Green Gulch Farm, wk5

Lots happening on the farm. We planted part of the 3rd field, we had birthday celebrations for our May farm birthdays, we took a field trip to the Edible Schoolyard at MLK middle school in Berkeley. See photos of the Edible Schoolyard trip, here. It was incredibly inspiring, to learn about the Edible Schoolyard, and the massive changes that have taken place at the middle school, since the project began. Not only is there now a green space and active garden space producing food that the kids eat and enjoy, the program has worked with the school to change the cafeteria - building a new building equipped with a full kitchen where cafeteria staff cook and prepare meals from scratch. This is all a complete opposite, to what was there before 1995: where the garden is now was a paved acre of unused, neglected blacktop. There was no cafeteria: the school cafeteria lay fallow, doors locked as the school didn't have enough money to keep it open. Instead, there was a trailer outside on the basketball courts, where the only thing students could buy to eat was a "walking taco" - a bag of chips with beans and heated cheese poured into the bag. Now every student in the school has to attend some program in the Edible Schoolyard garden and kitchen - so they are exposed to elements of gardening (growing plants, tilling the land, working with farm animals, e.g.), plus cooking. We sat in on a 7th grad "Iron Chef" competition, where teams of ten kids were given the same ingredients to work with, and they had to create delicious and thoughtful dishes in 45 minutes. I almost cried when one girl was explaining how she made the salad dressing with rice vinegar AND red wine vinegar.

I was also really impressed with the diversity of crops being cultivated at the Edible Schoolyard. From flowers to fruit, vegetables, grains and animals (chickens) - there's a wide variety to learn about and work with. Good job, Alice Waters - thanks for making this program, and inspiring other communities to take up similar mantles.

Back on our farm, plants are growing! The plants from our first planting here - now a month in the ground - are getting BIG! Its totally exciting. And, the potatoes are up. Things are humming right along. The fog has started, and some rain. They tell me the rain is unseasonable at this time here. That's all for this week!