When the first group arrived in the morning, we all sat down underneath the shade of the Crab apple trees and introduced ourselves. We wrote down the rules of the farm on a large pad of paper (staying on the paths- no walking in the beds, no running, no picking vegetables/fruit unless we say it's ok). Chris and I split the group into two, and each led a tour around the farm. We made it a point to ask the children questions like: what is the difference between the soil in the beds versus the soil on the pathways? What is this vegetable? What is compost?
I was especially impressed with some of the children with this last question--some already had a knowledge of what compost is. I did not even know what compost was until my senior year of high school! With this confessed, it is even more apparent that school programs on gardening should be in place.
On the tours, we showed the children what a ripe raspberry looks like and how to pick it, and then we let them try one. I also showed them what flowers were edible and gave them the pleasure of eating bachelors' buttons and nasturtiums.
We sent them on a scavenger hunt after the tour- Chris typed up a list of things they had to find and observe, then draw in their journals. I always enjoy seeing little children's drawings and creative takes on the world. I found myself drawing chickens along with them and having just as much fun.
Next Monday is a holiday, so the kids will not be joining us, but they are scheduled to come back to the farm for more lessons for the rest of the summer.
After the second group filed back into their buses, I helped Rich spread finished compost onto a newly cleared bed, for lettuce. We sifted the dirt from an old compost pile, throwing unfinished bits like shells, pieces of cardboard, and compostable plastic (which takes a couple of years to finally break down) into a bucket for further composting, and took out stones and misplaced garbage.
The end result from sifting is a gorgeous, rich soil that can be spread over the top of a (freshly aerated) bed. After raking the compost over the top, we watered the soil and got to work transplanting lettuce seedlings.
Rich uses a biointensive method for growing lettuce; this is when the lettuce is planted close enough together to grow into an almost carpet-like appearance when mature, but far enough apart to ensure that all of the plants receive enough nutrients to grow to their full potential (we planted the seedlings about 4 inches apart). Below is a picture of the newly planted lettuce... notice the staggered planting style.
And in a couple of weeks...
Fully grown lettuce, ready to harvest.
Less light to the ground= less weeds :>
Finished product of yesterday's work:
This is a great way to grow food if you are concerned with water conservation- the shade on the ground ensures less evaporation from the soil, and organic, composted soil retains more water than synthetically treated soil.
After transplanting the lettuce, we watered the bed as a final step in transplanting. It is important to transplant in a way that is least shocking to a plant. The bed was watered before planting, the seedlings were watered before planting, and the ground was water post planting.
Planting all this lettuce reminded me of the funk band, Lettuce. Both are delicious!!
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