We thought it would be of interest to share with the membership an update on the Encinitas Union School District (EUSD) Farm Lab on Quail Gardens Drive. It is a fantastic facility with lots going on.
On the farm:
We are still ‘growing’ full speed ahead. Currently we are harvesting successions of lettuce varieties, chard, broccoli, celery, carrots and snap peas. Our produce not able to be utilized in school lunch options is being bagged and distributed to EUSD families. Recently our organic certification status was elevated when we became Real Organic Project certified. This recognizes our shift beyond no pesticides to a full regenerative agriculture model. Our production practices create soil that sequesters more carbon and, therefore, helps mitigate climate change as we grow produce for our students.
Site Projects:
We are currently constructing a Post-Harvest barn in collaboration with our farming partners, The Ecology Center. This structure will include cold storage, a covered place for washing and packing harvested produce, and a small garage for our EV ranger and walk behind BCS tractor. The estimated completion date is December 31. Eventually, the front of the barn will be the Encinitas pick-up area on Tuesdays for our 130 Farm Share members. What is Farm Share? It’s the CSA program run by The Ecology Center. To learn more or sign up, click here<https://farmshare.theecol
Farm Lab has also recently added a new deck between building Six and Seven, and the office decks are under construction. By the end of January we will also have placed our long awaited greenhouse for seed propagation.
Partnerships:
You may have noticed that the Encinitas Community Garden has expanded on the north end all the way to the fence line. The wait list for families had grown exponentially, so we provided more land for the garden to lease to meet the community need. There are an additional 20 raised beds for families wanting to grow their own.
Farm Lab was a drop off and main composting site for a Jack-o-Lantern waste diversion event last in early November. The project was hosted by the City of Encinitas and BCK, and kept over 350 pumpkins out of the landfill. Farm Lab is always willing to support projects that green our beautiful city!
Because Farm Lab cannot host student group visits due to COVID-19 regulation, the YMCA has leased our main classrooms to host distance learning childcare for the weekdays that EUSD students are not in school. We look forward to having students back on site for sustainability education, but are so glad the site can meet a community need for our families during this unprecedented time.