re-mossed and strung him up twice now

Old kokedama — Last year I made Chrysanthemum kokedamas’, they looked gorgeous but didn’t sell, seems people didn’t dig flowering indoor plants. I plonked this one in my garden, the moss and string is slightly falling off but the roots have gone down, the plant has shot up and it looks like it will flower by mother’s day!

Crazy hair Kokedama — The ever popular crazy hair kokedama! The moss is going slightly green (I like that) the string going brown, they’re all natural products this is what you should expect to happen. Eventually that string will start falling off. I may wait till it’s easy to come off then re-string or I might just re-string over it…haven’t decided yet.

Elderly kokedama — That’s what I did with this one. If you have any succulents around they don’t mind going into old dry soil. This string of pearls is more happy here than what it was in it’s pot, and the kokedama is happy because now it’s supporting another plant!

So take care y’all, remember indoor plants need less watering during the winter months. Number one killer is too much love! If you have kokedamas, let them dry out completely before soaking.

I will be back for next months (Haratua) Maramataka Māori gardening guide, hopefully before the New Moon! Oh, and keep your eyes peeled, working in the background are some busy beavers and I believe I’m going to be having a new website soon-ish!! I’ve been wanting a new website that is a bit easier to navigate to find plants and relevant information and my wishes might be coming true, whoop whoop!!

Maramataka Māori for April 2021

April 10, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

I’m a little late this month sorry, Martinborough Fair snuck up on me as has the New Moon which is tomorrrow (12th April). Thank goodness it’s a day of rest and there’s naught to do in the māra (garden)..

So, what can we do for the rest of the moon calendar for this glorious Autumnal month; Paengawhāwhā, the 11th month of the Māori year..

Haohaoata, 14th April

A very good day for planting out any seedlings you have on hand. Have you got your garlic beds ready? Compost and/or manure them now (until first quarter) so they’ll be ready for your cloves next month’s full moon. Or maybe you’re going to plant them early to try to beat rust? What’s the plan? (I have an article here about fungal diseases, mainly powdery mildew but there’s links to rust and garlic possible solutions..)

Tamatea kai ariki, 18th April

According to the maramataka that I follow (Ātiawa version) Tamatea kai ariki can be a bit changeable weather wise. If it’s been raining and it’s not now- go and compost + mulch all your fruit trees today. If it’s actually raining now- then when it’s stopped go and do the same!

Māwharu, 23rd April

Plant out your compost crops, lupins, broadbeans etc. If you’re in a warm enough area, last chance saloon to sow your cornsalad and rocket (cornsalad is a fantastic green to have on hand for winter salads and rocket of course to give it a kick) silverbeet, rainbow chard, brassicas inc. kale, peas, miners lettuce, celery, parsley and coriander. For us in the colder parts of NZ, you can still plant out seedlings.

Atua, 24th April

It’s not a good day for planting but it’s a great day to foliar feed your garden.

Turu, 25th April

From midday you can get back into your planting and make use of the long weekend. A lot of winter vegies like your brassicas and celery are heavy feeders so give your beds lots of goodness before planting them in- manure, compost, lime if you have it- and mulch, mulch, mulch.

Rākanui (day after Full Moon), 28th April

The next two days are the best for your root vegetables – if you’re in a warm-ish area this is your last chance to sow carrots + beetroot. the Full Moon period is the best time to plant garlic, you can do so this month or wait til next month.

Takirua māheahea, 30th April – Tangaroa piri a mua, 4th May

Take it easy!

Tangaroa piri a roto, 5th May

For the next four days finish off your winter beds, whether it’s manuring/composting them, planting cover crops or compost crops, double digging if you’re into that, putting out the last of your seedlings and mulching, mulching, mulching. Prep your strawberry beds too.

Perfect time to harvest your keepers – potatoes, pumpkins, kumara, dried beans, apples and pears.

If you have herbs that are grown for their roots you can start bringing them up now. Yellow dock, Comfrey, Echinacea, Chicory, Valerian, Elecampane, Horseradish, Marshmallow. Or you can wait ’til next last quarter.

Mauri, 10th May

Kua oti! Smashed it! Well done, take a load off as we’re coming up to the New Moon (Whiro) period.

And hey, if you’ve got some time, feel free to give me some feedback, it sometimes feels like I’m talking to an empty room on this blog! x

Easter Adventures and Wildcrafting

April 5, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

I was going to write a post up about how Autumn is the time to start tidying up your herb gardens. Cutting back spent flowers heads etc but the weather has gone from fairly horrid to even worse and I’m not going to go out there to take photos to support the write up. You’ll just have to read this post that I wrote up last year – that quite honestly, probably says the same as what I would say this year!

So what I will write about instead is our day out yesterday…

**_{So windy that rainbows were created on the water from the spray it was picking up. Beautiful.}**

Easter Sunday we took a trip down to Ocean Beach on the Wairarapa coast. The wind was so strong it was bloomin’ nuts, it was the type of wind where you had to turn your face so sand/grit wouldn’t peckle your face. The type of wind where you worry that your small child might fly like a kite. The type of wind that makes you slightly stumble, dig in your heels and lean in like a picture in a kids book. It was so fun ~ it felt like a real adventure!

Fennel seed heads to forage — _{Wild fennel seed heads ripe for the picking.}

Along the banks and hills of this coast is oceans of wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) – so much so that you couldn’t smell the sea air for the smell of fennel. I love the sweet aniseed-y smell but the kids didn’t (strange children!). I collected seed anyway as fennel seed is a wonderful carminative and excellent for sore bellies, for more info on identification and the medicinal uses of fennel go here, to The Wild Food Huntress. The seed is said to be good used in cosmetics as well, especially to help smooth out wrinkles (according to one of my old books ‘A Country Herbal’ by Lesley Gordon).

Wild fennel seed heads ripe for the picking.

Perhaps it would go well with all the gorgeous rosehips I also found on our adventure. Rosehips are most well known for their vitamin C content – made into a syrup and taken as a preventative for the common cold. There’s heaps that you can do with rosehips from jellies and rosehip vodka to nourishing moisturisers. Homegrown Botanica uses rosehips in one of her moisturisers and has a wee article here about rosehips.

Rosehips, foraging — **_{It’s a really crap photo I know, blame the wind!}**

Any rosehips can be used, if foraging you’re most likely to come across Dog Rose (Rosa canina) where the hips are smooth-ish and the sepals have fallen off the ends (Dog rose is what I had come across and collected). Sweet Briar Rose (Rosa rubiginosa) have pricklier hips, sepals attached (like a wee skirt at the end of the fruit) and fragrant leaves. Dog rose is much more pleasant to harvest!

Collecting Kawakawa — _{Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum)}

To top off my surprise foraging adventure (I wasn’t expecting to find goodies, but fortunately I always have a pair of secateurs in the car!) was Kawakawa (Macropiper excelsum). Kawakawa is a bit of a family favourite as a tea – especially blended with Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citriodora) and Peppermint (Mentha x piperita). Relaxing but invigorating.

The holes on Kawakawa leaves are created by a caterpillar of a native moth and indicative of the choicest leaves. — ***_{Holes are a good sign!}***

Before harvesting Kawakawa always ask the bush if it is OK to take from they – if you know an appropriate karakia (prayer) even better. Harvest from the sunny side, never take too much, only what you need and if the leaves have holes in them (caused by the caterpillar of a native moth) they must be the tastiest so choose those! Dry as you would other herbs; in a warm dark space. Take care to not bruise the leaves in transit from harvest to drying space. And thank the Kawakawa plant before you go!

_{A bit of cuteness to end this post! My youngest didn’t fly like a kite but he did climb the Manukas’ like a monkey}

Maramataka Māori for March 2021

March 10, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

So how did things go for you in the garden last month? Take notes (if you don’t already) on what seems to have worked for you and what didn’t really fly, it’s the best way to know your garden better, all our gardens are different!

You can feel Autumn in the air now hey, especially in the mornings… For March or Poutūterangi, the tenth month of the Māori year; Kua hauhake te kai, the crops are now taken up.

Poutūterangi, the tenth month of the Māori year, begins on the night of the New Moon (Whiro), this year that is the 13th March. I follow the Ātiawa version of Maramataka.

Please take mind that these are not hard and fast rules by any means, take into consideration your climate and what the weather is doing. You know your garden best and this ain’t gospel! If you have not read anything of mine regarding Maramataka I recommend you read this article here.

Whiro, 13th March

On the first day of the New Moon it’s a time to just admire your garden (which is probably looking a little scraggly by now!) rather than do any work on it.

But from the next day (Tirea) til the First Quarter (Tamatea whakapau, 22 March), mulch, prepare, compost and manure your garden beds for winter planting.

Seeds to sow are the same as last month, winter veg such as cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, kale, lettuce, onions (warm areas), silverbeet and chard. Celery, miners lettuce (if it hasn’t self sown) corn salad and peas. Not just edible peas but flowering sweet peas too. Other flowers to sow are calendula, heartease (violas), chamomile, hollyhocks, sweet william, forget-me-nots, columbine + verbascum.

An interlude…

The way our moon shows itself is slightly different each month, sometimes first quarter can come 6 days after the New Moon, often 7 (average is actually 7.4 days), sometimes 9 days, as is the case with this month (a clear explanation of the lunar phases can be found here on Wikipedia). Which makes it quite hard to be really specific about what night is called what and have it line up with what the Moon is doing. So I’m being a little generalistic this month. Back in the days of old when this happened some nights were omitted, Huna (the 11th night) being the first to go. To read more about how bloody confusing it can be and the different variations depending on what iwi was making the calls, have a go at reading this article here courtesy of Victoria University.

Lesson over, carrying on!

Tamatea angaanga, 19th March

If it’s a dry day, today is a good day to harvest your culinary herbs to dry for winter flavour – and any other produce you want to keep. Main crop potatoes, drying beans, pumpkins (but only if the pumpkin stem is browning). Dry herbs in a dark warm place, hot water cupboards are perfect for small quantities.

Māwharu, 24th March

Good day for planting out your annuals, anything that you’re not growing to be able to store at a later date.. Most winter crops are for eating in the here and now so you’re good to go.

Three days before the Full Moon (the 27th) is a great time to foliar and root feed any plants that are established and have more growth to do.

Rākanui + Rākaumatohi, 30th (day after Full Moon) + 31st March

Full Moon energy a go-go! A good day to plant plants out ~ especially root veges like carrot, beetroot, parsnips, turnips and swedes. Get those spring bulbs in.

Tangaroa piri a mua, 4th April (start of the Last Quarter period)

Another nine day period between Last Quarter and New Moon, but we stop work in the māra (garden) on the 9th April (Mauri) three days before the New Moon.

Last chance saloon for a lot of us (especially in colder areas) to do seed sowing for the winter/spring garden.
Transplant and weed
Harvest! Harvest! Harvest! Exciting times, yes, we grow our gardens to to pick and eat straight away but the real beauty is when you’re able to harvest and then store or or process our produce to eat during the scarce winter months and the ironically even scarcer spring time months. Nicola Galloway has some beautiful preserving recipes if you need any inspiration.
Remember to save seed from your best growers, here’s how to save tomato seed.
If it’s been dry check your young fruit trees and shallow rooted trees like citrus and feijoa, any subtropicals (lucky people!), water, mulch again if necessary.
Clean up your gooseberries, currants + raspberries and finish off the pruning of your stone fruit.

Mauri, 9th April

The Moon is retreating, sit back and look at your work, take note of any lessons you’ve learnt. Those of us in cold climates, hate to say it, but look at getting your frost cloths etc sorted (if it’s not too late 🤞).

It’s a Garden Update..

February 25, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Hasn’t the weather been glorious of late! We have definitely been soaking it up and making the most of it. I do love Autumn but I know that it can hit us ever so suddenly and it’s all over rover before the togs have even dried on the washing line!

Tomato gardening — _{A good bunch of toms ready for this warm sun to ripen them.}

I’m hoping the good weather lasts long enough for my tomatoes to ripen. I must admit I got a little despondent with all the crap weather we were having that I kind of neglected my tomatoes and some of my plants went hell for leather creating laterals and beautiful bushiness, at the expense of my fruit. I gave them all a trim last week and I have a couple of mighty plants with a mere two tomatoes growing, gah! A good reminder lesson to keep those laterals (the growth in-between the main stem and branches) pinched out and to trim off excess leaves (so the toms get the warmth of the sunshine to ripen).

Agria potatoes — *_{The best roasting potatoes out there; Agria}*

I got a bit slack in mounding up my potatoes this year too, but I’m pretty happy with the harvest all the same. Red Rascals, big beautiful Agria and Matariki (they’re still in the ground). Potatoes are such a winning crop to grow, home grown organic potatoes taste so much better and the satisfaction of digging them up.. it’s good for the soul! If you grow them in containers it’s pretty good for the ego too. You just tip them out and you feel oh so clever for not having to get your hands dirty!

After harvesting your potatoes from the garden grow some mustard in it place to cleanse the soil and keep it nicely covered for winter. As long as my potatoes don’t get scab I grow them in the same plot for three years, so mustard is really important for my particular garden.

The herb garden has been going off, and the bees are LOVING it. They filled up on motherwort, then catnip, now they’re onto the oregano. Always the borage, and white sage has been there for them all summer too.

White sage plants have been more popular than ever this season and I am coming near to the end of my stock, unfortunately there will be a good few people missing out, I’m sorry!! I have re-homed 170 white sage plants so far this season, phew!

Full moon tomorrow, I have my spring bulbs ready to plant out, where exactly will be todays job! If you haven’t checked out what to do this month in the garden according to Maramataka Māori, I’ve worked it all out for you here.

Maramataka Māori for February 2021

February 8, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

Maramataka Māori, gardening by the moon NZ

Haere mai! Welcome to my first “what you ought to do in your garden according to Maramataka Maōri for this month” guide. I will eventually think of a more nifty title!

Now, when I say February, I actually mean Huitanguru, the ninth month of the Māori year, which begins on the night of the New Moon (Whiro), this year that is the 12th February. I follow the Ātiawa version of Maramataka.

So without further ado, let’s get into it!

Whiro, 12th February

This is a time to plan; think about where you’re going to put all the seeds you sowed during last quarter or what you will sow for your autumn and winter crops. Generally though, whilst the moon is hidden, duck down yourself, put your feet up and relax.

Haohaoata, 14th February

If you weren’t able to get seeds sown during last quarter (did coincide with kids going back to school after all – or in our case, Unschoolers Camp in Foxton) today is the day to do it. Think not just about what you want to grow to eat but also cover crops/green manure crops like mustard (especially where solancae/nightshade family were growing) buckwheat and phacelia. It seems early but flowers and herbs for Autumn and Spring need to be sown now too – think hollyhock, calendula, chamomile and sweet pea. Coriander and dill.

Tamatea angaanga, 18th February

If the weather is playing nice (it can be unpredictable at this moon phase) it’s a good day for harvesting crops/seeds etc that require drying and storing (read, herbs, beans, corn, garlic/onion, potatoes).

Huna, 22 February

If you want to go woo woo – this is a beautiful night to give your appreciation to the ocean and the god of the sea, atua Tangaroa.

Māwharu, 23 February

The best day (very early morning or early evening) for foliar feeding your plants.

Rākaunui + Rākaumatohi, 27th (day after full moon) + 28th February

Full moon energy a go-go! A good day to plant plants out ~ especially root veges like carrot, beetroot, parsnips, turnips and swedes. Have you got any spring bulbs yet? Plant them during these two days.

Oike, 1st March

A give back moon, give your love (aroha) and appreciation to Papatūānuku and all that she gives you ~ what can you give back apart from caring for your patch of earth?

Korekore, 3rd March – 5th March

Take it easy my friends because we’re coming up to last quarter and if you want to be well set up for Autumn, Winter and Spring…Last quarter is going to be well busy!

Tangaroa piri a mua (Last Quarter), 6th March

Hold onto your hats people, we have five days of productive activity before we get near the next New Moon…

If you’ve got it in you, this is what you need to be doing for this months last quarter;

Sow seeds, think of your greens; spinach, chard, miners lettuce, corn salad.
Prick out seedlings, transplant and weed.
Harvest, dry and store seeds, including your beans.
Should have all your onion, garlic and shallots out and storing well. Check they’re all in a dry place and not going soft in any places.
Spray roses with seaweed, make sure the roots are well moist and give ’em a liquid feed.
Sow anemones and ranuculi for winter flowering.
Finish planting all your spring bulbs (esp if in cool climate NZ)
Water and feed your dahlias
Take geranium cuttings
If you haven’t already; prune apricots, peaches and plums, best to do this after your trees have fruited and before the cold sets in, to avoid silver leaf.

Get this all done by Thursday the 11th March you’ll be away laughing and relaxing for the New Moon period.

Hope you have found this useful! xx

Dried Herb Update

January 24, 2021 By SandRa Timmins Leave a Comment

I’ve changed my system, I’ve updated my dried herb listings and I even have a couple of new herbs available… Whoop whoop!

Dried nettle, NZ Stoneygroundherbs — *_{Lesser nettle (Urtica urens)}*

My original game plan from the inception of Stoney Ground Herbs was to grow herbs en masse to dry and have available for the home herbalist and professional herbalist alike. I have made various discoveries over time about demand for certain herbs, the sort of quantities that tea makers are looking for and; that it’s quite a thankless task as a product to sell…..!

As an example, I will hand pick each chamomile flower, I will get a whole basket full, I then dry it, it looks stunning, smells stunning and weighs nothing!

german chamomile, dried, baby balm, uses — *_{German Chamomile}*

Then someone will ask if they could “just” get 500g of chamomile. 500grams is a shat load of dried herb! Even if I did have 500g of any herb the price I would charge is out of a lot of people’s ball park~ and my prices have probably been too low for the amount of mahi (work) that goes into growing, thriving, harvesting (non machine), drying, processing + packaging the herb.

There are people whom totally appreciate the work, the product, the fact that it is locally (NZ) grown and organic and that they’re supporting a small business. Hell, I would’ve given up a long time ago if it weren’t for these people. But I also appreciate that it’s actually quite hard to get your head around what sort of volume you’ll be getting for the quantity requested.

This is where we welcome my new way of selling dried herb…

I will now be selling my herbs by volume in these fabulous biodegradable pottles. I have two sizes available, 24oz and 12oz.

The smaller pottle will be useful for one off medicinal balms, tinctures, syrups and for single blend teas or a component of a blended tea. The larger pottle for the true lovers of the particular herb or those that have a particular need for a fair share of herb.

Dried self heal, NZ Stoneygroundherbs — *_{Self heal}*

New dried herbs available are Self heal (Prunella vulgaris), Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), and Sage (Salvia officinalis). Think healing balms, teas, natural remedies, medicine making.

I have a new format for my listings and one of the biggest changes is transparency. You can see exactly how much you will be getting, you will know what part of the herb you’re getting, whether it’s available, potential uses and you will know when it was harvested. Check it out here, using Motherwort as an example.

Some people have trouble on my website locating what dried herbs I have, we’re working on this. In the meantime, if you are on your mobile; go to the three lines underneath my logo, that will take you to a drop down menu, beside Dried herbs there is a wee + sign, press that and you’ll get another drop down menu with the individual listings (press on them to see the details). If you’re on desktop/laptop, hover your cursor over Dried herbs to see the drop down menu. If you click directly on Dried herbs you’ll see my tikanga for my dried herbs, which is always interesting to know eh!

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