The Plan
I have just gotten back from lunch at Mamie’s (the grandma) house and Pascal has told me that he has a meeting with a client until 3ish but after that he will take me into the orchard and show me around. After venturing in the orchard he says that we will do some apple analyzing with Stephinie, my host mom and co-partner of the orchard, followed by a tour the packing house where all the apples are stored. I think today is just a basic “here are the different aspects of an orchard” type of day.
What I Learned
I went into today thinking that I would get a run through of all the different components of the farm: the orchard, the data collection, the manufacturing, and I did all that, but in
addition I learned just how much one’s practices can affect the yield. For example, today when I was in the orchard with Pascal, he took me to several different places with varying
levels of successful cover crops. His goal in doing this was to show me how the soil quality was effected by the plants around it. Where there were smaller and less developed cover crops, the more dry the soil was, while the bigger and more developed cover crops, the more wet, woodsy smelling, and teeming with life the soil was. During our time in the orchard Pascal also reiterated the idea that the types of cover crops is important is well. He reiterated the idea that different plants worked differently and could provide the soil with different nutrients. He specifically emphasized the importance of legumes, stating how depending on where they were placed, they are able to source nitrogen from either the ground or air, depending on what’s most needed. For example, if legumes were placed next to a crop like maize which takes nitrogen from the ground, the legume would take nitrogen from the air and put it back into the ground where it is currently lacking. In addition to learning about how cover crops like legumes effect the soil, I was also able to learn about how they actually effect the apple’s quality. Upon
analyzing the apples, I learned that the cover crops most effected the brix level, which is a form of measurement to gauge sweetness as well as micronutrients. The higher the number, the more sweet and the more micronutrients it has meaning that the apple is gaining more nutrients from the soil….which is representative of all the diverse nutrients being implemented into the soil by the cover crops. Once again displaying the reoccurring theme that everything is connected and working with nature is the most beneficial method of agriculture. Following this apple analysis I then proceeded to learn about their storing practices which seem to be quite typical. In short, they store the apples in airtight chambers and severely reduce the amount
of oxygen and CO2 in the room. They do this in an attempt to reduce how much the apple breathes because the more the apple breathes, the more carbon it releases, and the faster the apple spoils. In addition to modifying what’s in the air, they also modify the temperature of the air to anywhere from .5-3 degrees Celsius depending on the species of apple/pear so as to reduce the speed at which the apple breathes, the colder it is, the less they breathe. There is more that goes into it but that is the main information, everything else that I learned about the process is just technicalities. After learning all of this I then proceeded to do 3 hours of research on topics Pascal had given me including watching an hour long video on Ray Achuleta, listening to part of a podcast in which Ray and other agricultural innovators talk about their agricultural methods, in addition to starting to watch a presentation on Jill Clapperton.
Reflection
So far, in this intensive i have learned a lot though I’m finding that my need to be a respectful and an involved member of the family is somewhat hindering my potential to learn. What I mean by that is, there are times when the family has an event i.e. a meal, a movie, a birthday party, a desire to go to a wallaby park, etc., and to show my respect to the family I must participate in said event even though later on it will mean that I must stay up late to fulfill my academic requirements. For example, the other day I was unable to work from 8-1:30 (from 8-12 I was away from the house because of a birthday party and from 12-1:30 there was lunch with the family). I was able to work on my own from 2-3 (because my hosts had a meeting) and from 3:30-5ish and 5:30ish to 7ish I worked with my hosts. I showered and helped set the table until dinner at 7:45. After dinner ended at 9ish, the family wanted to watch a movie and to be respectful I watched a bit of it. So by 9:45 when I stopped watching the movie, I still had 2 hours of work to do. I’m not saying I shouldn’t participate in these activities or that they’re a waste of time, they’re not, though by participating in these activities and modifying my work time around the family’s bonding, it adds extra stress to me, who, in all, came with objective of learning.