Sustainable Growing in Practice
Healthy food is a fundamental right, and farming sustainably is key to a healthy planet. The permaculture garden at BSU is an example of both. It is located on campus near Miles and DiNardo residence halls. The food we produce in this garden is meant for BSU students and community members. Please pick and enjoy in-season, and think about what it means to eat — and live — sustainably.
Permaculture (a merger of the words permanent and agriculture) is a framework for rethinking the many ways we connect to our environment. It is a symbiotic relationship between people and plants. If we take care of the Earth, it will take care of us. Permaculture gardening focuses on how the food we eat shapes the sustainability of our land, water and communities. It involves sustainable and responsible growing and cultivating practices.
Three Sisters Wampanoag Garden
The Three Sisters garden is a traditional Native American farming technique that combines the qualities of different plants (corn, beans and squash) to provide complete nutrition and sustain soil fertility. Learn more about Wampanoag planting at the Plimoth and Patuxet Museum site.
Cover Crops and Soil Health
Cover crops — like buckwheat, clover and field peas — are important for the health of the garden. They suppress weeds, prevent erosion, pull CO2 from the air, and provide food for pollinators. We fertilized with herring and planted corn, beans and squash in and around the mounds. We use recycled material and compost to build healthy soil and grow plants in a manner that requires few resources and produces minimal waste.
History
Fall 2015
The garden was the result of a collaboration between the Center for Sustainability, the Student Government Association, the BSU Food Bank and Facilities Management and Planning. Discussions began in the fall of 2015; in December, students, faculty and staff gathered to turn two ornamental flower beds into organic gardens.
2016
The weather station at the Garden was installed in early June 2016. This station had recorded the temperature every hour since June 19, 2016 and provided some real-time data and pictures of the garden through the year.
2019
Thanks to the university and its staff, the third bed was granted for garden use! Strawberries were planted in the new garden along with a variety of plants from which natural dyes can be made.
A micro-barn (shed) was set up for garden storage in spring 2019. It’s made from locally harvested white pine. Dog bowls had been donated to the garden in 2019.
An herb spiral had been built in the garden nearest to the train stop. Parsley, a variety of types of basil, and a few other herbs had been planted here for you to discover.
2020
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, nothing can stop our efforts in connecting us with nature. It was our first time hosting the garlic planting event on Zoom.
2021
We utilized the garden as our "live lab", further demonstrate sustainable living and practice through the permaculture garden.
2022
A new automated drip irrigation system was installed in one of the garden beds.
A rainwater collector was installed that utilizes water falling from the roof of the permaculture garden's shed. The gutter to collect the water is composed of a recycled light fixture which guides water into a barrel that filters the water through a screen before being emptied into a container to be used in watering the permaculture garden.
We had a very successful strawberry harvest in the early summer from the middle bed and donated all of the strawberries we collected to the BSU Food Pantry.
Netting was put in to help the beans grow freely and climb up the netting as high as they would like.
We had a successful garlic harvest during the summer and all of the garlic was donated to the BSU Food Pantry.
2023
After a successful spring season, we will be harvesting the green peppers that have grown in the garden.
The irrigation drip system has been removed and extracted from the garden beds for the fall.
On October 13th, with the help of Dr. Hellström and the Fall interns, a new posting board was built and painted.
On October 24th, the Sustainability and the E.A.T. program hosted a successful Pumpkin Carving event along with a weight guessing game for the large pumpkin (445 lbs, pictured right). All pumpkins were provided by E.A.T. member Jenalyn and her father.
2023-2025
New additions to the garden have been installed!
Six raised garden beds have been built in the garden bed closest to the train and paths have been laid out on each garden bed. A hügelkultur mound was also built, a German and Eastern European farming method that uses logs and decomposable materials to form hills for planting, ideally in slopes and in interlocking patterns to catch rainwater and increase surface area.
The herb spiral was also refreshed and oregano, thyme, sage, lavender, and lemon balm are available.
A pollinator garden was also created in the last bed, which attracts pollinators with native and introduced plant species.
