Veggieville!

Veggieville is the kid's garden at Newtown Elementary School in Newtown, PA Cheryl Gilmore and Kathy Skalish started it a few years ago, and and I volunteered a bit of time there as well as facilitated Del Val's donations of compost and transplants. Recently, local politician Steve Santarsiero visited the garden - you can read about it here:

Article on Veggieville

http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2012/05/19/the_advance/news/doc4fb84a6c021da757782571.txt?viewmode=fullstory

USDA Blog - Check it out! An article about organic hydroponic farmer training for veterans.

http://blogs.usda.gov/2012/05/11/military-veterans-the-next-generation-of-organic-farmers/#more-40045

The Farmer's Apprentice

The Farmer's Apprentice is a project done by the Commercial Vegetable Production class. Each pair of students is given their own plot of "land" in a greenhouse and challenged to raise as much produce as possible over the course of the semester. Responsible for planting, watering, fertilizing, and weed control, this activity is a chance for students to farm on a small scale.  Our greenhouse manager provides a multitude of transplants, and the "farmers" are encouraged to harvest and replant so as to get the most yield possible. Here are some of the students comments:

I learned a lot about the realities of farming in this project. This includes the setbacks…and that farming requires a lot of time, attention and know-how."

“The project itself was very interesting and a GREAT hands-on experience, something I know this college is proud of. I know I would not have been able to "get my hands dirty" in any other college Commercial Veg class, and I am really grateful to you and the college for these experiences. It adds so much, it keeps students invested and interested in the subject, it gives us the confidence boost to jump into working life, and it brings our knowledge to practical use."

Dr. Linde’s Irrigation class recently learned how to assemble an irrigation system.  Mike Hartley, Turf Equipment Supply Co. and George Ley, Irrigation contractor, generously donated their time to lead the class.

Stand Up for Agriculture

I love this video. Agriculture is so much more than "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and many of us who teach it have heavy-duty science based advanced degrees. I hope more young people begin to major in one of the fascinating and employable fields in agriculture.

Potato Planting

During last week's lab, we cut seed potatoes then planted them in raised beds. Students in the Commercial Vegetable Production class did the field tillage, the potato cutting and rode the transplanter.

Teaching Green

Teaching Green is all about the amazing courses offered in the Department of Natural Resources and Biosystems Management at Delaware Valley College on Doylestown, PA. Our students get the best hands-on, up-to-date experiences in their classes as they learn to grow green to make green. The professors of NRBM welcome you to Teaching Green!