Student Garden Volunteers!
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Adam Perkins
Sep 5, 2008, 5:19:56 PM9/5/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com, david-o...@uiowa.edu, lucie-...@uiowa.edu, christin...@uiowa.edu, whitney-...@uiowa.edu, michael...@hotmail.com, Kyle Sieck
Fellow gardeners!
To inspire as much participation as possible, I want to ask the entire UIEC group to read the following about the progress we've made in the UIEC Student Garden. If after reading this you feel like being an active member of the UIEC Student Garden Committee, please respond to this email so that we can create a smaller email list.
BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION
Learning how to garden is a skill which takes a lifetime to develop because the pace of your work, experimentation, and ideas are played out over an entire year. Starting now will give you a headstart in making an impact in your neighborhood and community as you become homeowners. Gardening is a great way to meet people. Everyone eats, so you automatically have something in common! Sharing food and the skills to grow it makes you a leader in your community because you command a resource. As land prices, availability of water, cost of transportation, and the very structure of our democracy change with a growing population and the development of a sustainable economy, those who have the skills to grow food will be asked to lend their skills to accomodate this reality. By learning how to grow your own food you can teach someone else to grow their own food...the whole teach a guy to fish story...it is my belief that building a culture around this skill will create a more just and egalitarian future. So join in!
HISTORY
This has been the first year the garden has been active in over two years. The following link is a collection of photographs illustrating the progress we've made since breaking ground on the 16th of April, 2008. Bookmark this link for yourself to continue to peak in on the progress if you can't make it to the garden. Also, take the time to read the captions as I've provided simple information about each vegetable and photo...
PHOTOS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/farmerfred/collections/72157604807005813/
FYI, if you navigate around some of my other photos you can see pictures from my garden at my farm and my house here in Iowa City.
SUCCESS
As you can see we've had a fairly successful year! Many pounds of potatoes were harvested. Peas and salad greens were plentiful in the spring, and now late summer crops and early fall crops are in season! I know that Eric, Kyle, Tim, Stephanie, and Brittany have all enjoyed quite a bit of food from the garden this season and we'd love to fill more bellies with garden goodies in the future! Stop by sometime in the next week and just pop a little tomato in your mouth to see how fresh food can be!
SCHEDULING
Along with the success has come some frustration though...scheduling times to work is always difficult with busy calanders and uncooperative weather. For those of you who spend more and more time in the garden you will find out that "timing" is everything in the garden as each vegetable has its favorite time of year to grow. During this Fall '08 semester I will be available to meet at the garden every Tuesday from 3pm-4pm and Thursday from 10am-noon. If it's raining, I won't be there, and I'll keep this schedule as long as there is food to harvest. We'll use these times as quasi "office hours." I will also be sending out schedules weekly and as the weather dictates to coordinate work. Saturday's and Sunday's also work for me but only one or the other on any given weekend...I go to my farm for at least one weekend day 3 times a month. People who are really interested in the garden should "self-starters" who can take knowledge and run with it.
TOOLS
Another problem we've encountered is making tools available so that anyone can go and get some work done when the moment strikes them. So far we've only had tools available when I've been able to bring them to the garden for certain work days. To solve this problem I figured out a way to store tools securely and out of the elements on sight so that they are always available. I'll send out an additional email to invite anyone who wants to help me build a tool box at my house this weekend.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The garden really is in a pretty spot, and is framed well by the stairs, North Hall, and the retaining wall on the East side of the garden. This spot has wonderful potential but at the moment, limited light. We don't get what gardeners refer to as "full sun." For our efforts to by fully realized, we need more sunlight. Two possibilites come up:
1) Move to a different spot.
For those of you who intend to join the committee, details about some of the hurdles we will encounter in accomplishing this task will become familiar. Lots of planning and a very well organized and formal proposal will need to be generated. I have been brainstorming about much of the data we will need to acquire and names of people who can help us with this project. This is tricky...as it has already been suggested that we move to West Campus, which is out past the Hall of Fame building near the Outdoor Rental Center where Tim Knab works. Personally, I am not in favor of a spot like this because I think it will hamper our ability to serve students, citizens, and classrooms who live and work in the center of campus. A community garden already exists at the West Campus and I think a move to that location would also make us suffer the "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome. It has been made clear to me that relocating the garden to other locations in the near vacinity would require more than just approval from Landscape Services. If we really make the spot we have right now shine, and put together a comprehensive proposal, I think we can get ourselves an even better spot, and by staying close to the center of campus, we will be visible to the community. It will be hard to ignore us, and our efforts will be more influential in creating more gardens in the Iowa City area. Already we have some press!
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2008/09/04/80Hours/Field.To.Family.Festival.Promotes.Locally.Grown-3415396.shtml
2) Stay and improve, but risk being interrupted by repair of stairway.
If we stay there, we will inevitable be interrupted by the repair of the stairs. Facilities management cannot yet give me a planned date for this work. The entire stairwell down that hill has some pretty nasty erosion problems and I find it highly unlikely that they will be able to "work around us." Heavy equipment will be needed for this work and I can envision that we'll be trampled. If the work is only a year away, I think we're at a big disadvantage because it will really crunch our time frame to find a suitable site to move to. If it is two or more years away then I think it's worth our time to really make the spot we have shine until we can find a better spot. We'll discuss ideas for improvement at a later date.
MEETINGS
Outside of actually working in the garden I think we should hold a monthly meeting that lasts no longer than 1 hour. Tuesday evenings are good for me or various weekdays during the lunch hour. We'll use this time to organize proposals and finances...anything we don't do in the dirt.
I hope these projects and ideas have inspired some of you! Please email me to let me know if you'd like to join our planning committee, or just help out in the garden occasionally! Can you please answer the following questions for me in your email so that I can get to know you all just a bit better? That would be really helpful.
Name:
Hometown:
Year in school:
Area of Study:
Previous Gardening experience:
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09?
Favorite vegetable?
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week:
Cool ideas you might have for the garden:
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!
Adam
To inspire as much participation as possible, I want to ask the entire UIEC group to read the following about the progress we've made in the UIEC Student Garden. If after reading this you feel like being an active member of the UIEC Student Garden Committee, please respond to this email so that we can create a smaller email list.
BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION
Learning how to garden is a skill which takes a lifetime to develop because the pace of your work, experimentation, and ideas are played out over an entire year. Starting now will give you a headstart in making an impact in your neighborhood and community as you become homeowners. Gardening is a great way to meet people. Everyone eats, so you automatically have something in common! Sharing food and the skills to grow it makes you a leader in your community because you command a resource. As land prices, availability of water, cost of transportation, and the very structure of our democracy change with a growing population and the development of a sustainable economy, those who have the skills to grow food will be asked to lend their skills to accomodate this reality. By learning how to grow your own food you can teach someone else to grow their own food...the whole teach a guy to fish story...it is my belief that building a culture around this skill will create a more just and egalitarian future. So join in!
HISTORY
This has been the first year the garden has been active in over two years. The following link is a collection of photographs illustrating the progress we've made since breaking ground on the 16th of April, 2008. Bookmark this link for yourself to continue to peak in on the progress if you can't make it to the garden. Also, take the time to read the captions as I've provided simple information about each vegetable and photo...
PHOTOS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/farmerfred/collections/72157604807005813/
FYI, if you navigate around some of my other photos you can see pictures from my garden at my farm and my house here in Iowa City.
SUCCESS
As you can see we've had a fairly successful year! Many pounds of potatoes were harvested. Peas and salad greens were plentiful in the spring, and now late summer crops and early fall crops are in season! I know that Eric, Kyle, Tim, Stephanie, and Brittany have all enjoyed quite a bit of food from the garden this season and we'd love to fill more bellies with garden goodies in the future! Stop by sometime in the next week and just pop a little tomato in your mouth to see how fresh food can be!
SCHEDULING
Along with the success has come some frustration though...scheduling times to work is always difficult with busy calanders and uncooperative weather. For those of you who spend more and more time in the garden you will find out that "timing" is everything in the garden as each vegetable has its favorite time of year to grow. During this Fall '08 semester I will be available to meet at the garden every Tuesday from 3pm-4pm and Thursday from 10am-noon. If it's raining, I won't be there, and I'll keep this schedule as long as there is food to harvest. We'll use these times as quasi "office hours." I will also be sending out schedules weekly and as the weather dictates to coordinate work. Saturday's and Sunday's also work for me but only one or the other on any given weekend...I go to my farm for at least one weekend day 3 times a month. People who are really interested in the garden should "self-starters" who can take knowledge and run with it.
TOOLS
Another problem we've encountered is making tools available so that anyone can go and get some work done when the moment strikes them. So far we've only had tools available when I've been able to bring them to the garden for certain work days. To solve this problem I figured out a way to store tools securely and out of the elements on sight so that they are always available. I'll send out an additional email to invite anyone who wants to help me build a tool box at my house this weekend.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
The garden really is in a pretty spot, and is framed well by the stairs, North Hall, and the retaining wall on the East side of the garden. This spot has wonderful potential but at the moment, limited light. We don't get what gardeners refer to as "full sun." For our efforts to by fully realized, we need more sunlight. Two possibilites come up:
1) Move to a different spot.
For those of you who intend to join the committee, details about some of the hurdles we will encounter in accomplishing this task will become familiar. Lots of planning and a very well organized and formal proposal will need to be generated. I have been brainstorming about much of the data we will need to acquire and names of people who can help us with this project. This is tricky...as it has already been suggested that we move to West Campus, which is out past the Hall of Fame building near the Outdoor Rental Center where Tim Knab works. Personally, I am not in favor of a spot like this because I think it will hamper our ability to serve students, citizens, and classrooms who live and work in the center of campus. A community garden already exists at the West Campus and I think a move to that location would also make us suffer the "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome. It has been made clear to me that relocating the garden to other locations in the near vacinity would require more than just approval from Landscape Services. If we really make the spot we have right now shine, and put together a comprehensive proposal, I think we can get ourselves an even better spot, and by staying close to the center of campus, we will be visible to the community. It will be hard to ignore us, and our efforts will be more influential in creating more gardens in the Iowa City area. Already we have some press!
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2008/09/04/80Hours/Field.To.Family.Festival.Promotes.Locally.Grown-3415396.shtml
2) Stay and improve, but risk being interrupted by repair of stairway.
If we stay there, we will inevitable be interrupted by the repair of the stairs. Facilities management cannot yet give me a planned date for this work. The entire stairwell down that hill has some pretty nasty erosion problems and I find it highly unlikely that they will be able to "work around us." Heavy equipment will be needed for this work and I can envision that we'll be trampled. If the work is only a year away, I think we're at a big disadvantage because it will really crunch our time frame to find a suitable site to move to. If it is two or more years away then I think it's worth our time to really make the spot we have shine until we can find a better spot. We'll discuss ideas for improvement at a later date.
MEETINGS
Outside of actually working in the garden I think we should hold a monthly meeting that lasts no longer than 1 hour. Tuesday evenings are good for me or various weekdays during the lunch hour. We'll use this time to organize proposals and finances...anything we don't do in the dirt.
I hope these projects and ideas have inspired some of you! Please email me to let me know if you'd like to join our planning committee, or just help out in the garden occasionally! Can you please answer the following questions for me in your email so that I can get to know you all just a bit better? That would be really helpful.
Name:
Hometown:
Year in school:
Area of Study:
Previous Gardening experience:
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09?
Favorite vegetable?
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week:
Cool ideas you might have for the garden:
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!
Adam
Julia Mantey
Sep 7, 2008, 11:26:48 AM9/7/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com
Hi Adam!
I'd love to be a part of the committee. Here's my info, see you this afternoon!
Name: Julia Mantey
Hometown: Farmington Hills
Year in school: Senior (going to be a super-senior)
Area of Study: Nonfiction writing, Geography
Previous Gardening experience: UIEC Garden 2006, growing up helping Mom and Dad
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09? Possibly, but not all that likely
Favorite vegetable? Carrots and Broccoli, Tomatoes
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week: 2-6 hours
Cool ideas you might have for the garden: None today, but with time and experience I hope to think of many!
Thanks!
Julia
I'd love to be a part of the committee. Here's my info, see you this afternoon!
Name: Julia Mantey
Hometown: Farmington Hills
Year in school: Senior (going to be a super-senior)
Area of Study: Nonfiction writing, Geography
Previous Gardening experience: UIEC Garden 2006, growing up helping Mom and Dad
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09? Possibly, but not all that likely
Favorite vegetable? Carrots and Broccoli, Tomatoes
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week: 2-6 hours
Cool ideas you might have for the garden: None today, but with time and experience I hope to think of many!
Thanks!
Julia
2008/9/5 Adam Perkins <adamfre...@gmail.com>
Jamie Isherwood
Sep 7, 2008, 7:57:59 PM9/7/08
to ui...@googlegroups.com
Hello Adam, I would definitely like to be a volunteer, although the only time I'm really available this term is weekends, unfortunately i have classes and work during the week. Apart from Thursday nights that is. Here's my info:
> Name: Jamie Isherwood
>
> Hometown: Lone Tree, Iowa, (here)
>
> Year in school: soph, although I'm 24
>
> Area of Study: Pre Physicians assisting
>
> Previous Gardening experience: been gardening with my dad and grandma for as long as I can remember
>
> Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09?
> Yes
> Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09?
> Favorite vegetable? All of them!!! Spinach and Zuchini
>
> Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week:
> any
> Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week:
> Cool ideas you might have for the garden: will have to think about it a bit more
>
> Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!
>
> Adam
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
_________________________________________________________________
> Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!
>
> Adam
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Want to do more with Windows Live? Learn “10 hidden secrets” from Jamie.
http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008
Adam Perkins
Sep 7, 2008, 11:06:15 PM9/7/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com
Julia,
Great biking with you today! Thanks for sending back the info...after I get a few more responses, I'll set up our first meeting.
See you soon,
Adam
Great biking with you today! Thanks for sending back the info...after I get a few more responses, I'll set up our first meeting.
See you soon,
Adam
Britt G
Sep 8, 2008, 7:21:19 PM9/8/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com
Hometown: Wheaton IL
Year in school: senior
Area of Study: geography-environmental studies and anthropology
Previous Gardening experience: just what I've done in this garden and I plant a few veggies at home
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09?: yes
Favorite vegetable? spinach, onion, red pepper
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week: whatever really, I'm flexible.
Cool ideas you might have for the garden: none at the moment
Patterson, Loni J
Sep 8, 2008, 11:09:13 PM9/8/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com
Name: Loni Patterson
Hometown: Sloan, IA
Year in school: Senior
Area of Study: Civil Engineering
Previous Gardening experience: I helped my mother with our flower garden before. It has been awhile. Does this count?
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09? Yes.
Favorite vegetable? Green beans.
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week: 2-4
Cool ideas you might have for the garden: I don't really have any right now. I think that the location and the variety of vegetation in the garden will have an impact on future ideas. SIDE NOTE: I think this is an awesome idea.
2008/9/5 Adam Perkins <adamfre...@gmail.com<mailto:adamfre...@gmail.com>>
Hometown: Sloan, IA
Year in school: Senior
Area of Study: Civil Engineering
Previous Gardening experience: I helped my mother with our flower garden before. It has been awhile. Does this count?
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09? Yes.
Favorite vegetable? Green beans.
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week: 2-4
Cool ideas you might have for the garden: I don't really have any right now. I think that the location and the variety of vegetation in the garden will have an impact on future ideas. SIDE NOTE: I think this is an awesome idea.
2008/9/5 Adam Perkins <adamfre...@gmail.com<mailto:adamfre...@gmail.com>>
Adam Perkins
Sep 9, 2008, 12:21:52 PM9/9/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com
Hey guys,
Sending this out one last time because I've heard the email list has been updated since our first meeting on Thursday.
Read below for details and send me your info by Wednesday morning if you already haven't and then I'll send out another message to our consolidated Student Gardeners group to organize our first meetings.
I want to have "paper" meetings and "dirt" meetings. I'm hoping we can have our first dirt meeting tomorrow evening to get some final seeds in the ground, build some season extension for salad greens, and maybe bring the tool box over if I can finish it.
We should try to have our first paper meeting early next week to go over details about how we want to tackle improving our presence on the greater campus.
Please read below for more details if you did not receive an email from me late last week.
Hope to see you all soon!
Adam
Sending this out one last time because I've heard the email list has been updated since our first meeting on Thursday.
Read below for details and send me your info by Wednesday morning if you already haven't and then I'll send out another message to our consolidated Student Gardeners group to organize our first meetings.
I want to have "paper" meetings and "dirt" meetings. I'm hoping we can have our first dirt meeting tomorrow evening to get some final seeds in the ground, build some season extension for salad greens, and maybe bring the tool box over if I can finish it.
We should try to have our first paper meeting early next week to go over details about how we want to tackle improving our presence on the greater campus.
Please read below for more details if you did not receive an email from me late last week.
Hope to see you all soon!
Adam
Adam Perkins
Sep 9, 2008, 12:24:34 PM9/9/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com
Loni,
Thanks for the response, we're getting a good group of people put together. Flower gardening with your mother totally counts!
Look for another message from me tomorrow!
Adam
Thanks for the response, we're getting a good group of people put together. Flower gardening with your mother totally counts!
Look for another message from me tomorrow!
Adam
Uhl, Andrea K
Sep 9, 2008, 2:59:07 PM9/9/08
to UI...@googlegroups.com
Name: Andrea Uhl
Hometown: Sioux City, Iowa
Year in school: Sophomore
Area of Study: Economics
Previous Gardening experience: A little...
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09? Yes
Favorite vegetable? Carrot
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week: 2 or 3 hours
Cool ideas you might have for the garden: Nothing yet
Hometown: Sioux City, Iowa
Year in school: Sophomore
Area of Study: Economics
Previous Gardening experience: A little...
Will you live in Iowa City during summer '09? Yes
Favorite vegetable? Carrot
Approximate amount of time you are willing to spend at the garden each week: 2 or 3 hours
Cool ideas you might have for the garden: Nothing yet
From: UI...@googlegroups.com [UI...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Adam Perkins [adamfre...@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 11:21 AM
To: UI...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [uiec] Student Garden Volunteers!
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