Professor Metrick demonstrates proper harvesting technique in one of the farm beds as a group of students watches.

COOL COURSE ALERT: In Professor Melissa Metrick’s Intro to Urban Agriculture class, students literally get their hands dirty. Throughout the course, students nurture vegetable and fruit plants at the NYU Urban Farm Lab and in other locations around New York City.
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"One of the most exciting class sessions is when we harvest from the farm," Metrick says. "Students love the surprise of pulling carrots out of the ground and learning when produce is ready to be picked."
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Metrick, an NYU alum, is also the garden manager at Roberta’s Pizza and Blanca Restaurant in Brooklyn, so she stays current on trends and cultural influences. "Urban Agriculture is a field that is constantly evolving, from new techniques being used in the field to discovering who practices growing food in an urban environment and why," she says.

A student inspects a tomato he picked from one of the farm beds.

A student weeds one of the beds as a taxi drives by.

a giant sunflower

Three students huddle over a caterpillar on one of the plants.

A caterpillar.

wide photo of the farm showing lots of plants and Professor Metrick teaching.

A student uses a hoe to prepare the soil in one of the currently unplanted beds.

A bucket full of harvested basil.

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