Last November, the Edmonds Community College Learn-n-serve (LEAF) program came to the Westgarden and transformed the south terraced section of the garden. http://learningfromtheland.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/leaf-transformation/ and http://www.edcc.edu/leaf/
Volunteers and other service learning groups continued the cultivation, and the LEAF school also returned in the summer and planted.


Now, in the fall, after a very successful growing season, it was time to put the garden to bed.
The LEAF service project was part of a day-long program about Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture. In the morning, we visited the Good Cheer Garden, Food Bank, Distribution Center and Langley Thrift Store. The Food Bank is supported by the thrift store operations, and the garden grows fresh, healthy produce for the Food Bank.
http://goodcheergarden.wordpress.com/ and http://www.goodcheer.org/

The afternoon service activity of getting the garden ready for winter demonstrated how sustainable agriculture grows soil. A healthy soil grows a bountiful garden.
First we chopped up the bolted and old lettuce and past their prime veggies, and incorporated them into the soil. We spread aged compost that we’ve been making over the last 10 months over the beds about 2″ thick, and turned it in. Then, winter rye and barley cover crop seeds were sown, and raked in. Wow! In just over two hours, the south terraced beds were transformed!

It doesn’t look like much now, but the cold-hardy rye and barley will slowly grow throughout the winter, capturing nutrients, covering the soil and reducing leaching, and suppressing weeds. The soil microorganisms will slowly integrate the compost into the soil food web. Then, we’ll turn the cover crop over in the spring about 4 weeks before planting, thereby increasing the tilth and fertility of the soil.
The soil food web, the importance of compost and organic matter in the soil, growing locally and how that impacts our carbon footprint, and food security in our challenging economic times were all topics we directly experienced during the day. Plus we had delicious pumpkin soup made from our garden pumpkins!