Aggie Abundance Week #1

Oliver's Garden

Entering sophomore, Oliver, would like to share a landscape planting job he did in Cohasset!! 

"In the pictures below we planted 4 green mountain boxwoods, 5 oriental spruces, 3 Chamaecyparus, and 6 azaleas. This job was quite difficult due to the location being up a steep hill and the transportation of the trees and shrubs. Luckily we were able to safely lift the trees over an existing stone wall and transport them by a tree dolly and a small Vermeer mini skid steer up plywood sheets. I have learned many things such as leaning the tops of the trees forward and applying burlap to the cambium to lessen the damage when tying a rope to the cambium. This trick of pointing the top forward was a trick my family learned from haulka nurseries out of New Jersey.  This is my first big planting this year and I look to learning new things at work and at school next year!"

Great work Oliver!! 

Jack's Garden

From entering sophomore, Jack! 

Check out his cool veggie garden!

Aggie Abundance!!

Norfolk County Agricultural High School proudly presents.... 

The Aggie Abundance Victory Garden! 

In uncertain times, the Aggie would like to step up its community service with the important task of raising food for the community! 

This week was a huge leap forward for the Aggie Abundance Covid Victory Garden.  Teachers volunteered their time to plant vegetables that will be given away this summer to help families make ends meet during this time of food shortages and high unemployment.

  Thousands of vegetables have been planted.

In true Aggie form people have pulled together to help the greater community. 

Bob Brol and Fred Bernhardt spent time welding and adapting an antique plow that was donated to the Aggie so that it could be pulled behind a tractor, as we no longer have draft horses on campus.  John Lee put the plow to good use and created furrows  so that potatoes donated from Gilmores could be planted.  The entire garden is  now planted!  We will be looking for staff and alumni volunteers to help maintain the garden, harvest, and package before being given away. 

Thank you to everyone who volunteered.  It takes a team.

Mr. Stone, Ms. Fegley, Ms. Forsyth, and Mr. Kane planting some peppers!

Mr. Thompson, Mr. Ruvich, Ms. McGarry, & Ms. Collins planting some Broccoli! 

Look at this beauuuuutiful purple cabbage!

ASPARAGUS! YUM!

"Yesterday, we had our first asparagus harvest from my grandfather's garden in New Hampshire. It is roughly 15 square feet, and was first planted over 60 years ago. It still produces a massive harvest every year." Jack W. Grade 9

Rain Gardens!

Riley B., Grade 12 made an incredible Rain Garden design for her yard!!!

"I chose to put my rain garden in the area that I did, because I believe that it would be the most efficient there. It is located at the bottom of a slope which will really help with the direction of the water flow from the underground pipe that I would install. This area is also free from trees and isn’t swampy so those won’t be problematic factors. Another factor that I thought was very important for the location is that it is located right next to the stream that runs through my yard. This will allow all the water that overflows in the garden to drain directly into the stream. The good thing about my house is that I have multiple drain points in my yard so all the water runoff can be divided up.

For the deepest level of the garden, I chose to plant Deer fern and Red Twig Dogwood. I chose these plants for that level because they both are very drought resistant and are bigger than the other plants so that they should be able to be seen when the other plants are growing on the higher levels. I also chose these plants because I liked how they looked aesthetically. Out of all the plants the Red Twig Dogwood is probably my favorite because it gives off such a pop of color and I liked how the deer fern complimented that by makinging the red more prominent. 

For the level in the middle that doesn’t get as much water than the deepest level, I chose Wild Ginger, Lupine, and Pacific Aster. I chose these plants not only because they fit the requirements to strive in a rain garden but how they look and the colors that they bring to the palette. The wild Ginger is a very simple plant but gives a very rainforest vibe to the garden. I chose the other two plants because they have very beautiful unique flowers that were very visually pleasing in my eyes.

Finally for the shallowest level in the garden, I chose to plant Evergreen Huckleberry and Western Columbine. These plants proved to survive in the conditions of the rain garden. I chose the Evergreen Huckleberry because I believe that it will add a new texture to the garden and provide berries that I think would look really good. I also chose the Western Columbine because I love the flower on it and the red and yellow from it give the garden another pop of color."

CNN Article:

The human needs driving the rise in gardening, and how to start one

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/03/health/how-to-start-gardening-coronavirus-wellness/index.html