It’s harvest season and Big Hill Student Farm is in full bloom. Throughout the summer and all of this semester, the farm interns have been keeping themselves busy in order to produce crops for the Market Place.

Established in early 2009 by Gustavus alumni Eliza Swedenborg ‘09 and Cat Wiechmann ‘09, the Big Hill Student Farm is located in the Linnaeus Arboretum.

“Our mission is to augment the effort to make Gustavus an environmentally sustainable institution [as well as] to encourage healthy and ethical eating habits,” Swedenborg said.

The farm is all-natural and fully organic, staying away from “any of the standard petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Instead we are relying on natural fertilizers and nutrient amendments, aged manure, compost [and] fish emulsion,” Swedenborg said.

The Big Hill Student Farm interns are Junior English Major Jordan Walker, Senior Environmental Studies Major Lucas Neher, Senior Dance and Psychology Major Sarah Jabar and Senior History Major Steve Palmer.

Throughout the summer, the interns learned the ins and outs of local farming.

“The most rewarding thing that I have gained from working on the farm is a deeper connection with and appreciation for the food I eat and where it comes from. Understanding how delicious and fresh local food can be has changed my values around agriculture, and I am now much more intentional about the food that I buy and promote,” Jabar said.

Neher, who grew up on a farm in Iowa, was immediately attracted to the idea of working at Big Hill Farm. “Almost every day on the farm is worthwhile. I can be outside and play in the dirt. It has allowed me to give something special to Gustavus. It gave me the opportunity to work with the most outstanding people at Gustavus,” Neher said.

Although the experiences were mostly positive, there were some kinks to work out.

“The most difficult part has been problem solving when things don’t go as planned, for example, dealing with pests and plant diseases. However, it has all been part of the process and we were able to deal with just about everything that came up, so I don’t see those difficulties as a negative thing. We will now know how to best prepare for and tackle problems that may come up next year,” Jabar said.

Neher also mentioned dealing with soil as being a difficult part of the summer.

“The soil had been the hardest challenge. We started off with some rough stuff. Not to say it’s not bad now, but it will take lots of continued work to help it out,” Neher said.

As of late, the interns have been busy harvesting their crops. Tomato plants are ripe and ready for picking. This past Sunday, interns Neher and Jabar picked 12 pallets full of tomatoes for the Market Place.

Tomatoes aren’t the only produce being grown on the farm. Here’s a list of what’s being/been harvested:Tomatoes (romas and brandywines), bell peppers, various hot peppers, sweet corn, beets, sugar snap peas, green beans, onions, potatoes, leaf lettuce, radishes, cauliflower, herbs (basil, cilantro, mint, chives), cucumbers, summer squash, assorted winter squash, butternut squash, asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, muskmelon and watermelon.