Giving a tour of the farm

This week, 6th period Sustag had the opportunity to show a group of kids from Del Mar middle school around the farm. The kids were from all grades and were in a class that focused on the environment. The kids were split up into groups of 3-4 and then they were paired with a one bed group. Each group showed the kids around the farm. Talking about their farm jobs, what they had grown, and about having the chickens. My group was the compost crew and we showed two 8th graders and one seventh grader how to create the compost piles by the hoop house. My group members also showed the kids the tool shed and told them about what tools are important for certain things. The reason that this class from Del Mar came to Redwood was because they have hopes of building a farm at their school. Hopefully they were able to gain some understanding on how to maintain a sustainable farm. 

-Jay Mcconnell

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Bed Upkeep and Farm Maintenance

This week on the farm did not involve the introduction of any new beds, trips, or market prep. This week's classes focused rather on maintaining our current projects. After getting assigned their class beds and planting in them about two weeks ago, students are continuing to water and pay close attention to how their seedlings are doing. In my group's class bed, A5 South, we planted around 24 purple kale seedlings. These kales were transferred from flats, where we began growing them weeks ago. We were initially concerned for our kale as our group has seen little to no growth in the crops since planting them. However, Mr. Stewart assured us that the slow growth is normal because of our late Fall planting. We will continue to water and care for our plants throughout the season and will hopefully see more growth when the weather gets warmer again. If the kale shows no progress in the next few weeks, we will have to pull it from our bed and plant something else. Though unfortunate, this is not uncommon and shows us the reality of growing these kinds of crops during winter. 

Also this week, we worked in our groups on our somewhat new management jobs. My group is Companions so we spent a portion of the block day looking around the farm, where we found Earthworms, Rollie Pollies, and Cucumber Beetles. We also found a Green Cricket on one of the trees near our bed and what we believe was an Ear Wig larva in our group bed's soil.

-Tessa

 

Companions Scavenger Hunt!

This week we had a late start to week due to unexpected power outages but we got right back to tending to our one beds and class beds on Thursday. My bed group has the class bed D1, the flower bed, to prepare this bed we pulled the bermuda grass and other weeds from it so that we could broadcast flower seeds across the bed. Besides our class bed we have been researching inside and outside of the classroom different companions that are a vital part of our farm and the ecosystem. We have learned some are pests and some are helpful as well as how to identify them while we work on the farm. As we learned about different weeds like bermuda grass, spotted cat's ear, fennel, purslane and many more we drew them so that we could identify them. We also drew animal companions such as cucumber beetles, aphids, worms and more. We put our new knowledge to the test on friday by completing a scavenger hunt. The goal was to collect 10 different companions on the farm and present them to Mr. Stewart. Our group collected, spotted cat's ear, bermuda grass, purslane, pantain, willow weed, beetle, worm, roly poly, crab grass, and nutsedge. - Giselle Z

New beds and one beds

Currently, on the farm, every student has just got assigned a new bed and a new management job ranging from the water crew to management crew and many more. Currently, in our one beds, which are sixty square feet, we are watering and weeding and trying to set the best opportunity for our plants to grow and eventually be sold at our markets. In our one beds, my group at the beginning of the year planted potatoes, leaf lettuce beans and kale that was fully grown from a group the prior year.  

Now with our new beds, we have just finished clearing the weeds from them and now we are beginning to plant or maintain what was already planted therefrom, prior groups. 

To begin the semester I was the watering crew, where we handled the drip irrigation and anything to do with water around the farm. I have recently switched to the companion group. Their job is to weed anywhere that needs weeding and write down any organisms they see around the farm. Every student will have a chance to experience every job at least one time throughout the year.

Kane Lauterman

         

Market Preparation and Companions Update

With the recent power outages, our new Market Day this month has been moved to Friday, November 8th. This week, we caught up on farm work and prepared to harvest. Items available at the market this week are pumpkins, lettuce, beets, herbs, flowers, kale and more fall crops. These have all been growing on the farm notably. For each piece of produce harvested, it's weight and crop category are recorded. These are kept as records for future reference. We have also focused on companions this week in class. We conducted an Area Search in both the farm and nearby marsh. A few of the organisms recorded in the farm included a falcon, house finches, and geese. Companions in the marsh included egrets, gulls, and ducks. This activity illustrated how our farm works to mimic nature by allowing any and all companions to come and go as they please.

-Kayla Bennett

Trip to the RHS marsh

On block day of sustainable agriculture this week, our class presented our one-beds and took a trip to the RHS marsh. As we are all aware, the one-bed projects have been an integral part of our exposure to practicing sustainable agriculture. Being able to share our one-beds was a transparent way to compare and contrast the planting techniques, soil types, and overall aesthetic present in our farm. Following the one-bed presentations, we walked to the RHS marsh. The objective of this block day adventure was to compare and contrast the marsh and RHS farm while studying plants and animals that are present. I, along with many of my classmates, appreciated the serenity at the marsh, and being quiet was crucial so that animals wouldn't be disturbed. I saw many black phoebes, a few black-necked stilts, and an abundance of fennel and pickleweed. Shortly after, we went to the farm and took note of the naturally occurring plants and animals which excludes the chickens and any purposely planted crops. I saw many spotted cat's ear which is an invasive weed and some geese flying over the farm. Although the RHS marsh and farm have obvious differences, the farm does a great job mimicking nature and using sustainable practices. - Elena

Companion Scavenger Hunt

What is a companion? By definition it is

 a pair of things that are intended to complement or match each other. On the farm we have all kinds of companions big or small, but they all have an effect. We had to find 2 animal and 8 plant companions. On the list we received in class it had its "outliers", meaning that there are animals that would be considered rare to see on the farm. All the bed groups went off around the farm looking for the plants or animals on the list. Once you thought you had identified the plants or animals correctly you would go tell Mr. Stewart. He would then grade you off of how many plants or animals you identify properly. Overall it was a fun, and educational game

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-Isaak Kreft

Bed Update!

It has been roughly 2 months since we first planted seeds into our group beds which have all been maintained and cared for. From my group bed we have harvested basil and arugula that  were sold at the market. The beds are looking much cleaner than they were at the beginning of the year, when you could barely see the paths that divide the beds. Now all the group beds in the Sustag farm are preparing to harvest particular crops that will be sold at the Sustag market. Every bed has had it's soil tested for it's N-P-K values and acidity levels. N-P-K are the essential macronutrients every plant and soil needs to survive and prosper, Nitrogen is responsible for the growth of healthy leaves on a plant. Phosphorus helps the root grow healthy and strong, while Potassium helps the overall functions of the plant. We tested to make sure that the soil in our beds had a balanced amount of each, if it did not we added more N-P-K depending on what value you needed most. Now that our beds have been amended with the proper macronutrients and are in all in a balanced healthy state we will continue to take care of them and prepare for future harvest days. --Blake

Power Outage Water Stoppage

Just this last week we were out of school monday, tuesday, and wednesday due to a power outage, so we missed time on the farm and in class for Sust. Ag. This power outage also caused one major issue on the Farm. Our automatic watering system was now turned off, this meant we had to go to the farm to water our beds to ensure our plants stayed happy and healthy. We have an automatic watering system on our farm and it helps to water every bed by using a process called drip irrigation. However this great system was useless with the power out, so students had to go in and water their beds with the watering cans and hoses we have on the farm. We went back to the farm Thursday in class and all the beds were doing fine so the issue was thankfully avoided. This just goes to show you can't always rely on technology to do things for you, make sure to follow the Sust. Ag. Instagram as well @rhssustag.

Chris Fuegner

Outreach!

Companions!

This week was wonky because of the county wide power outages, and we only had school for two days. On Thursday in class, we learned about companions. We made a key of companions in our journals so we can spot invasives, pests, and edible plants out on the farm. Friday was a farm day, and we did a companions scavenger hunt. We used our notes to find 10 companions from the farm, and then we had to present them to Mr. Stewart. The rest of the farm day was spent working on our class beds, and our one beds. My class bed is D4, and my groups work consisted of heavy weeding and sprinkling flower seeds in the east section of the bed. 

-Luke McLay

(Spotted cucumber beetle)