The days are getting sunnier and hotter which causes us to spend more time outside; lucky for Highline students there are various things they can do to help on campus, including getting involved with the greenhouse and garden. 

A greenhouse is a glass building in which plants are grown in during the winter so that the cold weather doesn’t affect them. A garden is a chunk of ground that is used to grow different things like flowers, vegetables, and herbs.    

The greenhouse is mostly used to grow plant starts (seeds) before the growing season starts and once the growing season hits they are taken to Highline’s farm in Kent for planting. The farm is called “Horseneck Farm”, for more information about it visit: Horseneck Farm. 

The head of the greenhouse, Bobby Butler, believes that there are many benefits from gardening, such as feeling more connected to nature, making your own produce, and maybe even making a living out of it.

“I really like connecting with nature, I think there are a lot of benefits that come from it. Benefits like feeling relaxed, feeling a part of the earth and not separate from the earth,” said Butler. 

Butler also added that learning to plant may teach someone to develop interest in horticulture. 

“It’s also cool growing your own food for lots of different reasons,” said Butler. “One is you get to better understand all the hard work that goes into the food in the grocery stores and you get to provide a product to customers that really appreciate what you are doing.” 

Gardening may be a form of therapy for some, but it’s also a great way to make money, said Butler. 

“If you do it well enough, you can make a living as a farmer and you can make pretty decent money from it,” said Butler.

Gardening is a difficult thing to do because of how easily plants can die, but thankfully Bobby Butler has provided some helpful tips: 

“Easiest to build what is called a raised bed. It can be made of wood or metal, it’s basically a place where you can grow above the soil,” said Butler. 

Butler also added some tips for those who want to start their own garden. 

“Using chalk soil, a little bit of compost, and then purchase an all-purpose organic fertilizer, and then as long as you are watering every day once you plant your seeds, you should definitely have plants that are healthy,” said Butler. 

For more information on Highline’s greenhouse and garden, you may contact Bobby Butler via email here: bbutler@highline.edu. There are also weekly workshops that are free to the community at Horseneck Farm in Kent, address: 26826 86th Ave S, Kent, WA 98030. The next one will be on Friday, May 26 at 11 a.m.