Living Local
Living Local
Bowdoin Organic Gardens
While Bowdoin's Dining Services has been buying local food for years now, a student organization has greatly expanded the use of local food through an organic garden which began in 2004. Located on two plots, one at Crystal Spring Farm two miles away from Campus, the other on campus at South and Coffin Streets, the Bowdoin Organic Garden is about an acre in size and produces around 26 vegetable crops and 15 different herbs. The garden produces a wide range of products, from fennel and kale over 6 varieties of lettuce, to jalapenos, thyme, and zinnias. All of the produce is used in the two dining halls and in Jack McGee's Pub. The Dining Service funds the Organic Garden by paying a manager and students who work on the farm. The garden is also made possible through cooperation with Crystal Spring Community Farm, which allows the Bowdoin garden to use the land in exchange for help harvesting their crops a few mornings each week. The garden is managed primarily through one full-time garden manager, Katherine Creswell, and one to two part time garden helpers. Volunteers, which are welcome at any time, help with turning compost, preparing beds for planting, spreading mulch, and harvesting, as well as many other activities at the garden.
Organic Practices
The Organic Garden became certified organic through the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) in July of 2007. The garden crew makes many efforts to grow the crops in ways that elliminate chemical use and preserve the health of the land. The Organic Garden composts half of the Dining Hall's scrap food in four cedar bins. In the spring planting season the salad room scraps decompose and can be used to prepare beds for seeds and seedlings. The Garden is mindful of loss of top soil over the winter and to preserve the land, the beds are planted with a cover crop of Winter Rye, Hairy Vetch, Oats, or any other combination of rejuvenating plants for the winter. This winter cover crop also replenishes nutrients to the soil that were lost during harvest. This practice allows for productive land without any fertilizer. To comply with organic practices the farm uses a mixture of seaweed and fish emulsion, rotted compost, protein meal and plant residue to fertilize the soil. Rather than powerful insecticides, the Organic Garden controls pests with floating row covers, organic insecticidal soap, and tactics such as crop rotation and companion planting with naturally repellent plants. Garden volunteers may even be put to work hand-picking pests off plants!
Future Plans
The garden has been successful in bringing a wide range and large quantity of organically grown produce into the dining halls on campus but the students are optimistic about future growth and development. Katherine Creswell notes the success of the last two growing seasons but also notes that "there is still much that can be done to improve both the land in which the crops are planted, and the way we grow crops." The Garden's development goals include acquiring funds to build a heated greenhouse, expanding more into the academic programs of the College, and incorporating students' art into both sites. The garden is focused around education and innovation to reach more sustainable ways of producing food.
For more information about Bowdoin's organic garden, visit studorgs.bowdoin.edu/organic.
Interested? Volunteers are welcome at any time! Contact Katherine Creswell by phone at (503) 970.1877 or email her at kcreswel@bowdoin.edu.
Click here to see more pictures from the BOG.
