WHAT YEAR IS IT

Rafael: Is SoA Green responsible for all of the plants around the School of Art?
me: yes.
Rafael: I came back from somewhere this summer and it was like Jumanji had taken over the building.

Justin harvesting cosmos seeds

Sunflower

Our first submitted photo!!
Thanks to Libby, here is a photo of one of the monster sunflowers.

"Where the hell are you guys?"

I know, I know. I'm sorry! We're around, I swear.

Garden updates:

• Ben has planted pumpkins, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and basil in the pallet planters (except for the pumpkins which need a crazy amount of space). 
• We have corn this year! 
• Since we saved all of the sunflower seeds from last season, we have A TON of sunflowers growing along the stairs next to the School of Art. Monster sunflowers. 
• The AgriArt's herb garden is still going strong with plenty of rosemary, thyme, lavender, and oregano. I think there is one overgrown Swiss chard plant if anyone wants to nosh. It might be verging on the bitter side, just saying. 

Dear SoA Greeners, 

It's been too long, really. Justin and I have both been crazy busy with school and artsy things so I hope you haven't stopped reading in a fit of anger at our lack of blogging. 

Just a few plant-related things I want to share with you: 

• Someone made metal bull sculpture and they are letting us (hey, they said it on Facebook so it has to be true) that we can turn it into a giant Chia pet. 
• Our lettuce reseeded itself. Summer salads!
• Justin planted plenty of wildflowers around the walls of the School of Art. I can't wait to see them blossom and bring splashes of color to the gray exterior.
• We have also planted lots of spinach. We like spinach. 
• Ben has planted carrots (or potatoes? Some vegetable.) in our pallet planters. I am immensely glad that he didn't wait for us to plant something. We're both so busy that we would have planted late in the season again and would have harvested only two or three tiny pumpkins. Whoops.

More to come soon! 

We enjoy toys in our garden.

Justin discussing gardening things with Valdy

Via Urban Greenery.

Planters necklaces, whaaaat?

Colleen Jordan via Laughing Squid

You spin me right round, baby. Right round like a record, baby.

 
Dear SoA folk, 

November 15 (Hey, that's tomorrow!) is America Recycles Day. Please remember this as you throw away your bottle of energy drink (You know, the one that's $2.25 in the downstairs vending machine) or any of the overpriced and sugar filled drinks from the Jazzman's Cafe. Tell all of your friends (but in the totally chill "I'm not a crazy environmentalist, I promise" kind of way).

Refillable water bottle drinkers, we love you.

yours,
SoA Green

America Recycles Day

Not sure what's recyclable and where to recycle it near you? Check this out

Loving this plant table

photo via A Cup of Jo

Meet me in the garden

 

 

 

 

GMU's Organic Garden and the Cooking Club (I didn't even know there was a cooking club!) had their autumn harvest party in the SoA Green garden! There was an all vegetarian (ok ok, someone made jerk chicken) spread which included vegetable sandwiches, fried green beans, pumpkin pie, and ambrosia salad. I discovered that people are much more likely to ask you questions if you stand on the other side of the food table. Tell you about this function? Sure! Can you start eating? I'm not sure since this isn't my event, but go ahead!

Fun with SoA Green!

Thanks to Mark Cooley's AgriArt class and their amazing organic coffee!
The garden looks amazing, guys!

Some em-effer stole one of our two watermelons.
I'm willing to believe it was a hungry squirrel but if it was some jasshole college kid...

SoA Green Meeting Notes, Sept. 16th, 2010

Hey Everyone!  In case you missed our first meeting, here are some things that we discussed!

People present: Justin, Vina, Ashley, Rachel Newdorf, Brian Dang

Possible Meeting Change: Should we stagger meeting times throughout the semester so that everyone has a chance to come? (i.e. hold some in the morning, some in the afternoon, some at night?)

Contacts:

-Follow up email with guy from Lynne Constantine.

-Continue to work with Suzanne DeSaix and Brian Dang in AgriArt.

Ongoing Projects to be Completed:

-Building steps on side by wheel chair ramp (ask Shana for guidance).

-Talking to Kelly in sculpture about making us a big wooden planter.

-Finally making our portable indoor herb garden.

-Asking Ben about finding/making more hose keys.

-Garden signs. (VINA!!!!!!)

-Shade garden in SoA nook where chairs and table are.

-Make legs for compost tumbler.

-Recycling old fliers to make SoA Green signs.

Proposed Future Projects:

-Sean Watkins' vertical wall integrated with Max MSP.

-Having garbage cans around the building for organic waste that can then be composted.

-Collaborating with Floating Lab on "garden camero."

-Elevator performance piece.

-Collaborating with Tom Ashcraft's "class in the woods."

-GMU transportation (?)

-Sculpture BBQ's with SoA Green!!! (And having vegetarian friendly food.)

-PARKing Day (for next year). http://parkingday.org/ (Using GMU day passes).

-SoA Green holiday decorations.

-Vina's shoe garden project.

-SoA Green string gardens.

-SoA Green Thanksgiving, proposed date Wednesday, November 25th. (Or earlier, depending.)

-Recycling old student work. (Instead of just throwing it all in a big dumpster.)

Things we need:

-More 2x4 to finish last pallet planter.

-SoA Green website

Dates of Events Coming Up:

!!!Farmer's Market Picnic Every Wednesday!!!

October 9, 2010 - AgriArt's field trip to Polyface Farms

October 10, 2010 - 10/10/10 global initiative, http://www.350.org/

October 10, 2010 - "One Day on Earth" filming, http://www.onedayonearth.org/

October 16, 2010 - Danielle Wyman's Permaculture Workshop @ GMU Organic Garden, 10am - 4pm.

October 17, 2010 - Harvest Party, in collaboration with SoA Green, GMU Organic Garden and GMU Gardener's Association, 4pm - 8pm @ the SoA Garden.

Collaborations with AgriArt:

-AgriArt Film Festival

It's always fun times here at SoA Green!

photo by Rachel Newdorf

The first photo from the first picnic of Fall 2010

How will we cut the bottles?

via urban greenery

Welcome to Fall 2010!

Hey Everyone!

Y'all are back and so are we!  A big welcome back to everyone for another semester and a big general welcome to everyone new to the SoA and to the Mason campus!

We have some exciting news!

First and foremost, our first official SoA Green meeting will be on Thursday September 9th at 7:30pm!  We will meet in the garden downstairs outside the sculpture studio!  Come and discuss ideas for the upcoming year!

Also, we now have a Twitter account, so please come and follow us @SoA_Green!

Things are getting rolling, exciting times are upon us!

from pet project to legit organization

the fornicating grasshoppers

love for mutant sunflowers

Dude . . .

I totally just found the solution for all my planting problems!