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!

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!

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!

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/

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!!! 

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

Green Tip of the Week

Example of thrift stores

Buy used items instead of new. Thrift stores can have amazing items that are basically new and work as good as a new item but cost a fraction of the amount. Great way to save cash and help the environment!

My wife and I managed to get most of our furniture when we moved back to the States from England from local thrift stores. The furniture was all in great shape and it saved us a lot of money in addition to helping the environment!

What is your green tip? Share it with us!

Each Wednesday we have been posting green tips to help people be more sustainabile with their actions and behaviors. But after almost a quarter of sharing our tips with all of you we want your tips! Please email us at ascsustainability@scc.spokane.edu or comment on our facebook page or on this post with  your comments! We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Green Tip of the Week

Ever been to building 27 on campus? The math/science building? Then you know the impact of all of us using the automatic doors when we don't need to.

This week's green tip is to not use the automatic doors for people with disabilities unless you have a diability and need the assistance. Most of these doors stay open after you walk through resulting in the loss of warm air or cold air depending on the season. The result is increased energy use/cost. The chillyness of the temperature on the first floor of building 27 shows us that the impact is not minor.

So please don't use these doors unless you need to. Thank you!

Green Tip of the Week

This week's Green Tip of the Week is to buy used textbooks! It can be hard to buy used textbooks these days due to the amount of material only being offered online but if you can buying used textbooks helps the enviornment and saves you money.

To the teachers out there if possible choose textbook options that allow students to buy used textbooks. Used textbooks save a lot of money for students!

Make Textbooks More Affordable - Student PIRGs Campaign Site

Green Tip of the Week

Look for these bins and recycle!

This weeks tip is to make sure to recycle! Most buildings on campus have recycling bins and for those buildings that don't have any or don't have enough your ASG is currently working to roughly double to number of recycling bins on campus here at SCC. Look for the big blue bins or small red ones!

Green Tip of the Week

My water bottle and "mug" for tea

This week's Green Tip of the Week is to use reusable water bottles and coffee/tea mugs instead of disposable ones. Disposable water bottles are bad for the environment and have less safe guards for public health than water from the tap. So go green and use reusable water bottles!

Green Tip of the Week

 

From the University of Washington 

The tip of the week for this week is to ask your classmates or fellow employees if they want to setup a carpool! Carpooling is a great way to save gas, money and help reduce the number of cars trying to park everyday. If you can bike, walk, bus or carpool when you commute to work or school.

Green Tip of the Week

"Many of the school’s printers will print double sided to save paper. Also, if printing a power point presentation you can print two or more slides on each page saving more paper."

It is very easy to use a ton of paper here at SCC with all of the powerpoint lectures and other documents we have to print. But you can reduce the paper count by printing on both sides and by putting more then one powerpoint slide on each page. Every little bit helps!

Picture of the Week - January 17th, 2014

These are some "ice bells" that I found out on Dragoon Creek last year during some field work for the water resources program here at SCC. If you have a picture you would like to see featured on this blog please email it to ascsustainability@scc.spokane.edu.