First Week at The RHS Farm

On the first block day of working at the farm there was a lot of work that needed to be done. We had to create new farm beds to grow plants on. We did this by sheet mulching. Sheet mulching is layered mulch system that can suppress weed growth, reduce labor and maintenance costs, improve the soil, and improve the health of the plants. The other thing we did was double dug an existing farm bed. Double digging helps to aerate the soil, helps roots go deeper into the ground, improves soil drainage,  and cycles nutrients to the top so plants can use it. That was what the class did the entire time. On Wednesday September 3rd, the second block day, there was a greater variety of activities that the students could do. There were people doing weeding and filling the paths with wood chips. People were picking tomatoes and weighing other types of food so that people can use them. People were making compost piles which can be used as compost later on. Creating compost is necessary in order to have a sustainable farm. There were some people that were creating a few more beds and double digging those beds as well. The rest of the people were working on their personal beds and that is what has been going on in the first couple of weeks of Sustainable Agriculture.