Grow What You Eat

Welcome to Grow What You Eat

Over the past fifty years interest in food-related issues has exploded. This interest (some consider it to be an obsession) is often traced to the opening of the iconic Berkley, California restaurant, Chez Panisse by Alice Waters in 1971.

Unique at that time was Waters’ insistence on seasonal and locally sourced ingredients – especially given the simultaneous increase in highly processed/packaged “convenience” (ready-to-eat/ready-to-heat) food products. These “foods” (including my favorite, Wild Berry Pop-tarts®) now make up more than sixty percent of all calories purchased in grocery stores.

Other significant concerns driving society’s interest in food include real and perceived harmful/unsustainable practices associated with traditional production agriculture, the lack of access to fresh, non-processed foods by large segments of our country’s disadvantaged and poverty-stricken populations, and the “obesity epidemic.”

Responses to these interests/concerns include the proliferation of academic organizations such as the Association for the Study of Food and Society; the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society; the Canadian Association for Food Studies; and the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, to name just a few. Well over a thousand grass-roots, neighborhood-based community garden organizations have also "sprouted" (sorry, couldn't resist) all across North America, including "Syracuse Grows."

“Food Studies” majors/minors/programs are also increasingly offered by higher education institutions including, as you know, at both SUNY ESF and Syracuse University.

The ESF and SU programs currently offer mostly food policy-oriented courses. I've learned, however, that there is significant interest among our students for learning opportunities focusing on small-scale food production/horticulture in urban settings, both for their own benefit and out of concern for people with limited/no access to fresh, unprocessed food.

And that, I’m assuming, is why you’ve enrolled in this class?

Over the course of the summer I will introduce you to the science – and art - of growing food for yourself and others. Through a combination of video "lectures," assigned readings, in-class activities and discussions, “hands-on” activities, "virtual" field trips to local farms and the creation of an integrated crop production plan my goal is to help you develop the foundational knowledge and skills needed to successfully grow and harvest a core group of herbs, vegetables, grains and fruits under a wide range of environmental conditions.

Below you'll find comments from past students regarding the reason(s) why they enrolled in this class, what they hoped to learn while taking the class, and their favorite food crop(s).

I'm very much looking forward to getting to know each of you as we all learn more about growing the food we eat.

Why Are You Taking This Class?

"I’m interested in learning how best to read the needs of (edible indoor) food plants so that I can better support their production. I would also like to learn more about the use of compost."

"I am interested in sustainable agriculture and think growing your own food could be very beneficial to the climate and also for human wellbeing. I have problems with industrial agriculture and want to grow my own food."

"I want to start growing my own food once I live somewhere that allows me to have a garden. (I hope) this class will boost my knowledge."

"I want to expand on the knowledge and skills I gained in the Plant Propagation class. I also want to gain more experience with growing edible plants."

"This is my second year attempting both indoor and outdoor gardening. The first year I had an aphid and fungus problem and the second year I had better luck and my plants survived! I was able to grow basil, peppers, yarrow and zucchini. However, the zucchini didn’t produce any fruit."

"After working in a sleepaway camp garden for the last five summers I developed a passion for not only growing food, but also learning the science behind it as the activity I taught was titled “Garden Science.” I signed up for this class as it was offered for the Food Studies minor, but I hope to learn much more about the science behind the food we grow, how to grow it better, and more sustainably."

"This class caught my attention when I was looking through courses that I could take for a Food Studies minor."

"I want to improve my food production skills and gain new knowledge regarding sustainable practices."

"I want to understand how to grow different kinds of edible plants using sustainable/”green” methods and have the opportunity to explore the ESF greenhouses."

"I want to help ensure food security in the developing world (eventually making it my career) and I feel like having a knowledge base in the logistics of growing food will help me gain a better scientific perspective on growing food."

"I want to learn more about general food crop production practices that will help me to develop my teaching/interpretive skills for growing food."

What Are Your Goals For the Semester in This Class?

"I want more plant knowledge! Anything that relates to healthy plant growth and sustainability of growth is up my alley – which this class fits perfectly!"

"I want to learn about how and when to grow certain plants, what techniques can make a harvest more successful, sustainable agriculture techniques, more about soil and how to conserve it, how to hybridize plants, biocontrol, plant pollination, etc."

"I want this class to help me learn best methods for growing food crops, learn ways to overcome frost and pest damage, refresh my understanding of how plants grow, and increase productivity by growing compatible plant combinations."

"What I would like from this class is to expand my knowledge so that I can better my garden and overall have more knowledge to keep my plants happy!"

"I hope by the end of this class I will be more confident in my crop propagating skills, season extension technology, land races, and growing in ways that preserve the environment."

"As someone who has always loved growing edible plants at home and in community gardens I found that I would like to know better how these plants grow and how we can grow them more sustainably. I’m especially interested in sustainable agriculture and small scale/urban agriculture."

"I want to learn more about possible designs of mixed permaculture farms aimed at maximizing production while minimizing strain on the Earth, allowing me to leave it better off than when I came into it."

"I want to learn proper fertilization techniques in order to maximize food production. I’m also interested in planting “patterns” (synergistic influences of one plant on another). I’m also hoping to learn about new recipes."

"I would like to have a small farm someday that will allow me to live off the resources I can produce myself using successful intercropping systems."

"I want to know more about seed germination, plant nutrition, pest management and harvesting practices. I also want to learn more about different growing techniques such as vertical and hydroponic food production systems."

What Is Your Favorite Fruit/Vegetable/Grain/Herb Food?

*Note - listed in no particular order. Also, many students offered several of their favorite food crops.