Sustainable Edible Landscaping (SEL)
By: Abedalhadi Mousa
5-11-2012
Objective
1. To use sustainable landscaping methods to plant edible plants on LSU’s campus.
2. To use the Sustainable Edible Landscape as an educational display for the LSU community.
3. To develop a campus sustainability map.
Goals

Short-term: Plant edible plants between the Hill Farm and the LSU Recreation Center and make
a map of edible plants on campus.

Long-term: To get healthy, fresh, and free fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers to the LSU
community.
Benefits

Provides fresh, sustainable food free for the student body

Helps beautify and "green" the LSU campus

Students can learn about edibles that do well in this part of the state and hopefully encourage
them to plant their own edibles at home in order to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
History of SEL
This project began in the Fall 2011 semester. The first step taken in beginning this project was to
research programs similar to SEL at other universities. This gave us ideas for the project and the
directions we needed to take in order for it to be a success. Second, we began contacting the necessary
people who could help us. This included Jay Ransom-Head of Horticulture for Facility Services, Fred
Fellner- Head of Landscaping for Facility Services, Bob Mirabello-Landscaping Professor, as well as
Louisiana Nursery & Landscape Association (LNLA).
This semester, Spring 2012, was more exciting than the previous one because there were two
more students working on the project and as a result a lot more got done. We started by revising the
budget, drawing a layout of the area we are going to plant, we almost got more fruit tree donations
from Perino’s Nusery. However, due to the fact that Spring is not a good time to plant fruit trees we
decided to get the trees next semester. We also had our budget approved by the LSU Student
Government, but we never received any of the funds. Possibly the greatest achievement for our project
this semester was when we participated in LSU’s Spring Greening Day/Earth Day event. During this event
we were able to inform others about our project and we had our rain barrels painted.
Other Universities

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Food Forest
The Food Forest is a student-run botanical garden which highlights tropical/subtropical edible
species that grow well in South Florida. The Food Forest is funded by the FGCU student government and
is on a half acre plot of land. Their irrigation us funded by the administration and the students, alumni,
faculty, and staff are all involved in the project. The purpose of their garden is to provide the student
body with the opportunity to learn about different types of edible and useful species from all over the
world that can be grown in South Florida. Here is a link to their website.
The main thing that I learned from this university’s project is that in order for my project to be a
success, I will need to do a lot of planning and have funds to pay for the material that I will need. I will
also need to get volunteers for the project, including students, faculty, and professors.

Loyola University
Loyola University has a very detailed and user-friendly Map of Edible Plants on their campus. They
also have a chart of the times of the year when the fruits can be harvested.
Having a map edible of the edible plants on campus is the second part which I hope to do.

University of Minnesota Duluth
The edible landscaping program at this university is the most advanced of the three. Their gardens
are scattered all around the campus with various themes for each. The themes include a salad and herb
garden, an edible flower garden, a pizza garden, and many more. The university even has a foreman
who takes care of the gardens. This is an ideal example of a campus with edible landscapes.
Current and Potential Partners
Our current and future partners are Bob Mirabello, the students in the newly formed Student
Farm Club, LSU Facility Services, Denise Scribner and generous plant nurseries. Mr. Mirabello is a LSU
instructor that has many years of experience in landscaping. He has promised to assist us in the future
by having his future classes prepare and plant the area. The members of the Student Farm have agreed
to help maintain the area after it has been planted. Maintaining the area was a major concern by
individuals in Facility Services, such as Fred Fellner and Jay Ransom.
Mr. Fellner and Mr. Ransom have been key partners in this endeavor. They have given us crucial
information that has helped to keep this project going. This semester Mr. Fellner filled out and turned in
an excavation permit for us. They will continue to be crucial to the success of this project in the future.
Denise Scribner is the head of LSU Campus Sustainability. She has also helped us a lot this semester by
giving us ideas and contacts. Finally, nurseries such as Arcola Nursery and Perino’s Nursery have not only
given or offered us plant donations, they have also helped us by giving us hope that this project can
succeed even if we can’t get all the funds necessary.
Obstacles
The main problems we had this semester were concerning funding, finding a water source, and
planting time. As I mention before, we got our student government bill approved so we could get funds
for the project. However, we never received any of those funds. We also, had someone offer to donate
$1,000, but we never asked for this donation. The second problem we encountered was that of how we
would water the plants. We contacted Jay Ransom with Facility Services, and after a lot of calculations
he told us that it would cost $3,000 to run a waterline from Hill Farm to the area we want to plant. The
solution to this problem also led to our next problem. Fruit trees are supposed to be planted in the fall
so that they can become established over the cool months. Since we are in spring and summer is just
around the corner we decided to postpone planting until next semester.
Future Activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Draw a more detailed plan
Prepare site
Plant edible plants
Make labels for each plant
Maintain area
Expand project
Achievements
-
Received plant donations from Arcola Nursery
Made a layout of the area
Made a detailed budget
Constructed and painted rain barrels
Got the Student Government Bill approved
Participated in Spring Greening Day/Earth Day
Project Budget
Plant Material:
-10 fig trees * $10.00 each = $100.00
-10 Blueberry trees * $10.00 each = $100.00
-8 Kumquat trees * $13.50 each = $108.00
-6 Plums * $13.50 = $81.00
- 3 Satsuma trees * $13.50 each = $40.50
- 1 Japanese persimmon= $30.00
- 1 Loquat= $30.00
- 2 Mulberries* $25.00= $50.00
- 2 Bananas * $10.00= $20.00
-5 Rosemary plants * $2.50 each = $12.50
-5 Thyme plants * $2.50 each = $12.50
-5 Oregano plants * $2.50 each = $12.50
- 5 Sage plants * $2.50 each = $12.50
- 2 Mint Plants * $2.50= $5.00
-1 Rose Bush * $10.00 = $10.00
-1 Hibiscus * $10.00 = $10.00
Other Material:
-2 concrete benches by the beds * $200.00 = $400.00
-1 compost bin * $50.00= $50.00
-10 Bags of Mulch*$2.50 each = $25.00
-10 Bags of Soil * $1.25 each = $12.50
-1 Rain Catcher * $250.00 = $250.00
-1 Cinder Block Raised Bed * $50.00 = $50.00
-1 Wooden Raised Bed *$100.00 = $100.00
-Irrigation System = $150.00
-Plaques /Labels = $189.50
Sub Total= $1,921.50
Minus $125.00 (Items we already have)
TOTAL= $1,796.50
Tentative Timeline

Present: Contact facility services about transportation of mulch and materials

June 5: Deadline for finalized landscape plan

June 10-15: Mark plots

June 15-16: Spray with herbicide

July 1: Till beds – spray again if necessary

July 15-30: Incorporate supplemental nutrients, organic matter and bedding material

August 1-15: Finalize syllabus and plans with Bob Mirabello for his fall installation maintenance
class.

September 1- October 15: Install plants, mulch, set up rain barrels, signage, drainage, etc.