Interested in Gardening? Turnip Here Weekly

July 13, 2022 • By Erin Edgerton, teq8hv@virginia.edu Erin Edgerton, teq8hv@virginia.edu

July 13, 2022
A woman holds a clump of dirt and plants in one hand and a hose to water the garden bed in the other.

Norah Raleigh, a rising third-year student with the Office of Sustainability, trickles water into a raised bed in UVA’s Student Garden. Raleigh is an Outreach and Engagement intern for the sustainability office.

Twice a week, UVA Sustainability and the University of Virginia’s Green Dining invites students and community members to help tend a garden at the corner of McCormick and Alderman roads – and maybe even bring home some fresh veggies.

UVA Today photographer Erin Edgerton ventured to the beds to see what it takes to keep the garden growing.

A sign at an intersection identifies the area as the Student Gardens.
The Student Garden at the corner of McCormick and Alderman roads is meant to be a community resource. On scheduled workdays, UVA students labor alongside neighbors to tend the beds.
A woman in a blue shirt and short pants pulls carrots from a garden bed.
Cameron Bentley, a rising third-year student, is also an intern with UVA’s Office of Sustainability. She helps harvest carrots from the Student Garden.
Two college students pull ripe carrots from a garden bed.
Twice weekly, students and community members tend to the garden. Volunteers can take home fresh vegetables, and some of the food is sent to the UVA Community Food Pantry.
Rocks painted with the names of vegetables sit on a wooden bench.
Hand-painted rocks show the variety of vegetables and herbs grown in the garden. Other beds may include native wildflowers.
A sign at the garden says providing a gardening education is as important as providing fresh food.
A sign at the Student Garden says the beds not only provide fresh food, but also educational opportunities and a chance for the community to work together.
A woman with a garden hose waters a bed of pepper plants.
Raleigh trickles water from a garden hose to keep a raised bed of pepper plants thriving.
Green tomatoes on a vine glisten with water.
A vine of green tomatoes, not quite ready for the picking, will finish ripening in the Student Garden. When ready to harvest, volunteers can take the tomatoes home.
A plant that looks like a bursting firework is set against a blue sky.
In addition to vegetables, students also raise herbs and local wildflowers as part of this community project.
Students use hand tools to loosen dirt in a garden bed, and a hand picks up a potato.
The Student Garden beds require regular tending to keep the produce healthy. Twice a week, students and volunteers can sign up to help take care of the garden.

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Erin Edgerton

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May 7, 2025

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