Friday, June 26, 2009

Young Kansas Farmers




Prairie Moon early childhood, summer session students helped picked squash on June 25. These youngsters proved to be true, tough Kansas farmers: In spite of sometimes falling over from tugging on the squashes, getting scratched by prickly zucchini stems, and 100º temperature, job satisfaction was running high, described as "Fun!"

Thursday, June 25, 2009

We're in business!


We have earned our first dollar (and more)! On June 24, Julie took seven pounds of Okanis Garden summer squash (the yellow ones in the picture) and sold it to the Community Mercantile Deli to be made into delectable deli dishes. We are reminded with gratitude of the faith and encouragement that Sula Teller, director of food services at the Merc, has shown for our garden-- Prairie Moon's entry into the local food system of the Lawrence area.
The other squashes we will cook into some treats for visitors we expect to the garden next week.

Regarding Earth

During the Prairie Moon grades Summer Session I, “Earth,” June 8 - 19, the students interacted with the garden in the following ways:

- They began drawing maps of their own grades garden, measuring it, and then drawing it to scale on poster board. They determined what symbol should represent certain kinds of plants. 

- They observed, collected, and drew detailed sketches of many different kinds of insects found in the Okanis Garden. Two insects that were most enthralling were the wheel-bug nymph (assassin bug) and many different types of lady bugs. The drawings were kept in handmade nature journals.

- Teacher Ms. Dana and the students set up a worm-compost bin, and discussed the importance of worms to the soil. As of the end of the session, the students had not yet procured worms for the bin.

- The children helped Miss Julie fertilize the plants in the garden with the fish emulsion solution. She explained how the fertilizer is made and how it benefits the plants.

- The children helped to weed and mulch the garden on a daily basis. They paid special attention to keeping the straw mulch pulled up high around the potato plants. They also watered the newly planted native peach tree on a regular basis.

- They identified the trees around the schoolyard and made a special effort to identify the many instances of poison ivy that abound around the school.

On June 17, the early childhood Summer Session, “Rainbow Camp,” planted radish seeds and harvested radishes planted earlier.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Straw Mulch






June 10, 2009: Already an entire large, round straw bale has been forked out on the garden. We are grateful for Prairie Moon parent Lesley Rigney's donation of a second large bale in addition to the first one. Heavy mulching is key to our organic garden's flourishing.
June 7, 2009, from Barbara: Looks like another week of dodging thunderstorms perhaps.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Up, up, and up!

On June 7, 2009, Julie reported,"All of our cucumbers and pole beans are up! The pole beans are all over two-and-a-half inches tall! They shot up from Thursday to Saturday. Some corn is up already too!"

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Infrastructure






Here are some images from Rick, showing the irrigation system, the trellises, and the garden shed while it was under construction by Mr. Schacht's third-grade class.

Plant, Weed, Mulch, Water


Reported by Julie on June 1, 2009:
Sunday I planted the pickling cucumber and the yard long pole beans.

Last week I planted more zinnias, carrots, and transplanted basil and kale from another farm.

I weeded and mulched the leeks and onions.

I planted corn, birdhouse gourds, and when the latter seeds ran out, I planted the remaining pole beans and some lemon cucumber seeds to finish out the row supported by corn.

I mulched the two potato rows hardcore - over 1.5ft of straw to get good and high on the plant.

I'm watering overnight - it was a hot and windy day and there are a lot of seeds in the ground that need the moisture.

I also got chalkboard paint from Bret to establish a communication board on the new garden shed built by the third-graders.

Reported by Barbara on May 30, 2009:
David and I turned on the drip irrigation. Rows were extremely dry, and plants looked stressed from the extreme heat today coupled with dry ground. Seedlings will go down quickly if not kept moist. All rows are being watered, even the rows not planted yet. I'll go back early tomorrow morning and turn the water off.

I also delivered the shredded mulch bags and fish emulsion/algamin mix with a paint filter and the seeds: Yard Long pole beans and Painted Mountain Corn. I set everything inside the new shed. Also attached a note on the box about how to mix emulsion in 2 gallon spray tank.

There's the possibility of some severe storms the first of this coming week.

Let the Growing Begin!




Barbara delivered the following report on May 20, 2009:

The weather finally has given us a week's worth of sun to get some sustained work completed at the Okanis Market Garden.

With the help of many hands the "infrastructure" of the garden is in place.

Rick's pick-up truck has become the vehicle of choice to transport trellises, rototiller, and all things in need of being brought to the garden.  All of the trellis system had been prepared and was moved to the garden the prior evening. Julie had done a preliminary tilling earlier that day and then Barbara completed a final tilling later on Tuesday evening. The soil was in perfect planting condition for Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning David Clark, Marissa Massoni, Julie Ferreira, and I began installing the trellis system. David was our mechanical mentor for both the construction of the trellis system and the t-tape drip irrigation system. Marissa has been working with me this season at Maggie's Farm.  We connected through Growing Growers and her energy and interest in sustainable agriculture has been a great asset to me. On Wednesday morning Marissa helped with weeding and planting out tomato starts. Julie worked with David so she could learn about the installation and eventual take-down of the trellis system and also the mechanics of the t-tape irrigation system. I think we worked as an efficient team and got our intended work completed. The t-tape system was tested before we left that afternoon and was watering newly planted little seedlings. On/off valves will be attached, so that each row can be turned on independently.

What got planted:
Cherry Tomatoes - SunGold and Yellow Mini
Heirloom Tomatoes - Yellow Bell, Valencia, Japanese Black Trifele
Sweet Bell Peppers - Snapper (Green-Red) and Sunray (Green-Yellow)
Summer Squash - Yellow Crookneck, Sunray, and Baby Bush
Culinary Sage
Mexican Tarragon
Summer Savory

Weeded:
Leeks - King Richard
Onions - Candy, Mars, and Superstar

Hilled and Mulched:
Potatoes - Fingerling Variety - Ross Finn Apple
Yukon Gold

Yet to be direct seeded:
Cucumbers
Beans
Bird House Gourds
Radishes

Let the growing begin!

Rain Barrel Workshop


On May 12, several Prairie Moon community members attended a rain barrel workshop in DeSoto, Kansas, taught by the Hillsdale Water Quality Project. A rain barrel system provided through a Kansas Green Schools Water Quality Grant will connect to the Okanis Garden drip irrigation system to water plants and conserve water.

April Showers

April showers galore! Julie reports that the rain has definitely been making it difficult to find days with soil dry enough to work in, but she and some of Bret's 3rd grade class made an attempt on the morning of April 29 to put leeks in the ground. They also seeded some lettuce starts that will be in Bret's classroom under the grow lights.

The tomatoes, peppers, and herbs that the third grade had tended in the classroom were moved to Barbara's farm on Monday where they are hardening off outside under a hoop house. Julie hopes to be transplanting those soon.

On May 4, Barbara and Julie got the last of the leeks and onions planted. Julie planted some flowers, too.

Wishes for next year--(1) a hoop house, so plants don't have to leave site to harden off, and (2) a bigger grow light area, where starts can be transplanted into larger containers and kept under grow lights longer.





Potatoes and Onions and Leeks, Oh My!

On April 23, 2009, Barbara and Rick tilled the garden rows again. This was the second tilling, using a large tiller; the very first tilling was with a small tiller. Momentuously, potatoes and onions and leeks went into the ground that day.

Earth Day





On April 18, 2009, garden mentor Barbara Clark represented the Okanis Garden and her own Maggie’s Farm at an information table during an Earth Day celebration at the Community Mercantile natural food grocery in Lawrence, Kansas. The Merc will be featuring Okanis Garden produce in the Deli during 2009.

Kansas Green Schools Water Quality Grant

On April 6, 2009, Prairie Moon Waldorf School learned that it had been awarded a Kansas Green Schools Water Quality Grant for the Okanis Garden. This grant is administered through Kansas Association of Conservation & Environmental Education (KACEE) and funded through the Kansas Dept. of Health & Environment.

The grant will assist Prairie Moon with curriculum-development in non-point source pollution reduction and prevention and water conservation, as they relate to the Okanis Garden. The curricula will begin to be taught during the 2009 Prairie Moon Summer Camp.

The grant also provides monies to build a rain barrel system for the garden, which will be constructed during summer, 2009.

As matches to the grant, Prairie Moon has already received donations of two large, round, bales of straw for heavy mulching in the garden, and native plants for xeriscaping on the school grounds.

Prairie Moon Waldorf School can officially proclaim itself to be a "Kansas Green School"!