Garden Reflections: October 9, 2008

Harvesting at the UVM Farm
“On Thursday [some friends] and I went to the University of Vermont Extension farm with Maria to harvest some local food. First off we took some scissors and put them in our pockets. Then we went down to pick some eggplant. It was tough to pick them because they grew spikes… I had a great time at the UVM farm because we had a really fun time harvesting with our friends.”

“Today I went to UVM Farm for garden time...I liked picking peppers because I picked like 10-25 peppers. I liked [one] of the peppers because it was 7-8 inches tall!... Garden time is fun because you get to go lots of places and do fun activities..

Exploring the Herb Garden, etc.
Today in garden time a made a sachet. It smells really good. I also washed purple and green greens. When I tried a radish, I almost had no tongue, it was so spicy. It was my favorite garden time because I got to see what the garden looks like after a frost.”

Building a Compost System
“At garden time today I started to make a compost [bin]. First, I brought posts to where the compost will be. Second, we collected flags for markers for where the post will be. They were one foot from the school and three feet from post to post. When we dug the holes in the ground they were 16 inches deep.”

“Today in garden time we started working on making a compost [bin] for the garden… Deer Ridge Farm let us borrow a [post] hole digger to dig big holes to put in the wooden posts. [Our school custodian] Kevin helped us dig holes and get rocks out of the way. I learned that digging is very hard work, a lot harder than it looks. While my friend was digging she hit some bricks and Kevin said he thought they were from when they build the school. I thought that was pretty cool. When my group was done I felt tired and excited. I can’t wait until next week to do the next garden project!!!”

“Today in garden time we made a compost system! We had 8 fence posts to start out with. We had a [post] hole digger. WE all got to measure a foot away from the [school] wall. Then we matched a yard to the foot and put a flag in the corner where the yard and the foot meet. Then we would put a flag at the end of the yard. Then we would put a flag at the end of the yardstick that we measured the foot with. Then a yard to a yard and put a flag where the corner is where the yards meet and then we put a flag at the end of the yard so it makes a square. We did this three times.”

“Today at garden time we started to make a new composting system. In the new system there are three sections. The first section is where trash waste [organic waste] goes. The second section is where the stuff that has already been in the first part and has already started to decompose goes. The third part is the totally decomposed part so the section 2 goes into section 3.”

Pulling Tomato Stakes
“Today in garden time… I pulled [tomato stakes]. On one post the tip broke. I said to Ms. White, “It’s going to take a mining complex to get that thing out!” I grabbed a digging fork. It took me three minutes to get the tip out.”

Preparing for Dismissal-time Farm Stand
“Today is garden groups we washed and prepared vegetables and fruits such as radishes, peppers, eggplant and chard. First we put them in organized piles. Then we brushed off dirt with our hands, and then we soaked them in water and finally we put them back in bags. It was a very fun project!”

Working the Farm Stand
“Today in garden club I was doing the farm stand all by myself… What I learned by doing the farm stand by myself was how to count money. I felt very, very proud of myself for doing that all by myself. I think that when garden club starts again I am definitely going to do it again I think garden club is really, really fun!”