Grow. Eat. Compost. Grow. Eat. Compost. USM Greenhouse brings cycle of sustainability.

USM Greenhouse brings cycle of sustainability to campus

A small-scale closed loop local food project at the University of Southern Maine has put into motion a cycle of sustainability that will provide fresh, zero-impact food - from basil and cilantro to squash and spinach - to students and staff for years to come.

It all started when ARAMARK Dining at USM became interested in the idea of composting food, growing food using that compost, serving and eating that food, then composting waste from that food, and growing more food using that compost... and on and on and on.

That initial idea grew into the USM Greenhouse, a joint effort between USM Dining Services, the Residential Life Office and Facilities, who donated the labor to build the greenhouse and helped with raised-bed construction.

As part of, the USM Greenhouse was built just outside the dining hall on the patio of the Brooks Student Center - close to the dining facilities and very visible to the campus.

Before the greenhouse, this patio was used sparingly: when weather permitted, the staff would set up tables and chair for students to eat meals outside; and over the summer for staff BBQs or summer camp meals. Now, it stands as a year-round symbol of ARAMARK's - and USM's - commitment to sustainability and local foods.

Sitting on tables inside the greenhouse are four large, wooden beds lined with landscaping cloth and filled with local potting soil amended with sphagnum moss, pearlite and local composted manure. There's also an extra table for transplanting and planting seeds. New raised beds - made of untreated, naturally rot-resistant cedar planks - were also added outside the greenhouse.

A fully-automated thermostat and heating system keeps the greenhouse temperature consistent. When the thermostat senses that it is too warm, two fans turn on and a vent at the far end of the greenhouse opens to let the warm air escape. When the temperature is sufficiently lowered, the fans turn off and the vent closes. Flexible plastic side walls can also be rolled up in warm weather to allow cool air to flow in and keep the plants from overheating.

Full-spectrum fluorescent grow lights hand above the beds in the greenhouse. This type of lighting is more energy efficient and better at providing the light plants need than incandescent bulbs. The grow lights are on a timer that can be adjusted throughout the year to provide more light for shorter winter days and less light in the summer.

USM Dining hired a part-time greenhouse coordinator to grow the food to serve and to do outreach to the rest of the campus and the surrounding community. There's also a process of developing a more efficient and comprehensive food collection system to provide post-consumer food waste for composting on campus.

The greenhouse is currently home to thriving basil, chives, cilantro and parsley. Acorn squash, edible flowers (nasturtiums and impatiens), heirloom tomatoes and perennial herbs (thyme, sage, peppermint, orange mint, rosemary, French tarragon, chives and oregano) are growing in the new beds outside the greenhouse. Spinach and mixed lettuce will be planted mid-summer.

Best of all, it will all be ready to harvest and serve in the dining hall when the students come back in the fall. To learn more about this exciting program, check out the USM Greenhouse's blog at http://usmdining.blogspot.com.

May 2009