Too much rain hurts crops at Beardsley Community Farm
Chov examines the effects the rainfall has had on the pumpkin plants. Jessica Carr/TNJN
Jessica Carr/ TNJN
She walks to the shed, grabs a straw hat and looks at the crops smiling. Sunshine radiates over her Beardsley Community Farm shirt and hiking shoes. She walks over to where the tomato plants used to be.
Khann Chov, Beardsley Community Farm manager, is examining the mildew on several columbine plants showing the toll they took after the abundance of rainfall over the summer.
“We didn’t have our first tomato until July and we usually have them in June,” Chov said. “I know a lot of people were having problems with their tomatoes. Plants need sunshine to ripen.”
According to the National Climatic Data Center, from Jan. 1-Aug. 31 Knoxville has received 51.37 inches of precipitation, which is 17.47 inches more than the average. It is also the second highest amount of rainfall since 1910.
The Beardsley Community Farm located in Knoxville donates their produce to local non-profit organizations, but the farm has been affected by the abundance of rainfall in more ways than one.
“The yields for this season have been very low,” Chov said. “We’ve had to cancel a lot of work days. We don’t have very much to do under shelter, and it’s not safe for our volunteers. With a community farm we depend on our volunteers to help. It definitely slowed things down a whole lot.”
Due to the rainfall, Beardsley Community Farm’s bees have produced less honey than previous years.
Jessica Carr/ TNJN
Beardsley Community Farm has rainwater collection tanks designed by University of Tennessee engineering students with the capacity to store 8,400 gallons of water.
“We’ve never run out of rainwater before, and over the summer with the rainfall the tanks were extremely full,” Chov said. “We use a drip irrigation system to water our crops, so if there is too much water then the leaves can get wet, which will just burn the plant because it acts like a magnifying glass.”
Beardsley Community Farm, like many agricultural systems, is currently facing challenges with reduced crop yields this season. Chov actively participates in a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, which involves a standing agreement with a local farmer. In exchange for a predetermined fee, she receives baskets filled with fresh produce every Saturday from May through November.
Unfortunately, this year has brought multiple disruptions to the pick-up schedule due to significantly lower yields. Unpredictable rainfall has played a significant role in this issue, as excessive rain can wash away newly planted seeds, hindering their growth.
Nevertheless, we maintain an optimistic outlook on the resilience of our community. In community farms like ours, we operate differently from traditional agricultural, we prefer to incorporate different systems, similar to those at www.cir.net/fabrication-welding/. While our primary goal is to cultivate and provide vegetables to enhance people’s diets, our community members also have access to other food sources. The true strength of community-supported agriculture lies in its unwavering support for farmers, irrespective of the challenges that may arise in a given year. This support system is essential in ensuring the sustainability of our agricultural practices and the well-being of our community.
Jessica Carr/TNJN
Kate Wiggeringloh, an AmeriCorps worker at Beardsley, acknowledged all the work that volunteers put into the farm.
“We would not be successful without our volunteers,” Wiggeringloh said.
Chov doesn’t solely blame the rain and thinks the effort put in has a lot to do with what your garden will produce.
“I know people think with an abundance of rain, ‘Oh! I don’t really have to garden,’” Chov said. “But that’s not the case. There are so many factors that go into gardening. All the factors are connected. It’s the work that you put in your farming that matters.”
Chov and Wiggeringloh talked about the upcoming work day while looking over a Beardsley Community Farm calendar for a fundraiser. Both are very positive about the farm’s future.
“We’ve had bad years before, but we’ve become quite established despite that,” Chov said.
Food aficionado, Jessica Carr, believes her passion for food first began while learning to cook Asian and southern cuisine with her mom. Now a senior journalism major at the University of Tennessee, Carr combines her love for writing and food by cultivating restaurant reviews through her blog. As newly appointed Editor-in-chief of the Tennessee Journalist, the official news website for UT's School of Journalism, Carr plans to build experience and one day be the editor of a food magazine. When she isn’t writing, she’s most likely in a theater enjoying the latest indie film.
