Summer arrives at UAF Campus Community Garden

August 25, 2014

Cornerstone

Folks in the UAF Campus Community Garden happily welcomed the recent warm weather and sunshine. The cooler, wetter weather early this summer set back blooming across the Interior, but, with hot days in August, the garden buzzes with energy and activity.

The Campus Community Garden occupies the former road ramp from Fairbanks Street up to the bridge across the railroad tracks south of campus. In 100 raised beds, thousands of vibrant blooms grow on organic plants ranging from potatoes to tomatillos and everything in between. Poppies, sunflowers and little marigold plants act as natural pest deterrents.

Despite the earlier swampy weather, this summer has proved an exciting year for the garden. More than 66 individual gardeners and their families have filled every plot. In addition, the Alaska Summer Research Academy used the garden to give Fairbanks high-schoolers an introduction to growing plants. UAF Office of Sustainability grows tomatoes, cabbages, peppers, lettuce, carrots and pak choy to sell at the Nanook Grown Market on Thursdays throughout the summer.

Volunteers helped to install a watering system earlier this spring. The new system allows gardeners to water the entire area with hoses instead of buckets and cans.

The space has also proved a prime location for bringing people together – people who love soil. Gardeners are quick to share information, trade seeds and give out gardening advice. In mid-July, master gardeners taught about adding organic nutrients, understanding crop maintenance and natural forms of pest control.

Harvest time is just around the corner, and gardeners will soon be busy collecting tomatoes and digging up carrots, potatoes and onions to store for winter. The Campus Community Garden is living evidence that for healthy, fresh, local produce, we need not look further than our own campus backyard.