It is getting cold in the garden now.

Broccoli, kale, cauliflower and spinach are growing in the gardens at the moment. And peas, which are being eaten and enjoyed by all the passers-by. We’ve loved nurturing the kai and taking some home to share with whānau.

Today we decided to do an experiment. Whaea Clare was talking to us about soaking some types of seeds in water before we plant them. The theory is that this helps break down the outer coating and rehydrates the inside of the seed, meaning you get faster germination and stronger seedlings.

To test this theory we decided to do the ‘pea in the bag’ trick - we soaked some seeds in worm juice, another in seaweed fertiliser and one in water to see whether any of the resulting seedlings grow stronger and bigger than the others.

After a week the water one is working the best, which we found surprising. What will July bring, and how will the experiment go?