On April 4th I met with fellow Student Originated Studies (SOS) classmates in the computer center on campus. We went over WordPress, Zotero, time logs, and internship expectations. I have decided to title my project Growing a Farm, I will set up a farm business from home this quarter based on my studies last quarter with the business readiness course Enterprise for Equity (E4E). I will finish my business plan and follow the steps to create a Wholesale Cut Flower business. My hands on learning will come from working as an intern on the Organic farm at Evergreen State College. I have also applied for a weeklong internship with Jello Mold Farm in Mt. Vernon, working with Diane Szukovathy, one of the founding members of The Seattle Wholesale Growers Market Cooperative in Seattle. I will round out my learning by taking a botany course through The Great Courses lecture series, entitled Plant Science: An Introduction to Botany by Dr. Catherine Kleier. https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/plant-science-an-introduction-to-botany.html
Week One
Today I started my internship at the organic farm on campus at The Evergreen State College. Beth Leimbach, the assistant manager at the organic farm has agreed to be my field supervisor. I enjoyed learning and working with Beth last year as a student of The Practice of Organic (POF) program. Beth sets high standards and expectations, I feel working closely with her will be a great benefit to my hands on learning goals.
We spent most of the rainy day inside the heated greenhouse, setting up for the incoming POF students. My first duty involved prepping seed flats and 72 count seed trays for planting. Last year I spent some time as a student filling trays and seeding. Working as an intern allows me hone my skills until the action feels natural. Beth is methodical in seeing that trays are evenly filled and watered to ensure successful seed germination. After filling the trays and planting the seeds we placed them on a heat mat that controls the temperature by placing an attached probe in the seed trays. Beth explained that the heated mat speeds up the germination process.
Later we transplanted hundreds of tomato starts from seed flats 72 count seed trays. By the end of the afternoon I felt quite proficient in my abilities, thanks to the use of a chopstick to gently lift the seedlings out of the tray and push the delicate roots into the soil.
