Monday, 5/9
Quadrant 2 
Quadrant 5
This morning during class, half of us tackled the weeding of quadrants 2 and 5 in the Herb Garden. These quadrants were the two closest to getting fully weeded so I was hoping that we would have time at the end of class to get some woodchips laid down for weed suppression, but we, unfortunately, did not have enough time before class finished.
Layer of cardboard 
Layer of woodchips on top
Luckily, I was able to come back in the afternoon and finish up work in one of the two quadrants with support from Sarah Dyer. We tackled the last of the weeding before getting a second opinion on the woodchips from Caleb Poppe, farm caretaker and substitute for Beth as she is off on vacation this week. He thought that adding a layer of cardboard beneath the woodchips would be a better idea and then helped us locate the cardboard in one of the farm’s supplies sheds. Sarah cut strips off of the roll as I laid them down around the visible herb plants, maneuvering the pieces through the mass of agrimony to make sure all areas were covered. Then, we used three wheelbarrow loads of woodchips to spread over top. I was nervous about the final result but it actually looks really nice and inviting! Huge shoutout of gratitude to both Sarah Dyer and Caleb Poppe for their support in this process. Also, another huge shoutout to Carlos Orozco, a SCARF member who dedicated some time this afternoon to clearing the pathway between quadrants 1 and 5. The space is beginning to look so much better because of everyone who has offered their time to help beautify this area, I am beyond grateful and excited about it.
As our unknown plant continues to grow, I am amazed by the beauty of its leaves, the spiral they create in the center as the new growth unfolds. However, I am beginning to question whether this is actually a centaury or feverwort plant as we currently believe it to be; the photos of both of those plants appear nothing like what I see above. I am excited to do more exploration as the season continues.
Tuesday, 5/10
Tonight was SCARF’s first baking night at the farmhouse! A small but mighty group of us gathered together to bake a variety of sweet treats for our upcoming bake sale on Thursday. I made a batch of snickerdoodles, Carlos made some yummy chocolate chip cookies, Joseph worked on our dipped pretzel treats, and Sarah tackled the rice crispies. It was really fun to come together as a club community, throw on a movie in the background, and just talk about food and life as we baked to support our growing club. I am starting to feel very connected with my club friends and I’m very appreciative of that!
Thursday, 5/12
With all of the hardest work for the bake sale out of the way, all that was left to do on Thursday was set up our stand, make some signs, and sell our baked goodies. It was pouring rain, but Laura, Carlos, and I all worked together to get everything ready, and I think our display turned out to be very cute despite the crummy weather! Even though it was a slower day, we still fundraised over $60 and gained two new club members, which feels like a success to me for our first sale. In the future, having gluten-free items will be important, we received two requests for gluten-free baked goodies and I already have the perfect gluten-free cookie recipe to throw into our rotation. Huge shoutout to both Laura and Carlos for sticking through it with me in the rain!
