What’s New in the Garden?
Ruby Jane Moser | November 24, 2021
Ana Risano
Reid Carpenter standing in a plot in the garden.
Despite an unexpected past year for everyone, the Garden Crew continues to grow crops for the Warren Wilson College (WWC) community. This academic year the Garden Crew is also changing their land management and engagement with the WWC community to further the school’s sustainability initiatives.
The Garden Crew has worked on how to manage the land to reduce tillage this year through altered methods of land management. Over the summer of 2021, WWC rehomed their horses due to health issues and lack of educational opportunities. The crew now has an open pasture where the horses used to be, which they are looking to utilize.
“I … really enjoy feeling a sense of connection, not only to the land and the space that I am occupying and living in, but also feeling more connected to my peers, and doing the hard labor but also super rewarding goal-oriented tasks with my coworkers and my peers,'' said Dailah Mial, a junior in her third year working on Garden Crew at WWC. She also works as the Community Support Agriculture (CSA) Manager and on Bee Crew, a sub-crew of the garden.
Mial has been in love with WWC ever since she visited and spends a large portion of her day down at the garden. Working in the garden helps her destress from homework and studying, and create a connection to the community, her peers and the land. Being the CSA manager, she has been able to really see the fruits of the Garden Crew's labor.
With the weather beginning to get colder and the first frost in early November, the Garden and Herb Crews have moved into preparing for winter. The garden is growing many storable, winter crops, including carrots, pumpkins, butternut squash, acorn squash, yellow squash, onions, garlic, potatoes, lettuce, kale, arugula and turnips — many of which are contributed to the dining services on campus.
Additionally, Herb Crew is a sub-crew of the garden. They are preparing for the winter by switching over to their winter production. They are transitioning into growing the hearty plants that grow in the cold like rosemary, lavender, fennel seeds, vitex berries and hawthorne berries. They are also preparing for their annual Winter Sale on December 3, 2021. The sale will also have music, art and homemade goods.
“I feel like I have this relationship with the plants where I feel like I'm taking care of them and they're taking care of me,” said Miles Lamberson, a junior in his third semester of working with Herb Crew. “It's really magical reciprocity that's happening.”
Herb Crew grows most of their perennial plants in the Northwest garden. They have 50 beds each 10 ft long. They also use the space outside of the herb cabin, located within the main garden area, to grow different plants. Most of Herb Crew’s work is done within the herb cabin and drying takes place on the second floor.
Herb Crew’s production mainly goes towards students and being sold to the community. Some of their production also goes towards the dining services on campus. They offer medicinals, loose leaf teas and smoking blends that are accessible to students at WWC for free. They sell bagged tea, four different kinds of salve, tattoo balm, three different kinds of seasoning salt and sprays. Much of the tulsi that Herb Crew grows goes towards dining on campus, as well as some of their mint and thyme.
Both crews are looking to grow their community outreach and engagement by hosting more events and involving classes with their land. Garden Crew has been working on getting their produce into the student cafeterias and to the community through free markets held outside of Gladfelter Dining Hall.
“That feels like an integral part of having a garden, having produce on our campus. Students should be eating what we are growing and what we are doing here,” said Mial.
Moving forward into the winter season, Garden Crew plans to build new infrastructure, such as additional greenhouses and beehives. With more beehives, they want to increase the bee products they produce, like honey, and better incorporate Herb Crew and Bee Crew products. They are also looking to experiment and work on growing some new crops such as okra.
“I think it's one of the coolest parts about Wilson, all the land opportunities we have here,” said Mial when speaking about the opportunities and responsibilities held by being stewards of this land. “I think obviously it also comes with this opportunity to learn more about what being a good steward of the land looks like. And having a lot of discussions at our crew meetings about what that looks like in context to the people before us and how we can kind of own up and repair relationships with the stewarts of this land before we were here.”