Finishing the Hawken Farm

We made tremendous progress in the last few days on the Hawken Farm. With the finishing touches completed on the chicken coop, we have finally shifted focus completely to the garden. Mr. Wilson brought a truck bed full of compost for us to spread across the beds to provide nutrients for the soil. The initial compost spread across roughly half of the beds, enough to start planting.

We had to move a patch of onions that was growing next to the peas before project even started because the two do not grow well together (companion planting, yo.) Instead, I moved the onions to the first two beds where I introduced tomatos as well. These plants have a synergistic effect on each other. Ms. Clark and Liam had started seeds of tomato, eggplant, and hot pepper, in planters which had now sprouted. We took the crates of these sprouts and transplanted them into the beds. I combined the eggplants with the hot peppers because hot peppers keep aphids and other pests that attack eggplant away.

The next day, Nate and I went to buy irrigation supplies to provide water to our beds. We bought 500' of hose and a 4 way spicket adapter to turn the standard tap on the side of our garden into designated irrigation pump. We brought the hose back to the garden and connected it to the tap and winded it around the garden, making sure that it covered every part of each bed. We then drilled small holes into the hose and capped the ends. When we turned the water on, the hoses filled with pressure and water sprinkled out of every hole we drilled. The irrigation system worked.

Mr. Wilson then came back with another truckload of compost which was spread across the rest of the garden. The hose that crossed over pathways was buried.

The entire farm is almost finished. We have to construct several raised beds and spread wood chips across the paths on top of the preexisting cardboard. Hawken Middle Schoolers are coming up to help us out on Friday. We are going to have them help us plant the rest of the beds and haul bricks for final touches on the pathways. Besides that, the farm is finished.