Another great week

This week was another great week in the classroom and on the farm in sustainable agriculture. We were tested on our knowledge of farm work and planting with a tough test on Tuesday. We also had many interesting discussions on Monday on the many facets of sustainability through water, agriculture and environmental systems as a whole.

On the farm we are making great strides in our year-two students main projects for this semester. Trevor Ryan and I were able to finish priming the chicken coup with its first full coat of paint. We should be able to finish painting soon so it’s ready for the possible El Nino and more importantly, the chickens. Once painting is done we will be able to prep the insides for our four chickens. Our other main project is the pond and at the helm is it's capable captain, Stevie. Wednesday proved fruitful as another good day of digging and shaping took place and we are all looking forward to its aesthetic presence once it's completed.

The main goal of the farm is food, and we are looking to have plenty of it. The one beds are looking very healthy and we are planning to have all sorts of good crops ready for you later next month. Soon it’ll be harvesting time and we will all be chowing down on some locally, sustainably grown produce.

--Alex J. [with edits--see later blog for coop "in progress" picture]

How Sustainable We Are

Gabriel harvesting and showing me how to use clippers!

In Mr. Stewart's classroom, we get down to business. During his presentations, and discussions of organic farming, we mainly focus on being conservative and sustainable in our farm.

He reminds us, that sustainability is enduring long term maintenance of resources and systems; environmentally, economically, and socially. Our class's goal is to maximize the effectiveness of time and space in the smallest- scale growing area. One way we practice sustainability, is by mimicking nature. Students take nature walks to the marsh occasionally to observe the agriculture and compare it to the farm. We evaluate, debate, and conclude best practices in our farm.

Three ways we practice sustainability in the farm is by deep soil preparation, composting, and intensive planting/ spacing. In the beginning stages of our One Bed Projects, to prepare the soil we used a technique called," Double Digging".

Double Digging enhances nutrient availability, holds the water better than compact soils and requires less water. It also improves soil structure minimizing erosion.

Composting doesn't cost as much as chemical fertilizers. It saves resources because it doesn't need as much as chemical fertilizers. Composting improves plant growth and reduces the impact on the environment.

Intensive planting (spacing) gives off a lot of benefits. We plant our seeds efficiently and organize to minimize the space used. Spacing retains more water and soil, and reduces the amount of weeds/ invasive species in the bed.

Sustainable agriculture should be taught everywhere. We are learning how to be conservative and minimize the effects of the drought. Not only are we learning these concepts but we are taking action. Come out on Fridays to our Farmers Market days and support our farm!

--Alex P.

Seminar and Companions

This week we had a seminar in which we spoke about the meaning of sustainability in relation to agriculture, different planting techniques, how these techniques provide sufficient crop yield and support ecosystems. We also discussed soil erosion and soil fertility, and the impact they have on agriculture and the environment, by using examples from both local and global impacts. Another subject that was discussed was the use of freshwater globally; currently, approximately 70% of global freshwater is used by agriculture. We discussed whether this is how freshwater should be used, whether this amount should be reduced, and how this can be reduced. It also brought up the discussion about who is primarily responsible for water conservation – the farmer or consumer. The next day, as most of you know, we took our first midterm of the year, hopefully everyone did well.

On another note, my group and I began our new management job, which is Companions. So far, we have been weeding the "P" beds and the paths next to them. Such weeds include dandelions and some large bushy/grassy weeds I do not know the name of. We have also identified some companion species such as bees, and have also seen a garden mouse and a hummingbird in the farm. I am also adding a picture of the "A" beds, as they are growing very well. [Editor's note: Also spotted this week: a garden snake, a couple hawks, a sand piper--it's an ecosystem!]

Have a Happy Halloween Everyone!

Jean-Marc Beddow

Another great market day!

Last Friday, October 23rd, we had our third market day of the school year. Just in time for Halloween! We sold lots of produce grown on our farm. 

During class time on Friday we spent time prepping for the market by harvesting and sorting food made on the farm as well as making signs and organizing everything as needed. During seventh period and after school we began selling our fresh and organic produce. 

We sold decorative Indian corn for the upcoming holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving) as well of tons of other goodies. We had an excellent selection of squash harvested from the farm as well as fresh basil, cilantro, and catnip many students spent class time harvesting just hours before. 

We set up a table displaying our organic selection as well as signs with names and prices of the crops. We set out a sign near the entrance of the school to advertise the market we had going on. Some students went around into the classrooms of available teachers offering the delicious and freshly picked foods we had for sale. Parents picking up students and students themselves even stopped by to get in on the action. 

In total we raised about $170! Good job to everyone who helped make it successful.

-Erica Pohl, 5th period

Why SustAg?

 

Why do high school students pick Sustainable Agriculture to take for their science course?  

Students sit in a class for 6 hours a day and often lose focus and get overwhelmed.  Sustainable Agriculture is a great way to breath fresh air while enjoying the outdoors working with nature.  Sustainability is a huge part in world today and this class keeps the world more sustainable everyday.  The class focuses on working with your classmates as a team. Most of the time the class is out on the farm working on their management job or their one bed project.  Students are paired up with a group at the beginning the school year. There are four different jobs. The four jobs are Compost, Watering, Maintenance and Companions. Everyone has one job for four weeks before rotating to the next job.  You and your group participate in these jobs to help keep the farm in shape. Along the way you start learning more and more about the different tasks needed to make the project a success. The more information you know about your job the better you can do.  Sustainable Agriculture is all about teamwork. Everyone plays an important role to ensure the farm runs is productive and run smoothly. I believe this is what makes the class interesting and special.

I asked students from my class why they picked pick Sustainable Agriculture. JD told me that he wanted to learn the principles of Sustainability.  Chad was interested in the environmental field. He thought it would be cool to take a class that was outdoors and different. These students knew it would be special class.  

The class is something most of us look forward to every day.  It is one of the most enjoyable parts of the school day. I suggest you take Sustainable Agriculture to learn about environmental issues, teamwork and how to make our world more sustainable and productive.

--Zach 

Composting for the first time

I just recently finished my composting job with my group. I had never composted in my life and I had a great experience learning how to build a strong compost pile. I learned about the different layers of the pile you need. First, you need to start with "browns" which are basically weeds or dried up crops that won't be used for selling or eating. We built a structure with some old corn stalks to start the shape of our pile, then, after you add the browns, you place a layer of greens on top and spread them around. We would have to take the green can to the CEA each day to receive the greens which are just after lunch food scraps. After we spread the greens out on the pile while maintaining the square shape of the pile, we sprinkle about two handfuls of inoculants on top of the pile to give the pile nutrients to create strong compost. Lastly, you water it. I enjoyed the composting job because we are using recyclable material to recycle it again all within the garden. I look forward to learning about new management jobs, and creating a compost pile of my own.

—Jenna E

Farm Maintenance

This week on our farm, our maintenance group started a new project with the one beds. Towards the back of the farm, unfortunately, there were a few beds that weren't doing as well. So we went over and we picked all the little plants in the beds, aerated the soil, and planted some new bell beans. We made 4-5 inch spacing and planted the beans, after they had been soaked in water for a little bit. Then we watered the soil, and we are in high hopes that these beans will grow well this time!

As for all the other one beds, the whole class has been doing fairly well! When I walk into the farm, the beds are covered with green everywhere. Some of the common plants I see are potatoes, fava beans, brussel sprouts, basil, and beets. I'm really impressed that we are able to grow all these crops during this season! We also switched maintenance jobs at the beginning of this week, so everyone is in charge of something new. My group has passed down our water duty to someone else, and we are now doing maintenance, which consists of improving the farm, maintaining the farm, and also making sure that all the tools get put back in the shed at the end of the day.

This Friday was also a market day. We spent most of the day harvesting food from our beds and in the hoophouse. We were able to harvest lemon verbena, basil, cilantro, squash, tomatoes, bell bean leaves, kale, and catnip. We spent time making them look neat and presentable, and separating them into bunches next to the signs that indicated their price. The cart and the stand looked very nice, and I heard that the market did well this week! It's so great that we're able to sell these delicious, "organic" crops that we grew ourselves to parents and families. It's the perfect way to be sustainable!

-Yewon Ahn

Our beautiful one beds! 

Getting our new maintenance job assignments! 

Grey Water!

Today in Sustainable Agriculture, we had an Issue with our water system which cut off water supply to our drip irrigation system and many of the hoses around the farm. As a current member of the watering group, my work on the farm today consisted mostly of addressing the situation by finding ways to get water to where it was needed. While I diverted water with hoses and used the sink to fill watering cans, I noticed how much dripping water we were able to catch and save simply by strategically placing buckets.

Once collected, this water is called 'grey water' and is defined as "gently used water that may contain traces of dirt and/or other materials." While this grey water would not be safe for people to drink, it can be used in many places around the farm. While California still in the midst of a major drought, as Sustainable Agriculturalists we have a duty to conserve water however we can. Increasing our grey water use would be an excellent way to do so.

Many plant families including small trees and shrubs are especially tolerant of grey water, so perhaps we could have a bed that thrives entirely on recycled water. Additionally, similarly to how we collect compost from the CEA, grey water could be collected from other parts of the school which would further reduce our farm's water needs. When it comes to Sustainability, every action counts and increasing our grey water use could be one more step to increasing our overall sustainability.

-Lucas 

Captions:

Dripping water being collected

Alex watering dwarf apple tree with recycled grey water

Compost

This week on the farm, and in the classroom, we learned quite a bit about composting and soil. During class on Monday and Tuesday, we watched a video called The Symphony of soil, which detailed different soil and land types across the world, as well as an intricate explanation of how the soil quality effects the life that inhabits it. A lot of farmers and producers all noted the use of compost in their farms, which went together with the notes we had taken in class the prior week. The video emphasized the importance of composting because of how it improves soil structure, absorbency, and, of course, returns key nutrients to the soil. It acts as a natural fertilizer.

In the most recent cycle of management jobs, my group has been in charge of the compost pile. In the beginning, we began to build a pile using a lot of dried shrubs and sunflower husks as our "browns". According to our notes and the video, it should account for about 45% of the piles volume. Our "greens" that we used came mostly from the CEA's bin of excess food. Like the browns, the greens should account for approximately 45% of the volume. The remaining 10% should come from an inoculant. We used older compost, but found that we needed to add more as we built the pile because we exhibited a lower temperature than what is desired for a compost pile. The internal temperature rose about seven or eight degrees Fahrenheit within a week of adding more inoculant.

Because we did not have class on Wednesday this week, we will be returning to the farm and working on our pile on Friday.

Monica K

Fotos y Infomacion en Español

Casa verde
Es in Lugar en la granja que esta diseñada para plantar mas con menos recursos como por ejemplo en los speeding tray puedes plantar muchas plantar al mismo tiempo y ahorrar mucha Agua.

"Speedling Trays and Flats"

El Gallinero

El gallinero aun no tiene habitantes pero es algo que me llama la atencion parque se generara abono para las plantas y para hacer el suelo mejor.

—Ricardo

Soil Reporting

The purpose of the soil report is give you a heads up on the amount of nutrients and organic matter your soil has as well as the percentage of sand, silt and clay. It's important to know these factors so you can figure out how much nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium,sulfur, and the amount of acidity your soil needs. While we plant, its important to note that some plants take away the nutrients in the soil while other plants add nutrients to the soil. During this report, we learned how to do the texture testing, also known as "feel method", which lets us know the type of soil we have. For example my group was able to find out that our soil was 10% sand and 20% sandy loam [you mean clay? What about other 70%?]. The PH [and nutrient] testing is when we when we take a soil sample and mix it with water, then we match the colors with the % lacking in P,N and K. This gives us an idea of how much blood meal as well as other macronutrients we need to add to our soil. The percentage in sand, silt and clay lets us know what our soil is lacking in, you are able to tell by looking at the different layers of the soil when it's in the cylinder.

On Friday, students were making more compost, which is a very important element for the soil, working on their management jobs, weeding around the farm and adding their amendments to their plant beds.—Hugo D. [with editor notes]

Testing Soil Texture!

RHS Sustainable Agriculture Blog 10/9/15

This week during Sustainable Agriculture we were on the farm on Wednesday for a short thirty-five minutes, and again on Friday for a full block period. Our main focus of the week was working on our soil reports from our beds.

One of the most important things that we have been doing for the past week is testing the texture of our soil. The texture of soil is very important when it comes to farming and growing plants sustainably. Soil texture is determined by the percent composition of sand, silt and clay. Too much sand results in too much water percolating down into the ground, and too much clay results in too much water pooling up at the surface. The optimal type of soil is loam, which is a mixture of sand, silt and clay.

Last Friday we tested the texture of our soil using the first method: shake test / soil triangle. First we determined the percent composition of sand, clay, and silt in our soil, using the graduated cylinder with a soil solution from our bed. My group's soil sample was composed of 87.5% sand, 12.5% silt and 0% clay. This results in the soil type of loamy sand. In addition, we had 12 mL of organic matter in our soil.

On Wednesday, we used a second method (feel/squeeze) to determine the texture and type of our soil. First we grabbed a handful of soil from our bed and wet it with a little bit of water. First we had to determine if our soil could remain in a ball if we squeezed it. Our soil remained. Then we had to create ribbons out of our soil, which were short ribbons. Then we added water to determine if our soil was smooth or gritty. Ours was gritty. With all of the observations, we determined that our soil is sand loam. Ideally, our soil should have a little more clay and silt to have a soil texture.

-- Maddy Peng

Symphony of the Soil

Our week in Sustainable Agriculture has been centered on our soil at the FARM and its sustainability. To begin we took notes on water, soil, and compost to learn different irrigation methods and how to classify soil. We then watched a documentary called "Symphony of the Soil," to clarify the importance, abundance, and classifications of soil. Soil testing, we learned through a Youtube video and the documentary, can be done by a squeeze test and/or by testing the chemical pH balance and nutrients. When we got to work on the farm, we were able to get hands on experience with both of these methods. My group was assigned to test the pH of the soil, and we did so by filling a test chamber with our soil, water, and a green capsule mix. After it settled, we compared to the color of the soil to a pH chart, and got a 6.75 pH. During this time, other groups were sampling the amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Through calculations we found out that our soil was a little depleted of nitrogen. To fix this we added about half a pound of Alfalfa meal (3 handfuls), a handful of bone meal, and a handful of epsom salt to retain water. We stirred these organic materials and carefully spread the mixture across our beds.

Every time we add something or take away something, we affect the sustainability of our farm because we are trying to minimize inputs while maximizing output. However, these were purposeful inputs to amend our soil and therefore have a healthier farm.

-Jenny Green

Maintenance on The Farm

This week in sustainable agriculture we got our projects back and made edits and then later turned in our projects and presented some interesting facts about our crops. On block day we had a talk about water conservation and how to save water. The man talked about the months when the most water is used and why that is and how much to water plants based on their root depth to conserve water. 

On the farm we worked on our management jobs. My management job is maintenance and our group worked on one of the E beds. We dug up the soil and then layered the compost onto after weeding of course. We were not able to plant anything yet but we were able to make the bed really nice so when we find out what to plant it will be all ready to go. The maintenance group also dug the trench for the pipe to reach the E beds for an easier way to water them. 

That was the week and an insight into what the maintenance group is doing.

Morgan G

Oct. 2 2015 Blog Entry - Water Conservation

Hello Everyone, this week in Sustainable Agriculture we had a very special guest.  Shasta, from the Marin Municipal Water District came and spoke to our class about the importance of Water Conservation during the worst drought California has ever faced. Because California is the fifth largest food producer in the world,  he suggested that we try to conserve water by taking shorter showers and to leave a bucket in our shower so that we can use the excess shower water for watering plants.  He also discussed how even though the reservoirs in Marin County are full at the moment, the water supply will only last for 1 or 2 more years to come.  Shasta also discussed how snowpacks are California's largest factor in replenishing water to our reservoirs. He talked about how recently, due to climate change and the heating up of the earth, snow hasn't been able to form and less water has been saved in these packs during the winter seasons, thus contributing to the drought.  We also discussed what Evapotranspiration was and how it is the sum of evaporation and transpiration from the globes land and ocean surfaces.  This provides information on how much water is needed after evaporation and transpiration has occurred in order to replenish the lost water. However the lost water in California is not being replenished due to the major drought.  Some of the reasons for water loss are:

• temperature
• wind
• solar radiation

According to Shasta the most water lost was in July, rather than August which was on average hotter.  It turns out that more water was lost in July because of the more hours of direct sunlight July had over August.

Also a part of this week was starting our new job assignments.  The maintenance group continued work on the trench for the future the pipeline as well as prepped one of the E beds for planting.  As a part of prepping the bed, since the previous soil was too compacted to be double dug, John, the ​​adviser, had assigned the maintenance group to cover the compacted top soil with a layer of compost and then used forks and a U-bar to mix the compacted soil with the new compost.  

The beds in the farm seem to actually be growing, which thanks to Mr. Stewart, means we have successfully begun what we hope to be soon a thriving sustainable farm.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!  

Thanks for reading. 

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Crop Report And Soil

This week in Sustainable Agriculture, we started out by working on our crop report. On Monday we had a chance to edit our reports, and on Tuesday each student presented their crop to the class. Each student told the class a couple of interesting things that they found about their crop. A fact that I found interesting about the Dragon fruit is that it originated from Mexico. Another interesting fact that I heard from the presentations is that Basil was first put into cultivation in India! 

On Wednesday, we started off the day by being introduced to our new Soil and Water unit. We were given some papers that explained the soil experiments that we had to do within the next month or so. Knowing the health of the soil in our beds is very important because the healthier the soil is, the healthier the plants are going to be. We would know the health of the soil by measuring how much Humus(nutrients) it has, and how much silt/clay is in it. In the next few weeks we can be able to determine whether or not our soil is healthy and if it's not, we might have to add more compost and other types of minerals to it.

Moeen Chaya

​My Crop (Green Pea)