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The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines beginning farming as the first ten years. Farmshare focuses on building out a pathway to farming for those first five years, beginning with Farmer Starter. Farmer Starter graduates have the opportunity to take their farming to the next level through Cultivator, a farming micro-incubator located on Farmshare’s farm. Cultivators have access to up to one-fifth of an acre to launch their farm business plan and hone their growing skills. Cultivators grow mostly for Farmshare’s Fresh for Less food access program, enabling them to focus on farming instead of marketing, putting their Farmer Starter skills into action. Please give a warm welcome to the Spring/Summer 2022 Cultivators, Fall 2021 Farmer Starter graduates Pilar Rendon and Corbin Brooke! Additionally, Trisch Doenges, who became a Cultivator last semester, is continuing on as a Cultivator for this season alongisde Pilar and Corbin.
Corbin will be planting peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupes and sunflowers! His vision is to one day live on a farm where he has half an acre of high tunnel production.
For the winter crops, Pilar will be planting beets, carrots, hakurei turnips, kale, cabbage and bunching cauliflower. Thinking ahead to spring and summer crops, Pilar plans to plant tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and green onions. Taking our Fresh for Less customers into considersation, she also plans to experiment with some culturally-relevant crops such as epazote, chayote squash and verdolagas. The seeds for these crops were donated from the Sustainable Food Center.
"When I began my journey with Farmer Starter in spring of 2021, I thought you’d have to be insane to be a farmer, now I know so! This will be my second season as a cultivator. I am both thrilled and terrified. As a breast cancer survivor and person in recovery, farming has proven to be an integral part of my own healing by providing a space for community and connection, as well as the opportunity to see myself as part of a living system.
I love to ferment and pickle too, so this season I’m growing all things kimchi- Napa cabbage, Korean hot peppers (for gochugaru), lots of carrots and onions! Super pumped about my lemon cucumbers too. Fingers crossed!" - Trisch Doenges
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