Our Visit to the UCSC Farm and Garden

Crops growing in the raised beds at the UCSC Farm and Garden

Recently we took a trip from Clayton to Santa Cruz to visit the UCSC Farm and Garden to learn about their facilities and how they operate. The Farm and Garden at UCSC runs a full-scale organic farm that supports a produce stand and a seasonal CSA for the Santa Cruz community.

I was impressed at the scope of their operation, since I am accustomed to our half-acre of raised beds and their garden seemed to stretch on forever. 

Despite the difference in size, I found the similarities between our two gardens comforting in that Buttercup Farms Garden felt like a more compact version of the university garden. 

Buttercup Farms Garden in the Foothills of Mt Diablo

Thanks to Gary, who manages the Buttercup Farms Garden and was an apprentice at the UCSC Farm and Garden, we operate in very much the same way, using the same techniques, equipment and concepts to run our garden. Visiting the university garden also inspired us to see the ways in which we can grow even as a small-scale garden and even in what we can grow for our community and ourselves. All-in-all the visit to Santa Cruz taught us a few things, inspired us to try some new ideas and left us excited to return home.