Green Square: UW Tower Urban Garden’s Year at the UW Farm
By Ella Gostisha, Environmental Studies, UW Farm Intern, and Brooke Baker, Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health, UW Farm Intern
What is Green Square?
The UW Tower Green Square project began in 2015 to demonstrate the potential of food production in underutilized urban settings. Funded by the Campus Sustainability Fund, this student-led initiative aims to explore low-space growing techniques while promoting gardening among the local community and donate fresh produce to the UW Food Pantry. This project is normally based in raised beds of the courtyard area at the base of the UW Tower. However, this year, after running into some urban soil contamination issues at the original location at the tower courtyard, the UW Farm was generous enough to offer up their former Children’s Garden at the Center for Urban Horticulture farm location for us to use for the 2023 growing season! In total, between May and November of this year, the garden produced around 83 lbs. of fresh produce to donate to the UW Food Pantry. This produce was grown from around 302 plants in total: 125 transplanted, and around 127 plants started from seed. All of our transplanted plants were organically grown, and the seeds that we sourced from the Seattle spring seed swap were non-GMO. Furthermore, we also focused on integrating aspects of regenerative agriculture into the garden such as using fabric row cover in place of pesticides, fertilizing with coffee grounds, planting over-wintering cover crops such as crimson clover and winter rye, and planting edible and non-edible flowers to support pollinator health.
Social Media and Educational Outreach:
This year we primarily used Instagram to showcase the harvests and other garden updates as they happened. Social media allowed us not only to provide updates of the garden's progress, but also to share upcoming farming-related events around Seattle with our followers, such as volunteer work parties and educational workshops. The Green Square project also has a goal of providing farming-related educational opportunities, so this year we incorporated a mixture of farm tours, informational flyers, a CSF zine feature, and of course our progress tracking on social media to help engage with the educational aspect. If you’d like to check out the Green Square Instagram page to see more photos we’ve posted this year, you can find us @uwgreensquare.
Challenges:
Some of the greatest challenges we faced were pests, powdery mildew, and bolting. While any farm or garden has unwanted guests, a unique issue of food production in urban settings is the increased number of certain pests that congregate around human life, such as rats. Although most of the crops were untouched by rodents, we unwittingly shared a few cantaloupes and several tomatoes with small bucktooth neighbors, which we tried to combat with cover cloth and tightly packed rocks. Invertabrates, such as cabbage worms, were more selective with their feasting, and we only had a few mild cases in our lettuce and brassicas. Since we were operating on a very small scale, we were able to address the cabbage worms by removing them by hand. Our last featured visitors, crows, primarily enjoyed uprooting young plants. Armed with a warning from Perry, the UW Farm manager, we were able to protect most of the plants with row cover fabric until they were able to establish themselves. Another challenge we faced was powdery mildew, an ambient fungus that appeared primarily on our peas and cantaloupe. Fortunately, the crops were all near the end of their season, so our production wasn’t greatly impacted. Lastly, we experienced a lot of premature bolting, such as with our radishes and lettuce, likely due to sudden heat or transplanting stress. We were able to save and donate some of the seeds to the UW Farm Seed Library.
Future Suggestions:
Make a crop plan
A crop plan is developed before the growing season begins and details the timeline of what crops will be grown, and what actions will be needed–such as seeding and transplanting–and when. Due to unforeseen circumstances at the outset, we began this project not knowing our full timeline and improvised a crop plan as we went. While it gave us some idea of what we would produce and the work would be needed to achieve it, the season would have gone more smoothly if we had made a crop plan beforehand.
Utilize community resources
We did our best to minimize purchases and find or reuse any necessary resources. We were blown away by the wealth of community resources and support we encountered along the way. One great resource for connecting with fellow gardeners is through Seattle’s P-Patch Community Garden Program, which includes over 90 community plots throughout the city. From the generosity of the p-patch community, we were able to procure materials for trellising, such as bamboo poles. Most of our seeds came from the annual Seattle Spring Seed Swap, an event hosted by the King County Seed Library which allows fellow gardeners to expand their seed collections and have the opportunity to ask for free advice from their local gardening experts. As for our transplants, most came from Ravenna Gardens, a local plant store that graciously donated extra transplants to our project. The rest of our transplants were donated from the UW Farm.
Get your hands dirty!
One of the best ways to learn more about food production and gardening is by getting hands-on experience. Throughout our time as the Green Square workers, we participated weekly in the UW farm volunteer shifts, where we learned new skills about transplanting, harvesting, and processing organic produce that we were able to apply to our little corner of the farm. If you are interested in getting involved with volunteering you can easily join a shift after filling out two quick forms on the UW Botanic Gardens website. From there, all you need to do is double check which of the three farm locations the volunteer shift you want to attend will be held, and make sure to wear clothing you don’t mind getting wet or muddy!
About Us
Brooke Baker is a senior at the University of Washington, studying Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health and a business minor with a passion for regenerative agriculture and a holistic approach to nutrition. They first encountered the UW Farm through nutrition courses, and have been hooked ever since.
“I loved the freedom to experiment with new crops and techniques as a team while learning more about urban farming through the UW Farm. One of my favorite moments was our first cauliflower and cantaloupe harvest, since I’ve never grown either before!”
Ella Gostisha is a senior at UW, majoring in Environmental Studies, and double minoring in Earth and Space Science & ESRM. Their interests include regenerative agriculture, bioremediation, and art. They learned about the UW farm via a sustainability fair freshman year and later in an urban farming class.
“The gorgeous heirloom scarlet runner beans we grew this year really stood out to me this growing season due to their incredible purple-reddish seed pattern, along with the prolific growth that put my homemade bamboo trellis to the test, coupled with the beautiful red flowers and gigantic bean pods.”
Recipe of the Week:
MAPLE MISO WHIPPED SWEET POTATOES WITH CORNMEAL CRUSTED TOFU By Catherine Perez
2 lb sweet potatoes, scrubbed well and pierced with a fork (about 3 medium potatoes)
1 small bulb of garlic, 1/4-in of top sliced off to expose the cloves
Avocado oil for roasting
1 tbsp yellow miso paste
2 tsp maple syrup
1/4–1/2 cup vegetable broth
Tofu Cornmeal Nuggets
1 lb block extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
Juice of half a large lemon
1 1/2 tbsp tamari
1 1/2 tbsp avocado oil
2 tbsp corn meal
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
Marinated Kale
12 leaves of kale, stems removed and thinly sliced
3 stalks spring onions, stems removed and thinly sliced
Juice of half a large lemon
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp dijon mustard
Kosher salt to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise and place face up on a baking tray with the bulb of garlic. Drizzle the sweet potatoes and garlic with oil then flip the potatoes and garlic cut side down on the tray. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the potatoes are caramelized on the bottom and soft.
Tear the block of tofu into 1-inch chunks and place it in a large container with lemon juice and tamari. Seal and toss the tofu and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add the oil, cornstarch, cornmeal and seasonings then seal the container and carefully shake again to evenly coat.
Spread the tofu out on a parchment lined baking tray with space between the pieces. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping after 20 minutes of baking.
While everything bakes, prepare the kale. Add the kale, spring onions, lemon, oil, maple syrup, mustard, and a generous pinch of salt to a medium bowl. Use your hands to massage the ingredients into the kale to soften it. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
When the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, scrape out the filling and squeeze out the garlic into a food processor with the miso paste, maple syrup, 1/4 cup vegetable broth, and a pinch of salt. Process on high, scraping down the sides of the blending cup as needed until smooth. Add more vegetable broth as needed to thin it out to your desired consistency.
To assemble, spread some of the sweet potato mash on your serving plate then top with some kale and a serving of the tofu nuggets. Garnish as desired and enjoy.
The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.
Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online
The Weekly Dirt is produced once a week by the University of Washington Farm, a program of the UW Botanic Gardens, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment. It is published nearly year-round for educational purposes and the majority of the content is written or contributed by students and farm staff.
This issue's contributors:
Managing Editor: Althea Ericksen, UW Farm Intern, Communications Coordinator
Around the Farm: Ella Gostisha, Environmental Studies, UW Farm Intern, and Brooke Baker, Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health, UW Farm Intern Contributing Editors: Perry Acworth, Farm Manager; Siffre Tooth, UW Farm Food Security Lead '23-24 Photo Credits: Siffre Tooth. Other photos retrieved from the internet and noted in sections
his project is normally based in raised beds of the courtyard area at the base of the UW Tower. However, this year, after running into some urban soil contamination issues at the original location at the tower courtyard, the UW Farm was generous enough to offer up their former Children’s Garden at the Center for Urban Horticulture farm location for us to use for the 2023 growing season! In total, between May and November of this year, the garden produced around 83 lbs. of fresh produce to donate to the UW Food Pantry. This produce was grown from around 302 plants in total: 125 transplanted, and around 127 plants started from seed. All of our transplanted plants were organically grown, and the seeds that we sourced from the Seattle spring seed swap were non-GMO. Furthermore, we also focused on integrating aspects of regenerative agriculture into the garden such as using fabric row cover in place of pesticides, fertilizing with coffee grounds, planting over-wintering cover crops such as crimson clover and winter rye, and planting edible and non-edible flowers to support pollinator health.
n's progress, but also to share upcoming farming-related events around Seattle with our followers, such as volunteer work parties and educational workshops. The Green Square project also has a goal of providing farming-related educational opportunities, so this year we incorporated a mixture of farm tours, informational flyers, a CSF zine feature, and of course our progress tracking on social media to help engage with the educational aspect. If you’d like to check out the Green Square Instagram page to see more photos we’ve posted this year, you can find us @uwgreensquare.
Some of the greatest challenges we faced were pests, powdery mildew, and bolting. While any farm or garden has unwanted guests, a unique issue of food production in urban settings is the increased number of certain pests that congregate around human life, such as rats. Although most of the crops were untouched by rodents, we unwittingly shared a few cantaloupes and several tomatoes with small bucktooth neighbors, which we tried to combat with cover cloth and 
tightly packed rocks. Invertabrates, such as cabbage worms, were more selective with their feasting, and we only had a few mild cases in our lettuce and brassicas. Since we were operating on a very small scale, we were able to address the cabbage worms by removing them by hand. Our last featured visitors, crows, primarily enjoyed uprooting young plants. Armed with 
a warning from Perry, the UW Farm manager, we were able to protect most of the plants with row cover fabric until they were able to establish themselves. Another challenge we faced was powdery mildew, an ambient fungus that appeared primarily on our peas and cantaloupe. Fortunately, the crops were all near the end of their season, so our production wasn’t greatly impacted. Lastly, we experienced a lot of premature bolting, such as with our radishes and lettuce, likely due to sudden heat or transplanting stress. We were able to save and donate some of the seeds to the UW Farm Seed Library.
munity plots throughout the city. From the generosity of the p-patch community, we were able to procure materials for trellising, such as bamboo poles. Most of our seeds came from the annual Seattle Spring Seed Swap, an event hosted by the King County Seed Library which allows fellow gardeners to expand their seed collections and have the opportunity to ask for free advice from their local gardening experts. As for our transplants, most came from Ravenna Gardens, a local plant store that graciously donated extra transplants to our project. The rest of our transplants were donated from the UW Farm.
m while learning more about urban farming through the UW Farm. One of my favorite moments was our first cauliflower and cantaloupe harvest, since I’ve never grown either before!” 
