Phil Nguyen

Hi readers, this week marks the halfway point of the internship. It's a little sad since it is coming to an end. I've busy especially since I am going between offices more frequently. But I am glad to be exposed to the different parts of Extension this week. 

Monday
It was telework today which involved finishing up the video for a field visit. Below is just a draft. The complete one exceeded the size limit. 

I think I am really proud of this because this was my first time using something besides iMovie. Using Clipchamp the first time, I managed to make something in several hours. I think sometimes by just testing things, you can get great results.

Tuesday

Here I returned to the Wicomico office. Haley came back from her trip so we met in person today for the first time. I am very grateful to the team for letting me use their spare office.

Today I worked on the factsheet as well as making new edits to the video. Soon I will upload the promo for all to see.

Other than that, I also submitted my forms for direct deposit since I was rather late in that regard. Even though I had a job before, I feel like the onboarding process can still trip me up.

Here is a picture of the Salisbury Farmer's Market next to the Asbury Church. It can be important to engage with nearby farmers as part of extension.

Wednesday

Today, Haley and I stopped at LESREC to check out the blackberries and blueberries. We met up with Emily Zobel and Macy Cook to do some field work.

Me with the kale.

The blackberries were starting to spread out quite rapidly. We had to clip them to the trellis to make sure they wouldn't spread all over the ground. Mini blackberry plants have started to grow in the middle of the field aisles.

The blueberries here were unfortunately eaten by some birds. So it looks like we'll have to wait for more berries next week.

Haley and I ended up setting up for the taste panel on Friday.

Thursday

It was humid today in Salisbury. We went to pick up blueberries and blackberries today at the Wye Research and Education Center. I was sweating quite severely and there were a lot of bugs around.

I met with Chris Cochran, the manager at the Wye facility. He and many others stationed at this center have been working really hard to collect samples as well as take care of the berry plants.

There are about 14 varieties for both blackberries and blueberries. However, not all of them are in season. Therefore, it looks like we will have to wait for some of them. I'm excited for Last Call. Just the name sounds cool to me.

Here is the blueberry field at the Wye Research and Education Center. It may look pretty but it was REALLY hot in this picture. I was dripping in sweat that day.

Friday

Thankfully it was a lot cooler today. The setup for today is rather exciting. We administered a taste panel using some of the blackberries and blueberries.

Setting up taste tests can be quite complicated because we have to make sure everything is clean and organized for the best results.

Here were the tested varieties:

Blackberries: Natchez, Ponca, Osage, Caddo

Blueberries: Legacy, peachy blue, top shelf, blue ribbon.

Just some of the blueberries. Taste panels are fun, but they sure do require a lot of set up.

 

The pool of data was rather small so we hope to conduct more taste panels to get a larger sample size. In my opinion, I would say that I like peachy blue raspberries and natchez blackberries.

Conclusions

I think one part that I am most concerned about is making the most of my time here for Extension. It feels like I am getting there at least on a local scale. But not as much with other members from other offices. That is to be expected though since the Eastern shore is very remote. Other than that, I am really glad to be part of a team where I feel like I am doing something.