Organic Iron chef

This week in Class we all participated in a competition called the iron chef where there is a theme ingredient from the garden which was herbs. All four groups had two days to plan a herb based meal and 10 minutes on the farm to harvest things that they and their peers grew. There are four different groups and each group has a place to prep and cook their meals. Our group chose to make a mixed herb sauteed potato dish with rosemary, cilantro, and oregano. First, we washed and cut all our potatoes into halves and quarters. Next, we chopped all of our herbs, peeled the garlic, and diced an onion. Next, we put the potatoes into a pan with peanut oil on medium high for roughly 15 to 20 minutes, seasoning in the beginning and stirring occasionally. We ended up winning by majority vote because the texture of our potatoes was "perfect" in Mr. Stewart's words. Each group's dish was very different from the other with creative ideas like pancakes and soup. The only thing in common between all dishes was herbs. What I liked about the Iron Chef competition was being able to harvest crops our own beds and prepare them until a meal, especially when you start growing them from seed like the cilantro.

—Cooper

Iron Chef 2

Coming back from Thanksgiving break, students coming back from either the beautiful Tahoe's landscape or from the smoky Marin County. The students will visit the farm after more than week without getting close to school.

Also the Sustag class had an unusual schedule this week. The second Iron Chef of the semester took place on Thursday morning by using herbs as the special ingredient this time. There was a huge variation of dishes between all the groups. There were many creative ideas using Rosemary such as lemonade, pastas and more.

There were also a few presentations by second-year students to show their projects in their own beds and their experience in their own beds and in the farm overall.

Due to the busy week, the students were only working Friday on the farm this week and our main job was to maintain and take care of our bed by weeding them because there was no school due to the Thanksgiving break. Although, some students only took care of their beds, some groups were able to work on their management jobs and some groups also had the opportunity to see if their could plant new crops on their beds that could grow during the winter or that could help to improve their soil quality (such as light or heavy feeders). -Diego C.

Farm to Fork Blog

Twice a semester us students get the opportunity to turn what we have grown, into a delicious meal cooked at home known as the farm to fork assignment. Different from the iron chef as we get to individually cook our meals at our convenience. The second time around in this semester I decided to cook one of my favorite meals that my mom makes. I took on the challenge of cooking potato soup from scratch. I was planning on cooking it over the weekend, however I waited til' the last day to cook this meal which was on my birthday. The assignment requires we use an ingredient straight from the farm so I chose to use rosemary due there not being enough potatoes available to use as my main ingredient. I started out by placing my large pot over medium high heat and rinsed off my veggies. I cut up three large leeks and 10 Yukon gold potatoes, and threw them into the pot. I added 8 cups of water and three chicken bullion cubes to let boil until the potatoes were cooked. 15 minutes later I took the pot off the heat and used whats known as an immersion blender to mix together the ingredients. I added rosemary, garlic powder, salt, pepper and some milk to give it its flavor. Before serving, I added some Frank's Red Hot Sauce to give it some heat.

Bees

Bees, perhaps are one of the most underrated and beneficial insects that we have recently gone over, and seen on our local farm. One of the main influences for understanding Bees was a documentary that we watched in class. In that we learned about the various crops and species that depend on Bees for their very own existence. That includes us, Bees are responsible for pollinating nearly 85% of all food crops for humans. On the other hand some examples of Bee dependent crops include beans, tomatoes, onions and carrots, not to mention the hundreds of other vegetables, oilseeds and fruits that are dependent upon bees for pollination. To United States Agriculture alone, the yearly Honey Bee pollination value can be counted up in the billions. It goes to show the importance of maintaining certain species in order to have a sustainable ecosystem. In this specific case such a small insect which has such a vital role in many ecosystems. There have been efforts recently within the SustAg crew to plant new flowers and other supporting companion crops to incentivize more Bees to come and pollinate throughout our farm. We recognize their significance and are doing what we can to support their population locally.

—Lucas

Iron Chef- The Battle Of The Cooks

This week the SustAg Classes had the second iron chef Wednesday the 28, 2018. This time we had to use herbs from the farm to make our dish. The group with the best dish would get the iron chef victory. In the competition you are allowed to bring other items that are not from the farm but the more you bring the less sustainable it is. And all that is provided by Mr.Stewart is the mini stove top and 2 cutting boards and 2 knifes. we got the first 15 mins out in the farm to collect ingredients we need for the dish. Once we are in the classroom the rules are explained and Mr.Stewart says "let the Iron Chef begin!". We only have about 50 mins to cook the dish and give it to Mr.Stewart to try. Once everything is cleaned up and he has finished eating he talks about each plate then declares a winner. For this weeks Iron Chef my group and I made rosemary biscuits. Unfortunately my group lost the iron chef but Alex's group won the iron chef. Congrats on wining the iron chef. 

-Eduardo Diaz 

Companions

This week in Sust. Ag has been all about companions and their roles in the farm. We have been looking at plants, weeds, insects, birds, and many more plants and animals to determine whether they are a pest or beneficial to the farm. I studied wasps and determined that they can be both a pest and beneficial to farms. Many people may not know this but wasps can play a vital role in farms. Wasps eat many insects such as caterpillars that eat plants and harm farms. Without wasps, farms would be crawling with pests that eat crops and degrade the farm overall. Wasps can also be considered pests, they sting and bother people trying to work. If this doesn't bother you, wasps should be present in you farm. To attract wasps to your farm, leave out food, specifically sweets and also make holes in logs for the wasps to live in. To discourage wasps, make sure that no food is left out, if wasps continue to be a problem, spray them with WD-40 (* ED. NOTE: not certified organic) and that should scare them away. Wasps are such an interesting insect because most people seem to dislike them but few people actually know how beneficial they can be on a farm and some of the great things they can do to keep a farm healthy. - charlie

Trip To the Marsh

This week we were forced to spend most of our time in the classroom due to poor air quality and lack of days due to school being cancelled on Friday. However the main focus of this week and the week before was companions on the Farm and how they interact with the plants growing on the soil and whether they are a pest or a beneficiary. To examine further the companion plants and animals in out local ecosystem the class took a short walk to the march on the east end of the school campus. Once at the march we observed the different plants and animals we saw and how many there was. We saw many different types of birds such as ducks and crows as wells as many plant species that were both invasive and native. This experience was very good for the class to understand how our farm should run like it would naturally without human interaction. We examined the similarities and differences between out fram and the local ecosystem and pointed out possibilities to improve the farm. - Cole