Bed Prep

This week on the farm are Sustainable Agriculture class started to re-establish the paths that have been overgrown with weeds. The process of making these paths included cutting a card board box into the dimensions of the path that we were making. If a path was a foot wide then we cut the card board so that it is a foot wide. After, the card board was perfectly laid onto the spot where we wanted the path we then would add a layer of wood chips over the cardboard planks. The paths we made are very nice because it allows for easy mobility throughout the farm without getting mud all over your clothing and shoes. We still have more paths to finish, but we have made a great start.

This week we also put in our seedlings that we planted into flats earlier in the school year. When planting our seedlings we had to be very careful not to "J" their roots when we transplanted them into the beds. When you "J" the seedlings root that means that the roots are scrunched up when you transplant the seedling. When transplanting seedling it is important to be as delicate as possible with their roots and not disrupt them. We transplanted the seedlings into our with their roots straight and then watered them thoroughly as possible after the transplant. We then moved onto planting seeds straight into our bed. We planted some turnips and potatoes. When planting seeds we made sure that we covered the seeds only the length of that seed deep. This makes it easier for the plant to emerge and gain access to more energy; the sun. The same concept is used for planting a half a potato. The one difference with the potato is make sure one of the eye's of the potato is facing towards the sun. This also makes it easier for the plant to start growing. Overall it was a great week out on the farm and a lot was accomplished.

-Josh D