Video Project Proposal

I’m not 100% sure on what I’m supposed to be writing about, but I think I’d like to take a video of myself showing examples of 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics. I could demonstrate also energy transfers and the loss of energy within these transfers.I could also do a powerpoint with photos and explanations of 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics.

Apple Orchard

I enjoyed our trip to the Apple farm, on Monday. I learned a lot about the different pests that exist on the apple farm and I had only been to one apple orchard and it was when I was much younger. One thing I wanted to know was why do apple trees seem to get turned on and off so quickly. There is an apple orchard by my house and the year they went out of business the apples instantly went away. I researched and learned that most apple trees are self-unfruitful. They need to be pollinated by that of another apple tree before they will grow apples. Basically the blossoms from all of the trees need to be pollinating each other. Apple trees should also be pollinated by bees and other pests so in order to maximize the pollination process apple trees should be planted 10 feet away from each other.  There are also alot of pests that can destroy your apples the three most common types are apple maggots, plum curculio and coddling moth.To get rid of these pests you can use fake sticky apples, eliminate hiding spots, and understand there characteristics and know they are there so you can kill them with pesticides. We learned that the farm is using a lot fewer pesticides by killing of pests in better ways. An apple orchard is a lot of work but it all pays off when you bite into that delicious crispy apple. 

 

 

 

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/applepests

http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-72-1031,00.html

Apples:The Deliciously Nutritious Snack

There is a lot you can learn about apples. There are 7500 types of apples grown in the world, 2500 of which are grown in the U.S. Crab-apples are the only types of apples which are native to North America. An apple is about 80 calories, making it a nice low calorie snack. An apple tree takes about 4-5 years to produce its first-fruits and a lot goes into making an apple tree. I found out that apple types are very hard to grow in ones backyard and they are grown commercially using a lot of pesticides. There are so many different types of apples because of they’re genetic make up it is very easy to change the characteristics of an apple and this happens naturally when the apple defends itself from its predators. In the wilderness apple trees need to adapt to become more capable of withstanding they’re prey. A lot goes into producing one apple so consider this next time you eat one.

In class summary (compost, worms, etc.)

Today we learned a lot about composting and what it is and how it happens. Composting is the decompostition of plant remains and once living materials to make an earthy darks ubstance suitable for farming. Its a great way to reuse old uneeded trash and waste. COmposting requires 3 things Air, Water and Food. Air is required to compost it makes the compost smell less bad, you want to consider how things aerate in the bin. They also say for water you want your bin to be like a wrung out sponge, because wter helps the microbes disperse throughout the bin. Food is just the things you put in the bin. You want once living plant life like leaves or vines as well as your garbage. It is not necessary to have heat for compost, plants will compost with 50 degree temps. These facts would ahve been good to know for our compost bin.

 

http://vegweb.com/composting/how-to.shtml

http://www.mastercomposter.com/

http://journeytoforever.org/compost.html

The Dairy Farm Field Trip

I really enjoyed our field trip to the dairy farm. I thought that I personally gained a lot by going and i had a fun time to. It was fun to see all of the cows and the dogs and the farm animals and to learna bout how they interact with each other. We learned about the way selective breeding works and talked about the corn and food cows eat. We also saw all the hard work that goes into getting the cows milk, you need to get the milk, pastuerize it, heat it up, and bottle it. A lot of work goes into the cows and getting their milk and it all pays off when they sell bottles of milk. I thought it was interesting that they only sold the milk at that location. I would think they’re would be other markets with more consumers where they could better sell the local milk. The lifestyle they choose to live is very reproductive however. They don’t need all that much money to keep there business running because everything the have relies on other items.  I really enjoyed the field trip and I thought i learned a lot.