Sunday, March 25, 2012

Student Operated Agricultural Project (S.O.A.P) - A Brief Overview

Working Title: Student Operated Agricultural Project (S.O.A.P)

Possible Motto: "We don't mind getting our hands dirty as long as we have S.O.A.P."


Second Group Project: Come up with a better name. :-)


Who: People who want to garden but who do not want an individual plot. This could be for people who can participate part of the time but might be out of town part of the time during the spring and summer, people who don't want to manage an individual plot, people who like the idea of working on a team, novice gardeners, experienced gardeners, etc.


What: Pilot Project in the Community Garden, using the team plot which is roughly 1600 sq. ft.


In addition to the individual, pea-patch plots in the garden, we  have a huge group plot. In past years this plot has been underutilized. I'm not going to lie, it is a lot of work. But when the work is shared by several gardeners, it gets a lot easier and fun. The plot is big enough that the group could potentially grow enough to supply themselves with a small CSA. The folks who do the work will be the ones who share the harvest.


Ideally it would be a group of between 10 and 20 potential gardeners who will create a modified and smaller version of the Wendell Berry Community Garden in east Olympia. As presented on their website:


"...our garden is managed by a collective of people who
jointly share responsibility for planning, tending and
enjoying the bounty. Collective management allows us to
think more long term and to design systems to maximize
the sustainability of the land. For example, we are
committed to producing all of the compost and organic
material needed for ongoing soil health on site, so that
we don’t need to continually bring in outside inputs, thereby
reducing our environmental impact and carbon footprint.


http://www.oly-wa.us/SustainSouthSound/WBerry.php


This has not been tried before at Evergreen, so it will be a pilot program. The student garden team would share in the work and fun of preparing the soil, creating seed beds, and rows, decide what crops they want to plant, start seeds in the greenhouse, transplant starts and direct sow seeds, thin seedlings, weed, water, compost weeds and crop residue, and the on-going harvest. It would require peopl who would be willing to agree in advance to share and share alike.


I did plant a couple rows of garlic and shallots last November, which seem to be doing well so far...those would also be shared with the garden team. Required work time could vary depending on people's schedule. Some people might be around a lot in the spring but not in the summer, and vice-versa.


Right now the soil is still way to wet and cold to work without creating mud, so we have time to compile a list of people who might be interested.


What would be great is, people who are interested, email and let me know what days and times might work out for you to have meetings during spring quarter. The meetings and work parties are where the garden team will plan out what they want to do.


NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. GARDEN HAS TOOLS AND A COUPLE OF SEEDS
TO GET STARTED!



-Matthew, Community Gardens Coordinator
"The Loop" :
http://www.facebook.com/ecogardens
http://commiegardens.blogspot.com/
http://evergreenharvest.blogspot.com/
tesccommunitygardens@gmail.com

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