Thursday, March 5, 2009

UBC Farm Friends

Yesterday was our Visit #5 with the grade 5 kids at the UBC farm. We, my fellow volunteer and I, had only two girls. So the four of us were kept quite busy, especially as the girls had the "chore" of being the reporters of the day. This meant that they were given the use of digital cameras, and had to go around and snap the work being done by their classmates. Stacy, the coordinator, first gave the girls a short course on how to take the photos and gave them lots of hints on what to look for. So, while the four of us had to work on our garden plot, the girls sometimes took off to take photos. Nevertheless, they were very good at doing the necessary work. We had to check the wireworm trap (a potato on a stick buried in the earth). Then, we dug in some lime to raise the pH of the soil, and planted a row of broad beans and covered it with a plastic umbrella to keep them warm. I expect they'll have sprouted by the time we see it again in a few weeks time. The tulips the girls planted last time are now up, one even has a red bud visible. Then, in the greenhouse, they made more paper pots and filled them with potting soil. We needed ten pots to plant the seeds of the snap peas, sweet onions, radishes and one other vegetable that I can't remember right now. After the farming session, we ate some pumpkin muffins that were made from pumpkin harvested and frozen last Fall. I hope the kids love the farm days as much as I do.

No comments: