11.13.24

Around The Farm

The Dirty Dozen: What Does It Mean to You?
by Carilyn Brandt, English Major, UW College of Arts and Sciences, 2027 and Dirty Dozen Club Member.

The Dirty Dozen is a student organization that serves to teach and practice sustainable agriculture with the UW community. This club will be a space for students interested in gardening, urban agriculture, and food systems both generally and at UW in particular to come together and share ideas about these topics and take action in these fields. 

11.06.24

Around The Farm

Attention to Seasonal and Local Produce Transforms Cooking

by Alex Ball, the UW Farm Dani Elenga Scholar, Food Systems, Nutrition, and Global Health Senior

I have always loved to cook. I remember when I would stand on a step stool just to see the pot of simmering pasta sauce that my mom was cooking in the kitchen. I remember the first meal that I cooked all by myself for my family: a lemon-shrimp pasta with a side of sautéed vegetables. 

10.30.24

Around The Farm

Community Volunteer Groups Prove Critical for UW Farm Operations

by Erica Fong, AmeriCorps Education and Outreach Coordinator and Perry Acworth, UW Farm Manager

One of the opportunities that an urban farm enjoys is being close to a large population and potential volunteers. At UW there are many faculty that value experiential learning, utilizing the farm for hands-on experiences for students. research, field trips and labs. 

Scientific Name: Taxus brevifolia
Common Name: Pacific yew, western yew
Family: Taxaceae
Native Range: Western coast of the United States, from southern Alaska to northern California; western Rocky Mountains, from northern British Columbia to Idaho and Montana
Location in the Arboretum: South end of the Arboretum above Azalea Way (Grid 17-1E)
The Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, is a native tree or large shrub that is often overlooked below the overstory of large iconic Pacific Northwest trees such as Western redcedars, Douglas firs, and Western hemlocks. 

10.16.24

Around The Farm

Candy Roasters and Beyond – Winter Squash Harvest Demonstrates Diversity and Cultural Relevancy in UW Farm Crops
by Aisling Doyle Wade
Last week I experienced a culminating moment in a 10 month long crop growing experience. After a couple weeks of curing, the farm team moved all of our North Georgia Candy Roaster winter squash inside from our high tunnel into dry storage in the Douglas Research Conservatory.As we transported the over 650 lbs. 

Out among the undulating biscuit and swale topography of the sagebrush-steppe in east-central Washington lives Spalding’s catchfly (Silene spaldingii). The basalt studded landscape feels vast and open under the blue skies of summer. For three weeks in August of 2023, you could find Allie Howell and I hiking between hundreds of patches of Spalding’s catchfly scattered over 50 square miles. Our task was to gather an updated population count after the devastating Whitney fire in 2020 that swept through a large section of the plant’s range in east-central Washington. 

10.09.24

Around The Farm

Capstone Project Leads to New Heritage Apple Orchard
  
by Perry Acworth, UW Farm Manager
 

On September 19th the UW Farm and UW Botanic Gardens hosted the Annual Harvest Dinner Fundraiser, at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Attendees celebrated the harvest season and a new Heritage Orchard along with a feast featuring locally caught salmon and UW Farm fresh produce. 

10.02.24

Around The Farm

Homemade Salsa: Connecting Mexican Heritage with the UW Farm Experience
  
by Sasha Crawford, UW Farm Work Study Student Staff, Masters of Landscape Architecture, College of Built Environments, UW ’26

My name is Sasha Crawford, and I joined the UW Farm the summer quarter, as a full-time work-study student.
As classes begin this fall, and my availability to work at the farm wanes, I reflect on an amazing summer of learning and growth in my first few months at the farm. 

Sienna Wessel is the first-ever second botanist at the Washington Natural Heritage Program (WNHP), bringing with her experience working for multiple land management agencies across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Hailing from the Midwest, Sienna’s botanical journey began in the tallgrass prairie, where she developed a deep desire to protect plant biodiversity within the tiny remaining refugia of this once vast ecosystem.