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Sources: Brandon Gonzalez, brandito@1xbet online casino edu;
and Rhonda Janke, 785-532-0409, rrjanke@1xbet online casino edu
Pronouncer: Janke is YON-kee
Photos available. Contact media@1xbet online casino edu or 785-532-6415
Video available. Access at http://tinyurl.com/ntcrjh
News release prepared by: Kristin Hodges, 785-532-6415, khodges2@1xbet online casino edu
Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009
K-STATE STUDENTS PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TECHNIQUES AT STUDENT 1xbet online casino BY GROWING AND SELLING PRODUCE, CONDUCTING INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
MANHATTAN -- Growing oyster mushrooms in recycled dorm lofts is one way that Kansas State University students are learning about sustainable farming practices through hands-on work and research projects at a K-State student 1xbet online casino .
Rhonda Janke, K-State associate professor of horticulture, teaches a course on sustainable agriculture and worked with students to start the Willow Lake Student Farm in fall 2007. She 1xbet online casino the two-acre farm, which is at the Forestry Research Farm near Tuttle Creek Dam, is a place for students to develop skills and an understanding of sustainable farming practices through hands-on learning.
&1xbet online casino ;This really all began with student initiative,&1xbet online casino ; Janke said. &1xbet online casino ;They wanted a place to practice and to really do all the things we talk about in class. I just facilitate getting the grants and the logistics set up, and the students become the managers and decision-makers in terms of what we grow, how we sell it and other details.&1xbet online casino ;
The 1xbet online casino produces a variety of vegetables, fruit, mushrooms and honey and is run by students. Besides crop production, students also conduct independent research projects.
The co-managers of the 1xbet online casino are: Keith Unruh-Carey, senior in horticulture, 2005 graduate of Washington High School, Kansas City, Kan.; and Brandon Gonzalez, senior in horticulture, 2003 graduate of Wichita High School East. They are doing research on oyster and shiitake 1xbet online casino for a project funded through a Kansas Department of Agriculture mushroom grant they wrote with Janke.
Gonzalez 1xbet online casino mushrooms typically are grown in sterile conditions, but the students are working on growing the mushrooms outdoors at the student farm by using a more sustainable approach.
&1xbet online casino ;Our approach is more sustainable than having to keep the mushrooms in an area that is sterile and temperature-set,&1xbet online casino ; he said. &1xbet online casino ;It's also a lot cheaper. Someone that might want to add extra income for themselves can do it at home and not have to purchase a lot of extra items.&1xbet online casino ;
Unruh-Carey 1xbet online casino the shiitake mushrooms are grown on logs; for the oyster mushrooms, the students have created a boxed structure from recycled dorm lofts with screens to keep bugs out.
&1xbet online casino ;Most outdoor grows have pest problems during certain parts of the season, so we are physically excluding them,&1xbet online casino ; Unruh-Carey said. &1xbet online casino ;It has worked pretty well so far, and it's a good setup for people who can't justify the expense of an indoor grow room.&1xbet online casino ;
Gonzalez 1xbet online casino the students are studying the best variety and the best process to grow the mushrooms. Once it is established, they will teach others their growing process.
&1xbet online casino ;The idea is that we are trying to grow mushrooms in a way that we can teach the community and anyone who wants to learn, to increase the overall mushroom production in the Manhattan area,&1xbet online casino ; Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez 1xbet online casino many people start at the farm as volunteers with the Willow Lake Farm Club, which has people from several academic departments who supplement the farm labor.
&1xbet online casino ;You get a lot of people out there working with various levels of experience,&1xbet online casino ; Gonzalez said. &1xbet online casino ;It involves a lot of teaching one another. People come work together and learn from each other.&1xbet online casino ;
He 1xbet online casino the farm's produce is sold through several outlets, including farmers' markets, local businesses and on campus at noon Tuesdays from a kiosk east of Seaton Hall. The club also has events to educate the community about sustainable farming.
&1xbet online casino ;When you're growing local food, it becomes a community venture where you're investing in community development, health and well-being,&1xbet online casino ; Gonzalez said. &1xbet online casino ;It builds the community in every way.&1xbet online casino ;
Gonzalez 1xbet online casino student research projects often stem from grants. The farm isn't financially self-sufficient yet, and the students rely on grant money and donations.
One of these projects involves Jacob Chapman, freshman in agronomy, Olathe, and Aaron Yoder, junior in horticulture, Bluffton, Ohio. They are studying tomato production with and without mulches and irrigation. They're trying to see if tomato production could be 1xbet online casino in a low-rainfall region. They wrote and received a U.S. Department of Agriculture 1xbet online casino Agriculture Research and Education grant. Chapman is a 2008 graduate of Olathe South High School, and Yoder is a 2005 graduate of Newton High School, Pleasant Hill, Ohio.
Yoder also is assisting May Altamimi, graduate student in horticulture, Manhattan, with a project that involves comparing pac choi and tomatoes that are grown either organically or conventionally and in high tunnels or in open field conditions.
