School
The subjects that we have to study during this semester are completely different in several aspects than the ones in the first semester and I have huge trouble to get my head around them! The subjects are: Plant Science, Soils and Weeds, Pests & Diseases. These subjects are of course very important and interlinked. Since my focus is on Bio Dynamics I try to take this perspective, which doesn’t make it any easier – not for me and not for the tutors!
One of the tests for Plant Science was around herbicides. In practice this meant that we had to prepare several herbicides and spray them in a certain part of the school garden. As some of you may guess, I did not want to do this and needed to have a talk with the tutor. He, luckily, was very understandable and thus I could pull out of this (in my opinion unnecessary) experiment.
A same approach I wanted to take in the assignment for Weeds, Pests & Diseases where we have to write a spray management programme for a vineyard. I have tried to change this into a Bio Dynamic approach but have troubles finding the necessary information and I will possibly not be able to get enough marks by doing it this ‘alternative’ way. So, I had to go back to Plan A, just do what the tutor asks you to do (not easy for Anita).
Some of you have asked me about the wines we were making. These are about finished but we would need to filter these wines before we are able to bottle our top quality products. However, the filter machine in the school vineyard is broken and so we have to wait, and wait and wait a bit more………to be continued.
Weather
A few weeks ago it was suddenly like an ‘upside down’ world in the Marlborough (the area where Blenheim is located). It rained very heavily for a few days, resulting in extreme flooding in and around town. Not a usual sight in this mainly dry area. Roads were blocked and it caused damage to houses. However, we were very lucky in comparison with other areas of the country where damage was more severe.
Sports
Lately I have not been sporting very much. I have tried playing badminton, which was great but caused me a calf injury, keeping me from playing soccer. Then I started playing soccer again and I injured my foot, so now I am totally out of action, although I try to go to the gym whenever I have some ‘spare time’.
Marco in Blenheim & house sitting
This weekend I have been asked to housesit for friends who have a cat that needs to be looked after. The house is located in between the vineyards, sheep and looks out on the snow capped mountains. In short, a real holiday destination.
The subjects that we have to study during this semester are completely different in several aspects than the ones in the first semester and I have huge trouble to get my head around them! The subjects are: Plant Science, Soils and Weeds, Pests & Diseases. These subjects are of course very important and interlinked. Since my focus is on Bio Dynamics I try to take this perspective, which doesn’t make it any easier – not for me and not for the tutors!
One of the tests for Plant Science was around herbicides. In practice this meant that we had to prepare several herbicides and spray them in a certain part of the school garden. As some of you may guess, I did not want to do this and needed to have a talk with the tutor. He, luckily, was very understandable and thus I could pull out of this (in my opinion unnecessary) experiment.
A same approach I wanted to take in the assignment for Weeds, Pests & Diseases where we have to write a spray management programme for a vineyard. I have tried to change this into a Bio Dynamic approach but have troubles finding the necessary information and I will possibly not be able to get enough marks by doing it this ‘alternative’ way. So, I had to go back to Plan A, just do what the tutor asks you to do (not easy for Anita).
Some of you have asked me about the wines we were making. These are about finished but we would need to filter these wines before we are able to bottle our top quality products. However, the filter machine in the school vineyard is broken and so we have to wait, and wait and wait a bit more………to be continued.
Weather
A few weeks ago it was suddenly like an ‘upside down’ world in the Marlborough (the area where Blenheim is located). It rained very heavily for a few days, resulting in extreme flooding in and around town. Not a usual sight in this mainly dry area. Roads were blocked and it caused damage to houses. However, we were very lucky in comparison with other areas of the country where damage was more severe.
Sports
Lately I have not been sporting very much. I have tried playing badminton, which was great but caused me a calf injury, keeping me from playing soccer. Then I started playing soccer again and I injured my foot, so now I am totally out of action, although I try to go to the gym whenever I have some ‘spare time’.
Marco in Blenheim & house sitting
This weekend I have been asked to housesit for friends who have a cat that needs to be looked after. The house is located in between the vineyards, sheep and looks out on the snow capped mountains. In short, a real holiday destination.
I picked up Marco from the airport in the morning (missing part of my lectures) and we drove to Picton to enjoy this village, which mainly exists because of the ferry terminal to/from Wellington. It is lovely located on the sea and the Marlborough sounds. Here we walked and sat around a bit – watching the (very slowly paced) life go by.
We also watched a rugby match in Blenheim – unfortunately, the regional team “Tasman” lost pretty badly from the visiting Hawke’s Bay side.
Now, we have another week at school and then we are out on a 4 day school trip to the Nelson and Motueka area (the western side of the top of the South Island). This will be filled with visiting vineyards and wineries; a lot of wine tasting will be part of the trip. Needless to say, that I am very much looking forward to spend some time out of the Marlborough region and experience other places where grapes are grown and wine is made in different ways.
Cheers,
Anita
