Highlights

For Dan Payne, the SUNY Oneonta English professor known for coordinating the biannual John Burroughs Nature Writing Conference and Seminar, tending a garden is, quite simply, the natural thing to do.

Payne, who describes himself as “an enthusiastic klutz” when it comes to growing things, was one of 11 faculty and staff who cultivated plots this past summer in the college’s Community Garden, created three years ago at the College Camp as one piece in a larger effort to nurture a campus culture that values sustainability.

“It’s a great little space,” he says, after harvesting a box of shallots and potatoes one sunny August afternoon. A hummingbird flits around the coneflowers in a neighboring plot, and Payne pauses to watch.

He’s here today with his son Jake, who has helped him plant, water and harvest all summer long. The potatoes and shallots are new additions this year to the garden, which includes corn, squash, pumpkins, watermelon and several tomato plants that are lush and loaded with green fruit. “Another two weeks and I think we’ll get a boxful of them,” says Payne.

Not all crops have been so easy. After a woodchuck “savaged” the broccoli and devoured the green beans, Payne got more serious about protecting his bounty. A trap took care of the Japanese beetles that were invading the potato plants; a few sprays of dish soap discouraged the bugs that had been munching on squash leaves.

Payne recalls how the garden became an impromptu teaching tool one day in May, when a Philosophy class wandered by while he was planting. The students engaged him in a conversation about the local food movement and the environmental issues associated with defending crops against insects and animals.

Though the amount of food harvested from a 10- by 20-foot plot isn’t enough to make a serious dent in his carbon footprint or his grocery bill, Payne says there’s something immensely satisfying about spending time in the natural world, outwitting bugs and critters to grow a bit of food that has not been sprayed with chemicals.

“I love it. It’s peaceful to come out here, especially after a tough day. You water the garden, you pull some weeds; it’s a beautiful spot, and to watch green things growing is therapeutic.”

Photo caption: Dan Payne in the Community Garden at College Camp. Photo by Leah McDonald.