Carlson Desgin

One innovative garden design that we were particularly intrigued by was the sustainable

garden of Jennifer Carlson from Seattle, Washington.  Her design meets the very

definition of sustainability as it basically takes care of itself with minimum intervention. Sustainability uses the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Therefore both natural and human resources is very important. This form of agriculture enables us to produce healthful food without compromising future generations' ability to do the same. Moreover she has utilized the heavy rainfall that the city of Seattle receives, and incorporated it into her sustainable garden. The rainwater is collected from her roof into three cisterns that hold 1875 gallons of water for the summer. A self-built composting fence separates certain beds, which stores yard waste, fallen leaves, clippings, and any type of organic matter. Her garden also contains a permeable patio that controls runoff, and perfectly perchlorate the soil. The design also makes use of the location, and beds are positioned to receive necessary sunlight. She plants fruits, even edible flowers, and

coffee grounds to enrich sandy soil for future gardening beds. Droppings of rabbits are

used as fertilizer, and chickens to even out the soil.

Seed Wayne and the Economy (no revise needed)

Seed Wayne is heavily involved with local business owners to try to benefit their

financial status while also distributing freshly grown Seed Wayne crops. For example,

Seed Wayne asked three local liquor stores if they would be willing to sell freshly grown

crops from Seed Wayne and asked the local community if they would go to these liquor

store for their groceries. Both parties said it was a great idea and this benefits Seed

Wayne financially as well as the business owners. Furthermore, Seed Wayne receives

products from local farmers and in turn labels their products as “grown in Detroit” which

helps benefit these farmers financial status by selling more crops. Seed Wayne does

many other projects similar to the ones above and is continuing to interact with local

community business or using community gardens as means to help benefit the Detroit

economy.

Evaluation: (just a few grammar errors fixed)

One of the many notable aspects of the Carlson design is how it uses available

resources to maintain itself. It uses the water collected from rainfall for irrigation, and decreases material cost. The design also uses organic matter collected from within the garden as

fertilizer, and stores it in a composting fence. The fence does not take up much space,

and looks better than having compost bins. The design is very pleasing to the viewer

because of the setup, which utilizes a huge amount of space. It requires space for a

permeable patio that controls runoff, and the many different beds that house various crops. Beds contain many tolerant plants that need little watering, but are quite unique to plant. No pesticides are used in this design, but instead chickens are used to even out the soil. The design also takes into account the location of the beds within the garden, and are situated so that the crops receive the necessary sunlight required.

This design is quite unique to its location, and could be difficult to implement at Wayne

State. It requires a large amount of space, which might be difficult to acquire here.

Also the design is for a warmer climate, so it may need to be adjusted so that it suites

our location better. The irrigation method of collecting rainfall might prove to be

problematic, because Michigan definitely does not receive as much rainfall as

Washington. The design also includes chickens, which is not going to be possible

here. On the other hand, the composting and control of runoff are two innovative

techniques that could prove highly beneficial.