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  • Starting a sustainable garden

    Hello HT.

    We are starting a sustainable garden with a group of kids at a public housing project. Does anyone have some pointers that they can offer in starting such a thing?

    We're looking at growing carrots, broccoli, oranges, lemons, papaya, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelon, etc.

    what's a good way to mulch? build a cheap, easy water catchment?



    Thanks.
    Twitter: LookMaICanWrite


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  • #2
    Re: Starting a sustainable garden

    Oranges, lemons and papaya come from trees so that is going to take some time grow from a seed unless you are trying to transplant trees to your garden area. Also you are going to need a lot of land, wide and deep for these trees.

    Carrots, lettuce, cabbage, as well as spinach, peas and corn grow within a year's time or less.

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    • #3
      Re: Starting a sustainable garden

      Originally posted by helen View Post
      Oranges, lemons and papaya come from trees so that is going to take some time grow from a seed unless you are trying to transplant trees to your garden area. Also you are going to need a lot of land, wide and deep for these trees.

      Carrots, lettuce, cabbage, as well as spinach, peas and corn grow within a year's time or less.
      seeds, land, air, wind, and sun--no problem. we have an existing greenhouse to work with.

      what's a good way to mulch without having to purchase a mulcher?
      Twitter: LookMaICanWrite


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      • #4
        Re: Starting a sustainable garden

        I've only grown tomatoes. Be sure to space out the seeds or seedlings so you can put a cage around each one when they grow out. Given the wonderful weather and soil, you'll get multiple crops easy.

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        • #5
          Re: Starting a sustainable garden

          Two words: RUTH STOUT
          http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
          http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

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          • #6
            Re: Starting a sustainable garden

            Originally posted by SusieMisajon View Post
            Two words: RUTH STOUT
            Susie's right. Ruth Stout. Go to your library. Maybe they have her book.

            A few questions: Sorry, Mike, I don't know where you live. I live in Cali. Is your garden going to be run as a community garden, where families or will each kid be having their own plot? My mom ran the local one here for many years. Lots of fun! And hard work.

            Yeah, the trees. I get mine from HD, as starting from seed takes forever. Find out what everybody likes to eat, and then plan what is most practical.

            Sustainable. wow. That means trees, berries, artichokes,papaya, asparagus, rhubarb, grapes... most everything else dies off after its season, but you can seed-save, unless you buy hybrids. Composting is important.

            After Ms. Stouts book, I recommend reading Mother Earth News. It's also available at the library, and you can get the last 10 years of it on CD now.

            It will tell you how to build the water catchment system, and anything else you EVER wanted to know about a sustainable garden... Those kids gonna love you! Good times.

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            • #7
              Re: Starting a sustainable garden

              Originally posted by snowbird View Post
              Susie's right. Ruth Stout. Go to your library. Maybe they have her book.

              A few questions: Sorry, Mike, I don't know where you live. I live in Cali. Is your garden going to be run as a community garden, where families or will each kid be having their own plot? My mom ran the local one here for many years. Lots of fun! And hard work.

              Yeah, the trees. I get mine from HD, as starting from seed takes forever. Find out what everybody likes to eat, and then plan what is most practical.

              Sustainable. wow. That means trees, berries, artichokes,papaya, asparagus, rhubarb, grapes... most everything else dies off after its season, but you can seed-save, unless you buy hybrids. Composting is important.

              After Ms. Stouts book, I recommend reading Mother Earth News. It's also available at the library, and you can get the last 10 years of it on CD now.

              It will tell you how to build the water catchment system, and anything else you EVER wanted to know about a sustainable garden... Those kids gonna love you! Good times.
              Thank you, kind stranger from the Internet!

              I live on Kauai...there's enough rain in Lihue to build water catchment. The public housing complex where we are starting this has a pretty huge greenhouse and outdoor garden, so we'll section off areas for families who want to be part of the project.

              And Susie, thanks for the tip on Ruth Stout. My first reaction was like, why is she suggesting some kind of ale?
              Twitter: LookMaICanWrite


              flickr

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              • #8
                Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                A cold beer will be very nice, as you lean against your garden spade and watch your vegetables growing.
                http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
                http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

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                • #9
                  Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                  Originally posted by Mike_Lowery View Post
                  what's a good way to mulch without having to purchase a mulcher?
                  Does Kauai have a program like Oahu, where green waste is mulched and dropped off outside a community garden for free pickup?
                  Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
                  Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
                  We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
                  Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                    Use whatever you have available.....

                    Cardboard, straw, clippings, cornhusks, dead leaves newspapers (the weeds will then die under the weight of public opinion), old hay, sawdust, compost....just keep layering it on.
                    http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
                    http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

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                    • #11
                      Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                      Originally posted by Nords View Post
                      Does Kauai have a program like Oahu, where green waste is mulched and dropped off outside a community garden for free pickup?
                      Naw we don't. As most of Hawaii would say, Kauai's the oldest island and still 100 years behind the rest of the state
                      Twitter: LookMaICanWrite


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                      • #12
                        Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                        I think hydroponics is a great way to garden. Constant supply of moisture and fertilizer, and less soil, worm, slug and bug problems to deal with.

                        For a water catchment system, my dad has a collection of 55-gallon drums that can be used to store water from his rain gutters. There's a flexible hose connected to the gutters to run the water away from the house he can use to fill the barrels. He also has a few barrels on dollies so he can lug them around as needed.

                        If you guys need barrels, there's a portuguese guy on craigslist (Honolulu) named "Joe" that sells 55-gallon plastic drums for $20 each that were used to store detergent. They're white and very clean (obviously ). We bought a few ourselves, and he delivers free if you buy 5 or more. He brings some in from the outer islands, so there's some hope for you guys out there.

                        It's a great way to prepare for hard times. Some States are already experience shortfalls in the billions. And there's talk of possible rolling blackouts and shortages on utilities because there's no money to pay for it. If you can imagine Hawaii not being able to pay it's electric bills for all the street lights, causing a ripple effect with HECO not making $. Seems far out, but it may become a reality soon. People in the know are saying things are much worse than it appears on the surface. HGEA is already discussing the possibility of mandating furlows like California to stay within the budget, and Calvin Say is hinting at the March Fiscal report being more bleak than originally projected. And we haven't even seen the commercial real estate bubble burst yet.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                          Awesome project!

                          Check out this website:

                          www.growbiointensive.org

                          I am going to try some of their methods this spring (already double-dug my veggie beds last fall).

                          You could also contact your county USDA extension office - they should be able to get you in touch with local resources such as Master Gardeners.

                          As for mulch, I believe wood chips are best. Some municipalities sell mulch made from recycled yard waste or trees.

                          Catchment systems are straightforward to build - a google search should yield instructions.

                          And definitely compost. It makes so much sense, especially in Hawaii where I understand trash disposal is such a big problem.

                          Good luck!
                          Last edited by spookrepitus; February 14, 2009, 06:20 PM. Reason: fixed html hyperlink

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                          • #14
                            Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                            Also check out "square foot gardening". It is a system of gardening that minimizes the space and care needed to grow a successful garden (including vegetables). The skills learned by the students could be something they could take with them as they go through life and the variety of gardening conditions they will encounter ..... yards, lanais, rooftops gardening, etc.
                            http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
                            Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Starting a sustainable garden

                              Be careful where the wood chips come from: avoid sawdust from pressure treated lumber.

                              A friend set up a water catchment system and uses it to help keep the pool filled. She said she hadn't had to use any additional water in a year. A huge savings in water usage.

                              There's so much runoff from rain here. Most of it just goes straight to the sea, carrying silt and other pollutants into the coastline. There should be systems in place to capture that water and apply it toward irrigation and similar uses.

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