UNH ORGANIC GARDEN CLUB (OGC) 
Get Involved
- Weekly Farmstand: Wednesdays, 11 Am - 2 PM, Murkland Courtyard, UNH Durham campus
- Durham Community Dinners: These dinners are FREE AND OPEN TO ALL and are held the second Friday of every month at Waysmeet Center, 15 Mill Road, Durham.
- Spring 2009 Work Days at the Garden: Work days are held every Monday and Thursday at the garden. Stop by anytime between 2 and 5 p.m. and lend a hand!
- Tabling at Events: The OGC has a table at many campus events to help spread the word and recruit new members. Contact the club if you are interested helping.
Directions to the garden: Go out past the Whittemore Center towards the horse and cow barns. After passing the horse barn on your right take a right onto Mast Rd. Take the first left onto Spinney Lane. You'll see the shed, greenhouse, and water tower on your left- this is the garden. You can also take the Mast Rd. shuttle to the parking lot across the road from the garden.
Get involved! Club activities are open to students and community members. Opportunities are available for internships, research, and volunteer service. For more information, contact unh.ogc@gmail.com.
ABOUT OGC
Mission
To cultivate a campus-community organic farm focused on promoting social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
Goals and Objectives
- To maintain a sustainable farm in accordance with current USDA organic certification criteria.
- To provide locally grown organic produce to the community through UNH Dining Services, local markets, and work-based food initiatives.
- To offer hands-on, interdisciplinary educational opportunities for students, faculty, and community members.
- To increase local awareness of sustainable living as we grow, evolve, and adapt as a community.
History
The UNH Organic Garden Club (OGC) is a student-run organization established in 2003. OGC is part of the Food & Society Initiative of the UNH Office of Sustainability, which seeks to create a sustainable food system at UNH and to integrate issues of sustainable food and agriculture into the curriculum, operations, research, and engagement efforts at the University. OGC maintains a two-acre farm on the Campus-Community Farm, a 30-acre USDA certified organic site. In the winter of 2004, OGC collaborated with UNH's Students Without Borders to secure a $10,000 grant from the UNH Parent’s Association to create the “built” components of the farm site, including drip irrigation and a shed. The first growing season was the spring/summer of 2004. Crops harvested at the site are purchased by UNH Dining Services and sold at a weekly UNH Durham campus farm stand during the growing season. In 2007, OGC was voted Student Organization of the Year, and the Durham Community Dinners won Best Community Project of the Year!
Crops & Soil Management
- Grow a wide variety of items! OGC grows a variety of crops, including tomatoes, lettuce and greens, kale and Swiss chard, onions, peppers, broccoli, beets, radishes, garlic, potatoes, celery, pumpkins, squash, watermelon, herbs, medicinals, and ornamentals.
- Healthy soil is key to growing organically! OGC uses soil amendments such as compost, manure, seaweed, and cover crops such as winter rye and red clover to help build, maintain, and improve the soil.
- Farming is a year-round activity! OGC keeps busy throughout the year. In the winter we are planning and designing our farm, as well as attending lectures and films on sustainable food systems. In the spring we plant seedlings and prepare beds. In the summer we are planting and maintaining crops. Fall is harvest time and also the time to plant our cover crops.
Take a Tour
Take a photo tour of the OGC garden, farm stand, and other activities! Or, visit the garden site, located on Spinney Lane, just before the turn for Woodman Farm. Click here for a campus map.
Officers
President: Tyler Sildve
Vice President: Conor Fitzgerald
Farm Manager: Ben Tillinghust
Business Manager : Kelsey Silvenius
Community Outreach Team: Laura Joseph, Alexandra Romano, Helen Clark, & Sara Hartley
Updated 3/18/09
