Jack's Solar Garden is a field of plenty

August is the month when gardens prove their worth. If produce, flowers, and pollinators are thriving, the tender of a garden is delighted. This first full summer of cultivating at Jack's Solar Garden is turning out to be excellent according to owner/manager Byron Kominek.

In addition to providing solar energy to 300 homes, the garden is successfully growing squash, tomatoes, beans, and then some under and around its 3,200 solar panels. Two hundred pounds of fresh produce was recently donated to OUR Center in Longmont to provide food to those in need.

"Plants are growing well, if not as well as they would on the outside. There are a few plants that don't like it as much and a few plants that like it more with the shade," Kominek said of the largest US commercially active agrivoltaic system he founded.

The number of moving pieces in this venture is remarkable. There's the solar energy facet, vegetable gardening and a pollinator habitat, along with several institutions gathering data on microclimates throughout the land. There's the need to keep soil healthy, irrigate the land, remediate weeds. Then there's an educational arm, an art component, and continual connection with the community.

With that much happening, it isn't surprising that there has been loads of local and national interest in the venture. Requests are coming in to create documentaries, write stories and to be involved in podcasts, Kominek reported. He's become a sought after expert on the subject of combining solar energy and food production.

Several public events are coming up at Jack's. Birds of all kinds love the sheer number of plants on the land – 3,000 in just the pollinator perimeter. To acknowledge the enterprise's friendliness to feathered beings, Audubon Rockies is holding a ribbon cutting ceremony honoring Jack's as a Habitat Hero this Wednesday, Aug. 25, at 10 a.m.

On Saturday, Sept. 25, from 5-8 p.m. Sprout City Farms, the nonprofit organization that manages the vegetable gardens, will be holding an inaugural annual fundraising event called Night on the Farm. Party-goers can take field tours to learn about the marriage of sustainable agriculture and agrivoltaics. A local chef will present food grown in the garden, accompanied by cocktails and beer. Michelle Bernier, 2021's Artist on the Farm and executive director of San Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, will direct live dance performances and there will be music by a local band. For more information, visit https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/LD1s-h0J0FBb4FqEmYH7qA?t=1629145185.

An outdoor film screening of films by the San Souci Film Festival of Dance Cinema will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Held under the evening sky, participants will watch short films of diverse dancers from the Front Range representing a variety of ages, abilities, and styles. For more information, visit https://sanssoucifestival.org/ssf-jacks-solar-garden-2021/ .

The final event of the season will be held in October (the exact date is not yet determined) as this year's Artist on the Farm, Michelle Bernier, unveils a film she's created specifically for Jack's Solar Garden.

All subscriptions to the solar panels were sold out as of April 2021. Having accomplished this allowed the business to move on to other priorities.

"This spring and summer has been focused on getting the land prepared and getting our irrigation systems all set up for being able to grow crops underneath the solar panels," Kominek said, "and there's been a lot of coordination with research partners that are learning about the microclimates underneath our panels and what types of food is growing well versus others."

Research partners from Colorado State University, the University of Arizona, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory each come out once or twice a week to gather data on several fronts, including plant growth and CO2 production.

Through careful management, the perennials in the pollinator habitat are starting to overtake the weeds that want to come up, Kominek said. Lots of elderberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are coming into their own.

Building a retention pond is underway and set to be completed this month thanks to a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. Water from the pond will be used to cultivate the crops through drip irrigation.

Given the success thus far on so many fronts, next year Kominek said they'd like to have more events at the Garden; musical, art centered, educational, and fundraising.

Kominek added, "This is the first year and next year there will be even more research going on."

Public tours are offered at Jack's Solar Garden, 8102 N. 95th Street, Longmont, every Saturday at 10 a.m. Private companies and organizations can reserve their own tours as well. To learn more, visit http://www.jackssolargarden.com.