The Monmouth College Educational Farm and Garden
By - Emma Rauschert, University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener & Master Naturalist.
One of the 380 blueberry bushes. These blueberries were devoured shortly after I snapped the picture.
Located at 419 N. 12th Avenue in Monmouth, IL, on 5.8 acres, is the beautiful, tranquil Monmouth College Educational Farm and Garden. Eric Engstrom, the Professor of Biology at Monmouth College, and Craig Vivian, a retired Educational Studies Professor, are co-directors of the garden. The land was donated by a retired Monmouth Judge in 2009. The farm wears many hats, and a lot is going on when you walk onto the property. Professor Eric Engstrom gave me a tour of the farm, showing me their various projects, including a pastured layer operation, three sisters garden planting, blueberry bushes, pecan trees, bee hives, an orchard, and plantings of cow peas, buckwheat, asparagus, and sorghum. A unique yurt, filled with nature crafts and tables is used as a classroom on site. There is also a miniature greenhouse and a machine shed at the property.
The pastured layer operation consists of roughly twenty chickens, seven Old English Game chickens, and seven Muscovies. The chickens are fenced in a tall grass wooded area using Premier One electric netting. One of their secrets to happy hens and happy people is only cleaning out the old livestock trailer coop once a year. They manage this by layering wood chips in the coop instead of straw. The wood chips break down the nitrogen-rich droppings from the chickens and creates compost for their compost pile. The tall grass inside the pasture aids in protecting the chickens from predators by providing cover, and it is also a great habitat for insects. Eric mentioned they haven’t fed the chickens since March. They eat bugs and seeds in the tall grass and still produce a bounty of eggs. The chickens receive food scraps from the Monmouth College cafeteria in addition to their bug and grass diet. The Farm sells eggs to subscription buyers who pick them up from the farm. Every year, they give the customers a tour of the chicken operation and make sure the customers know the chickens’ names. They want to sell Muscovy eggs, which are high in protein, in the future.
The three sisters patch, consisting of Pungo Creek Butcher Dent Corn, beans, various varieties of squash and pumpkins, is an ongoing experiment, and they are always looking for ways to improve. Eric said they experiment on various varieties that work the best together. They have not yet found a variety combo that they love. Every fall, they cut down the over 10-foot-tall corn stalks and send them through the chipper shredder to make mulch to put back into the soil. The farm grows buckwheat, corn, and sorghum to feed the chickens in the winter. After they harvest the corn, they plant a cover crop of annual ryegrass and crimson clover that they roll down in the spring to replenish the soil.
The most impressive and bountiful crop is their blueberry bushes. Consisting of roughly 380 bushes, the juicy blueberries are a blessing to the community. The patch consists of four prized varieties: Bluecrop, Chandler, Duke, and Elliot. The berries are ripe from June through August, and become ripe at different times, depending on the variety. The blueberries are hand-picked by interns and are sold at Cornucopia in Galesburg when they are in season. Located right across from the blueberry patch are the seven beehives that produce honey for locals. All but two of the hives were wild swarms, which were trapped nearby. Across from the beehives is an apple orchard planted by Craig Watson. The apple trees were loaded and will be ready for fresh eating this fall. In between the different projects, Eric said they are working towards establishing some native prairie grasses to help native pollinators. “We rely heavily on native bees to help pollinate our blueberries, so we want to give them a good habitat.”
When I asked Professor Engstrom why he does all of this, he laughed and replied, “That’s like asking a pianist why he plays the piano.” To Eric, the educational farm is based on an agricultural ecological model. The farm uses ecological principles to work with nature on growing food and raising chickens. “We are taking the understanding of ecological concepts and applying them to what we are doing here so that the system needs fewer inputs from us. It’s a win all around. The goal of this farm is health; health of the soil, the ecosystem, and the people.” Eric’s passion for the farm started in the classroom, where he teaches Introduction to Agro-ecology.
Professor of Biology at Monmouth College Eric Engstrom stands in front of the three sisters field with the Pungo Creek Butcher Dent Corn towering over him.
Volunteers who run the farm are students, faculty, and community members. During the summer, five interns are selected to work on the farm and grow in their knowledge of sustainable farming. The students learn about working in a team. They do a wide variety of tasks on the farm, such as planting crops in the spring, tending to the bees, taking care of the poultry, collecting and washing eggs, using the wood chipper, making and spreading compost, driving the tractor, and harvesting blueberries. They also work in a vegetable garden closer to the Monmouth College campus. Interns come up with ideas and innovations while there and present them to Eric and Craig, and sometimes new things are implemented on the farm. Eric says, “We are always looking for students who want to get fired up for what we do. This kind of work fuses your body and brain. Seeing the product of your work every day is a lot of satisfaction. It’s extremely gratifying.” Every project on the farm is experimental. They constantly change things to reflect the farm’s key principles of healthy soil, healthy people, and a healthy ecosystem.
The yurt is utilized throughout the year to educate students on farm projects and nature. On the right is their miniature greenhouse.