Springing into the second semester, the Linfield garden is under new management.

New co-managers, Cade West and Annie Strobel, are excited to make the necessary changes the Linfield garden greatly needs.

The two freshmen discovered the Linfield garden on their campus tours as prospective students. West, a history major, saw the great potential the garden had and immediately her interest was piqued.

Strobel, an environmental science major, has a family garden at home. Thanks to her previous experience, joining the garden team seemed like a good fit.

Both co-managers participated in the Soil pre-orientation program at the beginning of the academic year. This placed them in good contact with Linfield’s sustainability coordinator, Reza Refaei, which would lead to their current positions.

Previously, the garden had four main goals: maintain weeding, cultivate a healthy plant growing environment, develop an all-organic garden, and create a place for students to be able to relax and hang out in the garden space.

West and Strobel explained that these goals are still being pursued, but new goals have also developed since their takeover.

Currently, the duo is focused on planting vegetables, maintaining the current plants that are already growing, expanding the herb garden, and creating a community space for students and faculty to hang out in.

Students can get involved in reaching these goals by participating in the garden work parties. These occur every Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. “People are welcome anytime. We’re always looking for [help],” Strobel said.

The garden can only be improved when there is labor to generate the needed change.

Garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, and other squash are only some of the incoming crops the Linfield community can expect to see in the coming months.

A vertical garden for strawberries and peas will add even more diversity to the garden—not only to the eye but also to the soil.

To make the garden more aesthetically pleasing and more inviting, West and Strobel hope to add bark chips in front of the garden with seating towards the back of the property.

The co-managers are also exploring the idea of adding more flowers to the garden. Currently, there is lavender growing in the space but this may be expanded.

This would bring pops of color to the current monochromatic theme in the garden.

Because of Linfield’s convenient location in wine country, West explained that a winery has reached out to the garden expressing interest in growing grapes on campus. There are already grapes in the garden, but more vines may be planted in the future.

The chemistry department has also reached out to the garden in the hopes of growing hops on campus for the beer-making class.

This would eliminate the department’s need to buy hops from an outside producer. Not only are growing hops in the garden easily feasible, but it’s also more sustainable.

The future may include more collaborative work with the garden and other departments on campus.

More information can be gathered about the Linfield garden by joining the group’s mailing list or following the garden on Instagram @linfieldgarden.