Pacifica Gardens Day 1 cont.

Time spent: 4 hours

Action: Learning about Pacifica Gardens
Intro to planting, weeding methods

Next Action: I plan to start helping out in the garden after learning the proper techniques of organic farming

How Am I doing?: Learning how to plant, weed and more about the organic techniques used in this garden made me more curious and interested in this project. I like how Pacifica Gardens avoids conventional farming techniques which erodes soil and uses harmful pesticides and sticks to organic farming methods that don't harm the soil and it's organisms within.

Pacifica Gardens Day 1 (senior project)

Saturday, January 29, 2011

10:00-1:30

Today was my first day at Pacifica Gardens at Linda Mar High School. I met my mentor, Loretta, who taught me the basics of gardening- weeding, planting, and making compost. Each step was new to me and it was interesting how you had to handle plants in a certain way and add certain ingredients to make compost. I had the chance to work hands-on with all of the above.

The group that I worked with spent time planting and tilling the soil. We removed harmful weeds and allocated a space for those first. We then raked the soil flat and sprinkled compost over the surface in preparation for planting. We sifted through compost and toured the garden as well.

It was a novel experience to learn firsthand how to create compost, plant several different herbs and distinguish between organisms that were beneficial or harmful for plants.

At the next visit, I plan to learn more about how their planting techniques affect the soil and more about plant production practices in the subject of sustainable agriculture.