2008 Woodie Awards
Students supply Blue and Gold Club with home-grown vegetables
by Casey Tilton
Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: News
Soil chemisty graduate student Masayuki Shimizu had no idea his request to grow a tomato plant would have a far-reaching impact. He became interested in growing vegetables while interning at a vegetable garden at University of California, Davis, where he earned his bachelor's degree.
Gerald Hendricks, a research associate in plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware, said Shimizu approached him two years ago and asked if he could grow a tomato plant under a tree on the college farm. After some research, Hendricks found a plot of land on the college farm that was unused.
Shimizu, along with 14 other plant and soil science graduate students, was allotted a plot of land to grow his choice of vegetables, Hendricks said. The first year, the students grew more than they could eat, so they donated more than 500 pounds of the surplus crop to the Food Bank of Delaware, he said.
Hendricks said the following year, he asked Daniel Beggs, the executive chef of the Blue and Gold Club, if the restaurant wanted some of the vegetables picked from the garden. Since then, graduate students have been donating a portion of the vegetables to the Blue and Gold Club kitchen on a weekly basis, he said.
Beggs said he is pleased with the quality of the garden vegetables he has been receiving - which includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, green beans and fresh basil.
"I love using garden-fresh vegetables," he said. "There is nothing better."
Beggs said a morning delivery of recently picked vegetables would cause him to alter the day's menu so he could highlight the fresh food. For example, if a student dropped off tomatoes, he might make tomato basil soup, he said.
Hendricks said although it could happen in the future, there are currently no plans to open the program to students outside of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hendricks said.
He said there are plans to continue the program in the winter in a greenhouse on the college farm. Although heating a greenhouse during the winter is expensive, there will not be extra costs for the garden because the greenhouse is already being used for research purposes, Hendricks said.
He said he has no personal experience growing plants in a greenhouse, and it will be a great learning experience for the students.
"In the greenhouse, we can control things like the temperature, the lighting and the watering," Hendricks said. "It's a very controlled environment, unlike outside, where you are up to the forces of nature."
Hendricks said, in addition to the plans for a winter component to the program, an organic garden may be started separately from the existing garden.
He said he is still in negotiation with the Blue and Gold Club to get the restaurant to reward the program and the students either through money or more informal means.
Shimizu said he does not care whether he gets to eat anything from the Blue and Gold Club made from his hand-grown crop. Being able to pursue his hobby is rewarding enough.
"I'm not really interested in eating nice food," Shimizu said. "I just like to grow vegetables."Â
Gerald Hendricks, a research associate in plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware, said Shimizu approached him two years ago and asked if he could grow a tomato plant under a tree on the college farm. After some research, Hendricks found a plot of land on the college farm that was unused.
Shimizu, along with 14 other plant and soil science graduate students, was allotted a plot of land to grow his choice of vegetables, Hendricks said. The first year, the students grew more than they could eat, so they donated more than 500 pounds of the surplus crop to the Food Bank of Delaware, he said.
Hendricks said the following year, he asked Daniel Beggs, the executive chef of the Blue and Gold Club, if the restaurant wanted some of the vegetables picked from the garden. Since then, graduate students have been donating a portion of the vegetables to the Blue and Gold Club kitchen on a weekly basis, he said.
Beggs said he is pleased with the quality of the garden vegetables he has been receiving - which includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, green beans and fresh basil.
"I love using garden-fresh vegetables," he said. "There is nothing better."
Beggs said a morning delivery of recently picked vegetables would cause him to alter the day's menu so he could highlight the fresh food. For example, if a student dropped off tomatoes, he might make tomato basil soup, he said.
Hendricks said although it could happen in the future, there are currently no plans to open the program to students outside of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hendricks said.
He said there are plans to continue the program in the winter in a greenhouse on the college farm. Although heating a greenhouse during the winter is expensive, there will not be extra costs for the garden because the greenhouse is already being used for research purposes, Hendricks said.
He said he has no personal experience growing plants in a greenhouse, and it will be a great learning experience for the students.
"In the greenhouse, we can control things like the temperature, the lighting and the watering," Hendricks said. "It's a very controlled environment, unlike outside, where you are up to the forces of nature."
Hendricks said, in addition to the plans for a winter component to the program, an organic garden may be started separately from the existing garden.
He said he is still in negotiation with the Blue and Gold Club to get the restaurant to reward the program and the students either through money or more informal means.
Shimizu said he does not care whether he gets to eat anything from the Blue and Gold Club made from his hand-grown crop. Being able to pursue his hobby is rewarding enough.
"I'm not really interested in eating nice food," Shimizu said. "I just like to grow vegetables."Â
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