This summer, several factors have created maintenance problems in the Perry Wellness Center campus landscaping, particularly in the garden areas. Summer has been unusually warm, and rain has been abundant, creating conditions for fast growth of weeds. Additionally, the garden areas are not sprayed with pesticides.

While the last factor does lead to some overgrown areas, the practice also helps preserve the quality and healthiness of produce grown on the campus.

“We have had a great season at our market,” says PWC founder and CEO Stuart Perry. “We use no sprays on our tomatoes, and customers like that appeal.”

The garden plot adjacent to the market greenhouse has proven to be a high-yield area for site-grown tomatoes. Now in the last stretch of summer, weeds and grasses enjoy the remaining nutrients that were used to produce a bumper tomato crop.

Luckily, staff member Steve McKenzie (pictured above) is at the ready to fight the overgrowth. “I must work to reclaim this area,” he acknowledges, as he plunges into the undergrowth.