Green Tip of the Week

This week's green tip of the week is focusing on garden trellises and different ideas for making them. The following are pictures of what can be done with a link for more information:

http://www.kvpermaculture.org/blog/permaculture/bike-wheel-trellis-hard-luffa/

*Bike-Wheel Trellis 

 



http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/935467 

*Gourd arch at entrance to walled kitchen garden

http://www.japangarden.co.uk/How-to-tie-Japanese-Knots-make-bamboo-fences-and-trellis-p-24.html

*Japanese Ibo Knot for trellis 



http://gardening4life.blogspot.com/2011/05/cinder-block-garden.html

*PVC Pipe and Ropes

http://www.overthebigmoon.com/gardening-basics-planters-beds-and-trellises/

*Basic Trellis 

http://lillbutton2.blogspot.com/2010/03/bean-teepees.html

*Bean Teepee

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vertical/msg0622582022244.html?73

*More Trellis Ideas on Gardenweb Forum!

New Recycling Bins Comming Soon!

More coming soon!

I'm happy to announce that your Associated Student Government voted this week to fund the purchasing of 26 new recycling bins for the SCC campus! These 26 new recycling bins will more than double the number of bins at SCC! The new bins should be in for the Fall quarter!

Picture of the Week - May 23rd, 2014

Family of deer out on the Columbia

I spotted these three deer hanging out on the Columbia River. Looks like they are enjoying the water!

Green Tip of the Week

Watering system being put to use! The top covers of the two pipes are removable
We just remove the top covers and use a hose to fill the pipes with water

This week's green tip is focusing on how to build a water efficient raised garden bed. Raised beds can be a bit of a challenge in terms of keeping your plants watered. Raised beds tend to be warmer and drier than a garden bed that is not raised. The new student garden only uses raised beds. Because of this and our reliance on volunteers we decided to put in a system that would be as water efficient as possible.

Woody debris in the bottom of the garden bed

Our first step to make a water efficient raised bed was to put large woody debris in the bottom of the beds. These provide an increase in the organic material and essentially function as water sinks. The debris will absorb water when the beds are wet and slowly release it as the beds dry out.

Next we wanted to be able to reduce evaporation from watering. Traditional methods of watering from the surface result in water losses due to the sun's heat evaporating a portion of the exposed water. To avoid this we built pipes that run length wise along the beds and than turn upward at 90 degrees at one end making the whole setup look like a "L". The other end of the pipe is capped.

The bottom of the long part of the pipe has wholes drilled in the bottom. The long part was then covered by a permeable material to keep dirt out of the pipes. This will allow water to drain out along the bottom of the pipe.

Once the pipes were completed we then placed them two per bed about six inches or so below the surface. With the watering system in place and the woody debris in the bottom of each bed it is our hope that our garden beds will be far more water efficient than a standard raised garden bed. Future improvements could include a mulch over the surface of each bed to further retain moisture.

Pictures of us working on the watering system:

Drilling holes in the pipes

Wrapping the pipes in permeable cloth

Adding the system to a garden bed

Watering systems all installed!

Weekly BBQ - Garden Work Days

Picture of the Week - May 18th, 2014

Wildflowers and the sunset!

This picture was taken about a week ago up on the south hill from a great little trail that has some amazing views.

Green Tip of the Week

Finishing up the last couple tires!

Today we had an awesome event put on by Andrew! He got a bunch of tires donated that we then had a blast painting :) We used some cardboard stencils to get the designs. The only real prep work was to clean the tiers and put the tarp down.

All the tires are now at our garden site. We are filling them with soil and will be planting herbs and other plants in them over the next few days.

The green tip of the week this week is to do what we just did! Get any old tires, paint them and have fun planting your new colorful beds!

Picture of the week - May 9th, 2014

Beautiful Spokane Washington

It is always amazing to me that we have a major river and a great park right in the middle of our city. One of the great things about our city.

Green Tip of the Week

Garden Soil - The key to the successul garden

Here is another awesome green tip of the week from our student leader Andrew!

This week I wanted to focus on soil quality and tips gardeners can use to ensure their soil is nutrient rich to maximize the yield of their crops.

 

1.) Top soil does not always contain organic material. You will need to feed the dirt to get it to gardening standard. Otherwise the soil is just dirt and will be a poor medium for crops, or even weeds to grow in. Ask the seller about the origin of the soil to get more information on the organic material within the top soil.

2.) Even rich soil needs organic material replenished within a year. Within a season or two of gardening the nutrients have been consumed by our plants and thus the soil needs more nutrients added back into the medium. There are various ways this can be done such as a green manure crop cover.

3.) Soil should be light, crumbly and fluffy. If soil is dense and compact then the plant is using more energy on its roots than vegetative growth. Poke the soil to your third knuckle and if your soil fails this test add some peatmoss(which is acidic) to lighten it and add lime to make the pH less acidic.

 

4.) Compost is the best amendment you can give your soil. This adds organic nutrients to make a good soil for best gardening results. The author recommends waiting a few weeks before planting planting the next crop to ensure that none of the compost nutrients are flushed through the soil during rain.

 

5.) Use organic fertilizer over chemical fertilizer. Chemical-based fertilizers do not treat the soil unlike organic fertilizer. The author recommends Canola meal, a fine material which is easy to distribute over the soil and is relatively affordable. Make sure to store the bag well-sealed in a dry, safe place where mice can't get into it.

6.) Phosphate is essential for growth. After a couple years you will need to add a source of phosphorus to show steady, vigorous growth and earlier maturity. Rock phosphate is rich in boron, zinc, nickel and iodine.

These are some simple tips to help your soil be the best that it can be and cause you to spend more time harvesting than weeding or dealing with plant pests and diseases.

 

http://eartheasy.com/blog/2012/01/6-tips-for-building-soil-for-your-raised-garden-beds-and-planters/

NEW! Water bottle filling station in the Lair

 

Located outside the ASG Office next to the Food Bank

 I'm happy to announce that we now have the first of hopefully many water bottle filling stations in the Lair at SCC brought to you by your student government and facilities!

Picture of the week - May 2nd 2014

I see you!

A cute little gosling that I found the other day. Another fun part of spring!

Green Tip of the Week

Lets all start to grow our own veggies!

This week's Green Tip of the Week was written by Andrew. Andrew is one of the current student leaders working to promote sustainability at SCC! Andrew has been focusing on the garden and is doing some awesome work. Check out his tip below:

http://www.hgtv.com/gardening/top-10-rules-for-growing-vegetables-and-fruits/pictures/index.html?ic1=obnetwork

HGTV lists 10 rules for growing Veggies and having a garden. I think they're good tips for any starting grower. 

 

1.) Start small and don't overwhelm yourself. 

 

2.) Full Sun - Most veggies will require 6 hours of direct sun a day. Lettuce and Radish can go less. 

 

3.) Soil quality is crucial  - liberally add organic matter such as finished compost, bagged humus and straw and make sure your soil is well-draining

 

4.) Soil Temperature - This is as crucial as air temperature so time your outdoor planting. Most seeds won't germinate when the soil is below 39 degrees.

 

5.) Layering with mulch - Keeping a layer of organic mulch over the top of the soil will help conserve moisture and suppress weeds. 

 

6.) Pests - Keep in mind other animals that live around you and plan ahead on ways to keep critters out of your garden. 
 

7.) Mingle your plants - Use a variety of plants to share the space to serve as companion plants to help ward off bugs.
 

8.) Harvest - Pick produce when its ready to ensure the plants energy is being used to produce a greater harvest. 

 

9.) Location - Placing the garden in a common area where you frequent will cause you to be observe bad bugs and tend your garden with less effort. 
 

10.) Late Frost - Be prepared to provide protection to tender plants some sort of cover overnight that will insulate the fragile seedlings. 
 

These are some great tips I think any and all gardeners can use!!! 

Next Meeting - April 28th 2014

Click to view the meeting agenda

We are having our next meeting on Monday April 28th in the ASG Conference Room in the Lair from 3:30 to 4:30pm. This is an exciting quarter and we hope to see you all there!

Picture of the Week - April 25th

Taken from a hiking trail on a mountain overlooking Sandpoint Idaho

We are lucky to live in an area with some amazing hiking trails. This one was taken from a trail overlooking Sandpoint Idaho that my wife and I hiked a few years ago. So many great hikes in our area!

Next Seed Planting Event

Join us next Monday!

Come join us next Monday and help us plant some more seeds! There will also be pizza for everyone that volunteers. You don't need any gardening experience. Join us and get a chance to get your hands dirty!

• Where: The Lair - SCC
• When: 10:00am to 11:15am - Monday April 28th
• What: Seed planting for the student garden

Seed Planting!

Awesome volunteers working on planting seeds for the student garden!

We had a fantastic event today planting seeds for the student garden! Thank you everyone that attended! We planted a bunch of greens and other vegetables for the garden and gave out pizza to the volunteers. The seed trays that we planted are located in the Lair at SCC. Make sure to check them out!

The final product!

Thank you to the SCC Greenery!

The donated seeds!

Just wanted to say thank you to Tylor and the SCC Greenery for donating seeds to us for the student garden! The seeds are going to be a huge help as we move forward. Thank you!

Green Tip of the Week

Join a community garden! Community gardens are a great way to get started gardening. There are always a bunch of people available to help and it allows you to learn the tricks of the trade before you start your own. Also, community gardens are a great way to meet fellow gardeners!

There are several community gardens around Spokane including our own at student garden at SCC. Go to http://www.greenspokane.org/community-gardens/ to find out more about community gardens in our area and don't forget to check out the student garden at SCC!

Picture of the Week - April 21st 2014

Out over the Spokane River last year with the SCC Water Resources Program

I'm posting two pictures this week; one today and one on Friday. I was out of town with the SCC SkillsUSA club at a statewide competition last week. The competition went great with SCC taking home medals in a number of categories!

The picture is out at the Spokane River with the SCC Water Resources Program last year for one of our classes.

Green Tip of the Week

This week's green tip was sent into us from Marita. Here is her green tip:

"I have a tip: I wash my organic fruit with apple cider vinegar then rinse w/ water. It also helps keep fresh fruit longer. I also love Orange marmalade but do not want to eat that high fructose GMO corn syrup. So I make my own this way: I wash an organic orange as specified then finely chop or food process and mix it with local honey. Tastes so good and saves our planet and the bees from damaging GMO’s."

Thank you Marita for sending in a green tip! If you have a green tip you would like to share please email them to us at ascsustainability@scc.spokane.edu. Thanks!

Next Bigfoot Sustainability Meeting - April 14th

Next Week's Meeting Agenda!

We have our first meeting of the quarter this coming Monday! It will be at a slightly later time this quarter (3:30pm start time now). This is going to be a very busy quarter for us with lots of projects to complete before the quarter ends. The student garden is going to be a major part of our work this quarter and will be a focus of the meeting on Monday.

Click on the picture above to view the meeting agenda!

Get-In Get-Involved!

Part of what will be our awesome table at Get-In Get-Involved!

Next week on Wednesday from 9am to noon in The Lair at SCC we are having our quarterly Get-In Get-Involved Club Fair! Bigfoot Sustainability will be having a table where you can find out what we are doing and how you can get involved with our projects!

Picture of the Week - April 11th 2014

Spring is here!

In honor of spring quarter starting this week here are some lovely flowers to get you in the spirit. Also, don't forget to check out the SCC Spring Flower and Garden Show on Saturday, April 12th, 2014 from 10am to 5pm in the Lair!

It is planting season for the garden!

Soil and watering systems all in place!

We are very excited to be moving forward on the student garden. At the end of last quarter we got nice organic soil for the beds and we made and installed our watering system. This quarter started off with us turning in the paperwork to get a hose bib installed at the garden site.

What do you want us to plant?

The next step is to get our seeds and start planting! It is really exciting to be at this stage. This project started out as just an idea this time last year and now we are just about ready to start planting! There are posters in building 1, the Lair and building 8 asking for feedback on what should be planted in the garden! Please write your suggestions on the poster or post here!

Green Tip of the Week

Will having fun at our last event!

This week's green tip of the week is to come get involved with all the awesome sustainability projects happening on campus at SCC!

Watch for announcements of upcoming events starting tomorrow!

Green Tip of the Week

Hiking around Mount Rainier last year

This week's green tip is simply this: Go for a hike or go camping sometime over spring break! Getting out and enjoying nature in a responsible and respectfull way is a great way to spend your free time. I'm planning on at least one hike myself over the break.

Also, if you take some nice pictures send them in so it can be featured on the picture of the week post!

Office Hours for Spring Quarter

Click to view the calendar!

Winter quarter is over! I hope finales went well for everyone. I know I'm happy to be done with mine! I just updated the calendar with my office hours for next quarter. Take a look and feel free to stop by and chat!

My office hours are:

• Monday: 9:30am to 12:30pm
• Tuesday: By appointment only
• Wednesday: 9:30am to 12:30pm
• Thursday: By appointment only
• Friday: 9:30am to 12:30pm

Enjoy your spring break!

Picture of the Week - March 21st 2014

Chamokane Creek near Long Lake

I spent a year working for the US Geological Survey as a Hydrological Intern. This site on Chamokane Creek was one of my favorite sites to work at. I did several solo field runs to this area and I always made sure to take my lunch break where I could see the falls.

Garden Work Day Event - Dead Day

Green Tip of the Week

Resuable bags are awesome!

This week's tip of the week is to make sure to bring reusable bags to the store with you instead of using disposable plastic and paper bags. Many stores offer discounts off your order if you bring your own bags!

Meeting Agenda - March 17th 2014

Click to view the agenda

The end of the quarter is right about here and we decided at our last meeting to have our last meeting of the quarter on Monday March 17th. Click on the above image to view the agenda for the next meeting. See you all there!

Picture of the Week - March 14th 2014

Taken by Daron Williams

Photography is a bit of a hobby for me so this week I decided to share with all of you one of my more artistic photos. Enjoy!

Student Garden Needs Your Help - Medium sized logs and branches

During the fall quarter I asked you all for leaves to add to the student garden. The response was great and you can see the results here! Now I need all of your help again. The garden beds are in and the leaf mulch is down. The next step is to put a layer of medium size branches/logs in the bottom of each of the bed. These branches/logs will provide organic material for the beds and act as water sinks for the plants during the summer. Combined with our underground watering system our beds should be very water efficient!

If you have any spare medium size branches/logs please email me so we can arrange a way to get them to the garden. Here is a picture of what I’m thinking:

 



Picture copyright Dog Island Farm


There are nine beds in the garden each about 8ft long so please try to keep the branches/logs shorter than that and no more than about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. The idea is to put about a 6 inches to a foot of branches/logs in the bottom of each garden bed and then the soil on top of that.

 

We are having our next garden work day event on March 21^st (Dead Day) so we need the branches/logs on or before that day; Ideally before the 21^st.

 

Thank you all again for your support of the student garden!

Green Tip of the Week

Coming soon to SCC! (fingers crossed)

The green tip this week is to ride your bike to school or take the bus! Not driving to school will save you money and greatly help the enviornment. Also, all students can now get a free bus pass from the cashier's office!

New ASG Constitution - Draft

Share your thoughts about the new consitution at the roundtable!

In addition to running the sustainability efforts for your Student Government here at SCC I have also been chairing the ASG Constitution Committee. The Constitution Committee has been working on a new version of the ASG Constitution. The current constitution is in dire need of being replaced and the new one will enable the ASG to better serve the student body of SCC.

The new version is currently posted in the Lair on a table with a big flier asking for feedback. In addition, we are having a round table discussion group next week to get more feedback from the campus community before we move forward to a final version. Click on the above picture to see a flier for the round table. You can view the new version of the consitution by clicking on this link: New ASG Constitution - Draft

We hope to see you all there!

Thanks to all who attended our garden mulching event!

Awesome group of volunteers!

We had a great time at our last project day for the student garden. The project day focused on getting the mulch down around the beds to help suppress the grass. We had 11 people come and help out. Thanks to everyone who showed up! Also, thanks again to everyone who donated leaves for the garden last quarter!

February 24th Meeting Minutes

Click to view the meeting minutes

Here are the meeting minutes from our last meeting. Make sure to make it to our next one on Monday March 10th!

Picture of the Week - March 7th, 2014

First signs of spring!

Spring is here! I spotted these little guys while waiting for the bus up on the south hill. I'm really looking forward to everything greening up!