It’s July, high noon, and the sun is at its peak. Most people, given a choice, are somewhere keeping cool—inside, where it’s air conditioned, or maybe under a shade tree. But at the edge of Janelia Farm Research Campus, near the delivery gate, a handful of people bend over in the hot glare, weeding and watering a burgeoning organic vegetable garden.

The oasis of leafy, fruit-laden plants stands in stark contrast to the hard-scrabble, baked earth just outside its fence line. Strewn with small boulders and metal scrap, the area used to be a dumping ground for construction debris. The dramatic transformation has taken time, sweat, muscle—and a dose of scientific ingenuity.

“Last year felt like Jamestown,” says Kristen Nyce, an administrative assistant at Janelia who helped start the community garden. “I’m just glad we didn’t have to live off it.”

		You Reap What You Sow From spring planting to summer harvest, Janelia Farm employees nurture community as well as vegetables.

What a difference a year makes. With its neatly bordered plots, irrigation system, and compost bin in place, the garden is bursting with red tomatoes, yellow squash, and green-striped melons shining against rich brown mulch.

The idea for a community garden first came to Nyce and fellow Janelian Frank Midgley in 2008, during a conversation around lunch. Three co-workers joined them in submitting a proposal to Janelia administrators.

“They were a wonderful sounding board and very supportive,” says Nyce. Since then, Janelia has donated fencing, lumber, and other essential materials.

Illustration: Peter Arkle

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