The Linnaea School started on the farm about 20 years ago. Its a private school for 45-60 children each year from kindergarden to grade 7 where the children are divided into 3 classes. Its an environmental school (I'm not sure exactly what that means but there is a rating system that has rated them with a high standard).

Although the school is a private school, it seems that every effort possible is made to make the school accessible through a number of fundraisers and thus burseries for children from families that can't afford the tuition.

The school focuses on the arts and encorporating an environmental focus into every aspect possible of the school's activities. For example, they are raising baby salmon to be released into the river to swim to sea, the youngest children have a class garden and the children often get to participate in various activities on the farm.

Below are a couple annual activities at the school

King Arthur

May Day

(Woah... its been a long time since my last entry! So much has happened and we've been learning so many things, I just can't keep track. I hope add a few posts over the next little while!)

west coast over-wintering veggies

Every thursday afternoon we are lucky to have a random class thrown into the mix. As I mentioned before, this is when our herbology classes take place. When we aren't doing that, we're learning other useful skills that might be helpful in our future lives

felting

This was one of the first thursday afternoon classes that we had where we learned how to turn wool into felted/matted objects, sheets, and animals. At some point while we're here we will also learn how to make clothes as well. The process is a bit lengthy to write it out here but ask me and I'll let you know or check out http://www.squidoo.com/Wool-felting

wooden spoons

This spoon was created by placing a hot coal from a smouldering fire onto a piece of wood and then blowing the coal. By moving the coal around, you are able to "carve" out the shape of spoon that you're looking for. It takes probably about 15-20 mins of blowing on the coal to make this shape.
The handle is then formed through sanding.

blacksmithing

In this intro to blacksmithing class, we learned how to make the hook you see above. John, who taught us this class makes all sorts of things that are used all over the farm.

camping stove from a can

With just a couple tools, we turned a tomatoe juice can into a stove! Although a little toxic given the paint on the outside of the can and the fact that most cans have a plastic on the inside which must burn off first, its pretty interesting to be able to do this.

We poked holes in the bottom of the can to let air in, then cut little triangles along the top rim of the can and pushed them in, threw some wood chips in the bottom, a little lighter fluid to get things going, a match and then as soon as the fire heats up, the flames move from the bottom of the can up to the top where the little triangles are.

Somehow it is all of a sudden the middle of April!!! The garden has been planted with peas that are already about 6 inches tall and are reaching for a trellis that has yet to be constructed; the radishes are up and probably (hopefully) growing large fruits beneath the ground; the spinach isn't doing too well but maybe will bloom late; arugula has sprouted; beets and carrots have been planted; the greenhouse is full of all kinds of starts vying for warmth and sun; and tomorrow is a big day when I'll sow chickpeas, quinoa, more onions, and kale in my plot :)

We've been learning so much that it's almost impossible to keep this up to date. Every day in production garden we are overwhelmed with random facts and explanations to what seems like endless questions that we drill at our instructors. We also still have several classes each week with specific topics including one last week on "pests", where we discussed the different pests we'll encounter this summer (the pea weevil is already taking its toll on most of our peas) and how to combat these pests without adding chemicals and insecticides to our soil. Unfortunately for some pests, including the pea weevil crop rotation is the best method of making sure the weevil doesn't decimate your crop and making sure that clover isn't too close by (as they also feed on that)... unless you have endless hours to sit there waiting for them to show themselves and then picking them off of the plants...

Its funny... I can feel my perspective on many issues shifting. I'm already starting to see a change in the way that I look at agriculture and how far removed we are as a society or even I was (am) as a self-proclaimed "foodie" prior to emersing myself into this gardening program. One of the big shifts has been through studying permaculture. For those you who are unfamiliar with this term, it is basically the design of agricultural systems in order to create permanent high-yielding agricultural ecosystems (http://www.permaculture.org.uk/mm.asp?mmfile=whatispermaculture). What does that really mean? Well... it means looking at a situation such as a farm and planning it to be as efficient as possible where there is little to no waste as the waste is reabsorbed into the farm and is not longer seen as waste....and you work with the land as opposed to against it... take advantage of water traveling down a hill and the momentum it gains, situate your house south to get the most heat in the winter, plant trees that lose their leaves in the way of the sun so your house is shaded in the summer. All of these things are completely simple and are nothing more than common sense but are ideas that have often been completely eroded from the current mindset around planning.

With large scale industrialized systems, there is so much waste and so much inefficiency it is no wonder that we are in the midst of a food crisis and without a significant shift, who knows where we'll end up. This week we read a chapter from Omnivore's Dilemma about a farmer who has created this rotational system on his farm where each animal on the farm has been incorporated into this rotation, with one example being that chickens follow cows in the rotation for many reasons but one main reason is that they peck at the manure which spreads it evenly across the field, lessoning the work for the farmer as well as working with natural systems. Often, all it takes is to have these simple attributes of a natural system to be pointed out and how we might take advantage of them... and then we wonder why we never thought to do it this way before... it just makes sense!

The farm here has something around 40-45 chickens. They are free range birds that are kept in a big fenced in area that also has a hole cut in the fence so that they can wander around the forest as they please. As you can see in the picture to the left, an old truck has been transformed into their house and where they lay their eggs

These chickens are not kept for their meat but for their egg-laying abilities. Many of the chickens succumb to foxes, raccoons and eagles but most live out their days until they die of natural causes.

David today was telling us about the social interactions between the chickens themselves.

Within the 40 or so chickens, there are only 3 roosters. These roosters have a hierarchy which gives the one at the top free range of his choice to mate with who he would like as well as access to food. There is also a hierarchy within the hens that is disrupted as hens leave to sit on eggs for a while... and then when they return, the pecking  order is disrupted for a bit until things settle themselves again.

As well, despite that the rooster at the top will mate with most hens, he has favourites and will typically sit next to the same hen each night when they go to bed...

Chickens don't seem to be the smartest animals but they are curious and get into anything you allow them accress to.

The land that these chickens sit on is incorporated into the 5 year crop rotation pattern that takes place within the large production garden as their poo adds mass amounts of nitrogen to the soil... something that not many plants can follow. I think that the corn follows the chickens in the crop rotation... but I will double check and report back.

I also posted some photos at the bottom of the home page... check them out :)

Why is it that we have decided that agriculture/gardening requires us to cultivate our land?

This is the question that we discussed in class today. Well, of course there are many reasons that this has been adopted as standard practice, including decreasing competition, weed control, to dry the soil in spring, control of the land, loosening the soil, removing obstructions, to aid decomposition, incorporation of amendments, ease of harvest, release of nutrients, and of course for esthetics.

But... on the other hand, this practice also results in a waste of energy, it disrupts the natural makeup of the soil, kills worms, increases plant disease, compacts the soil, decreases its water holding capacity, causes erosion, instigates a loss of nutrients and organic matter and alos destroys natural syststem of nutrient release.

Less Invasive Cultivation Techniques
- Permanent tractor beds
   - these are beds that placed at a distance that allows for the tractor to drive through the fields and typically for this method, the tractor drags behind a device which cuts 2-3 inches under the top layer of the soil in order to rip up the weeds but to leave the structure of the soil entact
- No till agriculture (with many 'no-till' tools widely available). Look up Ruth Stout for more info or 'no dig gardening' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-dig_gardening
- Mulch: adding 2-3 inches of compost (or compostable materials)
   - seasonal mulch: results in less weeds and therefore no need to disturb
   - more to come on mulching at a later date
  

Linnaea Style: Living Mulch Examples
* sowing clover after corn has begun to grow allows for the clover to stop other weeds from taking over. If possible, it helps to cut the clover back after is it well established as this encourages a more dense growth
* for a late broccoli, starts can be planted into a bed of buckwheat (with small holes cut into the buckwheat), the broccoli will manage fine, weeds will be controlled and the bed won't need to be further disturbed

Getting Started: Sheet Mulch
- this is a permaculture idea, where layers of mulch are put on top of sod/weeds or what have you where you'd like to turn it into a bed.
- these layers usually begin with cardboard (to stop perennials), then followed with manure, nettles, etc and topped with compost and/or soil to plant into
- ideally, this would be left for one year
- holes can also be cut into the cardboard and plants can be planted right into the ground but weeds will often find their way through these holes and make it difficult for the plants to survive.

Is tilling bad?
No, tilling isn't necessarily bad and in the words of our gardening guru instructor, David... "you just have to try it out and see what works best"

One of the main parts of this program is for each student to have a plot of land to garden. With each plot, the student is able to do with it what they would like under the condition that they aim to leave the soil quality at the same or higher level than when they got it. As well, we must each leave enough compost for the student next year.

We are also expected to follow crop rotation planning and can attempt to companion plant or follow biodynamic ideology... but more to come on those things at a later time.

This is a photo of the plot that I have this season. "Gate Plot"... as I am closest to the gate... very creative :) My plot extends to the compost bin you can see in the top left over to the cloche on the right and down towards the black plastic. There is a bit of the garden cut out below and to the left of the photo... but you get the idea. This part of the farm is a little bit 'messy' because each student has free will to be as creative as they please... but it all seems to work out. I decided not to make any major changes to my plot as it seemed pretty functional.

To the left here are my first veggies to sprout... radishes! So far I have only planted in my cloche as it is still getting a bit cold at times. Eventhough the season here begins much earlier the frost date is still the same as in ON (May long weekend)...although one can take more chances here as the likelihood of a large snowfall or the temperture dropping below 0 for an extended portion of time is much less.

This afternoon, we had our first herbology class. So exciting! We will have 8+ of these classes where our two teachers teach us about all of the medicinal weeds that surround us and how we can extract their medicinal properties. We will learn about making teas, oils, lip balms, cough syrup, soaps, plant id walks, etc!

Today we learned about tinctures!

The first tincture we made was with stinging nettle. These grow all over the farm and we had already been eating them (in lasagna, steamed, in tea, etc) but today we collected them, chopped them up as small as possible, put them into a jar and filled up the jar with vodka (50 proof). This concoction will sit for 2 weeks (i think?... maybe one week), and shook everyday as often as possible and then the nettle leaves will be strained and the remaining vodka will be ready to go.

Stinging nettle is really diverse! It can be used in quiche, soup, as pesto. It is also a diaretic, help promote the flow of urine, elimination of wast and can help as a postpartum tonic!

Its also interesting avoiding being stung.... which i didnt' do so well. But, the sting is quite mild and is almost addictive. The stings can be used on sore muscle as it attracts blood to that part of your body and helps it mend.

Yellow dock was the 2nd tincture that we made. This is a common weed here... pretty much eveywhere you look once its pointed out. For this one, the plant is removed from the ground but it is the root of the plant that has the herbal qualities. The root itself is extremely yellow and bitter to taste. This is chopped up into the smallest pieces possible and then submerged into vodka. From here the process is the same with the pieces being strained and the remaining liquid then holding the medicinal qualities.

This tincture helps with the digestive system, including the liver (re: hung over days). It also contains iron which is easily absorbed... helping anemia and fatigue. Also good for PMS, constipation, helps treating jauntice, etc!

Once you have these tincture, I think all you need is 10-15 drops on your tongue or diluted in water, twice per day!

I'm beginning this blog exactly one month after the programme begun. Much has happened and the learning curve has been steep. I will not begin with an excessively long entry but instead attempt to incorporate what has already been learned and experienced into future entries.

Our classes this week have been focused on taking note of the things that surround us everyday, things we don't tend to notice or appreciate for the amazing gifts it can provide for us.

Last week we went on a 3 hour hike as a class where we were to keep silent. This was to allow us to notice the sounds around us and appreciate the forest that we were hiking through. Then on monday, we discussed all of the things that we saw and the thoughts we were having while hiking in silence... eliminating trivial conversation and instead relying on inner dialogue/observation for entertainment.

On Tuesday each week, we have permaculture class. Oliver and Liz our instructors usually lead a discussion/lecture during the morning followed by an outdoor activity in the afternoon. This week the morning's discussion followed a similar theme as we discussed permaculture principles, including the idea of 'succession' as it relates to permaculture design. This focuses us on observing systems related to agriculture and how we can alter them or guide them to serve dual purposes and help them grow to be beneficial. This means taking note of many functions that we don't normally observe.

These activities require more acute observation of our surroundings, as both in permaculture and organic gardening, it is necessary to be taking advantage of all the assets that surround us...much of which is deemed to be unimportant by society's standards, is just paved over or their functions are substituted by modern 'solutions'.

Solutions as well as new ideas are all around us (both in and out of a city), we just need to open our eyes and be open to seeing them.