Week 4 Update - Young Farmers

Happy October!

Fortunately for us, the big overnight rainstorm blew itself out, so we had a beautiful, if somewhat muddy, day today.

We started off by remodeling our outdoor classroom. Our current seating area is pretty exposed and can get uncomfortably warm by the afternoon. Earlier this week, Farmer Cullen did some fancy chainsaw work on the nearby trees to create a shady haven for us. This morning, the students finished clearing the area and moved our straw bale seating over. We love our new cozy space!

Next, we learned a bit about how hot pepper breeders are able to develop new (and hotter) varieties every year, then went to the field to harvest some orange habaneros. With a Scoville rating of 100,000 to 350,000, they are still well below the current record holder, the Carolina Reaper pepper at up to 2.2 million SHU.) Nevertheless we treated these beauties with utmost respect and used gloves the whole way!

The students also practiced using a broadfork to aerate the soil before planting. This is a much gentler way to work our soil compared to tilling and keeps the soil critters happy and thriving. We then moved to the greenhouse to plant seeds of green onions and ruby streaks mustard. Our fall planting is coming along!

After lunch, we put on our chefs hats (and vinyl gloves) to prepare a batch of Belizean Habanero sauce from our morning’s harvest. The main ingredients are habaneros, carrots, and mango. Most of the students brought a jar home – they are wonderful on eggs and vegetables but use sparingly! (You’ve been warned.)

Finally, we rebooted our compost bucket experiment from last week, as the raccoons managed to break in despite our best efforts. Danica suggested hanging it in a tree, which seemed like a brilliant idea to all, so that’s what we did. 

I’ll be out of town next class (celebrating my 25th anniversary in Florida with my husband.) Tammy will be taking the class for a lesson on beekeeping, which will be super fun. 

Until next time, 

Ms. Bridget