ANOTHER URBAN FARM? AND SUMMER (June 10th, 2015)

I have not really shared a lot about my personal life on this blog but now I have a chance. Next year I will be attending the downtown campus for my senior year. On Monday I showed Mrs. Unser this blog and talked to her about what we are doing over here in the courtyard and she was very excited and was wondering if we could start a smaller, indoor urban farm at the downtown campus. It is currently "all up in the air" but I am planning on starting a worm bin in the classroom to promote composting food scraps and well as a positive idea of urban agriculture!

I have decided to take a break from blogging this summer just because I am very busy with other projects and not much will be happening. I hope you all have a great time soaking up the sun!

Neglect of "The Blog" (June 7th, 2015)

Hello everybody! I am so sorry I've been mistreating the blog! School was coming to an end and I was very busy and rushing around trying to finish a lot of work, as well as planing to maintain the farm during the summer months! There have been a few people on my case requesting that I update the blog.

I would like to thank all the adults and students alike for helping to make the garden more useful! 

Mr. Bauer helped us to establish a grape vine, many students helped to decorate or dig up some dirt, and Mrs. Dorschner was always there to guide me! During the summer we will have people who will come in regularly to help water plants and to maintain the farm. I will be there tomorrow morning if anyone is interested in a "tour". Also, we need to find recycled objects that we could use as planter boxes. So far I have and old aluminum trash can and a metal bucket! Thank you all so much for your contributions and effort! I will see you all this summer!

Math teachers using the farm!

Wonderful helpers

"The boys" have always been there to help bring in heavy objects

Starting to dig a hole for the posts

Mr. Bauer's planting the grape vine

"William's Vineyard"

Popularity and Social Outreach (May 21st, 2015)

Our Urban Farm is gaining followers and more people who are interested in helping out. If you are interested in helping out or simply want a tour of our growing farm please stop down every 2nd mod! We had two students help to paint our two garden tables a nice light sage color.

Getting a headstart on the tables

Alisha helping out by painting

Joe has been a HUGE help this past week!

Painting and Planting (May 20th)

Today I put in some new herbs and plants that Mrs. Kelly (one of our school's librarians) donated to our urban farm. She game us sage, rhubarb, and tarragon plant. Mrs. Weber (a teacher at NHS) had also donated a lardge box full of chive that her husband had dug up the night before. We are selling small bags of chives in the teacher's lounge for a $1 a bag to help support future purchases to the courtyard.

Rhubarb thanks to Mrs. Kelly!

Painting the "Garden Table"

Renovated Water Feature! (May 19th)

Today Josh finished the pond in the courtyard. He worked very hard to seal the cracks, install an new filter and water pump, and to make sure it was safe for use. Here is a video of him explaining the pond.

In the morning (2nd mod) I began to dig up day lilies and thistles to create a space to move the cold frame on the other side of the courtyard.  We are planing on dumping a few bags of fresh manure in each of the cold frames to "liven" up the soila and begin to plant a variety of pumpkin plants in the cold frame. 

We are spray painting our tomato cages red, to keep with the theme of NHS, and growing a large amount of tomato plants to make a number of different food items such as salsa, ketchup, and fresh salads.

Cucumbers and Cauliflower (May 18th)

WHAT A BUSY DAY! We had a very productive day outside this morning! Last night I went to Menard's and got peppers, thyme, cauliflower, cabbage, and Swiss chard. Mrs. D bought eggplants, cucumbers, pumpkins, and more native flowers for our "Native Wisconsin" garden box. When second mod started I went out and turned the soil and added a bag of compost to each of our garden beds getting ready to plant our veggies. Then we starting planting! I started with planting the thyme in our herb box, then I planted the flowers in the "Native Wisconsin" box, and finished by renovating our new vegetable box. My boyfriend Josh also helped to fix our courtyard "pond", a concrete water feature that needed some major TLC he sealed the cracks and added some additional features.

Our future pond!

Josh sealing the cracks in the concrete

Our pea plants with the cauliflower on the left

Our garden table with our new vegetables

Emily and I planting cucumber

Our plans for the near future include:
-A "working" composting bin
-A worm box
-Two planter boxes: 1 for out edible flowers, 1 for our peppers
-Painting our garden table
-Growing grapes on the gazebo

Digging and Distributing (May, 14 2015)

Hello!
Today was a very busy day. Emily and I dug up mums to create a vegetable box and we tore up day lilies to make a space for our second cold box. We we able to divide the mums into smaller chunks and give them out to teachers to plant in their garden! We gave out the flowers to Mrs. Coons, Mr. Ernst (Our subsitute teacher for the day), and Mrs. Keating and they all were very appreciative for the hard work we put in the farm. Most of my time and effort has been given into this garden; I am determined to make this garden my "high school legacy". If anyone is interested in spearmint or raspberry we have plenty to share! Just come on down and get a tour of our progress so far! Due to unfortunate circumstances I will not be posting tomorrow but look foward to a worm box next week and grape on the gazebo with the help of Mr. Bauer.

Pictures will come soon.

Chives and Colombine! (May, 13th 2015)

Today included a lot of transplanting and cleaning up. I moved columbine flowers into our "Native Wisconsin" garden box, I found some small lavender plants and gave them to teachers and staff, and planted basil into the ground. I realize that I am getting a large audience and would like to give out my email if there are any recommendation that could be given to me or for the garden. (dcmoorcroft@gmail.com)

Weeded out the chives

Planted some basil in our herb garden

Gave Mrs. Pierce lavender, oregano, and mint

Added columbine to the "Native Wisconsin" box

Rocket Red Wigglers and "Recycling" Sunflower Stalks (Tuesday, May 12)

Today has been a slow day around the farm. In the beginning of class Emily and I watched a YouTube video about "worm farming" and how to use the worm castings in and around the garden. We plan on starting a worm bin by the end of the week. Towards the end of the period we went outside and reclaimed old sunflower stalks to make a trellis for our morning glory flowers.

Replanting the morning glory flowers

Turning the soil for the morning glory flowers to be planted

Classic "American Gothic" photo (Emily and I)

Blast Off! (Monday May 11th)

Although it was been cold and rainy this morning we have finally got this project "lifted off the ground". I have: established garden boxes for herbs, native Wisconsin plants, moved around some boxes and plants to make a few vegetable boxes, and thinned out our raspberry patch. I finally planted our beans on the trellis named Jack as well.

Dwight, a student at NHS is working with a supervisor to help me garden and finish up the projects I have started in the morning. Today he is going to go out and pick up weeds around the garden boxes and railroad ties. 

Our two herb boxes

Weeding around the milkweed to create a butterfly garden

The overgrown raspberry patch

Our "Native Wisconsin" garden box. 

The base of "Jack" with a barrel of beans

Two glass "roofed" garden boxes I will fill with compost soon

Welcome to NHS Urban Farm (May 4th-May 8th)

Hello! My name is Daniel Moorcroft, a junior at Neenah High School with a passion to grow/raise food locally and sustainably. For my "final" in my "Intro to Drawing and Painting" I am transforming the courtyard into a small urban farm to benefit our school's social climate. With the help of my art teacher my ultimate goal is to leave a legacy for years to come with plenty of fresh foods to consume.

Lisa Dorschner and I on Wednesday May 6th when I brought in two chickens for my American Lit. class

We are just in the beginning stages of our garden. I took some time to move around some already existing plants and transplant them into more appropriate raised beds. I found lavender, oregano, spearmint, and chives that I moved into a single raised bed. (It will be the herb garden bed)