Helping kids make healthy choices!

May 4, 2012

Red Wiggler is developing a new curriculum that incorporates MyPlate (the new nutrition pyramid) into connecting youth with the source of their food called Healthy Choices, Healthy Lives. Sam has been working to develop and implement this exciting new program!


The first school visit we did was to Gaithersburg Elementary School. Kara and I taught a group of first graders (six classes). First, using pictures of vegetables from the farm, I put together a slide show of vegetables we grow (during the growing season) and we showed it to the kids. Included in the slide show, were pictures of tomatoes, peppers (both bell peppers and hot peppers), garlic, as well as several others, using mostly just the common vegetables (tomato, pepper, cucumber, for instance) vegetables that people know about. But we put some pictures in of kohlrabi and other uncommon vegetables to teach the kids about new vegetables as well.
During the school visit, we taught them a song about the five food groups.
It goes like this…
(to the tune of jingle bells)
Five food groups, five food groups
Eat them everyday
Grains and Dairy and Protein
Fruits and Vegetables
Five food groups, five food groups
Eat them everyday
Help your body grow to be
Strong in every way!
After teaching them the song, a big MyPlate (with velcro) was used to identify the food groups, then each food was placed in the correct food group.
During the visit, we taught them about My Plate, then, using stickers, had them sort out the stickers according to which food group each food went into (using a piece of paper with a plate on it). The children put them in the right food group on the plate (we mixed up the pictures, so it wouldn’t be too easy for them). After each student had finished, they went around the room saying what food they put on their plate as well as which food group it belonged to.
Next week, the same students are coming to the farm to learn where their vegetables (or food) comes from. During this visit the children will be able to plant a seed to take home with them (so they can understand where their food comes from).
Stay tuned for an update on next week’s visits!
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Planting Chard in the Greenhouse!

April 3, 2012

We are excited to have Samantha Sheehan, our Education Assistant here at the farm, write a guest blog post:

Sam planting the chard

Having the greenhouse/new building at the farm is nice, since we can start a lot of our own plants. Before our greenhouse, we had to go somewhere else to get them, since we didn’t have the space to start such plants from seed.

In the greenhouse, I’ve been assisting with the tranplanting of a vegetable called rainbow chard. The variety is called “rainbow” because of the colorful stem. Before you plant, you want to grab a section of the chard plants. Then you want to separate the plants that are multiple. After separating the plants, you want to take out any plants that are too small or the plants that have yellow leaves.

 

When planting the chard make sure there is only one plant in each cell. Also, you want to make sure the dirt is packed around the plant so the plant can stand up (if not enough dirt is around the plant the plant won’t stand up straight) . No roots want to be showing.  As you take it from the flat, make sure you take the plant carefully by the leaf not the stem (if the plant is taken from the flat by the stem the stem will break). While separating the chard plants, make sure each plant still has some roots attached. I thought the transplanting of the chard was relatively easy, the thing I found a little difficult was separating two plants so each plant still had some roots attached.

 

Sam and the chard

When the chard is harvested, the biggest leaves (six or eight, depending on the size) are picked then put into a bunch (with no big holes or some small holes).  After the bunch is picked, it is rubber banded, then the stems are cut. The bunches are then placed into a basket and brought down to the barn. After the bunches are brought to the barn they are misted with the hose then placed into a box. Once this happens, the boxes go into the refrigerator.

At times, after planting the chard, we’ve covered it using something called remay (or row cover). This helps keep the plants warm as well as keeping most bugs out.  Using remay doesn’t keep ALL bugs out, though it does help a bit in terms of bug holes in each leaf.

 

Chard!

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CSA Applications due January 17th – Get yours in today!

January 9, 2012

We are already looking forward to next year’s harvest season! Applications for Red Wiggler’s CSA are due January 17th.  We will hold the lottery next week and notify everyone by Friday January 20th. For more information about the CSA, including the application, please go to www.redwiggler.org/csa. Email csa@redwiggler.org if you have any questions!

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