Our last service learning project of the Fall semester took place at Felege Hiywot Center near downtown Indianapolis. This site was the focus of the Youth Farm Initiative as well as other CEES projects and the gardens needed to be prepared for winter.
We were joined by three YFI students still working hard to provide greens (kale, collards, mustard etc.) for the Winter Farmers Market which runs through the winter months downtown at City Market.
We worked together to pull all the plants that were past production and gave the garden beds a final weeding. The soil was then cultivated and in it we planted cover crops. The gardens sit on the north and south ends of the property and each section was planted with a different cover crop. The north end received barley and the south end was planted with crimson clover.
Clover is a leguminous or nitrogen fixing species. This should add nitrogen back into the soil for the next growing season. To test this, we took several soil samples, including a composite from both sides. The soil will be sampled again in the spring and the results of both tests will be compared.
There is also an orchard just a few blocks northeast of the center. There are grapes, berries and fruit trees here that needed to be protected for the coming winter months. We again pulled away competitive weeds, did a little pruning on the bigger trees and added mulch the base of all trees and vines. We are looking forward to a healthy and productive growing season in 2015!
