Having an awareness of the amount of knowledge, time and energy it takes to grow the food we consume is essential and makes me appreciate every bite that much more. From the delectably sweet strawberries to the bitter dandelion greens. The Seeds at City Urban Farm has become much more to me than just learning how to grow food. The farm is improving environmental pollution where we live and breathe by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and fixing it as beneficial organic matter in the soil. The elimination of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers is reducing the leaching of these carcinogenic substances into our waterways and our need for fossil fuels. These are only a couple of the many improvements sustainable, organic farming contributes to our ecosystem, not to mention the incredible health benefits from eating organic. The farm has been even more enlightening on a deeper personal level.
John Jeavons, a renown grower, said “Gardening is an education in observation, harmony, honesty, and humility – in knowing and understanding our place in the world.” It is a constant teacher of life lessons and reminder of simple yet very valuable truths. There is a great sense of accomplishment I receive from working with my hands and building a new planting bed; sowing the seeds of life. Watching how a tiny seed transforms into a beautiful plant capable of nourishing the mind, body and soul. The realizations that everything is alive on some level and with the right mixture amazing things can happen. A sense of nature evolves that connects one to the same energy that creates every one of us and our world.
We have the chance to partner up with the earth and work with positive life forces that grow not only veggies, but our perceptions and values. We can let the plants guide us to grow all aspects of our lives. Knowing that to grow you have to stretch and reach for light even if there's the possibility you can get blown down. Following the plants lead to forget the past and grow twice the branches right after getting cut down. Recognizing that any chance to grow should be taken advantage of in order to thrive. And like the glorious greens surrounding you on the farm, growth can take place in any direction and it all starts by planting the seed. One wise grower once told me (Paul, a Seeds at City Farm Manager), "patience...some people just take a little longer." Something an experienced gardener has come to realize from many years of service to the soil.
Improving the world one garden at time. Come to the farm and experience these invaluable lessons for yourself.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Spring at Seeds
With Spring time planting in full swing we've been really busy preparing for the new season. On Thursday we learned all about the different methods of sowing seeds and propagating, we then put our new skills to work by planting some onions and beets. Come by and check out the little experiment we're trying - testing the difference between dowel furrows vs hand made furrows and using soil vs. compost in each one.
We also spent some time learning about tree pruning at a workshop taught by Paul. I can't wait to see the trees in bloom!
There's always lots to be done, so see you on the farm!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
A New Beginning
February has been the first month of an exciting opportunity for all of the new interns at Seeds. We have a great group this semester! While we all bring a unique perspective, one thing we share is our enthusiasm to be at the farm.
My enthusiasm lies in the opportunity to learn from Paul and Julia as I embark on my educational journey to promote simple & sustainable practices, locally. I feel the new beginning I am initiating in my own life, is a theme echoed throughout the farm.
The motif of new beginnings and life as a cycle is apparent at Seeds. The cycle of a crop, from soil preparation to harvest, is filled with new beginnings. From the compost that we add to the soil--which was a new beginning to someone's kitchen scraps, rescued from an unfulfilling life at the dump, to the beginning of a crop's life & opportunity to grow. The cycle continues as the edible is harvested and provided for us as nourishment. At Seeds, we restart the cycle of sustainment when weeds, damaged foliage and inedible portions are once again returned to the compost pile.
Life just does not appear or vanish. It is created from what you put into it.
My enthusiasm lies in the opportunity to learn from Paul and Julia as I embark on my educational journey to promote simple & sustainable practices, locally. I feel the new beginning I am initiating in my own life, is a theme echoed throughout the farm.
The motif of new beginnings and life as a cycle is apparent at Seeds. The cycle of a crop, from soil preparation to harvest, is filled with new beginnings. From the compost that we add to the soil--which was a new beginning to someone's kitchen scraps, rescued from an unfulfilling life at the dump, to the beginning of a crop's life & opportunity to grow. The cycle continues as the edible is harvested and provided for us as nourishment. At Seeds, we restart the cycle of sustainment when weeds, damaged foliage and inedible portions are once again returned to the compost pile.
Life just does not appear or vanish. It is created from what you put into it.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Fall is falling!
Though at times I have my reservations of singing the unfiltered praises of the founding fathers of our country (as they, upon closer examination, are often not quite the same people presented to us early in our academic educations), their words do at times reveal propositions that seem to transcend the -isms associated with their time and place and offer hopeful guidance for humankind’s future.
"Whenever there are in any country uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labor and live on. The small landowners are the most precious part of a state."
Thomas Jefferson
Things are moving right along at Seeds At City as we make our way into fall. Summer crops such as summer squash that were no longer producing have been cleared to make room for fall and winter ones, such as broccoli, pictured here at left. It takes some TLC to start so many of our crops from seeds as opposed to planting them as starts (i.e. already sprouted in small containers, then transferred to the ground), but TLC is our specialty.
Of course, running an organic urban farm is also a lot of work. A labor of love, to be sure, but still a lot of work. Between growing a plethora of vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, grains, herbs and so on, running a weekly farmer's market, listening to and taking notes on lectures given by Paul and Julia, our resident expert organic farmers, and attending community events, our days as organic farming apprentices stay full. How, then, is such a socially beneficial, environmentally imperative, and economically revolutionary project made possible?!?!
Our volunteers. Seeing the smiling faces of our volunteers every Tuesday and Saturday from 9am to noon gets us through the days. Things can get nice and busy when a handful of volunteers show up, but on a farm, as with projects and businesses everywhere, there is always something to do. If you like weeding, we've got weeding for you. Like learning about bugs and how beneficial about 90% of them are to have around? We've got bugs galore. It's like we're running San Diego Wild Insect Park here. Even if you just like digign' in the dirt and going home sweaty and gross, feeling like you used that old bod that just sit on the couch watching the game all the time . . . no prob. We'll hook you up with a shovel and a wheelbarrow and you'll be off running.
It'll be sad to see some of the blooms of summer go, but so exciting to see the greens of winter fill in. One saying used by farmers, especially ones endeavoring to use sustainable/organic practices, is "Feed the soil, not the plant." A clever saying, and one that implies that in "feeding" (also called "amending") the soil, one in turn provides nutrients for and thereby "feeds" the plants, and of course, the plants then feed us. In industrial agriculture, the soil is often reduced to a mechanism that merely holds the plant upright in order to apply chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Conversely, when nutrients are added to the soil using methods that act more like nature does, the soil ends up chock-full of nutrients without the potentially - or, as we're learning, certainly - harmful effects of synthetic chemical applications.
One way to amend the soil is by using manures, which is once-living matter used as fertilizer in agriculture. Green manures, specifically, are a crop grown specifically to add nutrients to the soil. After being grown, the crop is often plowed directly into the soil so it can decompose and improve soil fertility. As seen at left, buckwheat and hard winter wheat are being grown together on the Lower Slope of our farm and will be turned into the soil soon to prepare the way for the crop that will follow.
Agricultural inputs are items that are brought into the system from outside of it in order to manage and ensure productivity. Industrial agriculture, with it's high reliance on synthetically produced, chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides and fossil fuel-propelled harvesting and product transport machines, would be considered a high-input agricultural system. Nearer the other end of the spectrum would be our farm here at San Diego City College, with it's employment of fertility techniques such as composting, the use of green manures, and carefully monitored crop rotation, and additionally being an almost exclusively hand-worked farm; Seeds At City would be considered a low-input system.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you at the farm this fall!
- CR
"Whenever there are in any country uncultivated lands and unemployed poor, it is clear that the laws of property have been so far extended as to violate natural right. The earth is given as a common stock for man to labor and live on. The small landowners are the most precious part of a state."
Thomas Jefferson
Things are moving right along at Seeds At City as we make our way into fall. Summer crops such as summer squash that were no longer producing have been cleared to make room for fall and winter ones, such as broccoli, pictured here at left. It takes some TLC to start so many of our crops from seeds as opposed to planting them as starts (i.e. already sprouted in small containers, then transferred to the ground), but TLC is our specialty.Of course, running an organic urban farm is also a lot of work. A labor of love, to be sure, but still a lot of work. Between growing a plethora of vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, grains, herbs and so on, running a weekly farmer's market, listening to and taking notes on lectures given by Paul and Julia, our resident expert organic farmers, and attending community events, our days as organic farming apprentices stay full. How, then, is such a socially beneficial, environmentally imperative, and economically revolutionary project made possible?!?!
Our volunteers. Seeing the smiling faces of our volunteers every Tuesday and Saturday from 9am to noon gets us through the days. Things can get nice and busy when a handful of volunteers show up, but on a farm, as with projects and businesses everywhere, there is always something to do. If you like weeding, we've got weeding for you. Like learning about bugs and how beneficial about 90% of them are to have around? We've got bugs galore. It's like we're running San Diego Wild Insect Park here. Even if you just like digign' in the dirt and going home sweaty and gross, feeling like you used that old bod that just sit on the couch watching the game all the time . . . no prob. We'll hook you up with a shovel and a wheelbarrow and you'll be off running.
It'll be sad to see some of the blooms of summer go, but so exciting to see the greens of winter fill in. One saying used by farmers, especially ones endeavoring to use sustainable/organic practices, is "Feed the soil, not the plant." A clever saying, and one that implies that in "feeding" (also called "amending") the soil, one in turn provides nutrients for and thereby "feeds" the plants, and of course, the plants then feed us. In industrial agriculture, the soil is often reduced to a mechanism that merely holds the plant upright in order to apply chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Conversely, when nutrients are added to the soil using methods that act more like nature does, the soil ends up chock-full of nutrients without the potentially - or, as we're learning, certainly - harmful effects of synthetic chemical applications.
One way to amend the soil is by using manures, which is once-living matter used as fertilizer in agriculture. Green manures, specifically, are a crop grown specifically to add nutrients to the soil. After being grown, the crop is often plowed directly into the soil so it can decompose and improve soil fertility. As seen at left, buckwheat and hard winter wheat are being grown together on the Lower Slope of our farm and will be turned into the soil soon to prepare the way for the crop that will follow.Agricultural inputs are items that are brought into the system from outside of it in order to manage and ensure productivity. Industrial agriculture, with it's high reliance on synthetically produced, chemical-based fertilizers and pesticides and fossil fuel-propelled harvesting and product transport machines, would be considered a high-input agricultural system. Nearer the other end of the spectrum would be our farm here at San Diego City College, with it's employment of fertility techniques such as composting, the use of green manures, and carefully monitored crop rotation, and additionally being an almost exclusively hand-worked farm; Seeds At City would be considered a low-input system.
Thanks for reading and hope to see you at the farm this fall!
- CR
Monday, October 5, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
La Milpa Organica Potluck...
The Seeds at City interns were invited to La Milpa Organica Potluck, held every third Saturday of the month. Apprentices Martha, Ely, Simbala, Colin, Jake and I accompanied our gardening educators Julia Dashe and Paul Maschka to a night of organic dining and an overall merry time. The tour of the farm led to insightful conversation with its organizers and denizens, then to uncountable rounds of delicious organic food. All this followed by live music and a night time movie screening. Mark your calendars, this is an event that cannot be missed...Luis
Natural History Museum Lecture Series
Seeds at City has been lucky enough to be invited to host a table at the Natural History Museum’s lecture series on sustainable organic agriculture. The opening night had a great turn out and we were very well received. Two of our apprentices, Jake and Colin, manned the table and fielded questions both before and after the video presentation. We will be at future events, the next of which is on October 6 at 6:30. Hope to see you at the Natural History Museum.
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