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.
Students garden for the greater good
The University Garden kicked off its spring season Wednesday.
Campus Garden celebrates giving with party
Garden party on Sunday will mark more than 100 pounds of donated ...
Small gardens 101
Learn how to grow vegetables in minimal space
Co-ops offer unique housing options
Students living in housing cooperatives determine their own rent but also have ...
KU Dining Services supports local foods
University’s effort to save money, support sustainability includes rooftop garden and local ...
Local Burger and Co-op collect rain
Ad Astra Student Co-op helps restaurant install a rain barrel.
Sigma Lambda Gamma hosts Chasqui winter clothing ...
Bolivian fair trade group Chasqui is on campus this week selling wool ...
This weekend
Grow with the flow
Students revitalize campus with a garden
Student group, E.A.R.T.H., plants vegetables behind the University Relations building for donation ...
Home is where the food is
The gift of the garden
Students act as own landlords in Ad ...
After being rescued from demolition for $1, the co-operative Ad Astra house ...
Native plants now herbal remedies
Plants are harvested in northeastern Douglas County and then sent to West ...
Rain garden by recreation center to prevent ...
Native flowers and grasses will allow the $40,000 garden to manage the ...
Research program prepares for medicinal herb garden
Native Medicinal Plant Research Program will begin working on the new garden ...
Closing organic market offered to The Merc
Owner’s of the closing organic market look to sell their downtown location.
Student recognized for green chemistry
Madhav Ghant won an award for his research of environmentally friendly ways ...
Student group gives back to local farms
A campus group spends their weekends helping local farmers.
More than a drink with jam and ...
America doesn’t embrace tea like much of the world, but increased domestic ...
International students grow a taste of home
Residents are planting fruits and vegetables from their native countries in Stouffer ...
Housepets in a pot
The best greenery those with a not-so-green thumb
Living Art
The tattoos Joe McGill inks on his customers are almost as interesting ...
Ten Things You Didn't Know About... The ...
You know it's an organic food store, but what else happens at ...
Film sheds light on farming industry
“Food, Inc.,” showing at the Kansas Union tonight, encourages people to buy ...
Lawrence schools see growing success with gardening ...
Several local schools are growing their own gardens as a part of ...
Bowersock plant to create green jobs
The Lawrence City Commission voted last week to approve the issuance of ...
Cleaning up, au naturale
Lather up with some homemade soaps
Students help plant rain garden
Participants are volunteering to create the garden by the recreation center to ...
McConnell: What’s greener than reusable bags
Green campus groups educate students
Many opportunities exist at KU to get involved with environmental groups and ...
Organic garden to provide food for families ...
Back to Seed
A story about a forgotten space, and one student’s dedication to it
Group gardens to donate food
EARTH members plants vegetables and donates them to ECKAN Just Food Pantry, ...
Two students design rain garden at Zarco ...
The garden has native plants as part of its water conservation system ...
Concert venue gets to the “root” of ...
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater reverts back to Sandstone Amphitheater and implements new ways ...
Man hopes to brew up success for ...
Profits from the sales go to villagers in South American to ensure ...
Editor's note
Enjoy this dose of legal greenage
Rain garden completed on Earth Day
More than 200 volunteers plant 2,500 native Kansas plants.
CO2 emissions may affect flowering plants
Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Joy Ward and post doctoral researcher ...
Student groups team up for environment
From Blue to Green, a sustainability movement, will host events between now ...
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID