Having plants in our dorms keeps us healthy and happy- they look nice and they help to keep the O2 flowing in your room!

From Costa Farms comes a list of the best and easiest plants to keep in your dorm. You can buy these from most local nurseries around Colby or your home. Also, if you visit the Common Ground Fair in September, make sure to check out the succulents stand!

1. Cacti and Succulents
   • They require bright light and little water- wait until the soil is totally dry before you water them again.
2. Lucky Bamboo
   • They like low to medium light so don’t put them directly below a window! Their soil should be kept moist so water them every few days.
3. Aloe Vera
   • A striking plant that loves bright light and a little water. Don’t let the soil totally dry out but also they shouldn’t sit in standing water.
4. ZZ Plants
   • These plants are virtually indestructible: they can grow in any light and prefer little water. The only way to kill them is to give them too much water so let the soil dry between waterings.
5. Ferns
   • A classic houseplant that is easy to find, ferns are pretty easy to maintain. They prefer medium to bright light and enough water that their soil never dries out. Group them with other plants if possible because they grow best in humid conditions.

Cabbage is not the most appealing vegetable, I’ll admit that upfront. It can seem pretty bland, boring, and hard to cook with. However, it is a durable, versatile vegetable that can grow all summer and far into the fall. Here are a list of our top 3 recipes for using cabbage in a variety of ways. They are super easy, flexible if you don’t have the exact right ingredients, and delicious. Impress friends, family, and yourself with your newfound ability to turn everyone’s least favorite vegetable into something you’ll make over and over again!

1. “Napa cabbage and kale coleslaw with creamy miso ginger dressing”
   • Cabbage is a great base for salads and creative coleslaws. It can soak up dressings to become super flavorful and pairs well with a variety of other greens and veggies such as: kale, carrots, cucumbers, edamame, and peas.
2. “Basic Spicy Cabbage Stir Fry”
   • You can very easily stir-fry cabbage to make a healthy, veggie-filled stir fry. This recipe provides examples of great seasonings to use and adds carrots and chives for extra color and flavor. Stir-fried cabbage can be added to rice or noodles and meat or tofu to make a complete, simple meal.
3. “Cabbage Pancakes”
   • Pancakes are amazing and super easy to customize and throw together quickly. Adding veggies and some spices to a basic pancake batter makes them a great savory dish. Here is one recipe that uses cabbage to make pancakes with sriracha mayo!

With summer in full swing, the tomato plants at the COFGA garden are growing larger and larger! As tomatoes become bigger, it is important to keep them off the ground so they can stay clean and avoid diseases. In addition, it is much easier to harvest tomatoes that are grown vertically. To prevent the tomatoes from growing on the ground, we decided to support them with a trellis.

The trellis provides a string for the tomatoes to grow upwards around. To set up the trellis, we installed three pairs of large wooden stakes about 25 feet from each other. On top of the stakes we strung a 50 foot wire. Above each tomato plant, we tied a piece of biodegradable garden twine to the wire and wound the loose end of this twine around the stem of the small tomato plant. This way, the tomato plant will grow up and around the twine and stay off the ground. Hopefully, this will keep our tomatoes happy and healthy for the summer!