If we do say so ourselves, we've assembled a pretty amazing team of gardeners here at Cornell Farm. Each of us approaches gardening from a different angle, and we love getting to learn from one another's unique perspectives and expertise — and sharing those with you in the form of "Interview the Gardener" segments like this one! Today, we're excited to share our recent conversation with our edibles buyer, Lincoln Thomas, whose passion for sustainability and functional food-scapes permeates everything he does in the garden. Get to know Lincoln and learn a bit more about his gardening philosophy through the interview below.
Welcome Lincoln! To start off, why don't you tell us about your gardening situation at home. Since you work on our edibles team, is it safe to assume you grow mostly fruits and veggies?
Yes, I work with our edibles department, and that is primarily what I've planted in our yard since we moved into our home in 2017. But I grow plenty of weeds too! I'd estimate maybe ten percent of my yard is edible. I have fruit trees and fruiting shrubs like blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, as well as grape vines. I also grow citrus in pots, and I have lots of perennial veg, plus space for things like tomatoes. Last year we signed up for the Backyard Habitat Certification Program, so I've also started putting more natives in my back yard where there's less sun. But in general, I like to describe myself as someone who's interested in functional food-scaping.
Can you talk a little bit more about what that means?
I'm sure I didn't coin the term, but I think of a functional food-scape as a landscape that provides some sort of harvest or resource for the grower. It's often food, but it could be a lot of things. So, for instance, I'm interested in natives, which are functional in terms of serving the ecosystem. I enjoy observing that ecosystem, too, so that's a benefit. But I think it's important to recognize that we weren't the first ones here. I want to support the life and biodiversity that was here before us, if for no other reason than because we are a part of that ecosystem.
We are part of nature — not separate from it. It's vital that we recognize that. Of course, it's okay to have plants in your garden that aren't edible or don't necessarily support wildlife if they're something that you really enjoy and "harvest" pleasure from. But I wouldn't want a garden to be entirely ornamental, because that's not really supporting the rest of the ecosystem. If a space can serve more than one function, why not do that? Permaculture is really big into stacking functions like that and making sure we use space efficiently.
That's a great point! So, you've brought up the idea of permaculture. Would you consider yourself a permaculture gardener?
I got really interested in permaculture when I read Gaia's Garden by Tony Hemenway back in 2012. It's not the original book on permaculture, but it's a good one — written by an Oregonian, actually! And I think permaculture goes along really well with my other interest of eating local. You can't really get more local than harvesting from your own yard, and it's very self-sufficient and sustainable because it doesn't take any gasoline to get your harvest from your front yard to your table!
We've see a growing interest in the idea of eating local produce, but some people might be intimidated thinking they have to support themselves entirely off of their own garden, but it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, does it?
You know, I kind of fell into that mindset at first, as well. But there's a little bit of toxic individualism in that mindset. I follow Parkrose Permaculture on YouTube, and they have these three ethics: Earth care, people care, and fair share. And I think that last one is really important. No one's really living by themselves, just as no one is separate from nature. We're all part of a much bigger system. And even if someone has the privilege to be able to grow their own food "independently" of others, they're not independent of our shared ecosystem, climate, social infrastructure, and so on.
Humans are a very social species. We aren't meant to do everything by ourselves as individuals. That wouldn't be utilizing the strengths that could be "harvested" from other people. You'd be lacking diversity of skills and knowledge and resources in the same way that your yard might might be lacking diversity if you were only planting ornamentals or growing a monoculture.
With that in mind, do you have neighbors that grow edibles that you're ever able to share or swap produce with?
I'm actually the manager of a neighborhood group. We don't meet that often, but it's called Cedar Hills Backyard Farmers Market. We have gatherings every once in a while to exchange seeds or produce, but I'd like to see us meet more regularly. I'm also involved with another local group called Neighbors Ready, which focuses on disaster preparedness. And I think growing food locally is an important piece of community resilience in the face of issues related to climate change or even more acute natural disasters like earthquakes.
Very cool! Is that what drew you to gardening? Or how did you get started with plants?
Well, my grandparents on both sides had gardens, so both my parents were into gardening. My mom's parents actually had a huge yard in Oakridge, Oregon, that was mostly vegetables and blueberries and huge fruit trees. My grandpa was the one who did most of the gardening and my grandma would process and can a whole bunch of what they grew. I suppose it's always been in my genetics. But that didn't really activate for me until I was out of college and moved out of my mom's house. And now that my partner and I have a house, I'm grateful to have a garden where we can grow things for ourselves and our community.
So what's going on in your garden right now? It's mid-to-late February. Is there anything going on that you're excited by?
I'm excited about hopefully seeing fruit from my pawpaws for the first time this year, but planting natives is the main thing I'm working on. And then there's winter pruning! I just finished my apple trees, and I actually have other trees in neighbors' yards that I help take care of.
I'm also interested in weaving. I haven't done it yet, but I've thought of taking sticks and pounding them into the ground and weaving apple cuttings from the previous year around them to make a raised bed or something. That's a potential way to use something that would otherwise be a waste product. In permaculture, there is no waste; that's just a resource that you haven't figured out how to use.
That's one reason I like sweet potatoes and grapes, because people don't realize you can actually eat two of the prolific parts of the plant, so you can make better use of that resource. On sweet potatoes, you can eat the tubers, obviously, but lots of people don't realize you can eat the leaves — not the stems themselves — but the leaves on them. They're commonly eaten in southeast Asia. And you can also eat young grape shoots. Grape leaves are even a feature in some Mediterranean cuisines!
Do you have any other favorite plants?
Apart from the two I just mentioned, in general I like perennial veg because it takes fewer regular inputs than annual veg. You plant it once and then it comes back year after year. You might provide the plants with some fertilizer, but most don't really need much — if any. That includes things like cosmic kale, tree collards, rhubarb, asparagus, sorrel, and lovage.
So, as we wrap up, apart from planting more perennial veg, what advice would you give to gardeners? Is there any particular lesson you've learned that you'd like to pass along?
I think, if you're just getting into gardening, you should know that some things aren't going to work out, and that's okay. That's how you learn! If everything worked out all the time, that would be boring, anyway. It's good to have realistic expectations, and don't be discouraged if things don't go how you anticipated the first time. Heed your garden’s invitations to keep growing — both as an individual, and as an important member of your ecosystem.
