They appear to be a random mix of students, from a petite, pale-faced woman full of bubbly energy, to a lanky, quiet man whose intimidating, dark dreadlocks hang down past his shoulders. In any other setting, they might not have even known each other. But here, their passions for sustaining nature and growing organic produce have also sprouted a friendship.

Elena Pyzhov, senior in horticulture, and Varrell Unruh-Carey, junior in horticulture, are just two of the five student interns hired to work on the K-State Willow Lake Student Farm throughout the summer, gaining hands-on experience in their fields of study. The farm is a 5-acre plot of land located next to Tuttle Creek Reservoir about five miles west of Manhattan, on which student interns organically grow more than 30 different vegetables, fruits and herbs to sell within the K-State and Manhattan communities.

A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Pyzhov said she first heard about the farm from her professor, Rhonda Janke, the interns' adviser. Janke, also an associate professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation, said she encourages her students to get involved in the farm.

"It's a chance to get some first-hand experience and see how what you learn in the classroom can be used in real life," she said. "I try to mention it to all my students. They need this experience."

Mike Magelli, intern at the farm and senior in greenhouse operations, said it's the hands-on experience that will not only boost his résumé, but also his income.

"The pay is nice; we make $10 an hour," he said. "I'm so lucky to get paid for what I love to do, and I'll probably be doing something like this, hopefully, for the rest of my life."

Magelli also said he enjoys working in the garden when he wants to get away from the busyness of Manhattan.

"Out here it's so calm; it's nice to escape for a while and dig your hands in the dirt," he said.

ORGANICALLY GROWN

Because the farm is organic - meaning the produce is grown without the use of conventional pesticides and fertilizers - farm manager Jenny Guilford said they use much more natural methods of ridding the plants of bugs. Guilford, also a senior in horticulture, said they have had problems lately with lepedoptran worms - fat, grub-like pests - eating holes in the cabbage plants and other plants. She said they spray the affected plants once a week with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), an organically approved bacterium that is found naturally in the soil.

Janke said this is the perfect time of year for harvesting certain vegetables like lettuces and mushrooms. The students harvest the crops by hand, as well as hoe, weed and cover their plots with hay manually.

Last Wednesday, June 11, three of the interns, Janke and Guilford harvested a portion of their red leaf, green leaf and romaine lettuce, as well as kale - a type of cabbage.

On their knees in the dirt, the interns cut the heads of lettuce out of the ground and brushed the excess soil off the stem. They then filled several plastic tubs with cold water from a spigot and dipped each head in the water until it was clean. The lettuce and kale heads were then laid out on a homemade wire rack to dry in the warm morning sun.

"After they all dry," Magelli said, "We'll take them right away back to [Throckmorton Hall] and get them in the freezers so they're nice and crisp for the market."

from HARVEST TO

MARKET

Bright and early every Saturday morning, at about six, Magelli and Unruh-Carey said they gather the produce from two freezers in Throckmorton and load in a truck to take to the farmer's market, located at 5th and Humboldt streets. They said they make sure to clean all the produce and arrive at the market's parking lot, allowing themselves enough time to set up their booth, complete with a Powercat tablecloth and hand-drawn sign of a weeping willow tree, symbolic of the farm.

Later, the girls arrive, and help put the finishing touches on the produce arrangement, making sure the spinach leaves spill from their wicker baskets just right, and the mushrooms peep up at potential customers in a clean and cheerful way.

"Most of our customers are return customers. And Europeans." Magelli said, as Pyzhov reached over him to spritz some dry spinach leaves with water. "We try to keep everything looking fresh for market appeal."

Unruh-Carey said the interns had been somewhat nervous about how they would be received at the market, but that other vendors have been gracious and helpful over the last few weeks.

"We weren't sure what to expect, we didn't want to step on anyone's toes," he said. "But they have all been so great, we've made friends with a few of the other people. They really want to support K-State."

Besides taking their produce to the farmer's market, they have also started selling some vegetables at Call Hall, and Janke said they have been talking with the Derby Dining Center about possibly selling them some produce to serve to students.