Sustag Farmers Market

This week in Sustag we had our last farmers market of the year. The Sustag market is a very important part of the class because it helps students understand the whole agriculture system and its supply chain. It allows students to actually sell the products they grew, and through this action see how produce is taken from the farm to the consumer. It is easy to see the food you buy and not think twice how it got to your table. However, the Sustag farmers market allows students to see how the food is planted, grown, harvested, and sold. It teaches the supply chain at each level, with the final level being sales at the farmers market. This hands-on take to learning the supply chain allows students to have a better knowledge of how much time and labor goes into the food on their plate. Another part of the farmers market that is important is selling the product. Through the sales of produce, students learn what to make with different vegetables, if a customer asks. This knowledge will allow students to know what recipes are best for certain crops as opposed to other crops. With the knowledge of the supply chain and how to cook different crops students are able to fully understand commercial agriculture and how their food gets from farm to table.

By Maggie Robison

Final Project

       This week in Sustag my group and I worked on our final project. We actually did the physical work this week. During the prior week, our work related to the final project largely consisted of us making plans. Our project is attaching a gutter to the roof of the chicken coop and attaching pipes to allow water to go down to a bucket where it may be used. On Tuesday after school, we went to Home Depot to acquire the necessary supplies needed. The supplies that we purchased were: a gutter, clips to hold the gutter in, mesh and attachments for the gutter to go downward. We used these supplies to build a sustainable water catchment system. The rain tested our system out and it worked well. The water from the rain flowed down to the bucket and all that's left is for us to put a top on the bucket so that when the temperature rises it doesn't overheat. —john

Bumper Crop

by Georgia B

This week in sustag we harvested lettuce and chard and delivered it to teachers around campus. The lettuce and chard is growing in beds A15 and A16. This lettuce was also harvested and was used in the farm to fork in class on friday. It was fun to be able to grow and harvest produce from the farm and deliver it to teachers around campus. They all really appreciated getting organic lettuce and chard grown right from the farm. It was exciting to be able to deliver fresh produce to them that we had seen grow and flourish right on the farm and know that they were going to use it. It was fun to see how the lettuce and chard that was growing in these beds flourished and we were able to harvest bundles of it and know that it was gonna go to good use. Compared to other beds on the farm, these two seem to be doing exceptionally well and it was amazing to see how fast the lettuce and chard seemed to grow. Although I personally did not plant the lettuce or chard, it it always uplifting to see when certain produce or plants do well on the farm and this is definitely one that will last for a while.

Mini Greenhouse

This past week, my group and I started to really get going on our project, Haiden, Diego, and I all went to Home Depot to get all the supplies we need to make our project as good as possible. We got 50 feet of PVC pipe and several attachments to go along with it. We also got plastic sheeting that you can see on the current hoop house in the farm. Our project is basically a mini hoop house for the strawberry bed. Strawberries are among the most demanded item from our farm and we believe that this will help bring some revenue in on market days. Not only will it bring money in, strawberries and extremely delicious and we want to make sure that the strawberries being grown at the farm are the best they can possibly be. You never know, maybe one day the Redwood high school farm will be awarded to best strawberries in Northern California! We have to go back to a hardware store to buy a few more items, however, we are confident that we can make our project something the farm uses for a long time. We really wanted to build something that would be used and where we could come back in years down the road to see how he helped the Redwood farm. Below are some pictures of what we expect our project to look like. —Evan

We are using PVC pipe, not wood, however it will look similar to this. We liked the idea of the retractable roof so you can get in and weed around the strawberries, but our design has shown to be light so you can just lift it up and move it.

Starting our spring final project

This week we started working on our final project. This project is focused on giving back to the farm and community by implementing everything we have learned this year into a project of our choice. For my groups project we chose to work on the 2 strawberry beds and get them ready for the upcoming growing season. Strawberries are perennials which mean they last for more than 2 years so the dead strawberries from the past growing season is still there. This past week we spent most of the time weeding between each bed so the individual plants have less competition and can get all the nutrients they need. After weeding the beds, we added a bunch of fresh soil and compost to give the soil some great nutrients. Lastly, we added mulch in the form of straw, in between each strawberry plant. Mulch is very important because it gives the plants and temperature buffer and protects them from cold or hot temperatures. Mulch also helps the plants retain water and helps keeps weeds out.
--charlie

Worm Composting

From addressing the issue of flooding, to creating a pumpkin patch, sustainable agriculture kids are in the process of developing their final projects.

For my final project, I am working with Alex to establish a worm compost system onto our farm. As of the moment, we have found a used worm composting tower, have allocated a space on the farm for the tower, and have begun setting the space up to accommodate the worms. Over the summer, the worms will need a space where they can stay cool and hydrated, so we have set up shade netting in the "worm spot" to protect them from the heat and we will rigging extended irrigation to their tower that is synced to the crops' irrigation schedule. We have also asked around for worms but are also going to use worms from our own beds and around the farm in the mix. And finally, we will need to create and install a sign to remind people of the worms and help them locate the tower as well.

Hopefully, through the establishment of this worm compost system, we will be able to produce more compost and at a faster rate to help close the loop on our farm. (Image: our worm spot with shade netting)

- Sarah

Socratic Seminar

This week in class, we put our knowledge to the test through doing a socratic seminar! We prepped for three separate discussion questions overviewing topics we have learned thus far in the semester, but with a twist. Each of us chose a book to read and log throughout the month, to ultimately write a report on. We each applied our new knowledge we gained from our books and applied it to our socratic questions to discuss in front of the class in the circle, backing our point thoughtfully with data and statistics from our readings. The first discussion question covered the topic of themes in society, economics, and the environment that are interlocked through sustainability, where we shared ideas from our books on how to promote these themes. The second question expressed the concerns of unsustainable practices. Students shared how to address these problems with specific examples of solutions,, and prioritizing what would be a good method for immediate action.  These included such things as installing insulation is a way to combat CO2 emissions sustainably, and other practices that every individual can do, due to not everyone having access to a farm like ours. The third and final question we discussed focused on the future. Students proposed their examples from their books that demonstrated a sustainable future for agricultural systems. Our class agreed that a community based system is easier, and more productive than doing so single handedly. Teamwork makes the dream work! Overall, this socratic seminar was a success, it was interesting to see all the different sustainable approaches each author took, whether it was a sustainable lifestyle, or farming, there were many ideas we could apply to our own lives and class farm! —Sophia

CEA and SustAg

The weather has gotten warmer over the past month, causing increased plant growth and blooming of flowers. Many transplants have been planted, including tomatoes and beans that will contribute to our future market days as the good weather continues. Lettuce and chard transplants in beds A15 and A16 are doing especially well; their growth is a result of their biointensive spacing that places them closer together to discourage growth of weeds. Some of this lettuce and chard was sold to the CEA this week along with some kale from the D beds. This shows progress towards school sustainability because locally-grown greens are now being implemented in the CEA's meals. Making a greater effort to connect CEA food to Redwood's Sustainable Agriculture farm would reduce Redwood's carbon footprint if we further implement this in the future. —Alex

Final Projects Have Begun!

We've dived straight into the first week of May with our final projects for Mr. Stewart's class. Wednesday, 5/1, was our first official, full class Project Work Day.

My group, consisting of myself and two other girls, is building new slots for compost piles. We've brought in wooden pallets and laid them out by the hoop house, to mimic the current slots the farm already has. The sifter by the entrance in the hoop house has been moved back to the chicken coop, where another group is conducting their project. These pallets are roughly the same size as the ones previously brought in, so the goal is to make all of the slots a similar or identical size.

These final projects inspire creativity and promote taking initiative, making them a fun challenge! It will be exciting to see how they will transform the farm.

Final Projects

         This second semester of sustainable agriculture has been focusing on why we do various things a specific way such as sustainable farming techniques: intensive plant spacing, using certified organic inputs, etc… While we have learned about why we grow organically and use specific inputs on the farm, we have observed how we could improve the farm even more. We have also been influenced with ideas from guest speakers, a number of documentaries, and Mr. Stewart to determine a final project that can benefit the community as a whole or specifically the sustag farm.

         For my final project I have chosen to address the flooding issue that occurs on the low part of the farm. Currently there is not a lot of drainage on the farm to keep the water flowing. In result, the flooding occurs which disrupts the growth of plants primarily in the C beds on the east side of the farm. During rainy seasons that we have had the past couple of years also sinks those beds and takes away topsoil. The water runs down the orchard and stands in puddles in the C beds and the back south east corner of the farm. To help with the flooding problem I have started to dig trenches for the water to runoff away from the plant beds and paths. Along the fence between the farm and the orchard is where water will start to develop which will make its way towards the exterior of the farm. The water will then go through a French drain pipe so it can drain out near the tennis courts.

-Andrew Reinhard