Fermentation

--by Annika

This week in class we learned how to ferment vegetables so we can make them last longer and enjoy them as pickles! The hope is that when we have large yields of vegetables in the upcoming seasons we will know how to do this process so we can save them and enjoy them for a long time and it is specifically good if you have a super big excess of vegetables and they will go bad because you can't eat or store them all at once which makes fermenting vegetables the perfect solution. We started on tuesday with a slide show learning about the fermentation process from our teacher Mr. Stewart. He told us that fermentation occurs from the bacteria lactobacilli which are pretty much everywhere and when introduced to the perfect environment through making a brine they ferment and essentially pickled vegetables. We were sent home with the homework to bring in a jar and hard vegetables that we wanted to pickle the next day and out of excitement, a lot of people participated in the optional fun project some people even bringing in special spices and mustard seeds and really getting into creating unique recipes. We started the day out on the farm surrounding a table where mr stewart showed us how to create the brine for the lactobacilli which consisted of seven cups on water and seven tablespoons of salt. Then we were set free to start cutting up our veggies and add in the brine any spices we wanted to mix and apple cider vinegar to promote the entrance of lactobacilli. The jars turned out beautifully and it was a super fun project to save vegetables. I can't wait to taste my homemade pickles in a few weeks!

Wildlife in the Farm

During the wet months of the farm the work load switches from focusing on our 1 beds to focusing on Quality of Life on the farm. One of the many ways we attempt to draw wildlife in is planting crops that will attract wildlife. In the picture above we can see a heron visiting the farm! This bird probably stopped by to snatch a quick snack after the heavy rains brought all those worms out! Although wildlife is definitely a big factor in the Quality of life on the farm we are also working to fix the paths, get rid of all the weeds and working on our farm jobs!

- Cody Nielsen

reviving our beds

Over the past couple weeks on the farm us RHS students have been reviving our beds from the Winter Break. Overgrown weeds and companion plants sprung up while we left our beds unattended. Personally, in my class bed, our group decided to remove a large section of vetch that was growing towards one end of our bed. Typically vetch is a good compost crop, which helps reach a compost goal we continually work towards. After taking the vetch out and weeding, our bed began to look as it did when we left it going into the break. Our onions and garlic looked mostly healthy and will be harvested soon. Lastly, we added another layer of compost to our bed to reinvigorate its growth potential and keep the soil structure healthy. Hopefully, our crops will be ready for the next market day!

Caption for Photo- This is a picture of a section of our bed densely packed with vetch

Max Ross

Start of New Semester

Blake Parker 5 ̊

As we begin the second semester of school there are crucial steps that we need to take as a class to prepare the farm for the new season. Along with the new semester comes new plans for our beds. Each bed has at least six different types of crops planted in the bed. This past week everyone has been preparing their beds for a new planting season. Each bed is following the rotations, to endure that the plants they put in their bed will grow to the best of their ability and enrich the soil. Our biggest focus this week was actually on getting rid of any invasive weeds in our beds. We spent the last farm work day we had taking out weeds from the beds to clean up space for new plants. After taking out all the weeds from our beds we were instructed to get compost and use it on our beds to support the soil and add nutrients to our beds. Weeds have been taken out of the beds, and compost has been added. The beds are ready to have new plants be planted in them for the winter season. Everyone is excited and prepared to bring in new crops to their bed. The chickens on the farm have been getting more and more comfortable with the farm and the people who come to take care of them. The chickens are much more friendly now and have even started to graze up on the orchard helping with the weeds and controlling any bug pest.

On Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 10:36 PM Blake Parker <blake.parker@student.tamdistrict.org> wrote:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IRW5sV7KInDMc4jP0IPyojFGKyBTjp98EFxWiraL55k/edit?usp=sharing

Outreach

Iron Chef III!

This week in sustainable agriculture, we participated in the third iron chef. Last iron chef had a theme of Thanksgiving and my group won so we had high hopes for this one! This iron chef's theme was low miles. In order to keep our miles at zero, we decided to only use the food from the farm. We made an egg scramble using the chicken's eggs. In the scramble, we chopped up celery, onion, and potatoes. Mr. Stewart advertised the bell bean leaf and we cooked it like spinach and added it to the scramble. One group made pancakes using the strawberries from the garden and it was delicious. However, they failed to keep their miles low because of all the ingredients they brought in. Another group made scrambled eggs and kale chips. The winning group used bell bean leaves as a taco shell. Inside the taco, they used eggs from the chickens and tied the taco with the stem from the leaf. They kept their miles and zero and they were very flavorful!

Claudia Holland (Period 4) 

The Vespucci Family Compromise:

It's game time... Everyone's favorite Sustag event has once again begun. The third Iron Chef took us upon on a complicated route with the theme of "low miles," which was meant to encourage using locally made groceries to create a spectacular dish. The moment I stepped foot onto the farm the energy and excitement was in the air, everyone wants to win and take home that extra credit and of course, the bragging rights. My group consisting of 8 wonderful individuals wanted to create something that would clearly set us aside from every other group. Following our previous defeat in the second Iron Chef, in which we contended for joint 1st but when the final verdict came to Mr. Stewart, he gave it to the other team. We wanted this win more than anyone else, so we crafted the Vespucci Family Compromise. This dish was created by Hudson Moyne's Great Grandmother Vespucci, to combine her Italian heritage and newly inherited American lifestyle she wanted to make a dish which would cross the two in harmony. Combining some lovely rosemary bread, bean leaves, cheese, Jerusalem artichoke, a beautiful fried egg, and a side of some delicious baked beans we were able to master the Vespucci Compromise. We cooked and crafted it to perfection and as pictured below made a mouth-watering dish. It was time to be judged by the Stew. Tension is beginning to build within the 4 teams as Mr. Stewart is munching on the world-class dishes. His eyes pop out of his sockets when he tastes our delicious food and surely we must have won it this time. But not just yet, he orders everyone to put their heads down and after a remarkable presentation made by each group about their dish, we had to vote. We got many compliments on our tasty dish so surely the class vote should get us the win. The bell rings and the Stew begins to announce the winner… We lost again, purely because of the beans, the beans were imported from the Vespucci family residence across the United States which technically went against the theme of "low miles". We were infuriated, we won the class vote, but once again not Mr. Stewarts. The Vespucci family will never be discouraged from our ongoing robberies of being the Iron Chef Champions and will be ready to win the next one. --James D

 The Vespucci Family Compromise

IRON CHEF CHALLENGE

            Joshua Santos 01/23/20

Welcome to the Sustainable Agriculture Page! Sustainable Agriculture also called "SustAg" by us talented individuals, we are all about creating steady and sustainable growth for a long period of time. It is currently semester 2 of SustAg, and things are progressing ever so steadily. Our plants are slowly recovering from reoccuring rain, our brains are recovering knowledge ever so slowly, and our food ideals are ever changing as we begin to realize the horror that lies within the food industry. We also went over the logistical challenges that it takes for certain parts of our meals just to make it on our plate. Also that the average American meal travels 1500 miles to get to their desired consumer. Knowing that, we began our 3rd IRON CHEF CHALLENGE! Which had even stricter guidelines that we had to abide by. Which were the ingredients had to be "local local". So ethier from the farm, our somewhere 10-25miles away. Knowing that the groups began to gather ingredients. Most of them ended up coming from the farm, while some other brought ingredients from home. My group ended up naming and making a dish called La Ovo Scrambolo a Wi Wi. Which came in second place, and was eaten up so fast that we couldn't get a photo of it. So instead you'll have to make do with the Winners of this Iron Chef, that made Egg tacos! That's it for our weekly update, see you next time!