UC Davis' Market Garden offers the best of sustainable agriculture to both students and members of the surrounding community, notes Raoul Adamchak, director of the garden and its community-supported agriculture program.

The garden provides students with experience in all phases of organic vegetable production and marketing, from preparing greenhouse transplants to packing and marketing produce.

Fruits and vegetables from the garden are sold to the student-run Coffee House on campus, and individuals from the community can "subscribe" to purchase baskets of produce weekly through the garden's Student Harvests program.

Started in 1976 by students seeking practical experience in small-scale, organic vegetable production and marketing, the Market Garden occupies five acres of land used for year-round crop production, various independent student projects and field activities for selected courses.

The garden provides students with training in producing, picking and packing a crop of marketable quality. The two distinct markets represented by the Coffee House and individual consumers, allow students to understand differences in marketing strategies.

Some students also develop independent projects as part of their Market Garden experience, such as producing greenhouse tomatoes, monitoring pests and conducting small variety trials.

They also may become involved in the farm's composting efforts.