By Dylan Oster
This past Sunday, we had the chance to visit Dilmun Hill, Cornell’s student-run organic farm. Blythe Van Ness, one of the passionate farm managers, gave us an engaging and insightful tour, sharing the farm’s approach to sustainable agriculture.
One of the farm’s core values is a commitment to sustainability. Blythe explained how they plant crops specifically to improve soil health and fix nitrogen, thus supporting future plant growth and leading to more fertile soil. Rather than relying on synthetic pesticides or herbicides, Dilmun suppresses weeds with hay, placing it around crops like garlic. By using these techniques, Dilmun can produce nutrient-dense food sustainably for Anabel’s Grocery and through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, where supporters buy shares of Dilmun’s harvest in advance. This practice not only fosters a closer relationship with the local community but also ensures that the farm has ongoing support.
We learned a lot about the crops growing at Dilmun! For example, did you know that Brussels sprouts grow on stalks?
Beyond its sustainable practices, Dilmun serves as a model for an inclusive, collaborative community. Garlic’s long harvest time creates a tradition where each year’s farm managers connect with the managers from the year prior. The current managers harvest the garlic planted by their predecessors, further demonstrating the power of food to connect one another. Additionally, the farm’s decision-making includes input from all, empowering anyone to contribute ideas and take initiative to improve the farm. This ethos of shared leadership has spurred new projects, including the addition of fruit to their offerings, expanding from the farm’s focus on vegetables. Also, have you heard of the fruit pawpaws before? We learned that Dilmun farm harvests this rare fruit, which tastes like a blend of mangos and bananas!
Volunteers at Dilmun recently created a garden dedicated to indigenous crops, which are surrounded by hay treated with natural fertilizers. It’s an impressive example of how the farm integrates crop resilience, traditional land management, and sustainable agricultural practices.
Ultimately, Dilmun offers more than just a place to grow food; it’s a learning environment for students, community members, and volunteers. From hands-on workshops and class projects to clubs and research opportunities, the farm gives people the chance to experience organic farming first-hand, helping to provide fresh produce for the campus and the greater Ithaca community.
This is an example of one of the current research projects at Dilmun, which explores recycling nutrients from human urine to use as fertilizer: “PeePods.”
Through its dedicated team and strong community ties, Dilmun is cultivating a community that pushes sustainable agriculture forward, a mission that becomes more critical as we face global challenges like food insecurity, food injustice, and climate change.
Most of Anabel’s produce is from Dilmun’s, so next time you’re at Anabel’s Grocery, be sure to check out what Dilmun has harvested for us, which changes weekly!
People learned "which plants grow during what seasons, and that eating based on those seasons is more sustainable" and "how accessible [the farm] is for students and how organic it is"
They enjoyed "taking out the Brussel sprouts, it was nice to be a part of something people are gonna benefit from"
Thank you so much Blythe for a wonderful farm tour!
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