eCarly@CALS
Horticulture Students Share Summer Research
by Carly Martin
When I visited the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station, I wasn't sure what to expect.
As I sat down with Nick Howell's group of summer students, shy and timid were the last words I would use to describe them. Instead, the atmosphere was filled with laughter and had a very welcoming vibe.
The four students I talked with each have their own special projects. The station consists of 230 acres of land, 12 of which include a lake. The variety of land types allows for many different types of trials and research to take place.
"Une Pièce de la France!"
For those of you who aren't up-to-date on your French, it means "a piece of France."
A piece of France is exactly what Jacob Van Patten, junior in horticulture and landscape design, would like to bring to Iowa.
Growing up, Van Patten was very involved in gardening with his mother and grandmother. Before graduating high school, he became a certified Master Gardener. After working with flower gardens, bulbs and herbs his horticulture passion grew even stronger.
A trip to France led him to his fascination with lavender and his goal was to bring back part of his trip with him. His goal won't be an easy task though. Iowa's climate doesn't have the most ideal growing conditions for lavender. Often times, Iowa winters are too wet or too cold for lavender plants. Iowa's climate also causes most plants to die out after a year.
"I love France and I have a minor in French. If my research proves successful, I'd like to be able to start a lavender farm in Iowa someday. Lavender has so many different uses," says Van Patten.
Tabitha Fontinel will be a junior this fall and majoring in horticulture with an emphasis in fruits and vegetables. She took quite the path to get there.
After starting out at Simpson College majoring in music performance. She transferred to Iowa State University to major in accounting.
"I finally switched to horticulture. The semester before I made this decision, I wasn't even sure what horticulture was," says Fontinel.
Now, she feels she is finally part of a major that is best suited for her. Fontinel is researching the effect of additional plastic mulch layers placed over strawberries. She hopes to see if this causes any changes in yield.
"One thing I really like about working here is the opportunity to tell people about my job. I have found that many people are interested in learning about it," says Fontinel.
Brandon Carpenter is in his third year working at the station and will start graduate school at Iowa State this fall.
Carpenter majors in horticulture with an emphasis in fruits and vegetables. This summer is his third year working at the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Station. He is working on making the station GAP compliant. GAPs stands for "Good Agriculture Practices." Through this he plans to help teach people efficient and safe methods for growing different types of foods.
Along with the GAP Compliance, Carpenter is also very involved with water safety and making sure the water at the station is safe and clean to use for its many purposes throughout the farm.
Dylan Rolfes has a great appreciation for being able to say he is part of the local food grown for the city of Ames.
"It's awesome knowing that I can understand what I grow from the ground up," says Rolfes.
Rolfes, a senior in horticulture, has been working on a high tunnel project. This project is a segment of Value Added Agriculture, which is part of ISU Extension. This is a profitability study looking at input costs (labor, plants, fertilizer, etc.). He spends most of his time working in a high tunnel, a greenhouse that is heated by the sun while still allowing ventilation. This type of structure enables producers to extend the growing season from March into late October.
In this high tunnel, there is no rainfall so it's critical to watch high temperatures. Rolfes explained to me that it can be very labor intensive and differs in many ways from the traditional outdoor gardens, but generally has higher production.
"My project focuses on several crops that require low input but in-return give produce high-value results," says Rolfes.
If there were one thing I would like to emphasize from my visit to the horticulture research station, it would be the environment. Each person seemed to bring a positive attitude to work and it was clear to me that they really enjoy what they do as well as the people they work with.