Seed Bombs! booom!

On this really rainy Thursday, some marvelous members of the club came to the greenhouse to make some super cool seed bombs. For those of you who are wondering, "What in the wonderful world is a seed bomb?!", they are simply seeds in some sort of biodegradable container that are chucked anywhere (usually in barren places). Mother nature biodegrades, if you will, the container and buries the seeds magically! The seeds germinate and voila! you have plants! We chose to use egg shells (from free range chickens) as our containers. Special thanks to the fantastic Mr. Christopher for suggesting this idea and to guerrillagardening.org for showing us how to make them, and more thanks to Nick, Hannah, Olivia, Harpreet, Shannon, and Max for coming out to make these! Sorry we do not have pictures, but we will definitely be making more of these great grenades soon and will snap some cool action shots. Here is the link if you'd like to make some yourself! http://www.guerrillagardening.org/ggseedbombs.html ..peace, love, plants!

Raised Bed Work Day EXTREME

RAISED BED WORK DAY X-TREME

First off, I must apologize for the lateness of this post, for those of you in school are aware that the last few weeks before spring break are always quite hectic, and by hectic, I mean utterly insane. Papers to start and finish, test to study for, phew. No time to breath. But alas, I needed to procrastinate from my literature essay, and this is a wonderful excuse. So here we go. The previous Saturday marked my Raised Bed Workshop, but, as I tell myself the reason was easter weekend, only four showed up. But thats okay. I love the four. And, jeeze, they must love me, or love super hard work or sweating or free pizza. Because I have never seen a group of young people work so hard with so much effort for nothing in return. Seriously. It was hot. The dirt was hard. I was commanding. They pressed on with full smiles. Readers, fellow students, friends, Horticulture Club officially has the hardest, most fun, most dedicated members in all the nebulas, and I am so very lucky to be able to call them my friends. But so on. In total, starting around noon, we weeded, raked, tilled, composted, we dug trenches, we cut boards, we built beds, we got blisters, we got dirty, we had fun. Around five, we had completed two HUGE raised beds, and in the process, built some mean muscles and burned some fat, that we probably replaced with loads of pizza towards the end of the day. All in all, it was exusatingly wonderous.  I hope everyone has a safe, awesome, stress-reliveing, spring holiday, and I hope to see you all the thursday we get back! We'll really be ramping up our meetings, for it is spring, and spring means growing! Service projects, seed-bombs, planting, all the good stuff is ahead! Tell your friends! And once more, a million thankyous to Teri, Hannah, Andrew, and Andrea for being the hardest working bunch of buds in the backyard! Namaste!

(Check the pictures below!)

Dirty boots!

Andrew Tillin!

The getto tiller

Weeding!

Preparing the beds!

Anthoer stump!

Andrew in the shed

WORMSS!

Old cabbage!

"For me?"

Terrii

Andreww!

Horticulture Club Work Day/ Seed Party Round 3

Today marked day three of the Pope Horticulture Club Plant Sale seeding day, plus just a day to get some work we've been meaning to get done for the growing season. Wednesday was supposed to be the day to get every single one of our 1500 some seeds planted, but due to a lack of perlite and soil, we had to scrap by with a mere 600. But we did get a lot of work done, thanks to all the people who came out to day! Really, I want to thank each and ever one of you individual  and if I knew all your names and where to find you, I would. We out such a wonderful turnout, and because of it, we finished all the needed work in less than an hour! So, pat your selves on the back, you hard workers! In summary, today we seeded, weeded, painted, hoed, transplanted, and just enjoyed the warmth of the sun and each others company. All in all, and I think I can speak on the behalf of all the board members of this wonderful club, it was a flying success! Tomorrow, we shall purchase some goods to finish seeding and some garden soil for the raised beds we pre-tilled today, and get ready for some more fun. Due to the frost this weekend, though, we shant be able to plant in the raised beds until next week, but hey, thats okay. Working with nature means patience, no matter how baldy I yern to dig my hands into that loamy soil and plants some veggies. I'm just glad to be a part of a club of such welcoming, accepting, and flat out fun, individuals with whom I can wait out the rainy days. Thanks again so very very much all of you who came out today, Matt, Andrew, Lauren, Teri, Sue, Logan, Olivia, Hannah, Erin, Nethra, Harpreet,Halona and anyone who I missed! You guys rule!

“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.” 

― Masanobu Fukuoka, The One-Straw Revolution

(Check the Pictures below!)

The Sue Pout

Hannah making sure there's no standing water

Tiny Seeds!

Max in the greenhouse

Plant Power!

Ellie and the author and her potato!

First of the bee's pollinating our rosemary!

Weeding!

Matt disposing of the unnecessary 

Beautiful Bees

Hannah seeding

Weeding again!

Matt helping prep the bed for tilling!

Andrew and Lauren!

Hannah and Erin!

Culinary Garden Overview

Salutations readers! For those of you who are unaware, Pope Horticulture Club has been in partner with the Pope Culinary Program. Our first major project for them is the culinary garden, located near the back of the school, to the side of the bus parking lot! Teri and I first assembled the garden out of recycled cylinder-blocks from the old fish pond in front of the greenhouse during winter break, and we are very proud to inform you that, as of a few weeks past, this hidden garden is beginning to yield the fruits, or more specifically, the herbs and vegetables of our labor! Within this lily-pond shaped raised garden grows some hardy kale, iceberg and romaine lettuce, broccoli, parsley, rosemary, oregano and cilantro, all for use by the culinary program at Pope! They get fresh herbs and veggies for class, and we get to build, plant, get dirty, support life, and inspire. Isn't community just wonderful? So next time your roaming around the back or waiting for the bus, give the garden a peep, and give anyone in horticulture club a big high five. Big big huge thanks to Teri for hauling cylinder blocks completely around the school in the dead of winter, and may I add, not complaining once or loosing the smile from her face. Also, big thanks to Andrew, Hannah, and Teri for helping fill garden soil, plant, and mulch!  “Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” -Ruth Reichl

(Check the pictures Below!)

Grow parsley grow! 

Rosemary, romaine lettuce and kale in the background!

Lettuce and broccoli adjusting to their new homes!

Teri lounging out by the garden!

Andrew adding to his farmers tan!

Pope Plant Sale: Seed Sow Showdown Part 2

Today marked the second seed party (for those of you who are unaware of this strange terminology, a "seed party" is a term that we at Pope Horticulture Club use to describe the joyful, yet tedious task of planting new seeds in our lovely greenhouse) for our plant sale in the upcoming months to support our club and the greenhouse. After school on this rainy day, our hardworking, and might I add, immensely attractive, crew came out, even though burdened by a nights worth of homework and the fatigue from a Monday at school. We hauled bags of soil in the rain, filled trays, watered, and ultimtetly planted 700 forms of life. Just think, our young, filthy hands, though the world may view our age as immaturity, and our hair and clothes as "phases", started a cycle of life today. A cycle of life that will grow and grow and grow and eventually, hopefully, support others, in the form of food or flower. Plants are quite amazing, arent they? So if you ever feel like you have not made an impact in the world today or ever, plant some seeds, start some life. You'll feel better' I swear by it!

(Check the pictures below!)

The two wonderful women behind Pope Horticulture Club!

Andrew, aka "The Punny One"

Adding some perlite, getting the ratio down!

The gang!

Teri and I getting ready to start the seed party!

Last seed party looking good! Tomatos!

Teri plus seeds equals awesome!