Interior Plant Program To Invade Campus

Posted By: Dani Ruais

“You’re going to love plants by the end of this…”

Very few people know about the Interior Plant Care Program that Agricultural and Environmental Plant Sciences lecturer Joe Haslett spear-headed on Cal Poly’s campus. He started the program summer 2011, and in just under a year, the Horticulture and Crop Science department is present in every sit-down restaurant on campus, making its way over to the new Rec Center and hopefully into the University Union by the end of summer 2012. The idea behind this project was not just to beautify the campus core (which, as horticulture students, we just have a knack for beautifying spaces), but to teach the Interior Plant Care students the ins and outs of how the interior plant care industry works. Students participate in all aspects of the process from designing and planning, to choosing and growing the plants, to installing the plants in their new spaces, as well as taking care of the regular watering and maintenance of the plants. Most of the plants used in the restaurants on campus are grown by Cal Poly Horticulture students in the Foliage Greenhouse #10 at the Horticulture Unit. The plants were prepped and installed and are currently maintained by students.

You can see them for yourself at The Sandwich Factory, The Avenue, Metro Express, Metro 19, Ciao! and Sage restaurant.  They have been installed and maintained by paid Agricultural and Environmental Plant Sciences students. After our program received much support from the rest of the Cal Poly campus community, we were given the opportunity to also design the interior plants for the new recreation center on campus that just opened earlier this year in the spring of 2012.

The process of designing for a client is both exciting and challenging. It’s exciting because we are getting hands-on experience that you would only get if you were in the industry, and challenging because we are faced with real-world circumstances such as working with a client’s budget, or a client’s idea of how he or she would like the design done (everything from the plant selection to the container selection). I not only got experience with installing and maintaining different interior plants and spaces, but I also got experience with the software that industry professionals use to design interior spaces for their clients.

After our design plans for the new recreation center were approved, which takes a while in the real world, it was time to take a trip to the Santa Ynez Gardens Nursery to pick out our larger more expensive palm trees, as well as some interesting color plants to make “color bowls” that may be changed out seasonally, such as at Christmas time with poinsettias.

Once our plants and containers were delivered, it was time to stage and clean all the plants before they are put in their new home. We cleaned and pruned them at the Horticulture Unit prior to placing them in the Rec Center. For the larger plants, we had to assemble them on site. But for our smaller plants and color bowls, we were able to get them all ready so that they could just be placed in their spots. Even though we purchase clean plants from nurseries, it’s important for us to inspect and clean them ourselves so that we can guarantee the plants’ health. We use a natural citrus spray to smother mites and insects as well as to give the foliage some shine. Then we place the plants in their individual saucers, or pots that have sub-irrigation so that we can easily replace plants in the future.

I urge everyone to check out our work! Visit the dining complexes on campus as well as the Rec Center that we just finished installing. I hope you all enjoy the plants as much as I do.

If you would like more information on the Interior Plant Management class that is offered by Joe Haslett, our projects, or possible jobs, please contact Joe Haslett at: jhaslett@calpoly.edu.

Posted By: Dani Ruais

 

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.

 

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!