Farm Team

This week we started the Farm Team at our school. We had such a great interest that we had to spread it out for four days each week. After school, the kids meet me in my classroom and we walk out the day's composting container from the cafeteria and then the fun begins. It is so much more enjoyable taking care of the farm with interested kids pointing out things that I would not normally stop and see. Maybe it is the lower level that they walk on or perhaps it is the fact that they don't have a huge list of to do's to get through by the end of the day. Whatever the reason, it sure is fun when the kids are around to work the farm!

Upper Farm Team Girls dead-headed the flowers and watered the thirsty plants.

This farm friend used our reclaimed water to sprinkle our beds.

We had a huge turnout with our younger boys!
(26 1st and 2nd graders - Oh My)

This friend from the Intermediate Farm Team harvested a handful of carrots.

 These Farm Team friends collected 136 peppers from the farm!

The Primary Girls Farm Team worked hard taking care of our gardens.

This cool farm friend was spotted by the boys. Love it!

Working on the farm is so much fun with our Farm Teams! I can't wait until next week!

Eating What We Grow

For the record, there are many picky eaters out there. Even the pickiest of eaters will sample most everything if it is grown on our farm. Although our farm has only been producing crops for the last 6 months, we have made a big impact with our kids, teachers and community. Our harvests have been tasty and if you grow it, they'll eat it.

Our Parent Farm Team harvested basil, arugula and mint to make back to school treats for our school staff.

When we had an Herb War table set up on the way to recess, all the kids were interested in tasting the dips that were made from herbs. (even though the dips were green)

A Kindergarten class bed produced several handfuls of yummy fruits and veggies for the kids to try.

Farm families adopted the farm for a week during the summer and got to harvest what was out there.

A 5th-6th grade class made delicious zucchini bread with the monster zucchinis that they grew in their beds.

The farm enrichment cluster made a huge salad with various greens and vegetables that were ripe.

We grew a lot of okra and fried okra is the best way to eat it. Our 1st and 2nd graders got to taste the beauty of okra!

Farm friends got to sample pesto snacks after school.

This was the line for "seconds" when one class made veggie soup.

It just keeps getting better and better. With a little effort and a lot of  farm work, we are changing our kids into healthier eaters. They are excited about eggplant and cantaloupe! It doesn't get better than that!

Certified Wildlife Habitat

Our latest news..., Moss Farm joined the National Wildlife Federation to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat. We provided habitat elements and registered our farm at nwf.org. Not only does our farm provide learning opportunities and crops for our school, we now provide a safe haven for critters.

Caterpillars love our fennel!

Worms enjoy our organic soil.

Butterflies land on our plants and soar around the Farm.

Ladybugs take care of the aphids on our basil.

We have to watch our step for special friends who camouflage themselves in the garden beds.

We are excited about our partnership with the National Wildlife Federation and the wildlife in our neighborhood!

Cafe Composting - Our Latest Adventure

                     

For his  Eagle Service Project, Alec Permenter and scouts from Troop 890 built a compost system for our farm. They even donated a nice big shovel scoop and a pitch fork so that we could do the work involved in using the compost bins. So with that being said, we have a new project at our school, Cafe Composting.

The students were very excited about our new cafe plan that reduces our impact on the Earth. They all pitched in their compostable food scraps. Moms approached me in the halls at school saying things like, "My child hasn't ever eaten healthier. He just wants to bring healthy foods that he can compost when he is done eating." Ta Da.., that is our goal! We want kids eating healthier and taking care of the Earth! Little steps like this with young ones really get us going on the right track.

We have a bin on rollers that is filled up with fresh fruit and veggie scraps during breakfast and lunch. At the end of the day, it is rolled out to the compost bins, covered with brown leaves or hay and then watered down.

This is one day's treasures from the cafeteria.

Since the school cafeteria is serving up tons of fresh fruits and veggies these days, when there is excess, the food doesn't become waste. It is added to our compost bins to create rich, organic soil amendments which will help us grow better crops on our farm. The cycle goes round and round at our school and helps us become healthier in the long run.  E I E I O.., Watch Us Grow!