Monday - July 19

The weather, as usual, made for a difficult day. Today was in the 70’s and rainy. I made the unfortunate decision to wear shorts and a sleeveless top. In the beginning it was refreshing, but that quickly changed to chilly. Muddy conditions also made picking a difficult task. We continued to pick potatoes, zucchini and cabbage today. In addition, we began to pick green beans. I cannot say that I like the taste better than sugar snap peas, although they are easier to pick.
Physically, this job has begun to be easier that it was and I am now able to squat for long periods of time.

Friday - July 16

The heat was unbelievable today and we spent a large part of our day pulling potatoes. Potatoes can be removed from the ground two ways, by hand or machine. At this point the potatoes are considered to be “B” sized so they are best removed by hand. This is done when there are two person teams with one person using a fork to lift the ground and another simultaneously pulling on the plant. The art in potato pulling includes knowing how far away to place to fork. You must have it close enough to lift the potatoes out of the ground, but not close enough to put the fork into a potato. When this is done correctly, the potatoes can be lifted from the ground and easily collected. After four hours of work, two potato-pulling teams were able to get 391 lbs of potatoes!

Thursday - July 15

We have begun to pick potatoes and found something mysterious on the plant…a fruit! The fruit looks like a small green tomato. We brought this discovery to Laura’s attention and she explained to us that they normally do not grow this far north. The fruit can contain hundreds of seeds and may be used to grow more potatoes. Unfortunately the potato fruit is toxic and cannot be consumed by humans.

Wednesday - July 14

The wind was stronger today, coming from the north. While working in the field we began to smell something we had not smelled before. We learned from Laura that a neighbor was spraying his field. Laura explained that insecticides and herbicides are supposed to be made so that they go directly to the plant and do not become airborne. Farmers often deny that the sprays could be spread to other fields, although it was clear that the sprays were moving today. After looking at a few studies online, it appears the concentration of sprays outside the target area is dependant on the wind direction and speed. It would be interesting to determine the concentration of non-organic sprays that end up on the field.

Tuesday - July 6

Harvesting zucchini is one of my favorite things to do on the farm; however, this does not mean it is one of the easiest. The zucchini and the plant itself are extremely fragile. A fingernail can easily pierce the skin of the zucchini while picking them or placing them in the container. When this occurs, the cut will allow pathogens to enter, which increases the rate at which the zucchini will rot. I guess I enjoy them the most because you have to have a little bit of love for each zucchini, using great care with everything you do.

Monday - July 5

To run a farm you often have to wear many hats including weatherperson and psychic. Almost on a daily basis Laura has to make decisions about when her workers should come in or if they have to come in. The farm and the activities that take place on the farm revolve around the weather. If there is a significant chance for rain on a day we pick, Laura has to decide whether or not to pick that day or the next. I am sure this is a difficult task.

Friday - July 2

After further discussions with Laura I have decided invite members of the PTA to the farm. This way we will be able to give them information about bring local foods to schools in hopes that they will petition their schools to include local foods on their menu. I believe this will be more effective than inviting the cooks at first. My hopes will be the PTA will give the schools the motivation to bring in the food and then we can educate the cooks on how to prepare the foods for larger groups.

Thursday - July 1

Field bindweed seems to be our biggest nemesis, putting a strangle hold on almost everything we do. This is an invasive species that was introduced from Europe and Asia. The weed wraps itself around all parts of the plant and takes water from the plant it is near. It is rapidly producing perennial, which can be difficult to control without the use of herbicides. On this farm, the weeds are controlled by manually removing them from other plants. This can be a difficult and tedious effort. When removing the plant, the weed must be slowly unwound from its parent plant. It is tightly wound around it, so quick removal would cause great harm to the plant. Laura has suggested that I have my students complete experiments to better understand the weed. This would fit well into the invasive species part of my curriculum.

Friday - June 25

We began to pick sugar snap peas. The job is difficult and takes a long period of time. Pea plants are long plants, which are full of peas the same color as the plant. This allows them to blend into the plant and makes them difficult to find. One of the things I struggle with the most is making quick decisions when it comes to differentiating between good quality food, which is ready to be picked, and ones that are not. Sometimes the difference can be very minor and when this happens it take too long to decide. I am sure I will learn, but for now, I do not like feeling like I am slowing down the group.

Thursday - June 24

We have been battling the Colorado potato beetle. This beetle eats the leaves of potato plants. It is orange/red with black stripes and dots across it’s back. This beetle has the capability to destroy an entire crop of potatoes. The cost to put insecticides, which are cleared for organic certified farms, is almost 100 times that of the non-organic options. Another option, which can be used on organic farms, is the use of a flamethrower. The flamethrower is used to kill bugs during the early growth of the plant. This option is significantly more cost effective than organic treatments and is used on the farm.
Update: July 19 - We have begun to pull potatoes. Although we have seen many bugs, it appears as if the crop is doing well.

Monday – Jun 21

Today was another harvest day. We have had an incredible amount of rain over the last few days, causing the fields to become quite muddy. This combined with our superior weeding last week led to the possibility that we may not be able to harvest today. Had this happened, it would have been the first time in the farm’s history that shareholders were unable to get their product on time. Fortunately the fields dried out enough and the rain stayed away and we were able to get into the field.
The physical strain from this amount of physical labor is still being felt today.

Friday – Jun 18

Today was a fairly short day due to the impending storm. We spent the morning harvesting broccoli and then moved to pounding in fence posts and caging tomatoes.
I did learn an important lesson about wild parsnip. Wild parsnip is an invasive species (weed) found abundantly on the farm. This weed has a defense mechanism, causing phytophotodermatitis to the skin. If a person where to brush up against the plant, they may receive chemical burns including blistering. This is caused when the juice from the plant attaches to the DNA of the skin and begins to break it down. The “photo” part of the phytophotodermatitis comes from the fact that the sun is the trigger for the breakdown of the skin cells. This will be important for me to remember as I take my students out to the field for future fieldtrips.
Finally, it is Friday and I am exhausted. I am sure that I will become stronger and find ways to make the job less taxing on my body, but for today, I am ready for a break for my body.

Thursday – Jun 17

Today we harvested for the Thursday share. I now believe that lettuce is probably one of my least favorite things to harvest. The lettuce is bunched together and has to be carefully examined to find leaves that are not damaged due to insects or rotting. I will have to adjust to this type of patient work because I am used to moving around the classroom at a quick pace.
Another aspect of the job that I have had to adjust to is the schedule. During the school year, the kids arrive, switch classes and leave at the same time. This schedule is something I can depend on and find quite comforting. On the farm it does not work that way. We are very weather and task dependant. If there is a storm or vegetables, which need to be harvested, we work around that schedule and not on one that is set ahead of time. So far I have not worked a day where we end on the predetermined time. This is defiantly part of the job I will have to learn to adjust.
Although the schedule may be different, I do enjoy leaving my work on the farm. When teaching, I am always bringing work home. I am not able to leave school at school, whether it is work to grade, plans to make, or students to ponder. When I leave the farm, I am done, and that is pretty nice.

Wednesday – Jun 16

I finally decided on the intellectual aspect of this externship. I have been struggling with how to take what I am learning and turn it around to a product, which is both useful for the classroom and for this job. Here is my proposal:
I will create a website, which can be used both by Laura and in the classroom.
Title: From Production to Plate: The Journey of Locally Grown Food.
This website could include the following:
1. A flowchart showing the processes that occur while from deciding what and how much will be planted to the end when the food makes it to the customer. Within this flowchart I will also have detailed explanations of each of the steps (the who, what, where…)
2. A calendar, which shows what has to occur each month on the farm for a productive harvest.
3. Pictures of each of the events to go along with the above items.
4. I will visit and speak with each type of the recipients of the food from Laura’s farm: Shareholders, food banks, and Metro High School students and faculty.
5. Finally I will include the tidbits of interesting information I pick-up along the way.
I am sure this project will change and grow as my experience change on the farm.

Tuesday – Jun 15

Today was a weeding blitz on the garden. With the rain and warmer temperature comes quick growth of weeds. We were unfortunately cut short by rain today.
Laura, the owner of the CSA, is both a farmer and an environmentalist. Although you might assume that the two go hand-in-hand, they often do not. Tiling, a practice where the water from the field is quickly drained and placed in a near by waterway, is often used on farms in Iowa. Although tiling allows farmers to plant more of their field, it also causes an increase in river levels that may lead to flooding. Laura has found a way to combat this problem by altering the tiling system on her farm. She removed some of the original tiling and then redirected other tiles into a wetland she created. Although this effort was difficult for her, she has helped to slow down or prevent flooding down stream.

Monday – Jun 14

Today was day one on the farm. The day started with a cool rain followed by a warmer humid day. Mondays are harvest day for the Monday shareholders. We spend the majority of Monday and Thursdays gathering foods that are ready for harvest.

My final project of the day was to spray BT on the broccoli and cabbage so we can remove any pests infecting the plants. BT is a bacterial, which is ingested by the insects. Once ingested, the bacteria cause the pest’s gut to explode. This product will not affect humans because we have an enzyme that breaks down the bacteria. In addition, the bacteria are photosensitive so after 2 hours be being exposed to the sun the bacteria break down.

I have not yet determined the intellectual aspect of this externship. I am simply struggling right now to keep up with the physical aspects of the job and trying to learn day-to-day operations.