Horticulture serves up scrumptious, campus-grown vegetables

By Alexis Wagar

photo by Alexis Wagar

Don’t miss out on a chance to purchase great, locally grown, vegetables at the Clackamas Community College farmers market. The CCC Horticulture Department kicked off the fall season by bringing farm-fresh, organic veggies straight to campus.

The market will be open not only to students, but to the community, every Wednesday during harvest season from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market is held outside of the Community Center on campus. The program’s instructor, Chris Konieczka, said that he has, “been with the program for the past two years, and [that] the market has been going on for the past three [years].”

CCC offers three areas of plant study including horticulture, landscape and urban agriculture. This year, 21 students harvest produce Wednesday mornings before the market opens. The Horticulture Department offers a variety of workshops and classes for home gardeners. Classes for fall term include food harvest, food production, weed identification, urban agriculture and many more.

photo by Alexis Wagar

CCC student Amelia Miller is having her first experience with the school’s department and is interested in aquaponics,  a food production system that combines aquaculture with hydroponics. This is Miller’s first term at CCC and she said that her horticulture class is her “favorite class so far,” and that she is involved with the program to one day be a farmer. Another person involved with the program, Sara Philbrook, said her favorite part of being with the department is, “getting her hands dirty.” This is Philbrook’s first term at CCC.

Philbrook said that it’s been intense, as class begins at 8:30 a.m. when the produce is harvested, first thing in the morning. Philbrook informed everyone that all of the market’s produce is fresh and that there are a great variety of different veggies every week.

“Check out the cilantro. It smells amazing,” said Philbrook. “And the carrots look great.”

photo by Alexis Wagar

The produce at the market is subject to change weekly, however some of the offerings include carrots, beets and bok choy. With great variety also comes great prices. For example, an 8-ounce bag of salad mix can be purchased for $2.50. Kale is $1.50 a bunch and bags of potatoes are $5. Every purchase made at the market notonly provides fresh veggies to bring home, but also supports CCC student scholarships.

The horticulture wagon is full of freshness, gleaming in the sunlight.

photo by Austin Boltz