During my second week as a UMD Extension intern, my primary tasks included helping with the Specialty Mushroom Farming Workshop at CMREC, planting Swiss Chard and field peas in preparation for the biochar experiment, and beginning to draft Extension articles about biochar and the workshop.
The Specialty Mushroom Farming Workshop took place in one of the several classrooms at CMREC, Clarksville Facility. Extension Educator Neith Little gave an opening presentation about common issues associated with mushroom growing. Image Credit: UMD Extension Specialty Mushroom Program.
Beginning to write the articles was the task for which I had the most prior experience. While in high school, I was the 2021-2022 Maryland State Dairy Princess and part of my role was writing informational newspaper articles about the dairy industry and its products. Thus, my time as the Maryland Dairy Princess prepared me well for a position in Extension where writing educational articles about agriculture is part of the job.
In terms of new experiences and skills I have picked up this week, I have begun the process of growing Swiss Chard from seed by myself. Dr. Qianwen Lu and I are growing Swiss Chard because this plant species is heat-tolerant and will serve as a good point of study during our upcoming biochar experiment this summer. Before this week, I had never gone through the process of placing soil in a tray, planting seeds by hand, and watering the seeds until they grow to eventually become produce. After planting the seeds one day at CMREC, I took two trays of Swiss Chard home with me where I continued to water the seeds and provide them an environment with optimum temperature and sunlight levels. At the time I am writing this blog post, I am happy to share that the seeds have already germinated! I am proud of myself and I am excited to see the Swiss Chard continue to grow to maturity in the coming weeks.
The Swiss Chard germinated in trays outside of my house. Image Credit: Elizabeth
As a Crop Science major, my biggest interests in college so far have included agronomic crops more so than horticultural products. However, after successfully completing some gardening work this week, I have become more interested in fruit and vegetable production and gardening as a hobby. By the time I am finished with my internship for the summer, I hope I have garnered enough hands-on experience, practical knowledge, and confidence to begin growing my own produce and flowers. It has already been quite satisfying to witness the beginning growth stages of the Swiss Chard and so I am interested in learning how I can continue to grow more products in the future.
Lastly, another new experience I had this week was seeing how an educational Extension workshop is set up and what it can look like. This week, I sat in for the Specialty Mushroom Farming Workshop where there were speakers giving presentations on mushroom production, business marketing, and enterprise budgeting. I learned so much about specialty mushrooms which was a topic in which I had no prior knowledge. The workshop took place in one of the classrooms at CMREC for local producers and I enjoyed witnessing Extension outreach and education take place.
Overall, this week was busy and educational and sparked new interests. I am excited for next week where I will get to attend farm tours with the Maryland Association of County Agricultural Agents (MACAA). Thanks for reading!
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