The first class in Sustainable Urban Agriculture at City College!

The AGRI 102 class in Sustainable Urban Agricultural Practice shared a potluck at the Seeds Farm the other day to celebrate a day of hard work growing food.

This class of 27 students are learning skills in propagation, composting, water wise irrigating methods for our arid region, building soil fertility, integrated pest management, fruit tree care and a whole grip of important skills involved in managing small-scale organic urban farms and food gardens.

These students work hard to help care for a half acre campus farm at City College as well as attend field trips around the county, visiting working farms and community gardens. Help me welcome this amazing class of farming students at City!

our compost is cookin'!

Here are some of our apprentices turning a pile of compost that had reached 160 degrees. What you see is the metabolic oxidation of hard-working microbes in the pile as they 'burn up' or digest, carbon-based organic matter, respiring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. By layering our piles in healthy proportions of 'greens' and 'browns' (or nitrogen materials and carbon materials), adding air and moisture- we encourage legions of heat-loving bacteria, or 'thermophiles', to decompose prunings and food scraps and other organic matter into a rich, brown compost that we amend back into our vegetable beds.

Hooray for compost and building healthy soil!

"From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity."

-Edvard Munch

Welcome to our new Fall Apprentices!

Welcome to our newest batch of Seeds apprentices at the farm!

Kaylinn, Jill, Oscar, Joseph, Michelle and Nillah will be helping to transition our Summer garden into the cooler season. Come meet them any Tuesday or Saturday from 9-Noon on Volunteer Days. They'll be busy at work and would love your help!

Julia found a bee swarm!

Julia found a swarm of bees and called Paul


there is the swarm, the bees need a new home!


Paul suits up Yael, Julia, Sarita and Anthony


Thumbs up with bee gloves on


We're almost ready



Everyone is ready


Paul's going in with the bucket


Slowly but surely, he cuts the plant the bees have swarmed onto


Paul is a smooth operator, he got the swarm



everyone gets a good look


finder's keepers!


Paul puts the bees in the bucket and then puts a canvas on top


then he taped the canvas down


happy bee suit girl Yael


Now the bees are on their way to their new home!

Anthony and the dino kale

Cindy and the hidden watering can

Marco and the pumpkin