Over on Apartment Therapy they recently posted a nice short article on community gardens in Baltimore, Maryland. It's fun to see the design community getting involved!
Check out the article here.
Hope everyone has a fun weekend! The Rose Parade's on Saturday, so you know where I'll be!
~Morgan
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
First Work Party-- A Sucess!
Hi guys!
Our first work party of 2009 was on Saturday, and it went GREAT! I'm really grateful to everyone who showed up, we got a lot of work done and real progress was made.
If you want to see some footage from it, here's a short camera-phone clip shot by Cody.
I'm hoping to have the next one scheduled soon, looking potentially at the Saturday AFTER the Saturday after finals (namely, the 20th of June). Until then, there are a few things you can do for the garden if you find yourself there with time to kill/steam to blow off:
~Pull weeds in the natives garden! Especially along the back fence, where the morning glory and nettles are trying to take over. A big dent was made in the front on Saturday, and we want to continue in that positive direction.
~Pull weeds in the second composting area. You know that place that is now entirely hidden by five-foot tall thistles and other weeds, over in the western corner of the garden next to the natives? Yeah, there's a compost heap hidden under there somewhere. I applaud any intrepid soul who would be willing to dive in and tackle those behemoths.
~Pull weeds in the bamboo. I don't think this area was attacked much on Saturday, and it really needs some lovin'. The sticky weeds and thistles are particularly vicious. Look out for the errant shattered bottle!
~Pull weeds in the orchard. This area got a lot of attention on Saturday, too, but try an excursion back towards the thornless blackberry or against the fence. I'm sure you'll find plenty of little nasties to vent your frustration on.
~Pull weeds in and around the patio area. Mostly the aim of this is to make the patio a nice place to sit again. Please avoid damaging things that look important. (EG: grapes, lavender, tulips, etc.)
~Sort and wash plastic pots to be taken to the Re-Potting center. This trip will probably be undertaken when I've got two legs again, but it would still be nice to get all of those assorted plastic pots sorted, with the nasty ones thrown away and the good ones ready to be taken elsewhere. It's that cosmetic thing again.
~Haul loads of weeds to the recycling center next to Stott. This is a bit of a trek to undertake, and is definitely made easier by the employment of a handcart. It can only be done while the center is open, which is between 10am and 3pm on weekdays, but if you do it you will deserve a place in my personal pantheon of heroes.
Also on Saturday, I discussed the topic of composting with a few of our veteran gardeners. As it stands now, and I'm going to put this in writing, please haul all weeds that were not pulled from your plot to the recycling center next to Stott. For weeds that you did pull from your plot, you can make the choice to compost them at the garden, or to haul them as well. If one compost bin is full (I'm particularly thinking of the bin in the south-eastern corner of the garden) take your weeds to a different one. Simple as that.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or reports of alien abduction, you can forward them to me at psucommunitygarden@gmail.com.
Stay golden!
Morgan
PS: If you have any pictures of the garden that you or anyone else has taken, feel free to send them to me! If I use them here on the blog, I'll give full credit and acclaim to the photographer!
Our first work party of 2009 was on Saturday, and it went GREAT! I'm really grateful to everyone who showed up, we got a lot of work done and real progress was made.
If you want to see some footage from it, here's a short camera-phone clip shot by Cody.
I'm hoping to have the next one scheduled soon, looking potentially at the Saturday AFTER the Saturday after finals (namely, the 20th of June). Until then, there are a few things you can do for the garden if you find yourself there with time to kill/steam to blow off:
~Pull weeds in the natives garden! Especially along the back fence, where the morning glory and nettles are trying to take over. A big dent was made in the front on Saturday, and we want to continue in that positive direction.
~Pull weeds in the second composting area. You know that place that is now entirely hidden by five-foot tall thistles and other weeds, over in the western corner of the garden next to the natives? Yeah, there's a compost heap hidden under there somewhere. I applaud any intrepid soul who would be willing to dive in and tackle those behemoths.
~Pull weeds in the bamboo. I don't think this area was attacked much on Saturday, and it really needs some lovin'. The sticky weeds and thistles are particularly vicious. Look out for the errant shattered bottle!
~Pull weeds in the orchard. This area got a lot of attention on Saturday, too, but try an excursion back towards the thornless blackberry or against the fence. I'm sure you'll find plenty of little nasties to vent your frustration on.
~Pull weeds in and around the patio area. Mostly the aim of this is to make the patio a nice place to sit again. Please avoid damaging things that look important. (EG: grapes, lavender, tulips, etc.)
~Sort and wash plastic pots to be taken to the Re-Potting center. This trip will probably be undertaken when I've got two legs again, but it would still be nice to get all of those assorted plastic pots sorted, with the nasty ones thrown away and the good ones ready to be taken elsewhere. It's that cosmetic thing again.
~Haul loads of weeds to the recycling center next to Stott. This is a bit of a trek to undertake, and is definitely made easier by the employment of a handcart. It can only be done while the center is open, which is between 10am and 3pm on weekdays, but if you do it you will deserve a place in my personal pantheon of heroes.
Also on Saturday, I discussed the topic of composting with a few of our veteran gardeners. As it stands now, and I'm going to put this in writing, please haul all weeds that were not pulled from your plot to the recycling center next to Stott. For weeds that you did pull from your plot, you can make the choice to compost them at the garden, or to haul them as well. If one compost bin is full (I'm particularly thinking of the bin in the south-eastern corner of the garden) take your weeds to a different one. Simple as that.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or reports of alien abduction, you can forward them to me at psucommunitygarden@gmail.com.
Stay golden!
Morgan
PS: If you have any pictures of the garden that you or anyone else has taken, feel free to send them to me! If I use them here on the blog, I'll give full credit and acclaim to the photographer!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
PSU's Sustainability Celebration 5/29/2009
Mark your calenders! The PSU Sustainability deparment's 2nd annual Sustainability Celebration is on May 29th, from 3-5 pm.
MORE INFO:
MORE INFO:
"Please join PSU students, faculty, and staff for a celebration of our successes in sustainability during the 2008-2009 academic year.
WHAT: Portland State University's Annual Sustainability Celebration
WHEN: Friday, May 29, 3-5 p.m. Poster session and refreshments begin at 3 p.m. Program begins at 4 p.m. with remarks by PSU President Wim Wiewel.
WHERE: PSU Native American Student and Community Center (710 S.W. Jackson St.). For information on transit options, visit ride.trimet.org.
ABOUT: This annual celebration gives the PSU community an opportunity to recognize those individuals and efforts that have made this past year a transformative time for the University's many sustainability initiatives. The event includes:
• Poster session of those faculty and student projects funded by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation grants;
• Highlights from the year in sustainability across campus, including student group accomplishments;
• Recognition of graduating student cohorts in undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs
• Recognition of outstanding graduating student employees;
• Remarks from campus sustainability leaders and a look ahead at some of the exciting plans for 2009-2010.
This event is co-sponsored by the PSU Sustainability Office and the Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices. Please consider bringing your own mug or beverage container. For more information, call 503-725-8951."
It's the day before our community garden work party. Two days of green-living oriented fun! Please come!Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Urban foraging, anyone?
Urban Edibles is an interesting (Portland centric!) urban foraging database, with all sorts of great information about the movement and about "wild" edible plants you can find around the city. A fascinating read, at the very least!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Our Vanguard Article!
The Daily Vanguard, the PSU student newspaper, published an AWESOME article on the garden in its sustainability article today! You can find the full text of the article here along with some awesome pictures of the garden. It also has a couple of great interviews with a few of our gardeners. I was so surprised!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Garden Blog: First Post
SO much has been going on with the garden! At least it seems that way to me-- it's been pretty hectic, but all of the tangles are starting to work themselves out.
In case you don't know, I'm Morgan, the new coordinator for the Portland State University Community Garden. I'm a History major (poking around for a minor to tack onto that), and I have a passion for gardening and sustainability!
Our garden serves the students of PSU, providing a community focal point and a source for inexpensive organic produce. As time goes on, I'll be updating this blog with news and information about the garden. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns be sure to email me at psucommunitygarden@gmail.com!
Stay fabulous!
Morgan
In case you don't know, I'm Morgan, the new coordinator for the Portland State University Community Garden. I'm a History major (poking around for a minor to tack onto that), and I have a passion for gardening and sustainability!
Our garden serves the students of PSU, providing a community focal point and a source for inexpensive organic produce. As time goes on, I'll be updating this blog with news and information about the garden. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns be sure to email me at psucommunitygarden@gmail.com!
Stay fabulous!
Morgan
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