Urban Farmer-to-Farmer Discussion

On October 5, we welcomed Brenda from the Sedgwick County Conservation District and Howard from Cheney Lake Watershed to host an urban farmer-to-farmer discussion about soil health at the Funston Neighborhood Garden.

It was our first-ever garden party! Seventeen of us gathered together on a glorious fall evening (as you can see in the pictures) to share a meal of local tacos and to learn about ways to care for our soil. Brenda shared about the 5 Soil Health Principles: 1) Soil armor (keeping soil covered to prevent erosion and maintain moisture); 2) minimizing soil disturbance; 3) plant diversity; 4) continual live plant/foot; and 5) livestock integration. We learned that we are doing fairly well with most of those concepts at our garden, but, of course, we lack livestock integration. Does the odd wild urban bunny count? We observed plenty of butterflies, wings aglow in the evening sun, and busy bees tending to optimistic October watermelon blossoms!

Our party ended by sharing one of our delicious watermelons that we have been patiently nurturing and anticipating since planting the melon transplants on July 1! Biting into the sweet, juicy melon slices with our gardening friends was a reminder of how far the Funston garden has come over the past few years.

Thank you to Brenda and the Conservation District for your insights, affirmations, and generosity!