Sophomore Spotlight: Maria Stoica
This month’s Sophomore Spotlight shines on Maria Stoica. Maria’s first year with EarthDance ended much too soon, and she knew she had more to learn with the organic farming program. Her love has always been for natural landscapes and working with the land to achieve harmony in growing. This led her to the concept of permaculture (permanent agriculture). She knew she wanted to work more with perennials (plants that live longer than two years), and decided to focus on the strawberry plants and grapes that were in desperate need of tending at the farm. I had the chance to talk with Maria about her work so far this year:
How did you come to choose this as your sophomore project? Tell me more about your project and why it is important to you, and how it is beneficial to the rest of the EarthDance family: I am inspired by the principles of permaculture (permanent agriculture): designing with nature, allowing plants to flourish symbiotically, encouraging garden systems that can maintain themselves, that sort of thing. The dream of building my own garden some day using nature’s guidelines–a garden that not only looks pretty but tastes and smells amazing as well–is a perpetual dream of mine. I was never particularly fond of manicured lawns with their crew cuts and cookie cutter appearance, and would in general like to see dormant city and suburban lawns (i.e., those not used for relaxation or play) converted into more natural, productive landscapes. I know that whenever I see such a garden, I get inspiration for my pie-in-the-sky future garden paradise, so I would like to work on acquiring the skills and experience I need to craft this type of garden. Then, hopefully, I can pay it forward and inspire even more people to join the movement. To that end, I decided that I wanted to learn to work with perennial plants, a form of permanent agriculture.
What is your plan for the year to accomplish this project? Our Farm Manager, April Shelhon, suggested that I work on reviving the strawberries and grapes this year. Sophomore Apprentice, Faith LaBeaume also generously gifted two gooseberry bushes to the EarthDance perennial clan. Ideally, I would like to help these crops be established and healthy by the end of the fall, so they have a chance to recuperate during the winter, and then proliferate and produce more in the years to come. I will be pruning, transplanting, amending the soil, and hopefully improving water retention and draining so the plants will be better equipped to withstand drought and heat next year.
What do you hope to accomplish with this project in how it relates to the future of EarthDance and the farm? The beauty of perennials is that they are the gift that keeps on giving. As they establish themselves, if you are doing things right, they should require less and less time for maintenance as time goes by. I hope that I can bequeath to EarthDance strawberries and grapevines that will be stronger and more fruitful next year than they were this past year.
What made you decide to return for another year of learning with EarthDance? The company, the fresh air, and the opportunity to work with my hands. My first year seemed to end too fast, and I was also excited by the prospect of taking full responsibility of a project. Also, of course, there is always something left to learn.