Season's End

Hello Folks,

It seems this year's growing season came to an end pretty quick. We really enjoyed providing fresh produce "grown by the pack for the pack" to campus dining and hope to continue to do so in the future. This year we met many challenges as one does in this line of work. 

The first issue we encountered was the rain. It never seemed to stop this year. Every other day it poured and this had a huge impact on all of our crops. The produce that suffered most is anything that grows on vines like tomatoes, beans, melons, squash, cucumbers etc. These guys just couldn't handle the extreme amount of water thrown at them this year and far too many of crops split.

Of course with the rain came mildews galore. We had a few different types of mildews that attacked our plants this year which we did not experience last year. 

Another problem we encountered was pest issues. Beetles and other pests seemed to have doubled their numbers this year. They were relentless. It's possible the water may have helped them proliferate. 

Now we face a much larger problem...funding. The future is uncertain at the farm at the moment due to budget cuts and sequestration. Many of our staff members are moving on to new opportunities and we lack the funding to continue our work for much longer. 

All in all, this year was great though. It was the first year exploring our partnership with University Dining Services and we believe it was a fantastic experience. 

Cheers,

Agroecology Education Farm Staff.

Art at the Farm

Hello Readers,

This year we have a pretty special staff member. Will Hildreth is working at the farm this summer and has contributed immensely to the success of sales to campus dining. Each Tuesday he spends hours, along side our Farm Manager, Stephen Ratasky, harvesting produce. He then helps weigh, wash, pack, load, and unload the crops for dining services.


This ex-CEFS intern has
also put the skills and techniques learned from the internship to good use out at the farm. From weeding plants, to pruning tomatoes and basil, to helping to diagnose plant disease issues, he does it all. Thanks to him and our Farm Manager, the farm has produced over 700 lbs of food earning over $1,000 towards farm maintenance.

However Will is not only a farmer, he is also an artist. Luckily for us, he will soon paint a large mural on our water tank. Plans are still in the air as to what themes might be explored but it is certain to be fantastic! Agriculture is not only about growing plants and selling crops. There is a community aspect to it as well. Part of community is visual expression through various artistic forms. You could say that we are bringing more components of community to the farm.

Photos soon to come of his work of art's progress.

Cheers,
-Agroecology Education Farm Staff