Harvest Festival & Recap of Sustainability @ the Garden
Harvest Festival was organized by ASF in conjunction with Bon Appetite (our dining services), set at Lane Dining Hall. It celebrated the end of the harvest season while showing how different clubs on campus promote sustainability.
Many of the clubs cancelled due to last minute complications, but the garden was represented, as well as YECA (Young Evangelicals for Climate Action). Horse Listener's Orchard was also present-- they are a local orchard where Bon Appetite sources many of their produce. They set up a booth as well and distributed many free apples to students!
(image: Elysia representing YECA and Eimi representing ASF. Dancing with joy for the plentiful harvest season)
The Garden's Booth: Recap on our Sustainable Methods
For the garden booth, Alden (our garden consultant) prepared 7 jars of soil and seed samples. Here is a brief overview of the samples:
Native soil
The same native soil after 10 years of rototilling (lighter/drier)
The same native soil after 10 years of the "no till" method" (much darker/more fertile)
Finished compost (very fertile)
Buckwheat (a warm season cover crop)
Winter rye (a cool season cover crop)
Newroz Garden Soil after 2 years of the "no till" method
Amazingly enough, the Newroz Garden Soil seemed to have as much fertility as the native soil that had been cultivated for 10 years! (image: Alden and Narah holding soil samples)
Here is an excerpt on the no-till method our garden uses, written by Alden:
"The no till method involves rebuilding soil health with cover crops and through the recycling of plant and animal wastes to feed the biology in the soil. Surely this is part of Creation Care that Christians everywhere can support..."
Here are some benefits to the no till gardening used at the garden (per Alden's handout):
better soil structure and fertility through carbon recycling
greater rainwater infiltration and drought resistance
weed suppression with year over year compounding benefits
less time and labor spent planting and maintaining the garden
lower startup and annual operating costs
We are so grateful to have a consultant on our team who is so knowledgeable about not merely growing produce, but how to grow them sustainably. He has helped the garden operate on the foundation of Creation Care, the mindset that God has given us abundant resources in creation to steward wisely.
More resources on the ecosystem of soil, per Alden:
Click here for an article on the symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots: "The Amazing Underground: Secret to a Better Garden"
Look below for a video about soil health by Gabe Brown (he explains no-till gardening):
