Pickling Pickles

This week in sustainable agriculture we learned the process of fermentation. On block day, Wednesday, we all brought in glass jars to do some fermentation of our own. (See photo below) The process mostly consists of adding hard, in season, vegetables, spices such as pickling peppers, sriracha, and crushed chili, and mixing a brine to ratio of 1 tablespoon of salt/1 cup of water. As preparation to this we answered a series of questions to dig deeper chemical fermentation process. Through this we learned what the key bacteria is in the entire pickling process, a bacteria by the name of lactobacilli (Pronounced Lac-toe-back-sil-i). This bacteria thrives in an anaerobic environment and consumes the sugars of the pickling vegetable to survive and multiply. To help with this process we added approximately ½ of a cap of apple cider vinegar. This helps with the breaking down process by adding more lactobacilli before the jar is even sealed. In roughly 5 days we will be able to open our pickling jars and be able to enjoy our various pickled veggies for next week's iron chef.  --Kaelin

Food Miles

This week we began a small project where we looked at sustainable food sources and a specific type of cookie. We looked at all the ingredients of the cookie in order to see how far each ingredient has come to be on our table.  

During class this week we watched a comical film about organic foods are being taken over by inorganic foods. The organic foods were fighting back to try and keep their presence felt in the grocery store. In our society organic foods are being overpowered and people are buying more inorganic foods from other locations around the world instead of locally grown fruits and vegetables like we have grown on our farm. This movie gave us a good basis for our next unit of food that we will be studying.

We then got introduced to our cookie or "Food Miles" worksheet. We looked at a type of cookie and its ingredients. I choose a peanut butter cookie that has ten ingredients from all over the world. For starters the sugar of two types, brown and granulated are farmed over 5,000 miles away in Brazil. Most of the other ingredients are from all over the U.S. and South America which had to travel thousands of miles to get to your kitchen in order to make you peanut butter cookies. The only ingredient used in the cookies that originates in California are the eggs. I had no idea how far these ingredients had to travel and it really didn't cross my mind until this activity that most ingredients we use for a regular cookie are not even close to locally grown.

Luke Zlatunich

Flooded One Beds

This week in sustainable agriculture, we completed our Winter planning and one bed calculations. Due to harsh weather conditions, winter is the least likely time to obtain sustainable yields, especially through seedlings. As a result of this difficulty, students began new plants in starter flats which allow seeds to develop roots early on in healthy soil. Once mature enough, the starters can be transported to beds boosting growth and maximizing output. Heavy givers are also highly incentivised to plant in the Winter time as they return nitrogen and other key nutrients to the soil. Crops such as fava beans also excrete substances that help eradicate wilt-causing organisms. The soil in the one beds and on the farm isn't very sustainable right now due to extreme flooding of the paths and not a lot of drainage, which has caused the soil to become severely watered down. Students have also begun to add compost to their beds which will better the chances of crops thriving under the difficult weather, as opposed to planting them directly in the flooded soil.

Drew Jacks

Marin Food Policy Council meeting Tuesday January 16, 2018

Zach Martinez

Today I went to the Marin Food Policy Council meeting in lieu of Audrey.  It was very interesting, and I learned a lot!  We went over and deeply discussed many topics, all pertaining to food.  As soon as I had arrived to 3240 Kerner Boulevard, Bonnie introduced herself to me in a very excited manner and asked who I was, I had then explained that I was there representing Redwood High since Audrey was unable to make it.  She directed me towards the yummy fresh and natural locally gardened snacks, and from there we quickly got to work.  First I learned about the MFPC, and I learned that it was founded to find issues with food in Marin County.  We followed a strict schedule from 3pm till 5pm with many serious topics in search of answers and solutions.  Directly at 3 we started the announcements.  One thing I thought interesting was the creation of a new app created by the County of Marin, called the Food Now App.  This app allows you to get all the locations of the nearest and cheapest locally grown produce and food, which is super cool!  

We continued to follow the schedule as we started planning for 2018 since this was the first meeting of the year, but because of the groups size we did another activity. We split into two groups to discuss topics.  I very much enjoyed this activity because it gave me the setting and ability to list my ideas and be part of the group.  We primarily discussed Farm to School Policy (nutrition education to youth), since this was the topic I was most familiar with.  We talked about the importance of youths knowledge on the topics, and how kids not only need to be told about it but in my opinion we need the actual hands on working in the outdoors to really see the beauty and importance of natural foods at the pristine environment.  But the first step is to raise the youth and staffs awareness towards the importance of this.  Other topics we discussed include Senior Food accessibility, Urban Ag municipal policies, processing and distribution of food in the County, and Equitable access updates policies.  After the meeting they thanked me for my contribution and involvement, and since I had enjoyed learning about how Marin County Plans their farming I asked for the dates of the next meetings.  And since this was very interesting I will likely be participating in these monthly meetings in the future.  

Last week

This week in sustainable agriculture, the students worked through the cold weather. We did lots of practical work on the farm, consisting of fixing up the nets and transplanting a few new seedlings.

We had lots of students helping out with planting in the C beds. The lettuce was fixed up and the nets covering the rows were straightened out. We needed to find new rocks and logs to hold down the cloth. The metal hoops also needed to be redug.

New seedling were also planted in the C beds as well as they student beds, prepping for our new winter planning season. Peas, radishes, and beans were planted al throughout the A beds. 

Per usual, weeding was done throughout the week, making our plants healthier and our farm look more organized.

Addie

Food and Food Systems

Fourth-period sustainable agriculture began our second week of our second semester by reading and taking notes on the introduction and preface of our handy textbook, How to Grow More Vegetables. Throughout this reading, we gained knowledge on current agricultural methods and how our nation should be leaning towards more sustainable farming techniques in order to preserve our valuable resources while keeping up with our high food yield.

Mr. Stewart started off the week on Tuesday, after our lovely three day weekend, by presenting to our class about Food and Food Systems. This presentation focused mainly on how humans are most significantly impacting our earth, and what we can do to help mitigate the harm we have caused and prevent further damage. Many students were surprised to learn the depth of impact in which food preparation, transportation, and consumption have on the environment.

On Wednesday, January 17, we spent the block period in our lovely farm, focusing on planting new crops for our winter season. Many beds were prepared by harvesting, weeding, and clearing out sections to plant. My group (A3) decided to remove unsuccessful growth and start over with kale, rutabaga, peas, and beans. As the groups set up their beds for the winter season, we are all excited to see our farm's future yield!

- Marielle McMullen