Crop farming from seed to table
Year 2 seedlings grow their knowledge about food at Solley’s Farm.
Ladies and gentlemen, the tradition of farming in East Kent might not be lost after all thanks to the wonderful Mr and Mrs Solley and the informative people at Intercrop. You never know, one of our amazing Year 2 pupils could be the next Mr Solley! Throughout the day the children learnt about produce from seed to table. Starting off in the potato shed Year 2 learnt about the different types of potatoes and how they are sorted. My goodness, did you know that there is now a machine that stacks the bags of potatoes rather than five men? Not forgetting the fascinating fact that even if there was a tiny black mark on a potato it would be a reject for animals to eat! Moving on to the fields, Mr Solley showed us the pile of paper that he uses for fertiliser. Yes….I did write fertiliser! He even informed us that it smelt worse than the traditional manure that some farmers use. Isn’t that amazing! Naturally Year 2 were awe struck by the Combine Harvester, but probably the best part of the day has to be the tractor and trailer ride to Intercrop via the dusty and bumpy fields. The children and staff absolutely loved it. Fear not though, Mr Solley was an excellent and safe driver and there was no way that the children could fall out. Singing songs taught be Mr Ainsworth at maximum sound level it felt as though we were all back in the 1900’s! Happy children off to work!
Reaching the company of Intercrop the children were shown the pickers in the field. It was certainly back-braking work which none of the children wanted to do when they grew up! Then Mr Solley took us to the packing station itself. Watching the process of how the company pack salad items was really interesting. The children learnt about vacuum packing and how water is added to leaves in order for them to be moist again. Dressing up was fun too! Year 2 put on their protective hats and overalls and went inside the enormous room where spinach was put into bags. Did you know that if the leaves are not the right size, or have any mark on them, they too get thrown off the production line? Our final stop was inside a secret poly-tunnel where a new way of growing lettuces is being produced; sorry, we can’t tell you about it…IT’S TOP SECRET! We can say that it doesn’t use any kind of soil.
Travelling back to the farm the children all said that they had enjoyed themselves a lot, even if they were all dirty from hair to toe! Year 2 were so well behaved, asked lots of mature questions and developed their knowledge of crops. Thank you so much Mr and Mrs Solley and Intercrop. You can’t beat a hands on experience for encouraging the act of healthy living can you?
