Seedling starts

Everything growing in the Redwood farm has to come from somewhere.  Most of the plants that are growing out there did not initially start there.  When plants first start to grow, they are very sensitive and they are not able to thrive in outdoor conditions.  At redwood, the farmers plant seeds in small flats that are placed in the classroom under light.  

There are many benefits for this method.  This saves water, because the overall surface area of the flat is a lot smaller than a bed in the farm, so you will never be just watering soil.  Another benefit is that it saves a lot of time.  Inspecting a bed in the farm when you're just looking at small seedlings is very tedious, whereas if you are just standing in one spot looking at the flat, you can save a lot of your time.  

Indoors, there aren't any harsh conditions that the seedlings would have to go through.  This makes it easier for them to thrive and grow as successfully as possible.  If the seedlings started outside, the chances of them being successful in their rate of growth and overall good physical appearance are very small.  Overall, using this method for seedlings is very biointensive and efficient because it allows more room for success and it saves the farmer a lot of energy and time.

Written by Kaitlyn Yang

Marin Co. Farmer's Market

On Sunday December 17th, 2017 I went to the Marin Counties Farmers Market. At the Farmers Market I noticed a certified organic farm stand called Triple T Ranch. Triple T Ranch is a farm that is certified USDA Organic and about 100 acres of growing space up in Santa Rosa. They sell most of their produce to local restaurants and at farmers markets like the one I went to. At the market I met with some workers at the farm and asked them a few questions. Given that it is the winter I asked them what types of crops they were growing. This time of year they said plants from the brassica families do very well and winter squash. Something else that caught my eye was the abundance of peppers they had at this time of the year. They said that the reason for the abundance of these types of vegetables isn't due to greenhouses or hoop houses. They had stopped growing these crops during the fall season like us. The reason they had all these vegetables was due to the amount they produced from the summer and fall season. Overall it was a great experience to learn the interesting perspectives of the farmers at Triple T Ranch.

Josh
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Carbon Farming

As we all know, we are a sustainably conscious farm and we utilize many practices such as composting, close plant spacing, drip irrigation and double dig to maintain to balance our inputs and outputs. Sustainable Agriculture is a science, and our farm is an experiment. As we work on the farm we try to improve our methods to change both our environment and our yield; in essence we are trying to find a balance with nature. California farms are the forefront of this research, and the Marin Carbon Project is a prime example. In the duration of their four year study, results show that a "one time" application of compost caused an increase in plant productivity. The soil also experienced an annual growth in carbon content over the duration of the study. This rate was almost equivalent to removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, about 1.5 metric tons per acre respectively. Our farm, although on a smaller scale, is not only using land to sustainably grow food, but is providing an opportunity for our community to reduce the effect of global emissions. Our composting kills two birds with one stone and provides as a reminder of the many indirect benefits of sustainable practices.

Julian C

Looking back: The week of November 13th

                                Brian Diaz

This week in the wonderful class of Sustainable Agriculture we did many things on the farm and of it. On Monday we spent the day in the classroom working on the companion reports that are due next week on Tuesday. On Tuesday we had time on the farm to go work. We did this because we didn't know if the forecast would be rainy so we went out to have time to work on our beds before the winter season starts We also harvested some produce to do for our farm to fork project. This was a really fun project which leads up to the Iron chef, our group should have won last time. During the block period we went to the farm for a little check up on our one beds. It was drizzling when we were out there that's why we stayed out there for a minimal amount of time which is disappointing because time flies by really quick when you're out there.

On Friday we had a sub. We were suppose to meet in the classrooms but no one was there so It must have meant we were on the farm. We worked on our one bed and that was pretty much it for the class period. Our group did a lot of weeding which our bed is filled with it. I also went around the farm to look at different plants I never had a chance to look at it and pay close attention too. I never knew we had raspberries on the farm which kind of surprised me.

Companion Report Reflection and Farm Work on Physical State

DRake  Ramos

In the recent few weeks in sustainable agriculture, we worked on our companion report. The topic I chose to write about was the Meadow Mushroom (Agaricus Campestris). I learned that Fungi such as the Agaricus Campestris feed dead organic matter which recycle 85% of the dead organic matter and release the locked up nutrients so they can be used by other organisms. I also learned that this particular mushroom isn't poisonous, the cap of the mushroom is about 10 inches and it has crowded pink gills. These mushrooms are found scattered in grassy areas in clusters or rings, fruiting from late summer to early winter in watered areas, often located near other local mushroom families, in grasslands and woodlands as well as in suburban areas.

I enjoy sustainable agriculture because the class not only teaches a very interesting, important topic and many everyday life skills for example maintenance, but you also get to be active. Earlier in the year, when it was still warm in the morning, the hard work and double digging would get would very hot sweaty and uncomfortable in my school clothes, but it has made me more fit and has taught me how to be more organized and efficient. I also enjoy working in the farm because it's my only class of the day where i'm using my hands. I think it's very cool to be able to have our own bed to grow crops ourselves. I was surprised by how neat our bed was and the amount of plants that not only thrived in our bed, but other people's beds too. Active learning I think is the best teaching style because you go through the actual process of what's happening so it's easier to remember how things work.

More on cooking

Iron Chef Competition #2:

On Monday my fellow classmates and I were reminded about our second Iron Chef Competition coming back from the break, but we were also treated to a surprise.  Mr. Stewart added that we must incorporate basil in our recipes.

My group was stumped for a minute as we began to wonder if we could continue with the plan of making pasta with pesto from the abundant fava bean leaves in the RHS Farm.  We had decided that the pesto recipe was what we wanted to make because a member in our bed group had made it for her Farm to Fork assignment and told us that it was simple to make and didn't turn out terrible.  It was only further agreed when we noticed that row E7 had an ample amount of fava bean leaves.  We didn't want to take it from our own bed in concern for the continual survival of the crop. We amended the recipe to meet the challenge by deciding that we would split the fava bean leaves and basil amount equally to make a fava bean leaf and basil pesto.  In addition, we also grouped up with bed A12 and decided upon also making kale chips and lemon verbena and mint tea, something that the individuals from that bed group had also made before.

There was a slight concern that we wouldn't have enough time to make the small meal that we had decided upon but I am confident that our decision was best.
Carmen Noyola

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Market Day

On December 1st, our Sustainable Agricultural class held our last Market Day of the semester. Despite the cold weather that usual limits growth that the winter brings, we still harvested a variety of herbs and flowers.

Our market starts after 6th period and continues through the end of school. Students, teachers, and parents all purchase our fresh goods from our stand by the flagpole.

This market we sold over $140 worth of fresh veggies and herbs which will go towards the purchasing of items for the farm such as seeds and woodchips.

The most popular item this market day was our hand picked flowers. Wes sold about 12 bundles of flowers, found variously around the garden, making $25.

Our array of herbs included: basil, lemon verbena, thyme, mint, and rosemary.

We also sold potatoes, swiss chard, kale, and bell bean leaves. In addition, we sold packages of 6 seedlings for $5.

My bed provided a large amount of bell bean leaves. We planted our bell bean plants on Sept. 27th and they have grown healthily and steadily since. The beans itself aren't ready but it is a very leafy plant and the leaves are edible. We picked leaves off our plants because the bell bean leaves are similar to spinach, and can be cooked like so.

Our next market is in February next year. We don't have a market January because during the cold season there isn't a lot of plants to harvest.  -Jordan

Looking back: New Iron Chef Challenge and Market Day!

This week in Sustainable Agriculture we had more interesting things happen. On Wednesday we had another Iron Chef competition, which was more competitive than it has ever been. Since everyone had experience with doing this competition before, each team came more prepared with what they were going to make, and brought in multiple ingredients from the farm to create their tasty masterpieces. This made the competition hard to judge because of how much effort each team put into their food, it was for the judge to pick one winner. However there can only be one winner and the group that came on top with the most tasty product was the group that made pan fried sliced  persimmons with mozzarella and topped it off with a sweet balsamic creme. 

Because this was the first week of a new month we had a new market day on Friday. Therefor Friday in class we spent our whole time on the farm preparing for the new farm market day by collecting items in the garden that were ready to be sold and eaten such as basil and mint. When preparing for the new market day we focused on making more bouquets to sell than we had in the past. This all led to another successful market day. Finally Monday and Tuesday we spent both class periods working on presenting our one beds with our teams by working hard on making and creating a presentation that best shows the progress and outcomes of everyone's one bed. Teams were dividing up responsibilities so they would be ready for when we first start presenting Friday in class. Also we ended class Tuesday with a short friendly competition to see who could give a presentation on a random topic they were given the longest without saying "like" or "um" and for some it didn't take more than a second for them to say one of them while other lasted closer to a minute. 

-Gabriel Mandossian 

Switching Seasons!

This week in Sustainable Agriculture, change was in the chilly December air! As the seasons begin to change, students are beginning to plan and prepare for the winter ahead. We kicked off the week with a focus on our one-beds: what to harvest, what to plant, and what plants we plan to transfer, all the while considering which ones are able to withstand the cold. My group, bed A4, found that legumes and onions thrive this time of year! After some research, consultation of our trusty textbooks, and some quick calculations, we all developed solid plans for conquering the winter season, along with estimates of how our planting will contribute to our overall harvest goals. As Wednesday rolled around, we bundled up and headed out to the farm bright and early to prep the farm for the upcoming months. Starting at a fresh 8 AM, respective groups headed out to do their part, and there were many things that needed to be attended to. Many of the pathways had turned to puddles, and we reinforced our pathways with cardboard and hay to hopefully maintain solid ground through the rainy days ahead. Additionally, we weeded our one beds, watered seedlings in the hoop house, and my personal favorite, planted winter seeds into flats so they will be ready to transfer by January! Groups planted bell beans, radishes, and made sure to steer clear of warm-weather plants like carrots. The flats were transferred to the classroom, where they will remain until they are big, strong, and ready to thrive in our student beds throughout the winter season, and hopefully produce a bountiful spring harvest!

--Lauren Bell

Post-Thanksgiving week

This week in SustAg was filled with a lot of flavor. Students from each class completed another farm to fork assignment that was due monday and also participated in another iron chef competition on Wednesday. Many students used Thanksgiving as a perfect way to use the food and/or herbs we harvested from the farm last week. From smashed rutabaga to butternut squash, the fresh vegetables and herbs from the farm were perfect for making a delicious thanksgiving side dish. Before the iron chef competition on Wednesday, we went out to the farm right at the start of class to harvest any last minute necessities for our dishes. Many groups in my class, including mine, made salads out of the many different kinds of fresh greens we grew in our one beds on the farm. My group made a mixed greens salad with a sweet and sour dressing. We used kale and butter lettuce as greens, and our dressing was composed of mashed raspberries, lemon juice, virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, and salt and pepper. Although I thought we were going to win the competition, Mr. Stewart chose a pesto grilled cheese and salad dish made by another group. When I tried their grilled cheese as they passed it around the class, I could tell they took a lot of time and thought to perfect it and it came out to be really good. I guess you could say they had the best of both worlds with the salad and the grilled cheese, which was probably a good reason why they took the win. I think we definitely had a disadvantage with the absence of one of our group members Josh Dabora, who is a year two student and a good chef which he has shown in his past farm to fork assignments. Although, it was a good learning experience and also a very fun time.

-Alex Aguero

Thanksgiving

This week on the farm we had a short schedule so less time was spent attending to our beds and management jobs. The class mainly focused on turning in our companions report, where each student choose a beneficial or non beneficial companion and did a report about there companion. For my project I choose to learn about slugs, a main pest on our RHS farm. A very interesting way to deal with slug or snail problem in you garden is to set up a beer trap by using stale beer. By adding a container in the ground and pouring beer in the container, the slugs and snail are attracted to the yeast and fall in the beer and drown. 

The time that was spent on the farm was used to harvest crops for our farm to fork assignment where each student selects a certain crop and incorporates it into a prepared dish at home. Its a great way to become familiar with the foods you are growing and consuming. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Important Times

Students were introduced to the One Bed Fall Project earlier this week, the most important assignment of this semester. For the entire year students have had 60 square feet of farm assigned to them, along with three other students, in which they have been growing crops. For this project students have been asked to create a compilation of all the work they have done thus far and create a powerpoint with it. Through this project students are supposed to cover aspects such as: what they have planted, how much they have harvested (in pounds and calories), what their inputs have been in respect to fertilizer, water, and labor, and other important areas of discussion. In the Sustainable Agriculture Farm students are not only growing crops, we are also growing soil. To reflect the importance of maintaining healthy soil students have been asked to report the Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus levels in their soil, along with their soil type. In my bed the soil type is Sandy Loam, which is good to have as we are striving to have Loam, the healthiest soil type. Lastly students are asked to discuss the future of their one beds in respect to what they are planting and the yields they expect to receive. Students have been working very hard on this project (as seen by the pictures attached) and everyone can't wait to hear how everyone's bed is doing.

-Alex Diaz

November Market Day

I participated in this month's RHS Farm Day after school on November third. Before participating in a farm day, I took for granted how difficult it is to sell vegetables, flowers, herbs, and other crops to high school students. I learned that you must be flexible, enthusiastic, and well informed about the crops you are selling in order to attract potential customers to the farm stand and to convince them to make purchases. For example, most of our customers were unfamiliar with bell bean leaves and skeptical of the Jerusalem artichokes. After I informed them that bell bean leaves are a substitute for spinach and that Jerusalem artichokes are prepared and eaten in the same manner as potatoes, we were able to sell several of them and introduce our customers to some new, nutritious, and tasty vegetables.

In class on Friday before the farm day, we harvested and prepped as many crops as we could find on the farm that were ready to be eaten. All of the rutabagas in my group's bed (A3) were ready for harvest, so we cleaned and weighed them and tied them in small bundles to sell at the market. I made sure to inform the customers that rutabaga leaves can be cooked like kale to make sure they wouldn't be wasted. Other crops that we harvested and sold at the market were cucumbers, basil, squash, mint, oregano, peppers, and potatoes.

Overall, the market day was a fun, informative, and enriching experience that taught me to appreciate what goes on behind the scenes and on the sales end at farmer's markets. I look forward to working at it again in the future.

- Grace McNally

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Bermuda Grass: Pest

On the farm this week my group tacked the ever troubling problem of Bermudagrass.  Bermuda grass has been a problem on our farm for a while as it is a very hard to eliminate weed that takes up nutrients from the plants we want to grow.  Part of the reason Bermuda grass is so difficult to eliminate is that it grows deep into the dirt and when young can look like other plants that we are trying to plant.  Because Bermudagrass when young looks like a non-weed one of my group members accidentally uprooted a friendly plant mistaking it for Bermudagrass.  The only way to organically eliminate Bermudagrass is to ripe it out of the ground all the way down to the root.  But because the plant is quick to spread this can be very tedious and time consuming.

Below is Bermudagrass after it has been uprooted with its large and deep root system. -Kevin Gann

The opposite of the bees knees

As most people know bees are a huge pollinator and essential part of the ecosystem. These beneficial critters help us out on the garden a lot, however these wonderful creatures have a mortal enemy. Pests. Creatures that sneak out when your back is turned and munch down your healthy crops. These creatures are know by many names, but there is one in particular that truly devastates our beloved compost crop, Fava Beans. This pest is called a cucumber beetle. It crawls around on the plants and when it finds a particularly tasty spot it munches down causing holes through out the leaves.

Now what makes these beetles so deadly? First off these little guys emerge from hibernation early in the season in order to gobble up all the emerging seedlings. The seeds that make it to maturity will suffer and even worse fate. The adult cucumber beetles will eat away at the stock, leaves, and flowers of a plant and their larvae will feed on the roots. Whats worse is that these bugs can also carry bacterial viruses and diseases from plant to plant. So even after you think you have ridded yourself of these plant eaters they may have infected your garden with bacterial wilt or the mosaic virus.

If you have had the misfortune of dealing with this pest than do your best to keep a watchful eye over newly planted seedlings. Be sure to also take them off of your crop when you can for the reasons listed above.

Aidan Rankin-Williams

Bees: Small but Significant

Buzzzz….Buzzzz…..BUZZZZ

People have polar opposite reactions to the sound of a bee flying around them as it curiously investigates what it's come across.

Some swat at it, some sprint in the opposite direction, and many simply freeze in hopes to avoid being stung.

On January 10th, 2017, the US listed the Bumble Bee on the Endangered list for the first time ever, due to the populations decrease by 90% since the 1990s. This was extremely alarming, seeing as bees are a crucial species for life as we know it to exist, because of their ability to pollinate.Without pollination, valuable crops such as almonds would not produce. Not only that, but according to Bryan Walsh from TIME, in the United States alone, bees contribute to $15 billion in crop value. For those who are driven by the dollar sign, think about this: Bees are money; no bees would lead to a devastated economy.

Every effort counts, which is why Mr. Stewart, and the Sustainable Agriculture classes have all put forth effort to have bees kept close to campus. Located in the marsh, the bees have an obviously positive effect on the thriving environment surround them.

Earlier this week, we watched an intriguing movie "More Than Honey".  We learned that ⅓ of our food would not exist without bees. Stephen Repasky, a certified master beekeeper and field technician confirms that without bees, we wouldn't have ⅓ of our food, and specifically, "80 percent of all fruits and vegetables. Without pollination, fruit yield is less and fruits and vegetables tend to be malformed." A large reason that bees are dying down could be caused by harmful pesticides we spray on crops. The chemical spray will stay on the bees, and they will bring them back to the hive where the babies are exposed to and eat it. This is seen just a few weeks later when the bees are sick.

Not only pesticides could be the problem; Bees experience a lack of nutrition when their food source is all from one crop, which is very common thanks to monoculture. Polyculture is essential because not only is it sustainable, but it's better for the bees. On the farm, we practice polyculture by planting crops from many different families on a single bed. Of course, we need to be careful which families we plant together. But, for the most part, the plants are able to thrive together successfully. Simply by avoiding monoculture, we are helping out the bees tremendously.

Local bee expert and Sustainable Agriculture alumni, Morgan Glasser, created a beekeeping business with a friend. He explains it as a huge part of his life and something he wants to pursue later on. Glasser should be an inspiration to many other teens and adults who want to make a change in their community, or even just in their garden. Having a hive of bees will most definitely improve the yield of your crops and "glow" in your garden.

If managing a hive seems like it may be too much work, then another way to support the bees would be to plant a variety of flowers that bloom at different times of year so that the bees will always have a food source.

Next time you hear that loud Buzzzz in your ear, don't run, and definitely don't swat. Instead, appreciate the bee and remember how important it is to the crops you eat, the flowers you plant, and the world you live in.

Isabella Karman

Planting

On the farm, my group and I are planting lettuce and tomatoes.  These are organic starts that come in flats of separate plant compartments that we pick out from the flats.  In order to plant them, we have to first figure out the layout in the garden.  We use a board with pegs sticking out of it at the correct spacing which gives us a template of the pattern that we will plant in.  We press the template into the dirt and when we lift it up it gives us the places to put the little plant starts.  We use that template to make sure that the plants won't be overlapping, because they will destroy each other by competing for light and water.  Keeping them spaced gives them all a better chance of survival.

After the spacing is laid out, we put individual plant starts into each of the holes.  We then get new soil from the compost pile and add that to the new plants because that's the food they need in order to get started growing in the ground.  The last step is to water them and then let them be.  After the planting is done, I am also part of the clean-up crew that makes sure all of the tools are back in place.  I also make sure they are clean and dry, so the next class can use them and so they won't get rusty.  Planting involves a lot more than just poking a plant into the ground; once the plants start to grow, we will take time to aerate the soil and make sure there are no weeds, but for now, our work is done.

Mike B

The Marsh vs The Farm

This week on the farm we took a trip to the marsh, sat there for about 20 minutes listening to the birds, bees and the wind brushing through the grass. During this time we observed everything the eye could see. Took notes on how many animals we saw, or type of grass, anything really. The marsh was a very relaxing place to sit and think too. A task that Mr. Stewart gave to us was to draw a map of what we see. After we did that we walked back to the farm and sat at the top of the hill overlooking it almost and did the same thing, take notes on what we see. We then compared what type of animals and plants we see on the farm vs the marsh. Then compared the maps that we drew of each location. Something I notice was that more animals were at the marsh and there were less weeds at the farm. 

Kelsey Siegel 

Socratic seminar

This week in sustainable agriculture we had a Socratic seminar. I was not looking forward to it because of my lack of organization, which made preparing for the seminar very difficult. Also, I generally don't like having conversations with people about topics I don't feel prepared for while being watched by other students. However, this Socratic seminar was the best one I've ever been in.

Usually, their are a few students who come into the Socratic seminar unprepared, resulting in a slow-paced discussion between the people who are prepared, which doesn't really go anywhere because they run out of things to discuss too fast. I was unprepared during the seminar but I was able to add on to the discussion just fine because I was able to apply what I learned from working on the farm into the discussion. When the question came up asking 'why soil erosion and soil fertility are major concerns for agriculture and the environment' I knew what to say during the seminar because I'd dealt with these problems at the farm. I knew that in order to solve these issues grass and shrubs had to be planted, mulch had to be added, drainage had to be improved, and the soil had to be loose because I had seen and done those things for the past three months. I'm not saying you don't have to study, I definitely would've done a lot better if I had. And if it weren't  Mr. Stewart teaching in the classroom I wouldn't have been able to connect the work I had done at the farm to the question asked. What I'm saying is that the work that I have done on the farm has given me a greater knowledge of agriculture that I can now apply to the classroom.

Tomas

The Farm's Impacts on Mental Health

     A few months into sustainable agriculture and I have noticed that everyday after class I am always feeling happy and refreshed. So, I thought it would be interesting to see if this was true for the rest of the class. How does working on the farm impact our mental health?

     Personally for me, the farm helps me relieve my stress during the school day. After sitting in classrooms all day worrying about tests and grades, it's great to take a break and be outside to focus on taking care of the farm and our beds. Simple acts such as planting seedlings or weeding my bed make me feel so much calmer. Grace Willens, a sustainable agriculture student, agrees that the farm helps her de-stress, "being out on the farm helps me relax in between classes." Zoe Stakowski appreciates how the farm offers a hands on learning environment, outside of the classroom, "The farm gives our minds a break from the stress of school, even though we are still learning!" Sam Jackson further proves my notions  by stating, "I love being outside for a period everyday. It is a nice regeneration time and is fun to work on something that you can see improve over time."

Scientific research also reinforces my notion. "Gardening shows us that we are but a small part of nature, and getting over such feelings of insularity and self-­absorption is an automatic antidepressant," says Malati Jagasia, a child psychologist based in Mumbai.

Overall, I think it's clear that being on the farm is quite beneficial both so our education and our mental health.

So with that, thank you Sustainable Agriculture!

 - Ines S

Glow up

The RHS farm has undergone some changes the are making the farm really glow-up. This past week we did quite the revamp of two beds that had not been touched since last year and we cleaned up the some of the surrounding area of the farm. With this being our first full week in a while, we had more time than we were used to in order to perform this glow-up. The class put some work into our new maintenance jobs (water, compost, maintenance, and companions.) Each having their own special set of responsibilities on the farm. My group is companions this time around and we were quite busy clearing out the weeds on the outside border of the farm as well those surrounding the few precious grape vines we have. 

    To add to the glow-up of the farm we revamped two forgotten beds adjacent to each other. These were wasted space which can't be afforded on such a small farm. So Mr. Stewart assessed us on how well we could bring them back to life. We had to weed the beds meticulously and continued to use a U-bar to aerate the soil. Next, we used an 8-inch dibble board to determine where each lettuce seedling would be planted. When planting we had to be very careful to allow the roots to be fully extended once in the ground to ensure good results from them. 

At the end of the week we had two new beds on their way to success and some good lookin' grape vines!

Sam Jackson :)

Last Week

This week block day was very busy with painting signs for the browns and sticks piles in the garden, as well as the lid for the amendments bin. Due to the composting area being moved across the farm to next to the hoop house a few weeks back, the farm was in need of some new signs to make the farm easier to navigate, and the signs will also be easy to spot for newcomers to the farm, and for those of us used to the old layout of the farm.

Other students also started to plant seedlings into 6-section carriers, and worked on building up the compost pile. Lauren and I picked up the compost from the CEA, who were happy with our arrival to take the compost out to the farm. Our beds also needed some maintenance with some weeding as well as adding some nutrients to the soil as a result of the soil tests that we finished a week ago.

On Monday and Tuesday, we worked on a lot of review for the upcoming midterm and seminar on Monday and Tuesday of next week, as well as going over the compost reading log that we finished for Tuesday's class.

Micaela W.

Dana on the Farm

Dana N. on the Farm

Just like other students in the fourth-period Sustainable agriculture, Dana is a really hard worker. Whenever she steps into the gates she is in her farm clothes, overalls, and closed toe shoes, and she is ready to work. "I'm always prepared and excited to start a new day in the garden." She helps the farm by weeding,

Watering,

Planting,

And harvesting.

Dana got her love for being in the garden after spending time at Oxbow Boarding School's garden of inspiration. She has taken that love into caring for our redwood farm. She is especially good at weeding, which comes in handy with her group's bed because it seems to always have weeds that need to be taken out. Dana also loves to use foods from the farm in her own kitchen, once recipe that she is particularly proud of is for baked squash. Dana is looking forward to spending the rest of her senior year continuing to do more hard work on the farm.

Anna Kaufman

A Great Week on the Farm

We have a seminar and midterm coming up so we focused on doing that in class on Monday and Tuesday. In the farm this week we got to add amendments to our beds. Last week we did squeeze, shake, and chemical tests using soil from our beds to determine how many lbs of amendment we had to add. After doing these tests and calculations, we determined that we had to add about 1.5-2 lbs of amendment. We used Phyto Grow which has Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium in it. I am really excited to see how this affects our plants and if they grow any stronger and faster than they were before. My one bed had a huge tomato plant in it and we decided to take it out today so that cleared up a ton of space in our bed. We also harvested a really nice rutabaga from our bed! Mr. Stewart really wanted us to use up all the bell bean seeds so we planted a lot of those in the space we had after taking out the tomato plant. Bell beans are about ½ inch thick so we planted them a ½ deep into the ground because you are supposed to plant seeds as deep as they are thick. I am in the watering group, so after planting the bell beans I watered a couple trees that border the farm and watered my bed a lot. It has been super hot lately so we are going to have to make sure our newly planted bell beans get enough water. It was a pretty great week in sust ag!

Grace Willens

New Bed

This week students focused on clearing space for a new RHS farm bed. This new bed was to come from the space previously taken by the compost piles. The current compost piles were moved to the back of the farm, against the northern facing side of the hoop house.h With the relocation of all but the September compost pile to deeper within the farm will allow for approximately 300 new square feet of previously not used planting area. With this move came the reminder that the farm was placed over an old parking lot. This became apparent when students started hitting large chunks of concrete approximately 8 inches into the soil. This fact can be negated with the use of double digging, extra soil, and compost. This will be achieved by double digging the older dirt and placing newer fertilized soil on top to form a convex (bulge) in the bed. This will allow for more depth for plants roots to grow and a less harsh mixture compared to the old dirt that has been compacted from people walking on top for years. This will be a class project over the next few weeks. With the smoke clearing it is looking to be full steam ahead with these new developments.

Kaelin Stock (I'm sorry for the lack of photos)

First Full Week in A While

This week in Sustainable Agriculture we finished our soil reports, and worked on class beds. On Monday and Tuesday we worked on the soil tests. We finished the shake test, feel test, and chemical tests, and later analyzed the data. My group found that our soil was silty clay loam and had a pH of 6.6. The class data had an average mean pH of 7.2, which was higher than the recommended 6.7pH. We wrote a narrative and summary about our soil test, and handed the assignment in on Wednesday.

On Wednesday block, we worked on class beds and planted transplanted crops. My groups' bed was covered in weeds, so we were assigned an alternate bed named C2. It was covered with a tarp so my group had to roll it up. Under the tarp was a vol, which Luke Zlatunich caught! However it escaped his hands, jumped on another student, and escaped. After this exciting event, we removed the dead grass that had died from being trapped under the tarp. Then, we aerated the soil using a spading fork, and covered the bed with a layer of compost. After, we watered the bed thoroughly, and then began to plant the celery. We used a six inch dibble board for spacing, and planted approximately half the bed with celery. We used a spoon and knife to get the celery and its roots out. We were very careful in not hurting the roots while placing them in the holes. After planting the celery, we watered the bed again to help the celery grow. We had a little time to work on our management jobs after. It was a very productive and educational week in the classroom and on the farm.

Victoria van Pruissen

Soil Report

This week in Sustainable Agriculture we completed a soil report. Day 1 of our report, each bed group received a cup and filled it to the top with a fresh soil sample from their assigned bed, using trowels to avoid tampering and interference. Once all students had their samples taken, we returned to the classroom to assess the composition. We added 20 mL of the soil sample to a 100 mL graduated cylinder and filled the rest with water. Students then covered the graduated cylinder in plastic making a tight seal, placing a hand over the top, and by inverting and shaking the cylinder, mixed the solution well for a few minutes. The graduated cylinders were then left in the classroom undisturbed for two days to let the contents settle out. Using the remaining soil, we executed a texture (feel/squeeze) test by holding a small clump of soil in our hands. Using an eyedropper, we added water to form a ball. 10-15 extra drops of water were then added to create a paste to determine if the soil felt grainy or smooth.

Day 2 of the soil report, we retrieved our graduated cylinders. Once the material in the cylinder had settled out, lines dividing sand, silt, and clay columns (in order from bottom to top) became visible. We then added up the volume of each column and recorded the total volume of the graduated cylinder. Once we had calculated the percent of sand, silt, and clay in the soil sample, we used a textural triangle to determine the texture of the soil. This was the first lab we have done in Sustainable Agriculture this year. Overall this experience was a very informative, hands on activity that taught us a lot about soil composition and how we can maximize plant growth by growing healthy soil.  
Drew J

Smoke Affects Class Time

This week in Sustainable Agriculture was heavily impacted by the fires that continue to rage in Northern California. Smoke from the fires have drifted and settled in Marin County and the surrounding areas, causing very unhealthy air pollution and ultimately affecting our time out on the farm. With the continued unhealthy air pollution, the TUHSD decided to cancel school on Friday which further affected our class time.

Despite our limited time on the farm, we did learn important information about how to create compost. Compost is an important organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. It acts as a sponge by retaining water which will limit the amount of watering the soil needs. On Wednesday, Mr. Stewart gathered the class to explain how to make compost. Compost consists of four layers: a base made out of branches to create a frame for the compost pile, followed by a layer of browns (dead plant material), then a layer of greens (fruit and vegetable waste), and finally a layer of water. These four layers are then repeated. Additionally, it is important to not include any invasive plants in the browns layer. If these are included, when the compost is spread across the desired area, it is essentially like spreading the invasive species across the area.

Cooper McLay

Blog Post

An Odd Week of Farm Work

This week of farm work included three days instead of two. Although our class beds are important, they only take up about one third of the farm, so we took Tuesday and about half of Wednesday to work on some class beds. The work was labeled as a "pop quiz," we were to weed in and around the beds, as well as lay straw around the plants. Wednesday was difficult as many of the workforce was missing for a field trip in economics. Nevertheless those remaining took to work maintaining the farm. I found my new favorite job, that being weed wacking using a grass whip. The grass whip is a long pole like object with a heavy flat serrated blade attached to the bottom. Using the grass whip involves swinging it from side to side repeatedly. With the daunting task of about three hundred square feet of dense weeds ahead of me and a partner, our use of the grass whip made the job easy. We cleared the weeds in about ten minutes, with ease. The swinging motion and cutting and fast removal of weeds was oddly satisfying, like shaving with a massive razor. We would continue weeding happily for about thirty minutes, clearing much of the farm area of tall weeds. At a certain point we became very tired, unable to swing the grass whips anymore we watered some beds until the end of the period. On Friday, the threat of a school shooting kept many of our class out of school, including myself. Although an odd week, the class was very efficient in preparing the class beds and maintaining the farm.

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Aiden Metzner