Garden Travels: UC Santa Cruz Farm = Sustainability
Travels with Teresa: A Trip to UC Santa Cruz's Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems
I am one of the newbie Master Gardeners, Class of 2014. I have found a way to incorporate my gardening interest into travels with my husband. Together, we choose sites to visit and create a win-win situation including trains, aquariums, nurseries, gardens, goat farms and so on.
Earlier this summer we traveled to Santa Cruz. Our main stop was to the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) campus. CASFS manages the internationally recognized UCSC Farm. We spent a couple of hours on a self-guided tour of the "Farm".
The UCSC Farm - Where they grow farmers!
CASFS'S Mission is: "To research, develop, and advance sustainable food and agricultural systems that are environmentally sound, economically viable, socially responsible, non-exploitative, and that serve as a foundation for future generations."
Healthy gardens and communities, sound familiar?
The farm is located on 30 acres near the entry to the campus. This is where they grow farmers! Apprentices work for six months to learn hands-on organic gardening and farming. Topics taught include: soil management, composting, pest control, crop planning, irrigation, farm equipment, marketing techniques, and Community Supported Agriculture.
The Tour
It was between terms so the campus and Center were quiet. A few staff members were busy in the green house potting up plants and were happy to answer questions. We strolled on our own through the barn which had a bat box mounted near the roof. The cable structure supporting the kiwi vines (I learned kiwis grow on large vines and not trees) was impressive and somehow included an owl box. I recalled a Wednesday morning at the Contra Costa Master Gardeners' Our Garden sitting under the oak tree; the topic was pest management and I shared the info with my hubby.
The Farm's greenhouses were modern, complete with an electric compost tea tank. I didn't ask about that and remain curious about the controversy over using compost tea (feel free to post a comment with your thoughts on the subject). The packing shed for their CSA program was well stocked with boxes. We also inspected the herb garden, orchards and strawberry fields. Part of the acreage includes 10 acres of tractor-cultivated field. I loved the orange Kubota tractor and jumped in the seat for a photo op.
These tent cabins were near the strawberry fields. They were empty so I was anxious to peek in the windows since I lived in a tent cabin while working in Yosemite one summer. Simple living. We strolled past a few yurts and a solar shower. The apprentice-built Farm Center is used for meals and socializing. The apprentices receive a full living and working experience.
If you are interest is piqued and would like to see a demonstration garden a little closer to home, be sure to attend our own Contra Costa Master Gardener's 2nd Annual Sustainability Fair. The Sustainability Fair is free to the public, and will be held Saturday, September 6, from 10:00-3:00 at Our Garden, in Walnut Creek. The Sustainability Fair will be fun for the whole family - with a children's tent, plant sales and a day of presentations and demonstrations. We will even have food trucks this year!
For more information, including the schedule of presentations and demonstrations, please visit the Sustainability Fair's website: http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/SustainabilityFair/
Comments:
First… it’s great that you are into the blog from one of the various and many University of California instituions… definitely UC, and especially its agricultural interests are first and foremost the place to look for info about insects/bugs in California and much of the current info shows up on the various blogs… there are many… while it would appear that most of the usual info is agricultural oriented, there is plenty of info about community and household bugs as well… so I would direct you to the list of blogs found at http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/blogroll.cfm
Right at the top of the blog popularity is “Bug Squad” and right next to that blog on the page I’m looking at today is “Entomology & Nematology News” about insects eating styrofoam (“the clean up squad”) no less at the Bohart Museum at UC Davis. Or probably closer to your interests: “Pests in the Urban Landscape”. Definitely for museum types and knowledge, you want to visit UC Davis campus and the various insect exhibits,museums (Bohart), some bee exhibits, etc… depending upon your time of visit it could be quite entertaining and informative… Many of the other blogs by their titles and others as an important issue as well will report on various insects and their California problems.. usually their agriculture and economic impacts… but pests in the urban landscapes and homes, especially for urban gardens, etc. and termites and bed bugs are high on the list… unless the title of the blog is explicit you will probably have to try hit and miss to find pertinent info you are looking for… but a Google search does work. While we don’t have Japanese Beetles, we are seeing the continuing arrival of many pests normally thought of as “back East”, e.g., Bagrada, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, etc. UC is also the lead agency, along with the County Ag directors, guiding the state in the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Many PCAs advertise that fact (IPM) as well as being “organic”, e.g., “orange oil”, etc.
If you do visit UC Davis, only about ½ hour drive away is Sacramento, the state capital, where the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the PCA and Structural Pest Control agencies reside that might interest you… they can all be found on the web.
If you really want to get down to what insects are wherever you visit in California, I would suggest several avenues. First, you could try to contact the office of the County Ag Commissioner and see if you could get a run-down on insect activities in the County you are visiting (there will be significant differences within the state by county). It is my understanding they are also involved in PCA oversight from delegation from the State agency. That migh vary County by County, but their offices are almost always in the County Seat. They often have satellite offices in the bigger counties. I’d call ahead if you go that route.
And the last venue I’d suggest at this time would be to Google “insect museums in California”. Up will come many museums that I’m not that familiar with, especially for insect collections, so I can’t give you specific recommendations, but I’m familiar with many of the institutions and most are 1st class. On my Google search, up came the Bohart Museum at UC Davis as #1. It is evident that many are oriented to be “natural history” type displays and that might be a clue if/when looking for interesting places.
That’s it for now. If you think of further comments and/or questions that I might be able to help, please do not hesitate to ask.
… and here’s hoping you have a great California visit…
CHEERS
Thanks for your nice and simple post.
Before that, i have no idea about what it means by Garden Travels.
Now, i have some interest and maybe your change my mind.
Thanks!!
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Posted by greg on November 23, 2015 at 2:23 PM