The corn may not be knee-high yet, but the Hamilton Community Garden is growing enthusiastically. The garden, a half-acre plot behind the Ferguson House parking lot, is being cared for by three students over the summer. Andrew Pape '10 and Chris Sullivan '09 are planting and tending the main garden, while Melissa Balding '09 will oversee the 1812 Heritage Garden.
The Community Garden started when a group of students proposed the idea to President Joan Hinde Stewart last fall. Since then, "it's amazing how far the garden has come," says Pape. Currently, there are growing plots of eggplants, winter squash, onions, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, several varieties of sweet and hot peppers, zucchini and summer squash, Swiss chard, kale, and collard greens, as well as 500 tomato plants in 10 different varieties. Another plot awaits the herbs and spices that have already been started in the greenhouse.
In addition, the garden contains individual plots for students and faculty. The student coordinators of the garden offered these plots at the beginning of the year to anyone from the college or the community who wanted to plant them. There are currently 12 student and faculty plots growing everything from food for dinner to specimens for Biology Professor William Pfitsch's plant physiology course.
The 1812 Heritage Garden is a special project, the "brainchild of the Food for Thought seminar," says Balding. The cross-disciplinary course researched kitchen gardens in the northeastern United States during the early nineteenth century, and used their findings to plant a historically accurate garden of the kind that would have been seen in 1812. The plants are all heirloom varieties, and have been tended according to traditional planting methods, such as the Iroquois technique of planting the "Three Sisters" – corn, beans, and squash – all in the same plot. The garden, Balding says, was planned to be a bicentennial garden in 2012.
The Community Garden has certainly been a group effort. The students have received advice from faculty and members of the college community, as well as help with the gardening. "Anyone's welcome to come help pull weeds," says Balding. On June 19, the students sent out an open invitation to come and plant flowers a ring around the garden.
What will happen to the produce? Some of it will be sold to Bon Appetit, the college's food services provider, to be used in the dining halls. Some of it will be ready before students return to campus this fall, and will be offered directly to members of the college community who can use it. And some is already finding its way onto plates. "Last week we had a potluck with everyone who planted individual plots," says Pape. "We served fresh greens from the garden."
-- by Laura Bramley
The Community Garden started when a group of students proposed the idea to President Joan Hinde Stewart last fall. Since then, "it's amazing how far the garden has come," says Pape. Currently, there are growing plots of eggplants, winter squash, onions, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, several varieties of sweet and hot peppers, zucchini and summer squash, Swiss chard, kale, and collard greens, as well as 500 tomato plants in 10 different varieties. Another plot awaits the herbs and spices that have already been started in the greenhouse.
In addition, the garden contains individual plots for students and faculty. The student coordinators of the garden offered these plots at the beginning of the year to anyone from the college or the community who wanted to plant them. There are currently 12 student and faculty plots growing everything from food for dinner to specimens for Biology Professor William Pfitsch's plant physiology course.
The 1812 Heritage Garden is a special project, the "brainchild of the Food for Thought seminar," says Balding. The cross-disciplinary course researched kitchen gardens in the northeastern United States during the early nineteenth century, and used their findings to plant a historically accurate garden of the kind that would have been seen in 1812. The plants are all heirloom varieties, and have been tended according to traditional planting methods, such as the Iroquois technique of planting the "Three Sisters" – corn, beans, and squash – all in the same plot. The garden, Balding says, was planned to be a bicentennial garden in 2012.
The Community Garden has certainly been a group effort. The students have received advice from faculty and members of the college community, as well as help with the gardening. "Anyone's welcome to come help pull weeds," says Balding. On June 19, the students sent out an open invitation to come and plant flowers a ring around the garden.
What will happen to the produce? Some of it will be sold to Bon Appetit, the college's food services provider, to be used in the dining halls. Some of it will be ready before students return to campus this fall, and will be offered directly to members of the college community who can use it. And some is already finding its way onto plates. "Last week we had a potluck with everyone who planted individual plots," says Pape. "We served fresh greens from the garden."
-- by Laura Bramley
