The local food movement has been taking hold in cities across the country. The owners of the Heirloom Café, located in Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts, want to bring the trend to campus. They plan to build a sustainable chef’s garden behind the café to grow their own produce for the menu.
This garden will utilize many best management practices for design, planting, water, waste and pest management. By taking a sustainable, holistic approach, the chef’s garden can ensure high yields and a positive impact on the environment.
Crops will be planted in permanent raised beds, which will not only provide the best yields, but can be designed in an aesthetically pleasing manner to suit the ideals of the Wexner Center. Raised beds also offer the opportunity to use cold frames, which can extend the growing season into the winter months. This way, the Heirloom Café can provide locally grown food to its customers in every season.
Water catchment devices in the garden will protect the soil from erosion and reduce dependence on the municipal water supply. Runoff from the roof above the garden can be channeled down the face of the building into these catchment devices using natural materials to construct a waterfall-type design. Water management will not only be a functional aspect of the garden, but a visually appealing one as well.
Composting on site will help reduce the already low waste from the café itself. Many of the items on the menu can be composted directly and other materials, like grass clippings and leaves, can be acquired from university maintenance.
Pest management will rely mostly on cultural practices that reduce the need for chemical applications. By understanding the pest dynamics in the garden, we can alter our management strategies to avoid insect damage.
The Heirloom Café and chef’s garden will be a great way for students and visitors to Ohio State to choose to eat healthfully, sustainably, and locally!