Hi everyone, and welcome to our farm! We are the Big Farmas: Madelynn, Naomi, Eva, and Stanley. This was our first day on the farm, where we got to pick out all the crops we wanted to experiment with this semester! Here are some of our SMART goals for the upcoming semester:
2. Agroecological Design and Environmental Sustainability: Increase the quality of the soil by planting a cover crop of marigolds and sunflowers to reduce pest pressure and increase pollinator activity, with a minimum of 20% increased pollinator activity noted by the end of the semester.
3. Marketing and Economic Viability: Sell a minimum of 70% of produce obtained through a mock farmers market arrangement by the end of the final two weeks of the semester.
4. Social and Community Consideration: Conduct one peer educational demonstration in the Teaching Farm on sustainable farming practices prior to the course end.
Here, we have our very own Naomi planting some sunflowers. Sunflowers are not just beautiful; they play a big role in agriculture. Farmers use them for producing oil, birdseed, and livestock feed. Sunflowers also support pollinators and can even improve soil health by drawing out nutrients with their deep root systems.
It's an exciting day in the field! Here are some watermelons we're planting directly into non-tilled soil. Instead of disturbing the ground, we flattened our sunn hemp cover crop and are using it as a natural mulch. This practice helps protect soil structure, reduce erosion, and keep moisture in the ground, all while adding organic matter. It’s a sustainable way to grow healthy watermelon crops while caring for the land.
Here, we have our very own Naomi planting some sunflowers. Sunflowers are not just beautiful; they play a big role in agriculture. Farmers use them for producing oil, birdseed, and livestock feed. Sunflowers also support pollinators and can even improve soil health by drawing out nutrients with their deep root systems.
It's an exciting day in the field! Here are some watermelons we're planting directly into non-tilled soil. Instead of disturbing the ground, we flattened our sunn hemp cover crop and are using it as a natural mulch. This practice helps protect soil structure, reduce erosion, and keep moisture in the ground, all while adding organic matter. It’s a sustainable way to grow healthy watermelon crops while caring for the land.
Another work day in the books! We continued planting our transplants, and finished planting our flowers on the ends of the beds. Hopefully, many pollinators will be attracted to our farm and help our plants grow healthy and strong. We give our plants extra watering because the weather has been so hot. Here is Eva flexing after a hard day of work. We have high hopes for our farm, and nothing will crush our spirit!
Here are Naomi, Stanley, and Eva in the greenhouse choosing our transplants for the farm.
We have planted a wide variety of vegetables, such as squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, broccoli, snap peas,
and so much more! We implemented intercropping methods and companion planting, such as the tomatoes with
the marigolds. We also planted plenty of sunflowers as trap crops and a wind breaker.
We are thrilled to continue planting!
We are so excited about our tomatoes, cucumbers, and snap peas! These are all climbing plants, so we planted them right by the trellises, where they will reach for the sky. The trellises will provide a stable structure for them as they grow. We are also using the black tarp as a method of weed control.
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