Fun Farming words

There are many fun farming words.  Two of the kids favorites are Hairy Vetch and Purple Dead Nettle.

One of these is a nitrogen gathering cover crop and one is an edible weed in the mint family.  We have both currently at our Urganic Farm and one is very prolific right now.  It will have to go, but the pollinators are enjoying it so.

I also think they would both make great band names...

Thank you!!!

Thanks to everyone who made this year's Green Gala so incredible!

Happy Earth Day

For give me for it has been nearly a month since my last entry. What a wild weather month it has been! At the farm the spring bulbs are all up, the beds are cleaned up and cool weather crops are in the ground - peas and radish for now.  The greens are bolting and we have started to harvest over-wintered onions.  Strawberries are in bloom, bushes are leafing out, and perennials are starting to show themselves.  Chicken poop and leaf-gro has been added to the farm beds and over-wintered carrots and lettuce are taking off.

Whew!

Our 5th graders are getting ready to start a soil study unit and from there will begin to plan the garden they will leave for next year's 5th graders.  Crop rotation and companion planting will be the lens through which we plan.  5th graders are also preparing for their own Farmer's Market and hope to have some produce from the farm available.

Don't worry, entries will start happening regularly now that we are in the swing of things again.

Hope to see y'all at the Green Gala this Friday!  http://greengala.wordpress.com

Happy Earth Day!!!

Food Fun On a Snowy Spring Day

I remember eating many a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato or chicken noodle soup after a morning of sledding or playing in the snow as I grew up.  Later, left to my own devices I can remember the ease of boxed mac and cheese - warm and delicious and easy.

I am also a fan of cheese crackers, like cheez-its.  So how amused was I reading an article about comparing the two nutritionally!  No spoilers here, but here is the link!  Enjoy

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/03/kraft-mac-cheese-dye-annies-cheez

Urganic

As I perseverate over each year's Farm and garden design I reflect over past year's successes and failures and consider the decisions that may have played a role.  Losses that are created by lack of nutrients, or bad bugs, or disease, or weeds drive me nuts.  And I've always cared about the environment as well as food safety and have looked at balancing it all.

A while back I wrote about coining the term and idea of Urganic, which I also call our Farm and gardens.  I thought that even though we don't use pesticides or herbicides that an occasional dose of a non-organic fertilizer would be okay.  And, I've changed my mind.

The experiment this past growing season didn't produce the results I hoped.  There was no band-aid.  Problems around lack of production or sickly plants or well performing plants had nothing to do with any use of a non-organic fertilizers - which, truth be told, I didn't really do to a great extent.

My fortified belief, through reading and past and current practice, is that production and sustainability in agriculture is created by first growing great soil.  After that it is about controlling the critters and diseases.  Obviously sun and water and pH and temperature and balanced nutrients for the plants are still a key factor too; but no quality soil, no great food production and the further creation of an unbalanced growing environment while contributing to an unhealthy environment.

A great artist needs a well prepared canvas if her work is going to last.  A farmer's canvas is soil, which is truly a diverse living organism.

I'm keeping Urganic in our name (cause we are still an Urban farm and garden oasis) and going back to all organic practices while spending more time growing great soil.

Happy growing!

Potatoes in a Bag

There are many exciting additions and expansions coming to the GSB Farm and Gardens this year.  One crop which is new to me is potatoes and I plan on growing them in bags this year.  There are many ways to grow potatoes and growing them above ground in bags is one of them.

There are commercial potato bags, there are trash bags, and there are potting soil bags.  This year I will experiment with all three.  Six bags, two of each kind, three different potato crops.

I'm excited.  Stay tuned.

Oh!? No Snow!

Well that worked out well.  Seems the French forecast was more accurate than ours!  Ooo, la, la - Au revoir!

Oh no, Snow!?

Just as I was writing about early spring flower sitings, the weather folks start talking about a mid-week snow storm with possible significant accumulations. (Anything I have to shovel is significant in my book!)

I vote no snow.

Crocus and Daffodil

The spring flowers are beginning to show their beauty!  Its nice to experience a 60 degree day while taking notice of all the pre-spring activity in mother nature!  Even the goldfinch are starting to put their best yellows on!

Low 20's and wind, brrr

Just as you get excited for farming you wake up to 21 degrees and a wind.  It is always interesting to see the soil in the garden heave though!  Those little monoliths of ice coming up through and with the soil reminds you of seedling that will soon be emerging in their stead.

Come on spring!

Counting down to Farming

Hot diggity dawg!  Growing season is upon us.  I started prepping the grow room in ernest yesterday and am looking forward to starting seeds with the students in the next few weeks.  I am also starting to formulate a plan for cleaning the garden, getting soil tested, and thinking of all the great organic soil amendments that we will be incorporating to grow great soil.

Third grade's composting is rolling right along.  We are still trying to get our ratios correct for a hot pile, but rest assured those good beneficial microbes and insects are hard at work, albeit slowly.

We will also be expanding and improving the pollinator garden on the hill this year.  Remember all of the bulbs we planted in the fall, like hundreds of them?  Soon enough they will be in their full glory and beauty...

Today we traveled to Africa during E3 Friday

We left China today and flew to Africa.  It was exciting to explore the entire continent while experiencing the vast cultures, ethnicities, customs and climates.  We sample food from all regions of Africa.

We had couscous with chickpeas and mixed vegetables.  We had ulgani (an African polenta) and a delicious greens stew.  We also enjoyed a flat bread and finished this culinary trip with a delicious apples or cherries baked in phylo with whipped cream.  Yum!  Everything was vegetarian as crocodile, antelope, and warthog were difficult to procure.

We took a final group picture with the students proudly holding up their passports from their four week worldly excursion.

Winter Composting

3rd grade is hard at work building their compost pile.  They collect fruit and vegetable scraps from lunches and are mixing them with shredded paper.  After a brief warm spell, the kids were excited to see a little steam coming off their pile today in these frigid temperatures.

The pile isn't the big yet, but it is exciting to see they are getting some composting action already.

Over-wintering Greens

The greens garden took a huge hit during the last big freeze.  The collards survived well, but the kale and mustard and sugar-snap peas are VERY unhappy.

So, the green tops are burned and I am wondering if the roots are strong enough to survive the freeze and start to produce again in March.  Only time will tell. Though, I know, the sugar-snap are are done for...

Still Traveling

International Food Club has now traveled to South America, Europe, and Asia.  We leave Asia tomorrow to fly to...

Bananas, mousse, and vegetable dumplings with the most divine sauce are all behind us, au revoir... The next continent we are flying to is full of mystery, intrigue, and a vast cuisine and cultural experience.  Wish us well, and we will see y'all soon!

A pretty, light snow

If only all snows in Baltimore were this light to deal with.  A fresh coat of white that is sweepable from cars and sidewalks...

International Foods

E3 Fridays consist of clubs this go around.  One club, the International Food club, has been traveling the world experiencing new continents, cultures and foods.  Our first stop was South America and Central America (part of North America).

We learned all about their warm, tropical climate and all about bananas.  We tried 3 different kinds.  A cavendish, a miniature banana, and red bananas.  Two were very delicious and we all found out what it is like to unexpectedly taste a very unripe red banana.  The next week we had much better, ripe red bananas as our inflight snack while were flying to Europe.

We landed in Paris, France.  We learned all about France's growing climate, what they produce and eat, and a few French words, si vous plais.

We experienced a four course tasting of grapes, croissant with apricot jam, pomme Annette, and finished with a chocolate mousse yogurt.

I love all the students' questions, epiphanies and sheer joy.  Last week I loved the question - Was there really moose in the chocolate mousse?

No longer pondering the answer to the mousse question, the kids will be boarding in Paris to fly to...

Stay tuned.

Brrrrrrr!!!

Wow, some real January lows!  My thermometer hit 14 degrees last night.  All of the rain barrels are frozen solid and the ground is really starting to freeze up too.

We have started to compost with 3rd grade.  Today we are going to teach them how to mix the browns and the greens together to create a hot compost pile.  It will be interesting to see if we can get the ratios correct and to see how this uber cold will affect the process.

Stay tuned!

Green Gala Planning is starting

As we continue to look forward to warmer days and as the days are already getting longer, the excitement for this year's Green Gala is building.  There are a lot of really cool ideas for this year's gala and the enthusiasm from the committee is already bubbling over.

Keep an eye out for details as they unfold or be there as the planning happens by coming to join us on the planning committee if you like.  The more the merrier.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

January, ahhhh, seed catalogs

Pages and pages and pages of potential from all the different seed catalogs making their way through the mail.  Everything from seeds, to plants, to roots, to bulbs and more.  The great thing is that each company provides all kind of guidance for their products - whether it is heirloom, or hybrid; grafting, or a straight plant; when and how to establish, and guidance ideas for throughout the growing season.

There are many wonderful seed providers out there and seeds from every niche.  From the grand old providers to the boutique providers, there is ample opportunity to refine your tastes for this growing season.  Crazy as it seems, indoor seed starting is just a few weeks aways and direct sow just as soon.

So get online, order some catalogs and get your name on company's newsletter lists.  Many catalogs can be downloaded electronically also.  Go search and enjoy your winter of planning and dreaming!

Happy New Year

We hope everyone had a wonderful winter break and are looking forward to the upcoming year and growing seasons.

The Green School has a few grant applications out and a couple more in the wings for vast improvements and expansion of the gardens and farm.  We are looking forward to increasing outdoor education classroom space, increasing food production, increasing pollinator and native gardens, and creating more food, habitat, and water sources for all our fauna.  Of course, all while protecting the environment, our watershed and the Chesapeake Bay!

Happy New Year!