Green Team Update  
Jan 20, 2014

Many things are underway since we had our first organizational meeting. I think we should plan to have one every two months and perhaps one the first week of Feb. I will send out a schedule.

We have added Joyce Pundt to our team as I have learned that in 2011 she trained to become a Clemson Master Gardener.
 This is great for us. Her responsibility with her gardeners is to set up gardening presentations with  non profit groups like libraries, schools and churches. These are powerpoint programs with their gardeners offering their expertise.  We are trying to set up some for February and March for everyone at SMAA. We never know how many closet Green Folks are members of our church.

Last meeting and our blog, I forgot to mention that we now have some recycling bins for SMAA. Deacon Margaret arranged for Sonoco, who handles much of the recycling for schools and non profits, to provide us with three rolling bins that we are keeping next to our fenced in trash bin behind the kitchen.  This photo shows the three bins,

one for plastics and cans, one for office paper and one for magazines and newspaper.

We are building a bin for the front of Sturdevant Hall that will collect plastic bottles, cans office paper and maybe compost. We will have a small bin in the kitchen for compost, but most of this is collected from the cooking teams on Sunday and Wednesday. It is also available for any other eating event we have at church.

 We are going to model it after the one at Whole Foods that shows what an go in each bin. Their's is bigger than our will be. The container will be emptied weekly. We hope that folks will also put in their coffee grinds and filters.

While we are speaking of the kitchen, member Marion Salter really wants us to be green in our eating habits at SMAA. Already with her help and Deacon Margaret's we are using recyclable cups, plates and napkins. This is a great move as we used Styrofoam  for so long. We would like to make sure that all our cups and plates can be recycled.

They do this at Whole Foods.  Marion is also pushing cooking teams to use the flatware we have in our drawers instead of the plastic forks and spoons. They have to be washed, but it is not a big deal.  She is helping us figure out how to collect these after eating.

The Greenhouse is coming along and may be finished by the end of this week. Well, built but not finished in that we will not have any plants inside yet. Last week I cleared out the area by removing some trees and limbs. I have cut tons of Wisteria vines from the ground and raked barrels of leaves.
I pounded eight pipes about 2' into the ground for the hoops for the greenhouse. Below is what it looks like now.

This week I will bend the hoops and have the full frame up by Thursday.  Perhaps we will get the plastic up by the weekend.  I have been able to purchase some discard wood from Home Depot for 70% off that we can build a table on one side of the greenhouse that will be covered with chicken coop wire.  The other side will be reserved for some 4'x4' square foot gardens so we can try and grow veggies like this one here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9bKasAQQuk

This is what the company that we are following for our design came up with in Maine.  Looks great to me. I have bought seeds from this group and other greenhouse folks have recommended their product. By Thursday our greenhouse should look like this.

By Sunday, it should look like this, we hope.

     Here is where the Green Team is going to have to make some decisions on what to grow, how to staff it, how to plant, transplant and everything else.  Some of the presentation by Joyce will be helpful. Many of you are better gardeners that I am and have never had a chance to do gardening from a green house. There are tons of You Tubes on how to do all this... please look!

    We are still finding out ways to bring electricity and water to the greenhouse. Hugh Wilson and I have found a water supply about 15' from the greenhouse for our watering. We will run the line to the outside square foot gardens as well for drip lines. Electricity is harder. We think the best bet is to rent a trencher and run a line from the outdoor chapel,

which has 4 outlets.  It is about 130' from there. I will rent a trencher and will make a 8" trench. We will run cable in a plastic conduit from the chapel to the greenhouse. In the greenhouse we will have lights and some outlets for things like small heaters if needed.  This will be done by next week.

HELP
Up until this point I have been doing all the work by myself, I guess to prove it can be done. I am open to help to finish building the greenhouse.  Here are some Flicker photos of a church in Minnesota building a greenhouse.    I do not expect all of you to show up. But I am usually out there from noonish to 5 pm.

I have promised Joyce a comprehensive plan on how we are going to run the greenhouse and square foot gardens.  I will put something out tonight for us to discuss.  I am going to follow the Green Congregations plan for Richland Counties churches. Plus we will do our own as well.

Next post we will have more photos and will talk about a plan to plant some cherry laurel trees around the outdoor chapel to diminish the Trenholm Rd noise and give the chapel some privacy.
  Bob