About the Program

The Berea College Gardens and Greenhouse, part of the College Farms, offers students experience in sustainable horticultural production through the College’s Labor Program. Although most of the students working at the Gardens and Greenhouse are majors in the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, students from other disciplines are also employed here, providing a rich and diverse learning environment for all students interested and enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn by doing. About a dozen students work here in any given semester.

All enterprises are managed as businesses and evaluated on their potential to provide educational experience and generate an adequate income for self-sufficiency. The enterprises currently include the production and sales of salad greens, herbs, perennials, annuals, honey, and mushrooms. The greens are sold locally during the fall and spring through wholesale and retail marketing. The other products are sold through direct marketing with local delivery and seasonal farmers markets. All production is under organic management and has been since 1998.