A New Garden for Campus
All Aztecs are invited to show off their horticulture skills.
The corn stalks grow tall and soldier-straight in the College Area Community Garden. At their feet, red tomato orbs and shiny purple eggplant ripen in the midday sun, just a few yards from the Children’s Center on the campus of San Diego State University.
A small group of gardeners has come out to water and weed on a hot August day. They are mix of SDSU staff and neighborhood residents, all clearly gifted with very green thumbs. In their raised planter beds is the bounty of summer—tomatoes, squash, onions, garlic, herbs and peppers of many hues.
Though the fall semester was still weeks away on this steamy afternoon, several students arrived for a working tour of the urban farm. Members of Green Love, the Aztec student organization committed to sustainability on campus, they are potential gardeners themselves. Of the 80-plus raised planter beds in the community garden, half are reserved for SDSU faculty, staff and students.
The garden took shape when a small group of enthusiasts from SDSU and the College View Estates neighborhood met in 2011 to create a community garden/urban farm with the added benefit of fostering a greater sense of community between local residents and SDSU students, faculty and staff.
A nine-person volunteer board was elected, and Henry Bertram, CEO of family-owned San Diego Craftsman Construction, Inc., became its first president.
"The garden opened just this summer and already has 18 planted beds, a thriving 16-tree fruit orchard and a table grape vineyard," said Bertram, a licensed General Contractor. "SDSU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to become members and join in the fun."
In addition to leasing garden beds at a reasonable cost, the College Area Community Garden will sponsor educational workshops and offer classes on organic farming and planet-friendly agricultural practices.
A working partnership
The College Area Community Garden has received financial support from San Diego Gas and Electric, in partnership with the San Diego Urban Corps; the City of San Diego through Councilmember Marti Emerald's office; the County of San Diego; and more than 15 other private and corporate sponsors.
Associated Students is also a sponsor. Two members of its staff are among the garden’s staunchest supporters and serve on its board. Glen Brandenburg, director of facilities and sustainability, and Robin Judd, director of the SDSU Children’s Center, have assisted with the conversion of four neglected parcels of land into the flourishing urban farm that exists today.
“This garden is a great example of the collaboration we hope to nurture and grow with our neighbors and the broader San Diego community,” said SDSU President Elliot Hirshman, who is scheduled to speak during an Open House at the garden on Saturday, Sept. 13 from 10-11:30 a.m.
Home to research projects
Beginning in the spring, the garden will be home to SDSU education and research projects. Professors David Larom and John Love will guide students in comparing how vegetables grow under different types of greenhouse coverings.
Students from the children’s center will also visit the garden regularly to learn about the gardens and fruit trees and observe the birds and wildlife. The children’s center supports the garden by furnishing water and providing electricity, both of which are metered and paid for by the nonprofit garden board.
Becoming a member
Annual membership in the College Area Community Garden is $50 plus a monthly lease fee for a gardener-ready raised bed. Students may lease a 4 X 4 raised bed at a reduced cost of $10 per month.
