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Center for Agroecology

Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening bannerUC Santa Cruz

Rooted in the Division of Social Sciences at UC Santa Cruz, the Center for Agroecology is an organization of staff, faculty, and students who work to advance agroecology and equitable food systems through experiential education, participatory research, agricultural extension, and public service.

On the UCSC campus the Center manages the 25-acre UCSC Farm and the 2-acre Alan Chadwick Garden as sites for teaching, training, and research in organic horticulture and agricutlure. Both sites are open to the public daily.

Center for Agroecology
University of California, Santa Cruz
1156 High St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
agroecology.ucsc.edu

Cover page of Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Part 3 - Social and Environmental Issues in Agriculture

Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Part 3 - Social and Environmental Issues in Agriculture

(2015)

Part 3, Social and Environmental Issues in Agriculture, first outlines the history and development of agriculture in the U.S. and then introduces students to social and environmental issues associated with conventional agriculture practices and the current organization of the food system. This section also introduces the concept of sustainable agriculture and current food justice efforts, and some of the existing obstacles to more sustainable food and agriculture systems.

Cover page of Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Part 1 - Skills and Practices

Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Part 1 - Skills and Practices

(2015)

Part 1 of the manual, Organic Farming and Gardening Skills and Practices, emphasizes the “how-to” aspects of organic gardening and farming, including propagation, irrigation, tillage, transplanting, and compost production. This 11-unit section also introduces students to critical skills and considerations in the management of soil fertility and agricultural pests (arthropods, diseases, and weeds) in organic systems. The information included in the manual is based on certified organic production practices that meet or exceed the National Organic Program (NOP) standards. Included throughout is an overview of principles and practices used in NOP-certified production.

Cover page of Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Introduction

Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Introduction

(2015)

Drawing on nearly 50 years of teaching organic farming and gardening, the staff of the University of California, Santa Cruz Farm & Garden Apprenticeship and invited authors have developed an updated and expanded resource for instructors based on many of the skills and concepts taught in UCSC’s annual Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture program. Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition addresses practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture.

 

New features of the 3rd Edition include revised and expanded lecture outlines, new demonstrations and exercises, detailed narrative supplements to support lecture topics, and new appendices and illustrations. Although much of the material has been developed for field or garden demonstrations and skill building, most of the units can also be tailored to a classroom setting.

 

The 700-page manual was produced by UCSC’s Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food System and is designed for a wide audience of those involved in teaching farming and gardening skills and sustainable agriculture concepts, including colleges and universities with sustainable agriculture programs, student farms or gardens, and on-farm education programs; urban agriculture, community garden, and farm training programs; farms with internships or apprenticeships; agriculture extension stations; school gardening programs; organizations such as the Peace Corps, US AID, and other groups that provide international training in food growing and ecological growing methods; and master gardener programs.

Cover page of Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Part 2 - Applied Soil Science

Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening: Resources for Instructors, 3rd Edition. Part 2 - Applied Soil Science

(2015)

Part 2, Applied Soil Science, covers basic information on soil chemistry, soil physical properties, and soil biology and ecology, providing a more detailed overview of the underlying scientific principles that inform many of the organic farming practices covered in Part 1.