Week 10 Update - Young Farmers

Hi Farm School Parents,

We had perfect fall weather for our last day of the fall semester. 

After composting the last of the leftover patch pumpkins, we began with a review of the topics we learned over the last 10 weeks. They’ve absorbed so much - without even realizing it! Your kids are now expert seed starters, transplanters, compost makers, and tiny weed identifiers. They’re also getting better at starting fires, though today was a bit of a challenge as our fuel wood was still a bit damp. We’ll get lots more practice next semester. Once we got the fire down to hot coals, we cooked up banana boats. 

Our lesson and farm chore was about planting garlic. The window for starting garlic is mid-October to mid-November as soil temperatures drop to around 60°. Garlic needs a long vernalization (or cooling) period in order to develop properly, and it’s one of our slowest growing crops, taking 100 to 120 days before harvest. (Math problem for the class: If it takes 120 days before we harvest, what month and day will we expect to pull up our garlic?) We’ll be caring for our precious garlic over the winter by deep mulching with straw to protect from freezes.

We finished up in the greenhouse, starting multiple flats of radishes, kale, and collards. As a market farm, we need to keep up with succession planting so we have produce available for our customers week to week.

After lunch, we played Bird Survival and Capture the Flag. Outdoor games like these are so beneficial not only for physical health, but to help kids improve communication skills, conflict-resolution, reasoning, attention-span, and compassion — while learning about their local natural environment. Most importantly, they have fun!

I’m looking forward to seeing your child next semester, starting January 7th. Be sure to register early to secure your spot!

I also mentioned to the class that we’re looking for winter camp assistants in December. If your tween/teen is interested you n helping any of the following weeks, please let me know:

Session 1: Dec 3-9
Session 2: Dec 13-16
Session 3: Dec 20-23

It’s been so wonderful getting to know your kids, and watching them learn and grow socially. Happy Holidays and see y’all in January!

Warmly, 

Ms. Bridget