How to Grow Your Own Garden

Want to save money, improve your health, and spend more time outdoors? Start your own garden! Growing your own fruits and vegetables is the ideal way to control what chemicals come into contact with your produce, and more affordable than the grocery store. Even better, homegrown food is often tastier and healthier than its store-bought counterpart.

Since it is likely that we have passed the last Seattle frost, you can start planting new crops right away. Even if your housing doesn't offer a lot of space, you can grow gardens in a sunny corner of your backyard, in your nearby P-Patch, or even in the SPU organic community garden located off of 4^th Ave and W. Dravus St.

Luckily, growing your own plants is easier than most people think.

You can begin growing plants in indoor pots if the weather is still too cold or wet for the fragile baby plants, and replant them in tilled soil once the sun starts shining more. Or start a windowsill garden with small pots of culinary herbs like rosemary and oregano.

Although starter plants have the highest likelihood of living until they bear edibles, they can get a bit expensive depending on your plant of choice. Prices can vary from $3 - $30 and higher. A packet of seeds, on the other hand, only costs about a dollar, and has the ability to grow multiple starts. The cheapest growers are hardy vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and squash.

But the cheapest and easiest option for growing food is to cut off the growing “eyes” of old potatoes and planting them in the nearest patch of dirt. Potatoes are very low-maintenance to grow, needing only partial sunlight and moist soil. Dig them up in 2-4 months to find a bunch of tender, new potatoes perfect for roasting or frying.

And if you compost, the free mulch from your yard clippings and leftovers is the best nutrition for growing plants (and if you don’t compost, start now!).

The SPU community garden

Have questions or concerns about starting up your own garden? Comment down below and we will answer any you throw our way.

Eating local: Buying to Support your Community

We've all heard about the benefits of eating organic, "green" food, but less people realize the importance of eating locally-produced fare. Economically and environmentally, supporting local businesses remains important. 

Buying from neighboring companies not only reduces pollution outputs, but it also strengthens the merchants in your area. And with farmland rapidly disappearing all across America, the importance of supporting small farmers, growers, and artisans has never been greater.

Although consuming enough fresh food often poses a challenge for students, a lot of wholesome local food is within easy access in the SPU campus and its surrounding boroughs. One of the benefits of living in the Seattle is this abundance of great places to buy locally-grown produce year-round, and I encourage students to take advantage of it.

March is the peak season for great foods like cauliflower, carrots, cabbages, artichokes, and oranges. And with spring just beginning, more tasty edibles are sure to follow. Even if you don’t care for “rabbit food,” nearby vendors still offer other delicious foodstuffs like bread, cheese, soda, grains, honey and nuts. 

Eating locally also gives one a whole catch of health benefits. Food that travels less retains more of its nutrients and reduces the chance of bacterial contamination. And with E. coli and salmonella outbreaks becoming more common, knowing the exact county your produce comes from will give you more peace of mind (unless the outbreak has reached that area, in which case contact your produce provider right away). If nothing else, attempting to eat local food offers a great way to add variety to your diet.

The most exciting way to support local growers is to visit the nearby markets, which usually overflow with delicious Seattle-based food. Ballard and Fremont have their weekly Sunday markets year-round, and Queen Anne hosts a seasonal farmer’s market that is starting up again June 6.  The Madrona Farmers Market on Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Union St. also begins its run May 18.  And of course Pike Place Market offers an exciting, interactive place buy regional products while sampling Honeycrisp apples, Marketspice tea, and chocolate pasta. Once July rolls around, look for the “Oh My God” peaches; they are the best that I have ever tasted, and grown within 30 miles of their stall.

Another easy way to support local growers is by shopping at grocery stores that purchase their supplies from local farms and vendors. Luckily, Seattle contains many such stores: Whole Foods, PCC, the Metropolitan Market. Though these can get a bit pricier than other grocery outlets, they come with a strong history of supporting local merchants with ethical practices.

Other small Seattle-based food companies offer tasty fare as well. These include Macrina Bakery, The Essential Baking Company, and Theo Chocolates – all of which are within walking distance of SPU.

If you don’t have time for shopping, there are even organic organizations that deliver fresh, seasonal produce to your doorstep.

To learn more about your options for eating locally, click here for a comprehensive list of nearby markets, farms, and delivery companies. 

Finding S.P.A.C.E. on Campus

Sharing my knowledge of the on-campus club SPACE (Seattle Pacific Agriculture for the Community and Environment) usually comes with blank stares or "Garden club? We have a community garden?" Yes! In fact, I would highly encourage checking it out firsthand. You'll be happily welcomed by fresh fruits, vegetables and perhaps a couple weeds here and there.

Tucked away off of 4th Ave and W Dravus, you'll find the beautiful gem that is SPU's organic community garden. S.P.A.C.E. is in its third year of cultivating the community through organic urban-gardening. Whether you are a student, faculty member or person of the community, SPACE welcomes you with open arms to be apart of their mission in providing fresh organically grown produce to the community.

Although the clubs first cover crop planting already passed, there are still many opportunities to join S.P.A.C.E. this year. Be on the lookout for future harvests, plantings and their annual winter screening event. Past screening events have included a collaboration with community members in order for students to observe and discuss issues of food practices in America.

For further information about S.P.A.C.E., the community garden and upcoming events please contact Co-Presidents Rachael Nelson-Knecht (nelsor3@spu.edu) or Brittany Raab (raab13@spu.edu). Any input for the club is always opening welcomed as well. S.P.A.C.E. is always searching for new ideas on events and service projects!

Some SPACE To Grow

SPACE's organic garden, on 4th and Dravus

Brittany Raab was busy weeding and harvesting when I showed up to SPU's community garden, run by the campus club Seattle Pacific Agriculture for the Community and Environment (SPACE).  As current president of SPACE,  Brittany has spent much of her summer working in the garden, which is just over a year old.  The garden was started by Kate Steensma and Alice Vander Haak, both of whom graduated this past June.

Where the Farm Meets the City

Food is a critical component of our lives. Not only does it sustain us, but it is integral to our culture and community. Unfortunately f

or many of us, we have become severed from the entire food process. Our food comes to us boxed and sealed, readily available at the nearest supermarket.

But there are many good reasons for us to examine how (and where) our food is produced.

Industrial agriculture is currently the world's largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions, much of which comes from transportation and unsustainable farming practices. Also, the vast majority of meat, eggs, and dairy products sold in American grocery chains and restaurants comes from animals raised in intensive-confinement systems that impose significant stress on the animals in pursuit of production efficiency. These and other issues make food an important topic when thinking about sustainability. As we look for ways to protect our resources for future generations, here are two great options for making sustainable food choices: