It’s the Little Things Around Campus

Posted By: Dani Ruais

As it is getting close to finals week here at Cal Poly, and as long as the entire student body is studying at Kennedy Library, why not take a walk around campus for a study break? You might be surprised at what you find! Just take a deep breath and look around youself. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, located in the valley of the Irish Hills, Madonna Mountain, the “P”, and Bishop’s Peak. We are minutes from the great outdoors: Leaning Pine Arboretum, Poly Canyon, Horse Canyon, not to mention the several hiking and biking trails on and off campus. Here are just a few of the great treasures that I look forward to spotting around campus on a regular basis. Being on this campus and in this beautiful town is just one of the perks of coming to Cal Poly SLO. Especially enrolling in the Horticulture and Crop Science Department, we are not only some of the creators of this beauty on campus, but we are also true stewards of this land and campus.

Sheep on the BRAE irrigation test field

Sheep on the BRAE irrigation test field

Sheep on the Bio Resource Agricultural Resource Test fields

Fletcher, one of the mousers at the Horticulture Unit, getting some much-needed TLC.

Say “Hi” to Fletcher when you are up at the Horticulture unit!

We treat our barn cats and mousers very well here! An extra special thank you to the Cal Poly Cat Program for taking care of our campus kitties!
Check out the Cal Poly Cat Program at: http://www.afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/cats/index.html

Hummingbird nest in the greenhouse corridor at the Horticulture Unit

Hummers nest at the Horticulture Unit

Baby swallows in the breezeway at the Horticulture Unit

How do they all fit in that tiny nest?!

Birdhouse at the Horticulture Dorm

The baby horses are out with their moms at the Horse Unit right across the way from the Horticulture Unit at the top of Via Carta on Cal Poly SLO’s campus.

Just enjoying the beautiful sun!

Take a walk up to the Horse Unit and pet a horse or two!

Horses!

Scrub jay at the Horse Unit

Thomas, the mouser at the Horse Unit

Thomas getting ready for a nap

View from the Horse Unit

Bishop’s Peak in the background; not a bad place to attend class

They don’t seem to mind the sprinklers.

Visit the Swine Unit!

Pirate calf

At the Dairy

Good luck studying for your finals! Hope this post reminds you to take it SLO!

 

Back to Cali

Posted by: Mitchell

Hi All!

Sorry for the delay. It has been a rather hectic schedule since I left Iowa to finish my last quarters at Cal Poly!  As of this point, I am taking my last three required classes at Cal Poly, and then it is back to Colusa I go.  I felt that this blog was as good a time as any to reflect on my last five years in the HCS department.

I came to this university in 2007.  I didn’t know anybody, and realistically, I didn’t even really know myself.  Since that time I have taken more than 52 classes and met lifelong friends.  I have also had the chance to do things that I never thought possible such as travel both the world and the United States. I have been given the chance to not only be a student in a University, but be an individual at a school full of professors and staff who know me and what I need to succeed.

The main purpose of a college degree is to help prepare you for a career, but along with that, it’s to help you find out what your passion is.  For example, I am currently growing hydroponic lettuce for my senior project.  With this project we are hoping to start a breeding project that could help improve the way that we grow lettuce in California.  None of this would have been possible without the help of my advisor, my professors, and my classmates.  The project itself is an accumulation of everything I have learned at Cal Poly, and I really think it exemplifies everything that I love about this school.  Before this project, I had never grown anything using hydroponics, yet here I am, one quarter later growing whole lettuce crops.  Learn by Doing at its finest.
I believe that this blog has given people a good look at our everyday lives and what it might mean to be a student at this school.  If you love agriculture, learning, and growing as a student and as a person, come to Cal Poly, and become a member of our AEPS family.

 

Get OUT! :)

Posted by: Kelly

Now is the time! Get out and do something new!

My time at Cal Poly is coming to an end, and I have realized how many things I have always said I will do and have never done. Recently I have been trying to go out and try new things. Here are a few things I suggest doing in the near future to make you a happier person

One: Read a new book. I have never been an avid reader, of anything, except maybe food blogs or magazines (which I tend to skim through). For my senior seminar class we are required to read a book and write a review on it. At first I saw it as a daunting task: why would I want to read a book for a class? It is my last quarter of school and I’m sure I can find a way to make it look like I have read the book. But after looking at the list I decided to read a book by Michael Pollan called “In Defense of Food.” To my surprise, it was one of the best books I have ever read! It gave me a new perspective on food and how others (mainly those not involved in ag) look at food and how it is grown. It has opened my eyes, and now I can understand why people think they way they think. This book has also encouraged me to start reading more books, which I am extremely excited about!

Two: Go visit a different city for a weekend. Last weekend I went up to Davis to visit some friends (and because I had volleyball which is a wonderful excuse). I had never been to Davis to just hang out, and it was quite nice! We walked around campus, got to check out a bunch of greenhouses, the domes, the Arboretum and the Davis Co-op. I felt like I was taking my own personal field trip. We went out to yummy dinners and the nightlife there was really entertaining! Even though it may seem like going out of town is a hassle, or you might not have time to get everything done, do it! Just go explore. You won’t be sorry.

 

Three: Go to Song Writers at Play. At Kruezburgs on Tuesdays, as well as a few other locations during the week, there is an event called Song Writers at Play. You can go to the coffee shop, grab a beer, some coffee or food and just sit and listen to people play their songs. It is one of the most relaxing things I did this week. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in school, or sports, and our daily lives that we forget to go out and do something fun for ourselves.

Four: Try a new sport in the Rec Center. Have you been to the new Rec Center? It is the Disneyland of all gyms. I nearly died when I walked in for the first time and thought I was going to get lost!! Even if you aren’t a gym rat and you don’t really like exercise, there are a ton of fun things to do in the gym. They have ping-pong, basketball, racquetball, squash and volleyball. The options are endless. Just go and try it out!

Five: (If you are a foodie like me…) Make a list of local restaurants to try. My roommate and I recently have come up with a list of restaurants in town that we would like to eat at someday. Sometimes when we are just sitting at home and have the urge to go get tasty food, we pull out the list and pick somewhere to go. Lots of places around San Luis use local produce and turn it into a divine dining experience.

Six: Throw a dinner party with some close friends. Our time in college is short and we want to see the friendships we make throughout the years last for a long time. Have some friends over for a dinner party. It doesn’t matter if you are a great chef or not, just having people all together, socializing over food makes for a great setting. This week I had my team over and we did a make your own pizza party. Go to a farmers market, pick up some veggies, some pizza dough from Trader Joe’s and call it a day! Easy-peezy party that people will love.

 

Useless?! Try Vital! A response to Yahoo!’s article “College Majors That Are Useless”

Posted by: Brean

Studying horticulture opens up doors around the world -- Here I am at Real Jardín Botánico, Madrid, Spain in August of 2011. One of the most gorgeous public gardens I've ever seen!

As future leaders within the Horticulture and Crop Science Department, we know better than to believe what is written in the article College Majors That Are Useless by Terrence Loose on Yahoo! Education.

Everyday – sometimes multiple times per day – we are receiving emails from our department about internships and career opportunities within crop science, landscape, public horticulture, turfgrass and sports field management, plant protection science, and greenhouse and nursery plant production all over the state, the country, and the world. That’s right: everyday, employers within these fields are seeking us to work for them!

Not to mention, the types of positions available to us are not only production-based (which is what Loose claims), but rather, they encompass a broad range such as marketing and sales representatives, research scientists, quality assurance managers — just to name a few. People may also be surprised to find out that the average starting salary for a graduate in the agriculture industry is almost $49,000 (according to the AgCareers.com/ AgrowKnowledge Enrollment and Employment Outlook Report and the AgCareers.com Compensation Benchmark Review).

Let’s also talk about the issue of “uselessness” of our degrees. The whole basis of our education is to provide food, flora, and fiber for the world. We might be so bold in making the statement that our degrees are, on the contrary, useful. According to the latest data from AgCareers.com, 81% of jobs in the ag industry require education beyond high school and almost half require at least a bachelor’s degree.  According to the AgCareers.com/AgrowKnowledge Enrollment and Employment Outlook Report in 2008 there was a deficit of 9,317 graduates with agriculture degrees to fill open positions in the U.S.

We are the future of agricultural and environmental plant sciences, and have taken responsibility to provide food, flora, and fiber sustainably and efficiently in a booming world population. With an increasing demand for high-quality and nutritious foods; advances in agriculture, science and technology; a growing population and a need to produce more with less, there are, in fact, a wide variety of rewarding, well-paid career opportunities in agriculture!

Those of us who are Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science majors at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo know the importance of our degrees and viability of our future careers!

 

Meet Sydney :)

Posted by: Sydney

Hi there! My name is Sydney Ross and I am a freshman Horticulture and Crop Science student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Specifically I am an Agricultural and Environmental Plant Sciences Major with a concentration in Greenhouse and Nursery Plant Production. This past year the HCS department decided to change things, as far as majors go, for future students starting with the graduating class of 2015, my incoming class. Previously I would have been admitted as an Environmental Horticultural Science student, but due to the creation of new concentrations, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to become an AEPS “Ape!” I am extremely, extremely, happy with my choice in major. Although I have only had the pleasure to experience one quarter at Cal Poly so far, I have learned many lovely and fascinating things about plants through HCS already.

Before I came to Cal Poly, I frequently asked myself, “What am I doing?” or rather “Is this really going to be right for me?” (Suddenly it seemed as though the world was my oyster. Wow, that is cheesy, but hey, it’s true!) As soon as I started taking all of my introduction to horticulture classes however, I knew abruptly I had made the right choice; not only in school, but also to become a HCS student. Well, I honestly can’t think of anything I would rather be doing than working with plants.

But before I dive into my love for nature, a little about myself. I was raised in Huntington Beach, California, which is pretty far south.  It is also known as “Surf City USA.” Huntington Beach is an amazing place–so beautiful–I feel truly fortunate to call it home! My personal favorite pastimes include hiking; backpacking, going for long walks with my pup, Charly, pressing, picking, and collecting plants; sketching; and of course fungus hunting! (I will admit I am a bit of a dweeb when it comes to mycology.) Frequently you can find me wandering around various parks, nature preserves, and the good ol’ outdoors. I think it was my love of exploring nature that turned me onto the idea that I could cultivate plants for a living. Just the thought of one day owning or running a greenhouse puts a large grin on my face. My favorite plants and fungi include poppies, echeveria, irises, manzanita, rosemary, lavender, banksias, shaggy mane, sulfur shelf, yellow coral, witches butter, fairy ring mushrooms, and amethyst laccaria (I’m going to stop myself here, before this goes on forever.) There are so many beautiful and exotic species in the world to see that learning about them is one of my favorite things in life.

Besides being a horticulture student, I am also the Eco-Representative of my dorm. I promote all aspects of sustainability, recycling, etc., as well as am an active member of the Real Foods Collaborative here on campus, working to integrate more fresh and locally grown foods into the campus diet. As you can tell I am a very busy and love it here in San Luis! I look forward to telling you more about my fantastic experiences here as an AEPS student, so until next time upward and onward!

 

Fall Quarter: Check!

Posted by: Juan

Glad to be done with fall quarter 2011. It was a struggle and a very busy one, especially with Philosophy. I finally got Philosophy and Chemistry done. (YEAH!) Surprisingly, Philosophy was actually harder than Chemistry. Right before finishing the quarter, I applied to work at Swanton Pacific Ranch in Santa Cruz. I was chosen for the job and ended up living in the Santa Cruz Mountains for a week to work. The work we did there was to restore the riparian habitat into its’ original native ecosystem. I worked with four other Cal Poly students in restoring native plants to the habitat. It involved a lot of weed pulling and weed whacking. At the end of the day we were all exhausted, but happy because we made a difference.  We planted new plants next to Queseria Creek. In my week of working at the ranch I saw a banana slug; which is something I had never seen! It was very slimey and funny looking — as expected! It was a great experience being far away from the city with no cell phone signal, and it really helped me to appreciate nature a little more. I met super cool people and became friends with some of them.  I definitely recommend it for other Cal Poly students.  This winter quarter will be harder, as I’ll be taking 18 units. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. Thanks for reading my blog.

Juan Chavez

– Go Niners! Feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook!

Mike from Santa Maria, Mike from Watsonville, Luke from L.A., me (from Salinas), Chis from L.A., and Peter from Santa Cruz.

The "Dream Team"

Next to a pile of weeds we pulled

One of the many weed piles we created!

The Dream Team hard at work planting some cuttings into pots

View from the mountain; you can see the ocean and the farm!

 

Where we had our daily meetings at 8am -- AKA, "La Casa Verde"

 

 

Horticulture Unit Wrap Up!

Posted by: Chris

For me, the weeks between the swale’s completion and the end of summer are a huge blur of dirt. Dirt, dirt, and more dirt. 4,000 yards to be semi-precise. A major portion of this project involves raising the soil level about one foot, which I’ve roughly found to translate into dump truck piles of dirt every 6 feet. All dirt (or soil if you prefer) brought in was first deposited in our soil stockpile to the left of the Disease and Pest building before being picked up and re-dumped on site.

Our soil repository as it grows with every new load of soil.

Our dump truck bringing soil from the stockpile to the site. This process of back and forth dumping continued for days.

Using the skip loader, we could loosely move around the piles enough to continue dumping and raising the grade.

An approximate representation of where the pathways and the teardrop stage--in center--is to be.

As great as the skip loader is, the volume of soil still needing to be moved and shaped was going to be too much for it to handle. Enter bulldozer.

Renting both a huge Cat dozer and an experienced operator, both the soil repository and the site grading seemed to clean themselves up in the blink of an eye. This monster of a machine effortlessly pushed mountains of dirt around as if nothing was there. Needless to say, I wasn’t allowed near it.

The once haphazard stockyard of dirt, now flattened by the dozer.

Now that the site had been expertly graded with all the soil in place, it was time again to tear it all up and drop a main line in. Once this project began, I don’t remember a time where my hands were any color other than blue or purple.

The main line cutting right through the middle of the site.

This was also the beginning of my life, chest-deep in a trench.

Devon, Brittany, and Sara working on gluing the main line.

The lines after being filled and thoroughly whacked with the whacker to reduce future settling.

My second favorite machine. Think of this as a jackhammer with a flat bottom. It “hops” around while compacting the soil to avoid settling later. Awesome.

Lots and lots of compost ready to be tilled into our soil. Loving it.

Meanwhile… the greenhouse breezeway got a bit of a makeover. Yellow and red with a turquoise trim? Looking good breezeway, looking good.

Our main line trench needed to fall deeper than our on-site equipment could deliver. Enter Ditch Witch. Dr. Lewis introduced me to this majestic machine on one of the hottest days we had all summer and I think its A/C was broken.

We utilized a system of pipe gluing using shovels to hold up sections of main line before dropping section in the trench.

One of my favorites. The Ground Hog is a delightfully elegant trenching machine- perfect for digging our lateral lines --and there are a lot of them.

After our main line was all pretty and glued, we blew it out, pressurized, and checked for leaks. Luckily we did a fantastic job and there were no repairs to be made, which allowed us to immediately start digging trenches for our lateral lines. The mosaic of trenches in this picture will be filled with our 1’’ pipe and Hunter heads. Our irrigation will be utilizing the latest and the greatest from Hunter Industries. Our controller will be none other than Hunter’s new ACC two-wire decoder- very exciting.

 

On a side note… our beautiful new path to the green waste bins is finished! It looks just as good as it functions. No more will we be forced to take the scenic route up through the arboretum to toss a load full of trimmings. Good for us and good for Wassenberg.

On a side note… our beautiful new path to the green waste bins is finished! It looks just as good as it functions. No more will we be forced to take the scenic route up through the arboretum to toss a load full of trimmings. Good for us and good for Wassenberg.

As hot, physically demanding, and stressful as this summer was, I had a blast. There was nary a day I went home without feeling filthy and exhausted, just how I like it. It was the classic hands-on experience that could only be found at Cal Poly.

 

Arboriculture

Posted by: Lexi

That's me in arboriculture class! So fun!

So some updates!!

Trees

So I’ve decided on pursuing my love for trees (as seen through the eyes of Crysta from Fern Gully). I’ve had the wonderful opportunity of taking an Arboriculture class, taught by Chris Wassenberg (a Cal Poly alumnus and the manager of the Leaning Pine Arboretum and Gardens). It’s basically the most amazing thing ever known to man except maybe sliced bread or—oh, let’s say coffee–cuz who can live without it! But really…I get to spend six hours a week learning about trees, and some of the time IN THEM! Yeah, that’s right–suspended 30 feet up in the air on knots that I tied. Trusting my rope, knots and the harness! At first we focused on all the gear and then we got to climb. Yup, that’s a picture of me in a tree!

Embracing my inner-child - love it!

My classmate Lizzy is all smiles during Arboriculture class!

My classmate Mike has actually had the chance to climb through an event in the PLANET competition that Cal Poly participates in. For more info of PLANET, check out the photos on our department Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.234768416551792.72831.194597157235585&type=1

Chris brought in a couple of the industry’s representatives to join one of our labs and talk a little about their company’s goals and other fun stuff. A great way to network! 
Arboriculture and beekeeping, two of the best classes in the Horticulture and Crop Science department. 
Til next time!

Professor Chris Wassenberg helping my classmate Chris set up to climb during Arboriculture lab.

 

Hort Unit Construction: Part II

Posted by: Chris

That's me on the left, with one of our awesome unit technicians Jim and one my classmates, Devon.

The project list around the Horticulture Unit has grown from legal pad size to novelty scroll that keeps unraveling. One project in particular has consistently remained in the background – our swale. The swale follows the lower fence from the southwest to southeast corner of the unit. Its design and installation have taken weeks, and while the end result may look just like rocks in a ditch, it’s unfortunately not that simple.

The project began by marking out the length and general shape the swale would take; this was accomplished with spray paint (to mark the swale’s center) and wooden stakes (every 20ft to help gauge an even finished grade). The swale begins at the southwest corner of the Unit, meandering along the fence line until its conclusion near the base of the orchards. Stakes were placed every 20ft and using our surveying equipment, marked to ensure a 2% drop. This gradual slope is steep enough to move water without it becoming stagnant, and shallow enough to avoid erosion problems. Using the bobcat’s bucket attachment, the swale was graded and cut to the approximate shape it would take.

Looking from the beginning of the swale outwards with grading stakes in place.

The next big step was to install a French drain running through the center of the swale. Using a variety of machinery, a trench was excavated through the middle of the swale, which subsequently required some handy shovel work to ensure the bottom of the trench was deep enough and at the 2% incline needed to move water through it.

Dr. Lewis surgically carving out our trench using the bobcat attachment after our Ditch Witch took a breather.

Work ethic is exactly what like to see in my professors.

Before we laid pipe, we filled the trench with a layer of gravel to prevent the perforation on the bottom from clogging. We then laid in the hundreds of feet of 3” perforated pipe into its new home, which we then buried with another layer of gravel.

The finer gravel allows for water to percolate through while excluding debris from entering and clogging the drain.

With the French drain successfully buried, we then went to work beautifying the swale. Using 2-4” rock, we littered the swale to mimic a natural, flowing stream. We scattered bigger boulders along the edges for the swale to bounce off and flow around, giving it a natural feel, along with medium sized rocks all throughout.

Moving the large boulders to their final destinations.

All of our nice rock comes from Cayucos. From the 2-4” rock filling the swale, to all the massive boulders bordering it, each type is chosen to display the native geological qualities of our area.

The process of dumping 2-4” in between medium sized, and maneuvering around the behemoth boulders, continued repetitiously for days.

Slowly taking shape from barren path to finished product.

Finally, after everyone had successfully broken their backs moving rock for days and days, we finished. Awesome.

As much of the "Swale Crew" as I could gather at that point in time. Well done.

 

Horticulture Unit Construction – Part I

Posted by: Chris

For those of you who don’t recognize the pictures below, you’ve obviously been away from the Horticulture Unit for too long. The bottom half of the unit, a.k.a. the “Amatoscapes,” a.k.a. senior-project-graveyard, is getting a much needed face-lift. It’s all-hands-on-deck for those of us working at the Horticulture Unit this summer. While it’s only been a couple of weeks since the project began, the landscape is hardly recognizable- suffice to say, we’ve been busy.  The senior projects that once littered the area have been removed in an effort to create a more uniform landscape- reaching from below the service road entrance to the base of the Disease and Pest Lab.

Looking down from the northeast corner of the site.

The last remaining island of green, and will be the only landscape section to be incorporated into the final plan.

The major project thus far is the installation of a new French-drain following below the service road. Without this drain, our natural ground-water would, will, and has been seeping into all trenches and low spots below. This is a problem when you spend all day digging, and then come back 24 hours later to find your holes filled with water. The perforated drain pipe will be buried (with a gravel buffer surrounding it to reduce clogging), so water may seep into, and then flow down the pipe to the desired outlet.

The dirty job of installing the drain pipe was made that much more fun when the trench filled with water the day after it was dug. The bottom of the long PVC pipe has perforations to allow the water to infiltrate and run down along the bottom.

As a side project, the narrow pathway leading to the green waste bins is being widened. This accomplishment would allow carts to pass through instead of having to make the trek through the arboretum and around the back. Awesome? You bet.

No, no one ran into the wall with the Bobcat- we tore out the old concrete retaining wall to make way for a new, wider pathway.