Field Day Event

The final activity I did for my fruit exploration project was to attend the Field Day at the teaching garden! This wasn't one of the activities I originally planned to do; I wanted to try two new fruits, but it turns out, I've had a lot of fruits! However, I'm so glad it worked out the way it did because I had a great time. 


I walked over to the garden from Fifield Hall right at 4 p.m., so the first table I came across was a flower table. I didn't take any since my roommate's cat likes to poke around at things a lot (I think he pushed over my other roommate's aloe plant at the beginning of the year) but it was a nice way to start the event! 

Next, I came across a blueberry table. I filled a container with blueberries, and the people giving them out were so nice and friendly, and told me to take a lot. 

Walking more towards the pavilion, there was a table where they had lots of pickled things, as well as some carrots and potatoes. I was interested in all the different things they pickled, but since I don't like pickles I figured I'd leave it to people who would enjoy it instead of trying something that I'm fairly certain I wouldn't like. Even though I don't like pickles, I did get some cucumber water by the pavilion and it was so refreshing!

There were a lot of education tables under the pavilion representing different programs. Since I'm graduating and not going to grad school, most of it didn't really apply to me, but I did chat with the woman at the soil, water, and ecosystem sciences table. I learned that people in Gainesville can pay $10 and the program will test their water for them and give them a report on its quality. I got to test the pH of bottled water, distilled water, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and bleach. I was most surprised to see that the waters both had pHs around 4; I was expecting it to be around 7. In high school, I was supposed to do water quality testing in AP Environmental Sciences, but that unit got canceled when we went online for Covid, so this was a neat experience for me. 

Down by where we saw the muscadines in class, there was a table with blueberries and peaches. I only took a few blueberries and a peach, since I still had some blueberries from the table at the beginning, but I did pick some myself as well in this area.

Finally, on my way out, I walked past a U-pick onion area. I kind of wanted to dig an onion, but I don't do much cooking and couldn't think of a dish that I would use onion in soon, so I decided to leave the onions for others. 

I had a great time at the field day. I loved learning at the water quality testing table and getting some fruits to take home with me!

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