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Students go green to save green

By Annie Vangsnes

Thursday, July 2, 2009

This summer students are trying out their green thumbs in hopes of saving some green.

Volunteer gardening organizations in Lawrence are encourgaing residents to grow their own produce for health and economic reasons. Students are also taking part by using what they can at home to grow on their own. Some said they were growing their own produce to save money, while others said they did it to reduce their environmental footprint.

Deacon Jones, 2009 graduate, is part of the Ad Astra Cooperative, 1033 Kentucky St., which has more than 100 square feet of garden plots. He lives at the co-op, where residents pay a lower rent in exchange for providing labor for upkeep of the house, including gardening.

Jones said that the garden at the house already existed when he moved in last January, but that the garden wasn’t taken care of last summer. The reason they started it back up wasn’t initially for economic reasons. But Jones said that after he lost his job, it did help a little.

“It’s three or four dollars a week that you don’t have to buy vegetables at the store,” Jones said. “So that’s maybe two more drinks I can have at the bar.”

Jones said that the co-op had always worked to reduce its environmental footprint and that growing its own food was a good way to help. He said it reduced even the few miles that food from the farmer’s market had to travel.

It is easier for the co-op to have a garden because it has guaranteed labor every week, Jones said. He said the co-op also tried to keep the garden low-maintenance because everyone was a student and didn’t necessarily have a lot of time to work in the garden.

“We want to get it going and keep it going,” Jones said.

He said that this summer the co-op is growing mint, peas, beans, strawberries, herbs, tomatoes, blackberries and peaches.

Katelyn McGill, Omaha senior, said she has been growing herbs such as chives, basil and thyme in her apartment since she was a sophomore. She said she started growing them after she discovered how delicious fresh basil was and after she realized it was so expensive at the store.

McGill said that she liked to buy the plants because they were the same price as the bags of cut basil but that she would get more out of the growing plant. She said that as long as someone didn’t go away for a long time, herbs were easy to care for.

“It’s not like having a pet,” McGill said. “Give it some water, that’s it. Maybe you have to get a bigger pot every once in a while when your plant grows, but it’s easier than going to the store.”

Kevin Prather is a member of SLUG, Support for Local Urban Gardeners. He said the goal of the volunteer group was to get more gardens growing in Lawrence to help reduce the cost of food and improve the health of participants. Prather said the group paired new gardeners with a mentor to start a garden. Sometimes the volunteers will all get together to put in a new garden more quickly, he said.

There’s quite a bit to know about gardening,” Prather said. “Getting started is the most important part.”

For help with starting a new garden, students can contact SLUG at their website.

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