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On Virginia Corners

Posted at 9:38 AM on December 16, 2008 by Donna McClurkan

In this February blog, I shared the main reason for enrolling in the Master Gardener (MG) certification program through Michigan State University Extension (MSUE): I wanted to learn how to grow my own food. To become certified, MG aspirants must complete an educational training course and volunteer hours relating to horticulture. I chose to earn my hours at Virginia Corners, on a ½ acre plot of organic farmland owned by Don and Cheryl Ulsh in Schoolcraft, one of several communities in southwest Michigan .

Virginia Corners is where the MG classroom material came to life for me, beginning April 25 and extending through mid-October. This was no ordinary garden, having once been prairie land with a fascinating history. Because of their very deep roots, prairie grasses contribute much organic material to the soil and stabilize it, thereby reducing erosion. The soil was rich, black and very fertile; we needed no chemicals or fertilizers. According to So I'm Told: The Nineteenth Century in Schoolcraft, MI (Copyright 1990, by Mary Jane Swartz), soil quality is what lured many settlers here from the eastern US (evicting the Potawatomi in the process). The original farmhouse on Virginia Corners was built by settlers from Virginia over 160 years ago. Knowing all of this made working the land a richer experience for me.

Mark Thomas (MSUE) showed me how to plant seeds and starter plants, and later how to cultivate between and among the rows. That tiny seeds hold all the genetic material needed for what grows from them is no small wonder. And what grew on this abundant land was this: radishes, Asian greens, beets, cabbage, watermelon, carrots, red, yellow and green Swiss chard, celery, collards, onions, eggplant, spinach, squash, corn, broccoli, hot peppers and sweet peppers, titanic-sized turnips, peas and tomatoes. Oh, did we grow tomatoes! In all, we grew a whopping 6,802 pounds of fresh produce, the majority of which was distributed to an average of 12 Head Start families once per week in conjunction with nutrition education classes taught by Josephine Kagumba and Leatta Byrd (MSUE).

This innovative program, similar in concept to a CSA, was jointly funded by the Kalamazoo County Commission and MSUE, and led by Mark.

In the opening line of the introduction to his first book, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education, Michael Pollan writes "This book is the story of my education in the garden." He goes on to explain that gardens have a lot to teach us, and not just about gardening. That was definitely true for me this past growing season.