Garden’s “bio-intensive” practices include composting, crop rotation, companion planting, drip irrigation, and high species diversity. The raised beds were “double dug” with fork and shovel. A rototiller is sometimes used to turn the soil, but hand tools are preferred for cultivating, shaping beds, planting, and weeding. No pesticides, herbicides, or other petrochemicals are used on the crops, so the food is particularly safe to eat. As Chadwick liked to say, “Give to nature, and she will repay you in glorious abundance.” Local restaurants, cafes, horse stables, landscapers, and neighbors give to an innovative composting system at the Garden. They deposit organic materials into windrows (long piles of decomposing matter that generate compost in 3 to 6 months) and bins (where compost mix is moved daily from bin to bin, finishing in 16-20 days). The system provides jobs in transporting and turning of “waste” into nutrient-rich matter. Adding compost to the soil helps build a fertile, water-retaining structure, providing the base for stronger pest-resistant plants and higher yields. Funding and Resources Money for salaries and wages comes from a variety of sources. One third of the budget is covered via Community Supported Agriculture (selling shares of the harvest to the community), as well as through the sales of produce and flowers at local farmers’ markets, restaurants, and natural food stores. Funds are also raised through special events, grant and letter writing, awards, and direct campaigning. The Project was selected by Visa Card holders of the local Santa Cruz Community Credit Union to receive 5% of the money generated from the use of their cards. The New Leaf Community Market began a unique system of fundraising, by issuing 50 “enviro-tokens” earned by shoppers upon returning paper bags. The tokens are given to the non-profit organization of their choice. So far the Garden has been the community’s favorite, generating more than 5,000 tokens in 3 months. And finally, the Garden receives subsidies from the local Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), the American Association of Retired People (AARP), and the VeterPhotos, top. Jane Freedman, the Garden director, and Lynne Basehore, Project Director take a break. Bottom. The first day ofthe CSA harvest. Shareholders pick-up their delicious, organic vegetables at the Garden. Check-in lists, pamphlets and the blackboard help pick-up days run smoothly. RAIN Spring 1993 Volume XIV, Number 3 Page 5
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