My name is Charlotte King and I am a sophomore at the University of Nevada, Reno studying agricultural science with an emphasis in plant science. When I started my classes at UNR I was extremely excited to learn all about growing plants, however, my freshman year was packed with only prerequisites for my plant science classes. I also quickly discovered how hard it was to meet other kids studying plant science; I found plant science is an extremely niche major. Thus, struggling to meet other people with an interest in plants and yearning for hands on experience growing plants, I applied to the Desert Farming Initiative to be on their 2025 summer farm crew.

I have learned so much about sustainable farming in the desert from the three months I spent apart of the summer farm crew. Some of my favorite topics and activities I enjoyed learning about the most included integrated pest management, tomato grafting, and soil health. As a result of DFI being a certified organic farm, I noticed that the way pests and weeds were managed was extremely different from what I was used to. Much more care was put into what crop varieties were planted and how pest infestations were handled. One of my favorite days at DFI was when we released bindweed mites in a specific area covered with bindweed. These mites were supposed to help prevent bindweed from dominating by inducing galling on the bindweed leaves. It was interesting to learn about biocontrols like bindweed mites because I had no idea something like that was even possible. In addition to this, while I did come too late in the season to help graft the tomatoes we planted, I was taught how to graft tomatoes and why we graft them. By grafting a disease/ pest resistant and drought tolerant variety to a variety that will increase vigor, our tomato plants were better protected from pests, disease, and heat without the use of pesticides or excessive watering. A special interest of mine has always been soil, therefore, it was fun to learn about how DFI manages their soil health by keeping living roots in the soil, cover cropping, and reducing soil compaction. These are all practices I now use in my own garden to better my own soils health.

Overall, working as a summer farm crew member for DFI has been one of my favorite jobs so far. I was taught so many practices I never would have been able to grasp in a classroom setting. Furthermore, I don’t think I would have had the same learning experiences if I had chosen to work on a commercial farm that wasn’t as committed to sustainability. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to be taught hands on farming by people who are passionate about renewable growing, and I will continue to emphasize these growing practices in my future endeavors.

This student position was made possible by the Nelson Endowment for Students. Please consider making a donation to help us continue to offer practical learning experiences at the farm for UNR students. Contact robin@unr.edu with questions.