Entry Level: Raising Vegetables in an Edible Schoolyard

 

A green thumb is a vital attribute for David W. Daly, a vegetarian with a passion for sustainable agriculture and an appetite for nasturtiums. Mr. Daly, 27, has been the coordinator at the half-acre children’s garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden since July 2009, where he plays a kind of hybrid role as both teacher and farmer. He lives within biking distance in Crown Heights with his girlfriend, Penny Krakoff, a social worker.

David W. Daly, the coordinator of the children's garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, with a young student.

Surrounded by children: I grew up in Braintree, Mass., south of Boston. My father is a mailman and my mom is a day-care provider. In our home. So there were lots of little kids around, from newborns to toddlers. I think it’s why I feel comfortable around little kids, and why I’m so social.

Outdoorsy: I was in the Boy Scouts, and I always did a lot of camping and hiking. I liked the outdoors, and knew I wanted to do something environmental. At 18 I decided to become an oenophile and own my own vineyard in New Zealand, but that has not panned out yet. I went to the University of Maine in Farmington for two years, but when some environmental science courses piqued my interest I transferred to Cal State at Chico and switched my major to agriculture with a focus on land stewardship. I graduated in 2007.

Thinking about food: Chico is surrounded by rivers and streams and acres of land used for agriculture. I was an intern at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve in 2006, and that got me into food systems and forward-thinking management of food resources. I worked at the recycling center, and it seemed like a certain type of folk was hired there: progressive in an eat-local, eat-healthy, ride-bikes kind of way. I was a greenhouse attendant at the college in my senior year, with 3,000 different species that had to be manually watered.

Through sun and heat: In the summer it can be 105 degrees in Chico, so if you don’t water you’re going to see a substantial crop loss. When I was the only one taking care of the plants, whether I was sick or tired, I watered no matter what. Kind of like the way my dad delivers the mail through rain, sleet or snow.

Transplanted to the city: We moved here so that my girlfriend could get her master’s at Columbia; the environmental field in New York City can be hard to get into, but I got a great first step with the Green Apple Corps. We did pruning and planting and invasive species removal at parks in all five boroughs, and besides the horticultural aspect, we went into the schools and educated the kids.

Getting a break: The Green Apple contract ended in June of 2009, so I started looking for jobs. I applied to Brooklyn Botanic for something I didn’t get, but when the children’s garden coordinator position opened up in July, they called me. It seems like fate intervened.

How his garden grows: Right now I’m moving a lot of mulch. I’ve ordered all my seeds. I take care of the grapevines, the raspberry and strawberry beds, and our ornamental trees. The peas are in, and staked with bamboo. We start everything from seed: tomatoes, eggplant, broccoli, leeks, kales, corn, beans and some edible flowers.

How edible? Nasturtiums are peppery and spicy; the kids love them. Marigolds? Well, to me, marigolds taste like marigolds.