Sharon Gamson Danks Event

On July 12, the Farm, in partnership with DC Greens, welcomed author Sharon Gamson Danks to our campus to discuss her book, Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation. Danks held the attention of approximately 70 guests with ease as she presented examples of schools around the world that have transformed their play areas from uninspired, cookie cutter spaces to ecologically rich environments that encourage imagination and interaction.

After the presentation, the guests moved from inside the school to the farm where they enjoyed some light summer fare prepared with farm produce by Chef Allison Sosna from DC Central Kitchen who will be in charge of food services for the school this coming year.

It was our honor and pleasure to host this event, the first of what we hope to be many gatherings that embrace partnerships and best practices in bringing sustainable environments to our students and the larger community. Many, many thanks to Sharon Danks, Chef Allison, Daniel Thaeler from Whole Foods P Street, Lauren Biel from DC Greens and our small army of enthusiastic volunteers who made it all happen.

The Farm Stand

Right now on the farm, we are growing a huge variety of vegetables and fruits including tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, swiss chard, turnips, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, watermelon, canteloupe, green beans, lima beans, pole beans, lettuces, carrots, beets, basil and other herbs, zinnias and sunflowers. In the fall we will have pumpkins, winter squash, sweet potatoes, fingerling and russet potatoes, spinach, a few varieties of kale and collards. Does that sound like a lot of food? It is.

So in order to better serve the community, during the summer, the farm will provide fresh produce on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays in two ways:

Work Exchange:
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm-6pm and Sundays from12-4pm the farm is open to the public for community volunteer days. Anyone is welcome to lend a hand with various farm tasks and in exchange, you will be given a selection of the day’s produce. Bring your own bag!

Farm Stand:
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4pm-6pm and Sundays from 2pm-4pm our farm stand will be open, beginning July 3rd. We will be selling freshly harvested produce and cut flowers at extremely low prices. All profits support the school farm.

Come out to see us, and bring a bag. And a friend. Or two. Have we mentioned how fast cucumbers and squash grow?

Deal Gives Back

When Alice Deal Middle School assistant principal, Simon Rodberg, contacted us about bringing a group of seventh grade students out to the farm for a community service day, we were more than happy to accept the offer. Our excitement about the partnership proved more than warranted today as approximately 20 hardworking kids dug into a list of chores that could have been the undoing of even our most stalwart volunteers. Curious about what they accomplished?

– wood chipped pathways between rows

– pruned and fertilized the herb garden

– planted sweet potatoes and winter squash

– added compost to squash transplants

– mulched the strawberry beds with straw

– painted farm signs

– staked and pruned tomato plants

– weeded pathways and rows

– watered all the crops and the fig trees

– harvested lettuce to take home

They also got a farm tour, introduction to urban agriculture, and an overview of the crops and the methods we are using to cultivate an organic food supply. And enjoyed a picnic lunch on the farm. We had the honor of hosting some new friends to the farm, and seeing first hand what a significant impact the annual Deal Gives Back community service day can have for those lucky partners to whom they reach out. Many thanks to them all!

Getting Dirty for Good!

Getting dirty for good. That is what the invitation said. On May 1, Peloton Projects and the Awesome Foundation teamed up to support the Farm at Walker Jones. And the amount of work accomplished was indeed awesome! Beds were turned over.

Structures were built to support our baby tomato plants.

Strange things were unearthed from the ground to be replaced with sunflowers seeds that will become the sunflower house we dreamed about.

So much work! But hard work and personal sacrifice demand rewards. So there were cupcakes and other goodies on site.

And a happy hour off-site later that afternoon where some much-appreciated fundraising for the farm took place. We were really touched by the investment this lovely group of people made in our farm, and by extension, in our students and their well-being. Many thanks for all that awesomeness!

From Plans to Reality

After wintering over, it felt like we were back to square one with the farm. We kept our chins up, we planned and planned, but it was not until this week that some of those plans became realities. We started with a fresh mow and border weed removal. After taking Will Allen’s advice last week to allow the collard and kale beds to remain intact at least for the time being, we had the other two rectangular beds tilled. Quite a job. But the real magic happened today when with little more than the promise of a new farm t-shirt and a hot dog from Whole Foods, tons of our farm friends showed up to help make our farm a more beautiful place.

The weed warriors dug in in earnest to rid our greens and herb patches of nutrient stealing enemies.

And the other extremely hardworking team set about defining our new rows, amending them with compost, and establishing new paths in between rows that are a full 18 inches across to accommodate all our young farmers. The new paths are defined with wood chips so as to make it clear where people walk and where plants live.

We will all be out on the farm again next Sunday from 12-4 with lunch and t-shirts and high hopes. Consider joining us? We would love to work alongside you and tell you about the full scope of our plans – a three sisters labyrinth bed, the bee enclosure, classroom seating, the persimmon trees, the chickens. It is all coming, but we would love your help in making it all happen just a little faster. Many thanks to all for today – families, friends, students and the fantastic Master Gardeners from UDC!

Rooting DC 2011

The farm will be a presenter for “Making Community Gardens Flourish: Growing Communities, Raising Healthy Kids” at Rooting DC 2011 on Saturday, February 19 at Coolidge High School. This panel will discuss the process of bringing community stakeholders together to start a community or school garden. Issues discussed will include land acquisition, spreading the word, negotiating the political landscape, and the community outreach necessary to sustain and expand your program. Catch us in the morning and then stick around all day for a great lineup of panels and activities. More info here.