What is the OCCUH's direct connection to soil? How does soil make this project work?

 Without good soil management practices and nutrient availability, the OCCUH simply wouldn't exist here on OSU campus.  Soil is a vital component of the OCCUH because all of their projects rely on the soil to function.  The gardens, flower beds, the health of the bees, is all reliant on the health of the soil. In order to provide nutrient-rich soil, Cody relies on several different management techniques such as adding organic matter, liming, using nitrogen-fixing cover crops, and maintaining aggregation by leaving roots in the ground over winter.  Without nutrient-rich soil, the OCCUH would have trouble producing all of it's veggies, most of which are donated via the Linn-Benton Food Share, or sold to Housing and Dining Services right here on campus. As students at OSU, we are lucky to have fresh produce available to us in our dining halls throughout campus, none of which would be here without the fertile Willamette Valley soils.

Planted Sudan Grass as a winter cover crop.

Peppers that our group harvested.

Group Members:

Kylene Thorson, Jennifer Hang, Roslyn Albee, John Bonoff, Carly Cassidy