Monday: Asparagus picking started the day off in a great way! After that I moved on to planting the next successions of arugula and spinach, I also began shaping beds for more successions of both arugula and spinach. In the afternoon we met with Clarissa Hammond from DATCP,Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection, to learn how to trap and monitor insect pests for the Wisconsin Pest Bulletin (an online weekly publication of pest occurrences (weeds, insects of diseases that helps farmers monitor problems). We are focusing on cucumber beetles and cabbage loopers. After that meeting we participated in an instructional session on how to properly freeze vegetables, specifically asparagus.
Tuesday: Today started off as usual with the morning ritual of picking asparagus, Katie and I pick at the North Farm when we finish our greenhouse chores and everyone else picks back at Stella. The rest of the morning was occupied with a soap making workshop(goats milk soap to be exact). After lunch we moved on to shaping beds, weeding, planting, rototilling etc.
Wednesday: After the usual asparagus picking, both at Stella and the North Farm, all of us students worked with Tim on the hoop house(it's coming along and should be finished really soon). This Afternoon Mara and I went to Ela Orchard, with Bob, and worked on setting up pheromone lures for codling moths, the pheromones are designed to disrupt mating patterns. And as a huge bonus we found a lot of morel mushrooms growing under the apple trees!
Thursday: In the afternoon Mara and I went to beekeeping, with Dan, and inspected the hives at Stella and the North Farm. We split one hive and added a honey super to another. After that I worked on shaping beds for spinach and mustard greens. We finished out the day with a home brewing session, taught by John Hall, where we started making a Wisconsin Badger Amber Ale (an update will come in 4 weeks after the first tasting).
Friday: Today I started out by going to the greenhouse for my morning chore, and also picked asparagus while I was up there. After I returned to Stella Gardens I jumped on helping Tim with the hoop house (we finished the end walls and all that is left is to put up the plastic). I also worked on getting caught up and planted spinach, arugula, and mustard greens(red giant, mizuna, mispoona, and komatsuna). After lunch I worked along side Stephanie and planted radishes(french breakfast, red, white and purple) and kohlrabi. We also set up Reemay to help with the flea beetles.
Saturday: Today all of the students and many more community members went to the Zinniker Farm(the oldest biodynamic farm in the country) for a morning of dandelion picking. The blossoms will be used to make the biodynamic preparation 506(stuffed into pouches made from cow mesentery and buried in the soil in the fall). After the picking, all participants celebrated with a potluck lunch. The rest of the day we dug up the preparations(buried in the previous fall at the Zinniker Farm). These preparations included: 500, Horn Manure which is made by stuffing fresh cow manure into cow horns. 502, Yarrow stuffed into stag bladder and buried under ground. 503, Chamomile stuffed into cow intestine and also buried in a separate pit. 505, Oak bark stuffed into the brain cavity of a cow skull and buried in a stream bed. And finally, 506, which is the end result of a portion of today's dandelion picking.
Sunday: Today all of the students drove up to Sun Prairie to visit JenEhr Family Farm for workshop/field day on berry production. The event was put on by CRAFT, Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, and focused on strawberries, gooseberries, currants and blueberries.
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