Playing in the dirt
At 6 p.m. on Thursdays, USU students at the organic farm get together and have a “work party.” But this isn’t a typical social gathering. Instead, it’s a meeting where students with a common interest of hands-on learning come together to help run USU’s organic farm.
Many of the students participating come from non-agriculture related backgrounds. Julie Sheen, who is studying English education and is from West Jordan, Utah, said she comes as often as she can to help on the farm. Sheen said she decided to help because of her fascination with organics.
“I love to garden and I can’t stay away from the dirt,” she said.
Sheen took over her small family garden about three years ago. Sheen said the organic farm is very different from her family garden because of the organic regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Sheen said there is also a lot more work because most of USU organic farm is done by manual labor.
However, Sheen said she enjoys the physical aspect of gardening.
The USU organic farm is located near 1750 North and 800 East on a five acre plot of land.
Currently, one-third of an acre is being used for the student farm, and another two-thirds is being prepared for planting in the fall. The remaining four acres will be used for research in organic farming.
This is the first year the organic farm is being actively farmed, and the crops are currently being harvested. Jeff Endelman, who helps manage the farm, refers to the farm as a market garden, or a place to grow what people would find in a back yard on a larger scale.
He said some produce being grown includes potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, green peppers and recently planted cloves of garlic for next year.
Every Tuesday, students are invited to get together for the harvest party. People can show up between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. and start helping, Endelman said.
“Pulling weeds or getting your hands dirty can be very therapeutic,” he said.
Students harvest the crops from 8:30 until 10:30 a.m. After the produce is harvested, it is prepare to be sold. Produce is washed, weighed, bagged and on its way to the TSC by 11:15 a.m. to be sold. Produce sales occur on Tuesdays from about 11:45 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
“I know the growing season in Cache Valley is short, but we hope to still be growing until the first of October,” Endelman said.
The purpose of the organic student farm is not to prepare students to become professional farmers, but to help students become more connected to where their food comes from and learn to grow their own gardens.
To help on the farm, students can show up at the farm from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays or Thursdays evenings after six, or can e-mail Jennifer Reeve at jennifer.reeve@usu.edu.
–jessie.kellogg@aggiemail.usu.edu