Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Photos By meghan see

Organic, Green and Growing

By Margaret Windley

mnw777@verizon.net

It s a little past the season for the sunflowers. But other growing things like the eggplants, peppers and tomatoes still provide allure in the garden out behind Blocker Hall.

The space with the raised beds has been the growing place for Wesleyan s Organic Garden Club since spring semester 2008.

Its nearness to the greenhouse is ideal because of the water spigot and space for storing tools. A mulberry tree nearby attracts pests away from the foods being grown.

Lan Tran, president, is looking forward to reorganizing the club again this semester. At the recent club fair, she explained, 12 people signed up. Added to the returning students, she estimated the club s potential membership at about 20. And she feels that the club has a lot to offer members.

 I love being able to go outside and eat the food we grow instead of having to drive to a grocery store or some place that is far away, said Tran.  These are small things. But this is also environmental and community friendly. The campus can get together there.

The club is an outgrowth of the original garden started by Dr. Cathal Woods, adviser and philosophy teacher, and his partner, Leah. He explained that when some students saw it last year, their interest helped create the club.

Everything has worked out well for the plants. Over the summer when most students went home, another, Sarah Sasen, was helping Dr. Paul M. Resslar with the greenhouse. She watered the plants in both the greenhouse and the garden.

 It s unfortunate that the growing season is in the summer, but the school is not in session then, said Woods.

He keeps the seed packets in his office. If not kept in a cool space, the seeds will start growing within the container, he said. The greenhouse is tropical and thus too hot for the seeds.

In keeping with the club s title, members try natural substitutes for pesticides and fertilizer as much as possible. The best one is getting into the garden frequently to weed by hand and check for parasites. The club also plants flowers to attract beneficial creatures, such as ladybugs, that kill off pests.

Tran added that not only does the garden provide a healthy food source and a good use of time and energy but also significant life lessons, such as the reality that people don t always get everything back.

 You may put in 10 plants but you don t always get 10 out, she said.  That s because of weather, insects and bugs. You get less than what you expect.

Yet she added that other lessons have been more positive, such as how to make a compost pile to enrich the nutrients in a garden s soil and the use of plastic coverings to keep soil together and protect the plants from weeds. Although Woods encourages members to give away what they cannot eat, Tran wants to help club members sell produce in local organic markets for life lessons and financial assistance for the club.

A thinker, she has also been able to use gardening time for meditation because she does not find it labor intensive.

 Fifteen to 30 minutes every week or so, she averaged as the most necessary work time.  It s good when the weather is good. And during the winter we don t have many plants that grow.

Lauren Perry, a member, has an additional goal for the club.

 Another hope for the organic garden is to get students who have community service hours to do them by working on the garden, said Perry.

Tran wants the club to attract and keep plenty of members, including new freshmen and students who are not involved in other activities. But she explained that the club is still formulating times and places for meetings. She is considering Thursdays for gardening work.