Marieluise's Blog

January

This month, the K/1 classes discussed how our animals stay warm and dry during the cold and rainy winter. We brushed the goats' fur and looked at the thick "winter coat" they grew over the last couple of months. We rubbed our hands over the sheep's wooly coats to feel and smell the lanolin-a natural grease that keeps the rain away from their skin. The chickens let us put our hands under their wings to feel the soft, downy feathers that keep them warm. Then we looked at all of our coats, sweaters and jackets to see which ones were made from wool, fur, or downy feathers. We also planted tulip, daffodil, and onion bulbs into pots.

The 2/3 classes walked through the garden to look at trees and plants which are resting or "dormant" at this time of year, such as apple, plum, and pear trees; artichoke plants; and herbs like lemon balm. We also looked at the things that are producing or "in season," such as lemon and orange trees, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, onions, and peas. We dug up an entire bed of potatoes and fried them in a little olive oil with onions, parsley, and rosemary. Yum!

The 4/5 classes found out what farmers do in the winter when the fields are covered with snow or the soil is too wet to be worked. We discussed the "maintenance" of tools, machines, and the farm grounds that is necessary to keep a farm and its equipment in good shape, and then we followed up with some maintenance of our own. We spread woodchips on the paths in the garden and other work areas, screened some finished compost into bins, cleaned out the animal stalls, and cut back plants in the herb bed. As an introduction to the colonial unit, we washed an enormous amount of wool from the last shearing of our sheep. We also looked at some of the plants in the native habitat to see what the native population would have used for food, shelter, and basket materials-plants that the Pilgrims eventually used upon arriving in America. We then cut willow, ninebark, and dogwood for future projects.

December

The K/1's read The Little Red Hen and looked at some of the tools she used to plant and harvest her wheat. Then we planted our winter wheat into the "slices" of the pizza garden. Now we hope for some rain so it can germinate and grow. We've spent time with our animals, brushing the goats' warm winter coat, and looked at the vegetables that are "in season" and ready to eat.

The 2/3's discovered the delicious taste of Brussels sprouts (so named because they were first cultivated in the region around the city of Brussels and the Netherlands) and learned about their growing habit and season. We prepared them by breaking the little cabbages off the stalk, peeling the outer leaves, cutting them in half, and quickly sautéing them in olive oil with onions and herbs from the garden. The tasting comments ranged from "delicious," "crunchy," "the best vegetable I ever had," "scrumptious," "tastes like broccoli with a hint of cabbage," and "tastes sweet" to "can we have seconds?"

After many weeks of observing the chickens' features and personalities, we voted on the final names: Midnight (Black Sumatran); Mohawk (White Polish); Ginger and Peanutbutter (Buff Orpingtons); Salt, Pepper, Zebra, and Lightning (Speckled Cuckoo Marans); Scissors, Fluffy, and Beatrice (Araucanas); and Jennifer, Lollipop, Caramel, Lacey, and Anabelle (Golden Necks). Our three roosters found a new home on a ranch in Oakdale, where they enjoy living the country life with many other animals. Thank you to Liz in room 19 for making the connection.

The 4/5's finished cleaning out the garden beds, turning the soil, adding compost, weeding the pumpkin patch, and turning the big compost pile. They mulched four beds with different materials (leaves, straw, paper, and compost) and will be checking the beds over the next several weeks to see how well they hold in moisture and suppress weeds, comparing them to an unmulched bed. They prepared the soil and planted Hard Red Winter Wheat in their colonial garden beds.

Many classes helped to create the beautiful seed envelopes sold at the Ohlone Farmers' Market. 

October

During gardening time in the past several weeks, the 4/5 classes provided much help in getting ready for the Harvest Festival. The students cut pumpkins off the vines and cleared out the pumpkin patch and spread straw. One class “spun” the beautiful large spider web on the trellis. They screened compost, amended the soil and prepared the garden beds for fall planting. They also produced the lavender bath salts sold at the Harvest Festival.The K/1 classes have been visiting the animals. They looked at the first colored eggs coming from the pigment in the shell that our Araucana chickens (3) lay. They can range from blue to green to pink! The classes talked about how the inside of the egg is edible and just like a regular egg with a white and a yolk. While observing the garden in the fall, the K/1 students chose pumpkins and decorative gourds for their classrooms. They also patrolled for snails and slugs and put them in “habitats” so they could look more closely at their body parts with magnifying glasses. The 2/3 classes completed the “seed to seed” cycle by diligently collecting cosmos and calendula seeds. They decorated seed envelops beautifully to sell at the Harvest Festival. They learned that the proceeds go directly back to support the farm. These make great presents for family and friends so look for them at the next Farmer’s Market! These classes are also focusing on the types of foods that people harvest now and store over the winter. They harvested scarlet runner beans and tri-colored beans to store and make into soup in this winter. In addition, they helped plant the winter garden with kale, cabbage, peas, green onions, broccoli and lettuce. Many classes tasted various apples from our orchard and the remainder of summer tomatoes and figs.

September

The gardening classes are in full swing on a weekly basis at the farm. Students have been sampling the garden harvest including tomatoes, beans, corn, figs and peppers. The K/1 classes started out with lessons with Marieluise about safe use of the tools. For all the classes, the excitement this month was the first egg laid by one of our four month old hens raised last year. The first eggs are smaller in size than they will be eventually so we look forward to comparing the sizes and keeping a record of the overall egg production.

 

Updated 12/4/09