Celebrate the appearance of the Matariki star cluster, traditionally a time to plan for the upcoming growing season
Pikopiko is a New Zealand native fern.
1. Paydirt
On arrival in Aotearoa in the 13th century, one of the first things Māori would have realised was that the plants and seeds they had brought from east Polynesia may not love their new home – and some amelioration of conditions was needed.
To combat the cooler climes and extend the growing season necessary for the crops to fruit, soils often needed improving to both lighten and warm them. Kūmara, for example, grows best in light, sandy soils, in mounds or on sunny slopes.
In the absence of these, kirikiri (gravel), pumice and even wood charcoal were added. This increases drainage and aeration, and the stones absorb the sun’s heat releasing it during the cool of the night. Stones might also be placed around plants for the same effect. Often twigs and leaves would also be incorporated into the planting mounds to aid aeration and drainage and enrich the soil as they decompose.
By the by, manure was never used as a fertiliser. It was believed to be unclean and not something to offer the Earth Mother figure, Papatūānuku. However, wood ash was applied to firm loams but not fertile friable soils.
2. Observation deck
The Western tradition of naming the first day of spring in the southern hemisphere as September 1 is a construct as much for convenience as anything else.
Nature is not so inflexible, spring begins when it will, according to its own rhythms. Nor did Māori have such a fixed date, but the word for spring indicates the importance of identifying its appearance.
Kōanga means the turning of the kō, a planting tool, spring is the time to prepare the soil for planting. Spring can be recognised by observation of the natural world – certain plants might start growing in response to changes in soil temperature; others to lengthening daylight hours and rising air temperatures.
The flowering of the kōwhai is a traditional sign that spring is beginning; as are the first calls of the pīpīwharauroa (shining cuckoo), announcing their return after over-wintering in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Like farmers, contemporary gardeners are well-placed to observe for themselves when the time is ripe for sowing and planting in spring, with or without the help of modern technology.
When the Pīpīwharauroa (shining bronze cuckoo) migrated to New Zealand was a great indication that the climate was perfect to plant kūmara.
3. Golden vane
Not only is the kōwhai a beautiful and elegant tree – even when not in flower – its wood is the hardest native timber, burning hotter than coal even. According to Māori mātauranga, if the stunning golden blossoms appear on the tree from the top down, a cold wet spring will ensue. If, however, they appear on the lower branches first, then you can look forward to a warmer period.
Plant in the sun or semi-shade in moist but not wet soil. The eight species throughout the motu have different growth habits and flowering times and are acclimatised to specific locales. Up your success rate by planting the right species for your region.
The kōwhai is New Zealand’s unofficial national flower.
4. By the light of the moon
Almost all civilisations, from the ancient Mesopotamians on, have looked to the skies for assistance with growing plants. The predominant lunar calendars available today for gardeners appear to have arrived via European, and then North American farmers.
The main rationale is that the moon’s light and gravitational pull affect the soil’s moisture content and influence plant growth and development. This calendar lists optimal periods for a range of gardening chores from planting above-ground and root crops, grafting trees, weeding and transplanting.
The Māori calendar, maramataka, is more precise as to days but has fewer specified chores. As well as including fishing, it nominates specific days of the lunar cycle for planting individual crops such as kūmara, melons, gourds and seedlings.
For example, while the third, fourth, fifth and eighth days after the new moon are good for planting, the sixth and seventh are not recommended. While the scientific jury remains out on lunar calendars, today numerous gardeners and farmers, like their forebears, swear by it, and what better than one especially attuned to Aotearoa conditions?
5. Gourd almighty
In the absence of pottery, gourds were of particular importance to Māori who brought the seeds with them – making the vine the first crop to be propagated by seed in Aotearoa; kūmara and taro being increased vegetatively.
Needing a good five to six months of warmth from whoa to go, gourds were traditionally germinated in spring, first by wrapping the seeds in fern fronds and leaving them under running water for a few days. Then, at the appropriate time in the lunar cycle, they were sown in a basket of humus and kept warm, either near a fire or with heated stones.
The seedlings were planted in hollows, usually with stones around them to keep in the heat, and earthed up once established. Often these mounds had large rocks in the centres for the vigorous vines to spread over, although they would scramble up and over anything, from banks to trellises and even trees. Plants are best spaced at least one metre apart.
The immature fruit when used as a vegetable in midsummer is called kotawa. The immature fruit, known as hue, is ready for picking when the stem has turned brown. To cure, stored inside for up to six months. Then it is ready for its variety of uses, traditionally these were primarily as food containers and water vessels, but they were also turned into the likes of musical instruments and even floats.
Gourd seeds are readily available commercially in New Zealand.
Hue (gourd) was often used as a vessel to hold food and water.
6. Matagouri/tūmatakuru
Although relatively slow-growing, its tangling, twisting dense habit and brutally long spines make plausible the anecdotal reports of matagouri, along with ongaonga (stinging nettle) and taramea (speargrass), being used in pā fortifications.
More common in the South Island, its natural habitats are stony river beds, coastal dunes and rocky subalpine regions. So, give it a sunny dry spot under windows, around garden beds and along boundary lines to maximise its protective qualities. Few robbers, human or otherwise, are willing to broach it.
Matagouri is a plant found only in New Zealand, that is covered in thorns and can grow up to 6 metres tall.
7. Getting away
Like farmers and gardeners everywhere, Māori knew the joys and trials of crops growing too well. In most parts of Aotearoa, the rhizomes of bracken or rauaruhe (aka fernroot) were the most important source of starch to pre-Pākehā inhabitants. Rather, they crushed it before placing it on embers to roast.
Even though this fern is a native and found in abundance throughout the land in open habitats, it was also cultivated, often in forest clearings rather than in the gardens. This was to minimise the impact its invasive nature would have on nearby crops.
Huruwhenua (fern) reproduces via spores rather than seeding or producing flowers.
However, some considered the richer forest soil imbued the roots with a pleasant nutty flavour. Often, rather than attempt to rid fallow soil of the wiry mat of its underground rhizomes, Māori found it easier to start a new garden somewhere else.
As weedy as it may be considered, bracken is an attractive plant and its fronds are valued for floristry. However, it is considered by modern horticulturalists to be difficult to propagate by spore. Nor does it transplant readily. Getting it established in your garden may be a matter of good luck – or bad.
Text Mary Lovell-Smith
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