Any farmer will agree that a key part of getting a good yield is timing, providing a ready answer for anyone who wonders aloud why Bonney Lake High Junior Calum Ramsay has taken such a head start on his senior project.
Ramsay has partnered with Take Root Farm in Buckley to grow several crops for donation to the Bonney Lake and Bread of Life food banks. He is working with farm owner Jenny Miller on an end section of one of the farm’s crop rows to grow peas, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and beans.
“I’ve always grown with my dad in our backyard garden, weeding once or twice a week,” he said. “People kept asking me what I was thinking about doing for my senior project and I just started thinking this is what makes sense.”
Ramsay knew Miller through her son, a teammate on his rugby team. While he was over at their house next to the farm last fall, he began asking Miller questions about organic farming methods and how the farm worked.
Take Root Farm is a Community Shared Agriculture farm at which families sign up to purchase a share of land each growing season and receive 20 weeks of fresh produce. The farm uses organic growing methods, meaning the Millers forgo the use of pesticides, selective plant breeding and genetically modified organisms. They currently serve 134 families in the region.
Ramsay and Miller agreed it would be a good place to complete his project, better than working from a backyard garden, he said.
“It’s nice to see a young person excited about doing this type of project,” Miller said.
Ramsay decided on his crops by consulting with Stew Bowen, the executive director of the Bread of Life and Bonney Lake food banks. The student previously volunteered over 20 hours at the food bank through his school’s Key Club, so he knew the organization’s need for donations. Both food banks are currently experiencing a shortage caused by increased enrollment and a shortage of cash and food donations.
“I was seeing a lot of processed food (in their storage),” Ramsay said. “I asked Stew how many vegetables they get and he said, not a lot. So I told him about my senior project and we set it up so that they would get what I grew.”
Ramsay will be able to bring in a rolling delivery of vegetables throughout several summer weeks, harvesting only what the food banks need at a given time to ensure that all the vegetables stay fresh as long as possible, Miller said.
Ramsay planted potatoes and carrots mid-April and placed a warming cover over the soil to help the plants take root. He began planting peas and beans last week, with the intent to plant cauliflower soon afterward.
“The planting is the easy part,” Miller said. “The hard work will come in a few months when they start to sprout and he has to weed and thin the carrots. You have to get down on your knees and pull out each of the sprouts individually. It’s very tedious work.”
If all goes according to plan, Ramsay could have his first harvest as early as the end of June. The project will take more commitment than the minimum 15 hours required by senior projects, but Ramsay will be well ahead of schedule.
“A lot of people get behind and it affects their performance in school,” he said. “I knew I didn’t want that to happen to me.”
Take Root Farm is located at 24416 Buckley-Tapps Highway East.
