03.20.24

Around The Farm

Urban Farming in Japan
By Kove Janeski, UW Farm Student Staff, Operations Lead, Masters Student, Landscape Architecture, College Of Built Environments
I have been lucky to be a part of the UW Farm team since the fall of 2021. In September of 2023, after spending the summer working at the UW Farm, I left Seattle to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan. 

03.13.24

Around The Farm

Study Shows UW Farm Practices Restore Soil Health
By Will Shenton, featuring Julia MaCray, Vermicompost Intern circa 2022
 
The soil beneath our feet may not often catch our attention, but keeping it healthy can have major impacts on climate change and the overall sustainability of our food production system. A new study of agricultural practices at the UW Farm, led by recent College of the Environment graduate Julia Macray and Professor of Earth and Space Sciences David Montgomery, demonstrated that even relatively small changes to the ways we farm can help restore soil health and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. 

Scientific name: Prunus species
Various species:
P. Sato-zakura Group: Cultivars: ‘Shirotae’, ‘Shoetsu’, ‘Ukon’ ‘Chosho-Hizakura’, Sekiyama’
‘Ohochin’ ‘Oeshokun’
P. serrulata: Cultivars: ‘Asagi’ ‘Iohiyo’, ‘Shirofugen’, ‘Tai-Haku’, ‘Taoyome’ ‘Wase-Miyako’ ‘Horinji’
P. subhirtella: Cultivars: ‘Eureka Weeping’ ‘Pendula’ ‘Rosea’ ‘Stellata’ ‘Higan Weeping’ ‘Whitcomb’
P. sargentii: Cultivar: ‘Pink Flair’
Prunus x yedoensis: Cultivar: ‘Akebono’, ‘Shidare-yoshino’, ‘Somei-Yoshino’
P. x juddii
Common name: Japanese Ornamental Cherry
Family: Rosaceae
Native Range: Japan
In the Arboretum: Along Azalea Way
Issues: brown rot, cherry bark tortrix larvae, crown gall, root rot, low tolerance of compacted or wet soils

During spring’s first blossoms, I brag to anyone who will listen that the Japanese ornamental cherries at the Washington Park Arboretum are the most amazing display in the city and that they MUST go for a walk along Azalea Way to view this splendor. 

One of the best responses I’ve gotten after telling someone I’m a farmer is: “Are you okay?” And it is a fair question, though the answer changes based on what time of year it is. There’s the unbridled optimism of early spring, the growing suspense in April and May (what weather-related surprises will climate change bring us this year?), staring into the void in June, and then summer hits and the rest of the season is a downhill run. 

02.14.24

Around The Farm

UW Farm Catalyzes Careers in Urban Farming 
By Andrea Hatsukami
 
One of the best responses I’ve gotten after telling someone I’m a farmer is: “Are you okay?” And it is a fair question, though the answer changes based on what time of year it is. There’s the unbridled optimism of early spring, the growing suspense in April and May (what weather-related surprises will climate change bring us this year?), staring into the void in June, and then summer hits and the rest of the season is a downhill run. 

Scientific name: Trochodendron aralioides
Synonyms: Trochodendron longifolium
Common name: Wheel tree, parasol tree, birdlime tree, yamaguruma, nagaba-no-yamguruma, kun lan shu, ka-tang-lai
Family: Trochodendraceae
Native Range: Japan (south of Yamagata), Kyushu, Shikoku, Ryuku Islands, Taiwan
Height and Spread: May grow from 60-75 tall feet in the wild with trunks as large as 16 feet in diameter, typically 20-25 feet tall by 10-15 feet wide in cultivation. 

In 2023, the UW Farm experienced highs and lows, new accolades and challenges. We struggled with crop failures of melons, corn, and onions, while successfully cultivating quinoa and wheat for the very first time! Certified organic produce donated by the UW Farm in 2023 reached 2390.57 pounds, worth a retail value of $11,870.00.  The largest volume of donated produce was delivered to the campus UW Food Pantry. 

After our last volunteer shift of the Fall season on December 9th, the UW Farm has officially ended its 2023 growing season! One way that the farm team celebrated the end of the year was by coming together to construct a gingerbread farm for the annual School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS) gingerbread competition. Some of the features of our gingerbread house included: different flavors of cake to represent stratified soil layers, gummy worms to represent soil organisms and microbial life beneath the surface, gingerbread versions of our interns, and even a bursting CSA box with veggies molded by students. 

Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Leptospermum
Species: Over 80
Origin: Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia
Height and Spread: From groundcovers to trees
Bloom time: Varies by species, mostly spring and early summer
Location: Several species can be seen in the Pacific Connections Australia Entry Garden, Leptospermum scoparium is also prevalent in the New Zealand Forest.
You may be familiar with tea trees from the myriad of products containing oils from these plants. 

12.13.23

Around The Farm

 
Saving Seeds: Increasing Biodiversity and Food Security
By Perry Acworth, Farm Manager
At this writing the UW Farm team is receiving glossy seed catalogs in the mail and diving head-long into crop planning for 2024. We begin by coming together as a team and reviewing what varieties grow well, are disease-resistant, heat -tolerant, tasty, easy to harvest, and give the greatest revenue per square foot.