Learning to Grow

Over the past four weeks, we have been quite busy in the gardens and fields preparing for the completion of the apprenticeship.  Harvests have continued to be abundant with new varieties of apples, tomatoes (thanks to our belated California summer), early winter squashes, and other varieties of cool season crops.  I engaged in my final sub-rotation in irrigation, learning the ins-and-outs of efficient and effective water maintenance.  We received formal education in cover crops, alliums (the onion and garlic family), seed saving, cucurbits (the squash, cucumber, and melon family), irrigation design, plant breeding, and potatoes.  We took part in three wonderful discussions about labor issues and farm-to-school/institution programs with a handful of experienced guest lecturers.  I was also able to spend time serving as a Life Lab Field Trip Guide, engaging two classes of 4^th and 5^th graders in activities around the farm.  An additional highlight of the past month was the annual Harvest Festival – bringing out hundreds of local community members for an afternoon of music, games, talks, and demonstrations.

As we begin to put the garden to rest, planting cover crops to protect and replenish the soil over winter, I can only reflect in awe, admiration and gratitude for what this experience has brought me.  This experience has truly changed my life for the better and I hope that in sharing these experiences, it has bettered yours as well.  In addressing our food as a principle core of sustainability, San Diego is truly on its way in being a leader in this movement.  I am so grateful for all those who have supported me in this endeavor specifically, those who choose to shop locally, and for those who grow the food we eat.  I’m definitely looking forward to what the future will bring!

The month of August here brought abundant harvests of vegetables and early harvests of apples, pears, and potatoes.  Dueto the colder-than-normal summer and late spring rains, we were quite surprised to be eating these pome fruits before our tomatoes even started to ripen!  ‘Pathways’ is a new component of the Apprenticeship, allowing us to focus on the site of our choice for the final ten weeks (previously, it was four).  I chose the Alan Chadwick garden to explore and expand upon my knowledge of fruit trees, bio-intensive agriculture, and to sample the immense varietial trials taking place.  It has been wonderful working in this lush campus garden, where visiting students and classes frequent its graces.  Through an assigned sub-rotation in ‘Propagation,’ I have also had the chance to learn about and practice the many ways plants are propagated both sexually and asexually (cuttings, divisions, etc.) and also about greenhouse irrigation and management practices.  In addition to the multitude of ongoing experiential learning in the garden, we also received formal training in summer pruning, the ecology and biology of soil organic matter, direct marketing, farm business planning and tax preparation (with Poppy Davis, now Executive Director of Eco-Farm), plant pathology, and CSA administration.  We were also blessed with Youth Day, a convergence of over 200 high school students from the area involved in food, garden and agricultural projects, helping to organize and participate in the full-day event.  We also went on a full-day field trip to three farms in the Salinas-Hollister area, including ALBA, Pinnacle, and Laughing Onion Farms, highlighting conventional-organic transition training, production, and the Latino farming community.  With six weeks left, I’m excited to see what the program has next and look forward to sharing with you in my next (and final) installment!

Abundance!  Probably the best way to describe the experience in the final rotation.  The Farm, or “Field” as it’s called, is a 6-acre production row-crop and orchard farm.  Using tractors and a small handful of mechanized implements for cultivation, preliminary weed control and some planting, hands and human labor supplement the rest of the work.  Over the past twenty years, the Field has developed some of the most efficient and productive production techniques and practices and has truly been a pioneer for the current organic food movement.  It balances skillful scientific organization and planning with artistic and intuitive sensations and observations.  Except for the orchard, the Field is organized into sequential blocks of planting and harvests to supply the 200-person CSA, market cart, and farm kitchen.

One day of harvest truly shows how much food is and can be produced using these techniques.  We learned about good practices for weed control, harvest and post-harvest handling.  We also received formal instruction in topics relating toland access and starting a farm, Botany (for gardeners), orchard care, crop planning for a CSA, and had vibrant guest lectures and discussions about social justice issues with Patricia Allen (Director of CASFS), Karen Washington (NYC Community Gardens Leader), and Nicki Henderson (People’s Grocery).  We also went on a full-day field trip to San Jose tovisit several urban farms and education centers in the city.  Looking ahead, we are on our to our final phase of the program called “Pathways” – a ten-week immersion in the site of our choice.  I have chosen to spend this time in the Chadwick Garden to pursue my interests in fruit trees and biointensive gardening.

“It’s not the gardener that shapes the garden, but the garden that shapes the gardener.”  This saying definitely stuck with me through my second rotation.  The history of CASFS and the apprenticeship is rooted in this garden, first dug by English Master Gardener, Alan Chadwick, over 40 years ago.  Since then, the garden has seen growth and change, but its charm and productivity remain an experience in itself.  Surrounded by native groves of redwood, oak, and madrone (on the UCSC campus!), this garden exemplifies the French Biointensive method of gardening on two and a half acres, roughly. Interplanted amidst young apple trees are lettuces, peppers, radishes, and herbs.  Older, more established fruit trees will bear quite the bounty later this season, while the cut flower garden has now come to life and first harvests of veggies and greens are enjoyed.  “Wild” describes the fenceline, where creeping hedges of poison oak, hemlock, and other native pioneer species attempt to creep in.

Building upon the work of the last rotations’ crew, we spent much of our work hours reclaiming that wild space, double-digging new beds in the hoophouse, harvesting greens, onions, and flowers, and doing some initial summer pruning of the fruit trees.  I was also assigned to the “Cart” subrotation – managing harvests, marketing, and sales at the on-campus farm-stand.  We received formal instruction in arthropod pest management, weed management, the physical properties of soils, the “goosefoot” plant family (beets, chard, etc.), and organic rose care and maintenance.  We also had guest lectures from professor Steve Gliessman, creator of the study and practice of agroecology and from two former apprentices starting a small farms.  Heading into my next rotation in the field, where tractors and implements replace our hands for cultivation (but not for care or harvest!), I’m excited to see what this new experience has in store!

Into the swing of things!  I spent my first rotation in the Farm Garden (with other groups at the other two sites).  In the garden, we kept busy prepping, planting, weeding, taking of the worms/vermicomposting system, and erecting a hoop house.  Each of our four weeks here began with a “garden walk” where we observed and discussed changes, challenges, and successes in the garden.  On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, we did the majority of our work, while Wednesdays were devoted to classes and/or field trips.

During this rotation, we visited two local farms started and currently managed by CASFS graduates: The Homeless Garden Project and Freewheelin’ Farm.  It was inspiring to see their operations and hear their stories.  The Homeless Garden Project – employing and training disadvantaged members of the community – exemplifies the positive effect that grassroots non-profits can have in their communities.  Freewheelin’ Farm showed us what young farmers can do with initially limited resources.  Biking their produce five miles into town, they have developed a thriving CSA with nearly eighty members!  For our formal instruction, topics covered included mechanical tillage (drawn by tractor), citrus trees (growth, propagation, and fruit production), grains & beans, cut flowers and bouquet making (for market and farm ecologies), irrigation (practices, principles, and techniques), soil fertility management, and a class on lettuce and salad (focusing on growth and varieties).

A highlight of this past month was definitely the apprentice-led garden walks for the final week of the rotation.  We taught each other on various topics in the garden that piqued our interest and definitely stimulated interests amongst ourselves.  I spoke about the history, nutrition, medicine, and potential marketability of wild edibles (aka weeds). For my next rotation, I’ll find myself in the historic Alan Chadwick Garden, where the entire program began forty years ago.

Our first full month at CASFS has truly been a wonderful start.  When I arrive on the farm on April 11^th, I had the pleasure of getting to meet the other 38 apprentices, seven second-years and other staff.  Our first week was comprised mostly of orientation activities, getting to know the other apprentices, and some instruction and fieldwork.  Our introduction to the farm and its processes was pleasantly paced and very well organized with tours, histories, discussions, and necessary overviews of university policies.

One of my favorite experiences of orientation week was getting to know the other apprentices both through personal interaction and or organized team building activities.  Coming from all corners of the globe and the US, I feel so blessed to be able to share this time and experience with such wonderful and gifted people. The next three weeks of Basic Block was comprised of further introductions, education, and work in the three sites.  In the classroom, the site managers and educators taught us about early season strategies including cover crops, compost, manual tillage, transplanting, asexual propagation, and vertebrate pest control.  We also learned about the growth and maintenance of temperate zone deciduous fruit trees (pome and stone fruits, such as apples and peaches).

Following in-site demos about these topics, we then did much of this work in the field.  Other highlights of this first month include working at the Spring Plant Sale, an annual fundraiser for the apprenticeship program, discussions about social justice issues as well as introductions to partner programs and outreach opportunities with school-children through Life Lab and Food,

What?!  After just one month, it is amazing how much we have learned already.  We are just getting plants in the ground and are definitely looking forward to a bountiful harvest!

Last summer, I had the pleasure of visiting CASFS so I have some idea what to expect from the program generally. I’m excited to uncover the many intricacies of the program’s education and organization.  Remarkably, CASFS has been educating diverse groups of farmers, chefs, activists, and community members for forty years.  Each year, they take on around thirty-eight apprentices for this six-month program, for which we receive a Certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the UCSC Extension.  The center also hosts a variety of graduate and undergraduate classes and research opportunities for students from a wide range of pursuits, including biology, sociology, and ecology.

The education for the apprenticeship is oriented around field-based learning but it does follow a curriculum.  There are multiple garden sites, giving us experiences in the diverse range of organic food production – small, medium, and large.  From the intensively planted, hand-cultivated Alan Chadwick Garden to “the farm” (rotating rows of organic crops) to a wonderful propagation greenhouse, there are also demonstration sites for school gardens, all in about 22 acres!  As apprentices, we follow a rotation through these gardens to gain experience in each while also receiving education in the many other elements of food – markets and sales, outreach and social justice.

With such an experience, demand for this apprenticeship is currently underserved, underscoring our need to create similar opportunities for our own in San Diego.  Visiting the local markets and farmers markets here already, I have seen how CASFS and its graduates contribute positively to the Santa Cruz community.  Through changes, San Diego will thrive by providing the educational resources its community needs and wants and its wonderful that we are passionate about our food!

Greetings and welcome to the first installment of Learning to Grow!
For the next six months, I’ll be contributing this monthly update to the newsletter. I’ll begin by sharing a little about the purposes of this new feature and a bit about myself. Starting this month, I’ll be attending the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) at UC Santa Cruz to receive a certificate in Ecological Horticulture. Growing food and educating farmers for over 40 years, CASFS is a model program of what we are collaboratively working to create here in San Diego.

My intentions are to further my knowledge as an organic farmer-educator-activist, to experience this model program, and to represent San Diego’s blossoming food communities throughout our extended community. Facing myriad challenges — a turbulent economy, climate change, and social justice — we are currently undergoing a grand transition. Through this transition, it is important we acknowledge and secure basic human rights and needs for all – food, water, shelter, and community. There is a clear need for more local, organic farmers, and no shortage of those that wish to learn. Folks involved at the Co-op and SD Roots are poised to help our communities through this transition with inspiration, education, and action.

People’s Co-op and SD Roots have graciously offered to support my time and experience during this six-month apprenticeship. While there, I’ll be updating the community on my experiences, developments, and reflections in this monthly column.