Fall Farm Update
Happy Fall, y’all! It’s a particularly magical time to be outside on the farm, and we’ve been noticing and enjoying and discussing all the changes. The leaves, the shifting light, and the cooler temperatures, of course, but also the change in food and plants and insects on the farm. Here’s hoping you are getting to slow down and enjoy this special season, too.
Students across campuses have been engaged in meaningful work and learning on the farm. We’re still harvesting cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, basil, zinnia, and eggplant alongside veggies like sweet potatoes and arugula, all while saying adios to summer loves like okra and squash. We’ve direct-sown fall favorites like sugar snap peas, radish, carrot, beets, and garlic, much of which will continue to support us through winter. Students have also grown fall starts in the greenhouse, and they have been busy the last few weeks transplanting kale, collards, cabbages, broccoli, parsley, and marigold. We’re so fortunate to have season extenders like hoops and row cover, so we’ll continue transplanting into December with lettuces and scallions.
At the elementary campus, students began coming out weekly in September to learn more about plant needs and parts (1st), soils and soil health (3rd), and ecosystems and water (4th) as part of their library related arts rotation, while other classes have joined their teachers and farm staff in chore shifts. 4/5th Grade farm clubs are an open time during Friday recess for students that want to take part in more specialized tasks, or those that prefer a quieter, calmer option once in a while, and it’s been a real joy to spend that time with students building connections. And we’ve had recurring opportunities for teachers to get active on the farm, including Tuesdays after dismissal and a Monday faculty meeting in October to celebrate Farm to School month.
Middle campus students have been caring for the plants and chickens during morning recess before the school day begins and during midday recess. Students also join their advisory in harvesting on Friday mornings, and our small but mighty MC Farm Club meets on Thursdays after school to collaborate on important projects that require advanced skill and tools that may not work well in large groups. The volunteers from Hands On Atlanta that joined us on the farm in October helped so much by sheet mulching pathways and covering them with mulch, transplanting native plants in the terraces to attract pollinators, and painting our chicken coop a lovely shade of slate gray-blue.
All of this incredible growth and learning has been supported and facilitated by our amazing farm crew (pictured below), specifically K-5 Farm Associate Maya Ferguson and our new K-8 School Farmer Kathryn Yates. Maya has been teaching classes and running farm clubs and managing chore shifts, and Kathryn has hit the ground running learning all the ins and outs of new farm spaces, chicken care, and student and teacher names across campuses (no small feat!). If you see them around on the farm or in the building, be sure to say hello, introduce yourself, and perhaps send them some gratitude for all the ways they are making this valuable work possible. We talk often about how grateful we are to work and learn alongside your wonderful students and our outstanding colleagues each and every day. Thank you so much for allowing us to tend land and grow food and explore the outdoors with our school family!
Nichole Lupo
School Farm Specialist
