Springstone Farm - KEAN Blog

Wrapping Up

5/11/2018

Author: Sarah Mack
In January 2018, ten soon-to-be graduates dedicated their semester to furthering Springstone Farm’s sustainability initiatives in four core areas: soil amendment (via composting), outdoor shower heating, rain irrigation, and hydroponics. A bond was quickly formed between the students and Joe Simmons, farmer and owner of Springstone Farm.

Concluding Remarks for the Outdoor Shower!

5/9/2018

Author: Stefany Corella

My name is Stefany and I’m part of the Off-Grid Solar Water Heating Group. At the beginning of this project Springstone Farm’s concern was the limited availability of warm water in the outdoor shower. The solution we have proposed was the use of two systems, both a solar electric generating and a passive and active solar water heating system.

Hydroponics at Springstone!

4/29/2018

Author: Bethania Rocha
These past couple of months, we have been trialing with different seed densities, hydroponic medias, natural and cleaning solutions. Through trial and error, we found that hemp pads are the best hydroponic medium for microgreens because they retain and evenly distribute water the best and they are 100% compostable.

Rain Rain DON’T Go Away!

4/16/2018

Author: Emil J. Bustamante
This week I’ll be delivering an overview of our progress discussing the rain irrigation project. To assist in my explanation, I’ve included a before photo, a sketch drawing, digital rendering and a final sketch by Christina Brenckman of our group. Our hope is that our project, as well as figures like these, will serve as assistance to and guidance to other projects like our anywhere in the world.

Black Gold

4/14/2018

Author: Sarah Mack, Soil Amendment Group

Farmers have been applying manure to their fields for centuries, but why? Manure and decomposed plant matter contains valuable plant nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus-- the most commonly applied land fertilizers.

The Heating Continues!

4/10/2018

Author: Tiago Barros, Project Manager

We are up to the point of installation at Springstone farm and members of the Outdoor Shower group have visited the farm to begin the process with our client, Joe Simmons. We have decided that the solar panel he has will definitely be put to use and if he can get more panels as well, there is a good chance of Joe being completely off-grid as he wanted. There are options for federal grants as well and loans being looked into for Joe that can help him buy these panels and other necessary material without spending a dime. So we are continuously looking into the best options, but the main idea now is to keep getting out to the farm and implementing what we have so far. This also includes buying all the necessary equipment and having everyone help set it up, while the other projects may not be in full motion right away...mostly because of the weather. Everything is going well so far and we should be finished on time, so make sure to stick around so you can see how the final project comes out. Thanks for reading!!

Growing With The Flow!

3/29/2018

Author: Emil J. Bustamante, Vice Project Manager, Hydroponics Group

Welcome back to the Springstone Farms environmental consulting blog! My name is Emil and I am the Vice Project Manager for this exciting project. My job is not only to assist Tiago, our project manager, in overseeing the project as a whole but I’m also a member of the Hydroponics group and assisting the rain irrigation group as well. You can say I’m like a steady quarterback. My job today is to deliver an update on the progress of the Hydroponics group.

Harvested Rainwater Progression

3/26/2018

Author: Christina M. Brenckman, Rainwater Irrigation Group

Hello everybody! Welcome back to the Springstone Farm Blog! My name is Christina and I am an Environmental Biology major at Kean. As already stated in the introduction, we are working with Springstone to create a system that will harvest rainwater to be used to irrigate flowers and crops rather than using well water. Our approach to the aforementioned is to provide the client with a cost-effective method to collect, store, and pump harvested rainwater to the backfield where the crops reside.

Compost Progress Update!

3/13/2018

Author: Danielle De Mesa, Soil Amendment Group

Hey there! My name is Danielle, an environmental science major at Kean. In regards to the compost, we have not done much manual labor to it as the weather has still been so cold and the ground has been pretty frozen. However, we are working hard to learn the details of composting and creating the best solutions for Joe and Springstone Farm. It’s hard learning to be a farmer!

Would love to combine heating water solar panels with electric panels? Sorry!

3/9/2018

Author: Emmanuel Henry, Outdoor Shower Group

Ever took a cold bath in an outdoor shower with no heat nor electricity? If you had to and the only method of energy was the sun, wouldn’t you want to optimize the source? This is the task we are faced with, as a group of students in a Capstone, Kean University course, in conjunction with Springstone Farm.