Field trip

Field Trip Reflections:

Daniel Neuhoff:

On the 7th of February we were lucky enough to get the chance to go on a fascinating field trip to soil for life in Constantia. here we learnt many helpful tips that we could incorporate in our window garden.

the workshops we attended were: soil and composting, water and water wise plants and plants and planting.

soil and composting: I enjoyed seeing how they made their compost and the ingredients they used for each layer of their compost.

Water and water wise plants: At this station we learnt many useful pieces of information especially as we are in a drought and must be able to use water effectively. The part that I enjoyed was was poking holes in the bottles that is used for watering the roots of the plant instead of the leaves.

Plants and planting: This was an interesting workshop and I thoroughly enjoyed planting our own plants that we could take home and maintain. I also liked seeing the plants which we could and could not eat.

Daniel Neuhoff poking holes in bottle.

James flint holding plant for planting.

James Flint:

Our field trip took place at Soil for Life In Constantia. I found the whole field trip very interesting as me and my family have a large veggie garden. I enjoyed the aspect of helping the gardeners to deposit the compost to the other compost piles and realize how physically difficult there jobs must be. For water and water wise plants I enjoyed this workshop the must because I think it is the most relevant (with the drought South Africa and more specifically Cape Town). I found it interesting  how some plants could store/hold and ration water much better than others. The last workshop was Plants and planting which was important to me because I think that in the future plants and veggie gardens will become more popular as space becomes an issue. I also learnt that I have not been giving my plants at home enough space to grow and not suffocate/grow over each other. 

Man talking about how composting works and helps your plants.

Sebastiano Panieri:

I found the experience of the Soil for Life field trip amazing. I enjoyed every aspect of the event but found the section on water and water wise planting the most interesting to me. I enjoyed it as in Cape Town we are in a drought and it very important to be able to use water effectively. In Italy I had seen the village people using this water technique for vegetable gardens, and I now understood what they were doing, and it made sense. The section on Soil and Composting was interesting as it showed me how to keep your plants nutritionally healthy and how to make your compost in the correct way so it will maintain your plant.I also realised that my sister's plans for a compost heap at home were going to be more tricky as it makes flies, smells and takes a lot of space, which I did not realise. Plants and planting was interesting as I had realized that I had been planting wrong my whole life. It also showed me what type of plants should be placed in what environment. This field trip taught me valuable things for being able to sustain myself later on in life. We have bought a few Spekbooms for our house now!

Sebastiano Panieri making a roll to hold spekboom.