STC goes organic

WESLACO — A new project taken on by the South Texas College Mid-Valley campus’ biology club hopes to cultivate an interest in organic farming for students and the community.

The club is developing an organic farm to receive hands-on learning and promote environmentally friendly living, said its sponsor, biology professor Debbie Villalon.

“We have a big dream here,” Villalon said.

Students have been tending an organic garden at the Weslaco campus for years, donating produce to area food banks.

“We found we were limited in the amount of produce we could grow,” Villalon said.

Coincidentally, Villalon learned that fellow STC professor Rey Anzaldua and his father were starting an organic farm. She asked if she and her students could help them with their farm. Instead, the Anzalduas gave them a portion of their land in Weslaco to plant their own organic crops.

“I was in shock,” Villalon said.

Anzaldua, who has been maintaining an organic produce farm with his father, Rey Sr., for about a year, said his family donated the approximately 40-foot-by-100-foot plot to help students learn more about organic farming.

Anzaldua, whose family has owned the farm since the mid-1990s, said they converted the property to an organic farm last year.

Growing organic crops means farmers cannot use any chemical pesticides. At the Anzaldua farm, they use insects and other creatures that eat pests and pull out weeds with tools.

It’s hard work, but the Anzalduas said it’s worth it.

“Organic produce, we found out, is a lot better and there’s a market for it,” Anzaldua said. “We get calls from as far as Dallas (for produce).”

They’ve even received interest from some local restaurants, he said.

Anzaldua said they have grown various crops, including okra, tomato, beans, pumpkins and watermelons. Currently there are about 60 different crops on the property.

The organic farm has piqued the interest of the area’s other higher education institutions. Students from the University of Texas-Pan American and researchers at the Texas A&M Agricultural Research and Extension Center have also stopped by to collect soil and insect traps for their own experiments, Anzaldua said.

The STC students began planting their crops Thursday. Their first crops will include tomatoes, broccoli, peas, cilantro, dill and corn, according to the college.

Some of the crops will be donated to local food banks and some will be sold at local farmers markets to pay for future club activities, according to the college.

Villalon said the farm will be an ongoing project.

One of her biology students, Elizabeth Villegas, helped plant seedlings Thursday. Villegas, a 20-year-old second year student at STC, said she has been working on a garden with children at the campus’ Child Development Center as part of a community service project required by Villalon. She volunteered Thursday to learn more about maintaining an organic farm.

“It makes me want to start my own,” she said.

Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.