Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Transition Town Berea:Raised Beds Workshop
Sunday May 3. A group of people gathered beside Gastineau Studio to learn about raised bed gardening. There were demonstrations about composting, and the use of wooden raised bed gardens. Participants purchased plastic barrels for rain capture and storage. Many left with free plants and other great looking plants were sold from Berea College gardens. In the slide show you will see photos of gardeners loading up sawdust to add to their compost. Saturday, May 2, 2009
Raised Beds Workshop Richmond Register Article
Published: May 04, 2009
By Bill Robinson Richmond Register
Growing in a box
Sustainable Berea teaches raised-bed gardening.If tilling a garden is not an option for you, Sustainable Berea suggests trying a raised bed garden.“If you don’t have enough tillable ground, you can grow plants in a raised bed, even on top of asphalt or concert,” Bruce Gregg of Sustainable Berea said Sunday as carpenter Larry Stone joined
2x8 planks to make 3-foot by 5-foot boxes to sell for $25.“You should put landscaping fabric on the ground below your raised beds to prevent weeds from going through them,” Gregg said.Stone was one of several vendors who offered raised bed gardening supplies Sunday afternoon during a Sustainable Berea demonstration.Eddie Shupe offered a few raised-bed frames made of stacked 2x6 red cedar planks.The red cedar frames, which quickly sold for $65, are naturally resistant to rot, unlike the cheaper, chemically treated boxes, Shupe said.Frames made with 2x8s are “plenty deep enough to grow most vegetables,” Gregg said. “If you’re going to grow stuff over pavement, however, you may want frames made from stacked 2x6s.”For those without topsoil to put in raised-bed growing frames, Sustainable Berea also had an alternative – composting “machines.”The composters consisted of small synthetic drums with a capacity of 25 to 35 gallons set up to spin on wood supports.
Vendor Russ Flaugher had two demonstration models set up that sold quickly.“If you mix vegetable scraps with sawdust in one of the composter, it will turn to soil i
n two weeks,” said Sustainable Berea’s Cheyenne Olson. “And, we have free sawdust for you to take home.”Dr. George Schoemer held open a heavy garbage bag as his son Gregg shoveled in saw dust.Ira and Joslynn Newman took home a 25-gallon composter to produce soil for their raised beds.“I grew tomatoes and peppers above ground last year using straw bales,” JoslynnNewman said. “I split open the bales and put some soil inside for the plants to take root in.”Newman said she plans to grow a larger variety of vegetables this year.“I’m will be planting cucumbers interspersed with flowers in a raised bed because I’ve been told that the soil around Berea contains cucumber wilt,” she said. 
Visitors to the demonstration also could purchase rain barrels to store water for their gardens.Because rainy weather brought the workshop to an early end, few might think about the need for irrigation, but the summer drought of two years ago followed a normally wet spring, said Steven Taylor, who took home two rain barrels.“The water in a rain barrel can go quickly if the weather’s dry,” he said.“We bought a rain barrel last year and two more earlier this year, but we can use five.”Taylor said he and his family added blueberry bushes to their garden this year.Sustainable Berea also offered several types of vegetable plants to set out in the raised beds that gardeners were taking home.Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
By Bill Robinson Richmond Register
Growing in a box
Sustainable Berea teaches raised-bed gardening.If tilling a garden is not an option for you, Sustainable Berea suggests trying a raised bed garden.“If you don’t have enough tillable ground, you can grow plants in a raised bed, even on top of asphalt or concert,” Bruce Gregg of Sustainable Berea said Sunday as carpenter Larry Stone joined
2x8 planks to make 3-foot by 5-foot boxes to sell for $25.“You should put landscaping fabric on the ground below your raised beds to prevent weeds from going through them,” Gregg said.Stone was one of several vendors who offered raised bed gardening supplies Sunday afternoon during a Sustainable Berea demonstration.Eddie Shupe offered a few raised-bed frames made of stacked 2x6 red cedar planks.The red cedar frames, which quickly sold for $65, are naturally resistant to rot, unlike the cheaper, chemically treated boxes, Shupe said.Frames made with 2x8s are “plenty deep enough to grow most vegetables,” Gregg said. “If you’re going to grow stuff over pavement, however, you may want frames made from stacked 2x6s.”For those without topsoil to put in raised-bed growing frames, Sustainable Berea also had an alternative – composting “machines.”The composters consisted of small synthetic drums with a capacity of 25 to 35 gallons set up to spin on wood supports.Vendor Russ Flaugher had two demonstration models set up that sold quickly.“If you mix vegetable scraps with sawdust in one of the composter, it will turn to soil i
n two weeks,” said Sustainable Berea’s Cheyenne Olson. “And, we have free sawdust for you to take home.”Dr. George Schoemer held open a heavy garbage bag as his son Gregg shoveled in saw dust.Ira and Joslynn Newman took home a 25-gallon composter to produce soil for their raised beds.“I grew tomatoes and peppers above ground last year using straw bales,” JoslynnNewman said. “I split open the bales and put some soil inside for the plants to take root in.”Newman said she plans to grow a larger variety of vegetables this year.“I’m will be planting cucumbers interspersed with flowers in a raised bed because I’ve been told that the soil around Berea contains cucumber wilt,” she said. Visitors to the demonstration also could purchase rain barrels to store water for their gardens.Because rainy weather brought the workshop to an early end, few might think about the need for irrigation, but the summer drought of two years ago followed a normally wet spring, said Steven Taylor, who took home two rain barrels.“The water in a rain barrel can go quickly if the weather’s dry,” he said.“We bought a rain barrel last year and two more earlier this year, but we can use five.”Taylor said he and his family added blueberry bushes to their garden this year.Sustainable Berea also offered several types of vegetable plants to set out in the raised beds that gardeners were taking home.Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Berea:Official Transition Town
Berea receives official Transition Town designation
Special to the Richmond RegisterBEREA — Transition Town Berea (TTB) — a local effort to increase the ability of Berea to prosper despite national economic recession, climate change and decreasing supplies of fossil fuels — is now an official Transition Initiative.
Berea joins 133 other communities worldwide that have been recognized by the Transition Network founded in the United Kingdom, for their accomplishments in working to achieve a positive future for their community.
“It is an honor to be included among the towns that are leaders in creatively addressing the problems that the world is facing,” said Richard Olson, chair of Sustainable Berea, the parent organization of Transition Town Berea.
“As only the 13th Transition Town in the United States and the first in Kentucky, Berea is playing an important role in promoting community-based initiatives for sustainability,” Olson said.
Transition Towns focus on actions to increase their resilience — their ability to adapt to external shocks — particularly in the areas of energy, food, water and economy.
“The recent ice storm and shut down of the electrical grid demonstrated one of Berea’s vulnerabilities,” commented Mark Jeantheau, Sustainable Berea board member.
By developing local renewable energy sources, reducing the amount of energy used, supporting local farmers and promoting local businesses, communities can increase their resilience to price increases and supply disruptions.
“Farmers markets, local currencies, buy local directories, and home food storage are among the actions being successfully implemented by Transition Towns worldwide,” said Jeantheau.
An overview of the Transition Town Berea project and the official announcement of TTB’s official designation will be made at a public presentation
Residents of Berea and the surrounding area will have the opportunity to join others in the ongoing development and implementation of the Transition Plan.
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