As we arrived in Middlebury, VT on a sunny Tuesday afternoon we drove through the town, past old New England houses and quirky shops. The towering buildings of Middlebury College slowly came into view. As we drove through the campus, past groups of students talking and people hurriedly walking to class, I realized that most of them probably had no idea of the blossoming garden that was just a short, scenic walk down the road.

Middlebury College Organic Garden (MCOG) was started 4 years ago by Bennett Konesni and Jean Hamilton, two students who met at the Northeast Organic Farmer’s co-op and decided that Middlebury was in great need of an organic farm. This chance meeting was the beginning of a simple yet innovative project that would serve as a model for college gardens everywhere.

Slow The Plow garden is situated at the end of a quarter mile road that slowly winds its way into the middle of a grassy field and stops at the foot of a knoll. The sides of the knoll are dotted with flowers, rocks, and a homemade slip and slide that eagerly awaited our arrival. A short walk to the top of the knoll reveals vegetables of all types, a children’s garden, a heart-shaped herb garden, and a great view of the college. The knoll is in the middle of farmland and over the course of 4 years, has grown from a mere .5 acres, to 2.5 acres. Rumor has it that there are plans to expand even more. Over a dinner of farm fresh stir-fry, bread, local cheese and chocolate zucchini cake, Stephanie Smith, a student who attends to the farm full time, told me that they would like to expand their land to include a sustainability institute and a small dairy operation, and would also like to turn some of the area back into the original wetlands that it previously was.

Summer is the most productive season for the farm, and there are two students who work full-time, Claire Polfus and Stephanie Smith. Sarah Calvert, another student, works part-time, and all the workers colloborate with their garden advisor, Jay Leshinsky. The workers do everything from planting, to harvesting and washing. But perhaps the most important part of their work is delivering their produce to Proctor dining room. Getting their food into this popular dining room is one of the ways that the workers integrate the college community into the farm. Most students aren’t even aware that there is a thriving 2.5 acre farm on their campus, and the presence of fresh, local food has been wholeheartedly welcomed as a alternative to the traditional institutional food normally seen in college cafeterias. In this way, the farm-to-cafeteria system allows the students to fully realize the significance of Slow The Plow.

However, life on the farm isn’t always as easy as it may seem; Sarah tells me that the most challenging part of the job is trying to balance school work and garden work during the school year. Claire also tells me that another interesting problem is that the farm has a hard time attracting males, as most of the attendees of the events are females. She wonders if it is due to the fact that they call the land a “garden”, which might sound too girly, as it evokes images of crustless teacakes, white wicker chairs, and old women discussing the different varieties of hydrangeas. I suggested that she change the name to “farm”, and get a biodiesel bus outfitted with a massive sound system and a built-in beer keg, because this would most assuredly seal the deal.