Information on this page is for the 2010 Edible Landscapes, information on the 2011 Edible Garden program will be posted soon!
The Edible Gardens are an experimental project that harvests collaboration from across the UMD campus.
Fall harvest events will emphasize learning about regional foods, using fresh food in our diet, and changes in our food system over time.
The largest of these edible gardens are the Burlap, Salsa and Three Sisters Gardens.
The Burlap Garden can be found on the roof of the Life Science Building, adjacent to the greenhouse on Kirby Dr. It was constructed by volunteers in April 2010 as a collaborative effort between programs and departments from across the UMD campus. Some of the potential benefits of the garden (besides all of the delicious produce) include insulation for the Life Science building as well as absorbing storm water that would otherwise drain off the pavement as runoff.
Classes involved in the construction included Geog 2306 Environmental Conservation, Geog 3481 Urban Ecology, Anth 4630 Anthropology and Environment and Anth 4653 Senior Seminar.
Additional contribution to the garden came from:
The Salsa Garden, located in front of the Solon Campus Center, has produce such as tomatoes, onions and peppers. This is a project headed by UMD Health Services for fall salsa making demonstrations.
Found adjacent to the Burlap Garden is the Three Sisters Garden. This garden utilizes different characteristics of the plants to grow a healthy garden. The leaves of the squash plant are meant to shade the roots of the corn, while the corn stalks act as poles for the beans to attach to.
Many edible plantings can be found near the Endazhi-gikinoo'amaading Education building and the terraces above Montague and Bohannon Hall.
Edible Plantings can be found about anywhere, as evidenced by the pumpkin plants found outside of the Kirby Student Center.
University of Minnesota Campuses