A Sink Station at Last!

Three groups recently teamed up with The Farm to build the first covered structure on our urban oasis – a sink station, fed by rain barrels.

Bob Schless and Dave Silbert are co-founders of So What Else, a grassroots humanitarian movement designed to strengthen area non-profits by bolstering volunteerism and inspiring activism. After we identified our most pressing need as a covered structure under which to rinse hands and veggies on the Farm, they worked to make our vision a reality by bringing together the know-how (their carpenters) and the muscle (their volunteers).

Want to see something really cool? So What Else associates Ryan Helfer and David Ross built this work table above from a deconstructed pallet. Genius! And there was no stopping these guys. Eduardo Gonzalez and company worked past sunset to complete the structure.

Students for Environmental Action, a K-12 environmental club at the Potomac School led by Bern Hoffman, not only purchased all the supplies needed for the sink station, but hand delivered them to the Farm on their school bus! The club focuses on environmental intiatives and awareness throughout the school and the greater community. They were glad to donate a portion of the proceeds from their Earth Day Farmer’s Market. “We recognize the important message that Walker Jones is sending to its students and would like to to support that”.

The day also provided an opportunity for a wonderful group of young adults from Hearts and Homes, an organization helping troubled children and youth become independent productive adults, to get some hands on farming experience. A few of them had some really good advice for us and they put in a full day of work! A couple are making plans to come back on a regular basis as farm interns.

Chloe Perez, Program Administrator of Residential Services, had this to say about the day’s experience: “Our kids really enjoyed the farm experience. They said they really felt like they were helping. The staff who accompanied and supervised the kids were so proud of those who participated because they were so focused and hard working, and it was the first of this kind of experience for most of them. They even expressed interest in creating a garden at their own house when they returned. The staff really enjoyed seeing them make such a contribution to the community.”

Many thanks to all who made our new sink station building day possible! We are constantly overwhelmed by the acts of kindness and generosity that feed our farming efforts. Now take a look at what the day’s efforts rendered.

Earth Day on the Farm

April 22 was the first Earth Day for the farm so we wanted to mark the occasion with an appropriate activity. Jeremy from Compost Cab had been hard at work on the plans for our new composting system for some time so the kick-off for this project seemed the perfect choice for the day.

The project plan is pretty straightforward: build and manage an on-site composting system that produces fertile, nutrient-rich compost so that the farm can grow more and better food. The space at the northeast corner of the farm by our double gate is perfect to enable a simpler workflow for composting and other farm operations. The first task was to re-purpose the railroad ties and pallets that were already on site to create three holding areas (for wood chips, farm waste / leaf mulch, and finished compost), while leaving room for easy access for deliveries of all sorts. The folks from Compost Cab also carved out space for, and started building, the actual composting operation.

At full capacity, we’ll be utilizing two passively aerated windrows, one approximately 30′ long, the other 15′ long, and each around 6′ wide and 4-5′ high. We’ll be managing these to produce finished compost in approximately 18-22 weeks, depending on the weather.

Over time, the inputs for the compost will consist primarily of three things:
1. Food waste (no meat, dairy, or oil) collected by Compost Cab from in and around the city. We’re planning to source as much of this from as close to Walker Jones as possible, and obviously hope to include scraps from the school as soon as possible.

2. Leaf mulch (likely from the municipal program in DC or Takoma Park, MD) and waste material from the farm.

3. Wood chips (mostly from landscapers with whom the farm has an existing relationship).

Going forward, we’ll be needing some additional materials, including compost blankets, a compost thermometer, a sifter, etc., but we’re not quite there yet. If you know any good sources for these materials, will you let us know?

Will Allen Visits the Farm and the “Super Hero Farmers”

Urban farming legend and MacArthur Fellow, Will Allen visited the farm today as part of a tour of DC and Maryland farming projects led by Dr. Michelle Thomas. The tour included stops at Hines Jr. High Community Garden, Common Good City Farm, Ward 7 Lederer Youth Garden and ECO City Farms. We were fortunate to also have Jeremy Brosowsky of Compost Cab and Vinnie Benvivino of Seed & Cycle, the organizers and architects of our soon-to-be-built new composting system, join our small group. But the stars of the show? Well that would be Ms. McAlee’s and Ms. Tuck’s kindergarten “Super Hero Farmers.” Allen was interested in talking to some actual junior farmers, and our young agriculturists shined as they showed off their dedicated bed, worm farm, knowledge of soil and compost, and willingness to eat vegetables other kids won’t touch.

Thank you to all for today’s special visit! And Mr. Allen, we hope you wear your The Farm at Walker Jones t-shirt with pride. We look forward to your next visit when the hopes and dreams we have for our project that we discussed today are in full bloom.

Kindergarten Experimental Plot

The self-named “Super Hero Farmers” of Ms. McAlee’s and Ms. Tuck’s kindergarten class are perhaps the most experienced of our student farmers at Walker Jones. As we prepare the children to plant the farm for the first time themselves this spring, our young five and six year old friends felt they were capable of just a bit more. So they will be given their own plot in the garden to develop as they see fit (under a little adult guidance of course), to care for, to harvest.

The students worked hard all week to research and narrow down their choices for crops, using research books (thank you, Lois Ehlert!), a harvest timeline, and persuasive arguments to each other.

The crops, in order of preference, were:
1) Carrots
2) Corn, Eggplant
3) Peaches, Beets
4) Phlox, Roses
5) Zucchini

Next step? A map of their plot.

Upcoming Work Days

The fun begins again! We hope to see all of you out there. Many thanks for being such wonderful supporters of the great kids of Walker Jones and their urban farm!

The Early Childhood Fall Feast

This Friday was a very special day for the preschool and pre-kindergarten children of Walker Jones as they welcomed their families in to school for a fall feast to celebrate both the changing of the seasons and the bounty of the farm harvest this year. The tables were wrapped in simple paper, and graced with decorations the children collected from nature and made in art.

Farmer John worked with each of the four classes during the week to create dishes for the event. And woke up in the wee hours on Friday to cook the turkeys that all hailed as delicious.

The cafeteria was full of happy faces and happy tummies.

The farm has been the source to feed many this year at school, to draw our community together in the interest of these great kids. Healthy bodies, healthy minds. “Should I eat this, Farmer John?” Just look at that face below, and you know that John will suggest “yes,” and that cute smiling face will agree.

The Roots of the Assignment

The fifth grade is leading up to a study of photosynthesis, the process by which a plant uses carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water to make its own food. A close examination of roots, stems, and leaves will make the lesson more easily understood as the students will be able to visualize the components of the plants they are discussing. The sunflowers on the farm are (sadly) breathing their last, but Farmer John made good use of their remains this week by pulling them right out of the ground so that students could closely examine the plants starting at the roots. This exercise adds a key level of depth to their classroom science instruction by allowing the children to directly interact with plant life rather than just the concept of it from a text book.

The Beginnings of a Kitchen Classroom

Ms. Camp’s third grade class made their first trip down to the emerging kitchen classroom on the first floor today. Several other classes have been there before them as the weather has turned wet and chilly during these early fall days, and I believe the children’s assessment of this new feature of our farming program sounds something like this coming from little lips – “Yum!”

Farmer John began with a run through of all the safety tips necessary for this type of exercise. “No one touches the chef’s knives. Not yet. By the end of the year, all of you will be cutting up food, but not yet.” There were also reminders about crowding and being careful about the induction burners and the edges of the pans. Every head in the class nodded in agreement, every voice sounded their understanding. And then the fun began.

Everyone watched as John sliced the apples, and showed the students the ingredients that would make up their snack today – kale, apples, sunflower seeds, raisins, oil, salt and pepper. They tasted each of the ingredients individually before the cooking began. To mixed reviews. Especially concerning the raw kale.

Then the students lined up to each side of the table and took turns adding the ingredients to the pans as John tossed and tossed and stirred a little.

The smells filled the room. The kids took up the forks. And as John loaded up two large plates for all to share, I took off down the hall to deliver a taste to Principal Martin. Who loved it and left not a spot of food in the bowl.

I raced back down the stairs from where I had found Ms. Martin, anxious to try a bite of third grade culinary magic. But this is what I found.

I imagine it tasted wonderful. At least twenty or so smiling faces would seem to suggest so. Who said kids won’t eat kale?

From Farm Life to Still Life

As was our hope, the children’s learning time on the farm is becoming increasingly integrated into the academic curriculum inside school. This week, art teacher Greta Schorn guided our kindergarten students through their first still life lesson with sunflowers from the farm as their first subject. With awesome results. And some very proud and satisfied five and six year old artists.

The farm on CNN!