Category: Gardening

The Pothole Gardener: Filling up Potholes One Small Garden World at a Time

The Pothole Gardener: Filling up Potholes One Small Garden World at a Time

Steve Wheen started doing guerrilla gardening in potholes for a project while in college.  He began  creating small garden worlds in potholes in part as a reaction to the poor conditions of the roads in London.  The project has grown to be a blog and website, where photos and videos of his gardening activity are posted.

Working with soil, plants and props,  Wheen makes tiny worlds that bring attention to road conditions, and also create a unique small world within our world.  He puts the props in the gardens for the photo shoots only, and tries to make the gardens on quiet streets with footpaths and dead end lanes.  He has created a small cricket match scene, and a red telephone booth garden in a pothole in front of London Bridge.  Often his gardens get attention, and on the Pothole Gardener blog you can see videos and photos of people taking pictures, and bending down to get a better look.

A recent garden scene he made is comprised of soil, green moss, a miniature chair, a tiny Easter basket, and a blooming plant – all located in a pothole on the street.  Wheen describes his project as, “ Part art project, part labor of love, part experiment, part mission to highlight how sh** our roads are – the pictures and gardens are supposed to put smiles on peoples faces and alert them to potholes!”

His blog has links to other Guerrilla Gardeners, and he writes that he is part of a community of guerrilla gardening.  Tired of the pothole on your street?   Check out thepotholegardener.com and see pictures of videos of Wheen’s gardens and get inspired.  I’ve got my eye on a big pothole that is getting bigger and bigger and is just around the corner from my house.

Image Source:
thepotholegardener.com

Links:

thepotholegardener.com

www.guerrillagardening.org

 

Let’s Grow Community Gardening – In the Heights and Cuyahoga County

Let’s Grow Community Gardening – In the Heights and Cuyahoga County

Last week I attended the Let’s Grow Community Gardening event at the Cleveland Heights Public Library.  The event was organized by Sustainable Heights, a local citizen group that promotes sustainability in Cleveland Heights and University Heights, OH.

The meeting consisted of a overview of community garden, an introduction to the 5 plus community gardens that are in the area, updates about the City and Community Gardens, and then concluded with time where people could meet and greet with others who live near them – to find out about making a new garden, or to learn more about existing gardens.

A member from OSU extension program was there- and she give a brief overview of the mini-grants, classes, and other resources that are available to new and existing community gardens.

One recent update that was discussed was the new ordiance in City Heights that allows property owners living next to a vacant lot – the ability to buy the land for $100 plus closing costs.  Currently the city of Cleveland Heights owns several vacant, residential lots around the city, and it is predicted that the number will grow as more homes destroyed in the foreclosure crisis are bought by the city through various grants and are demolished.  These residents will now be able buy the spaces at a low cost and increase the size of their yards, plant trees or create a garden.  Currently it is reported that the city owns 38 lots.

What does this mean for gardening?  The city is also working on developing a process where vacant lots could be used by citizens as community gardens.  This would be great, since it can be difficult to get a spot in the community gardens that exist – they are in high demand.

Currently there are three Cleveland Heights gardens: the Canterbury Garden, the Oxford Garden, and the Hampshire Road Garden.   Some of these were started as Victory gardens, and were started during World War I or II in an effort to grow food to support war efforts.  Fees for spaces vary from $12-20 a year for water and garden fees, and each garden has its own rules which generally include rules about what products can be used, and responsibility for pulling weeds.

Want to get a community garden space?  If you live in Cleveland Heights, contact the city of Cleveland Heights Community Relations Department.  Want to start a garden?  Contact the Ohio State University Extension Program to see how you can create more community garden space in your neighborhood.

If you live in Cuyahoga County and want to know what Community gardens are around – you can download a Iphone application called Harvest Neo which maps  urban farms, community gardens, and farmer markets.

 

Image Source:

Sustainable Heights

Links:

Sustainable Heights

Ohio State University Agriculture and Natural Resources – Community Gardening

Harvest Neo – Iphone Application

 

 

Want to start a community garden – or a farm?  OSU Cuyahoga County Extension Office Has Opportunities

Want to start a community garden – or a farm? OSU Cuyahoga County Extension Office Has Opportunities

Last week I attended a workshop about starting a community garden given by the Ohio State University Cuyahoga County Extension office.

In the workshop, the presenters talked about the steps of planning and implementing a community garden, and also introduced the classes, grants, and opportunities that are available through the OSU Extension office for community members.

How to start?  One of the first steps is to make and write a plan about the garden.  Will the garden be individual garden plots, a communal growing space?  What kind of location :  a vacant lot, a school, public housing, church?  How will the produce be distributed –  used by gardeners, 20% or more donated, or 100% donated?

Other steps for getting started include getting written permission to use the land by the landowner, obtaining permission for water access, and testing the soil for lead and fertility.

Soil should be tested for PH and baseline nutrients, and also for ESP lead and other contaminants.  The area should also be examined for “dead zones” – places that might look patchy, or like things do not grow in the area.  Sample should be taken from multiple locations on the site, deeper than 6 inches down, and more than one sample should be tested.

Planning steps include determining goals for the community garden, figuring out roles for running the garden, recruitment, and determining the decision making process.  Determining where Seeds, tools, a plan for planting, need to be developed, as well as a overall vision for the garden.  In most gardens there is a leader or assistant leader who helps organize the garden.  Guidelines need to be setup –are pesticides allowed, is there a gate to lock, a plot fee, fertilizer, water costs, etc?  Will there be volunteer work days that are voluntary – where common spaces are weeded – and decisions can be made?

Part of the grant program of the OSU extension program is to provide soil testing, educational and individual assistance to get the garden going in the first year, site visits, print and web resources, and networking and event opportunities.

The OSU Extension office has an application process and a worksheet that needs to get filled out to apply for the mini-grants of up to $400 for new gardens.  There is an application and worksheet that you must fill out.   The paperwork has been designed to help answer key questions of your group, and to help with planning.  Priority for the grants is for areas that have less access to fresh food, and also gardens that have a plan with youth activities.

The OSU Education office has several training programs that are available.  The “Dig In” program  is a 8 week course community gardener training program.  The program is to help new gardens create new rules, management, contact lists, and get organized for running a community garden.

There also is a 12 week farm oriented course called the Market Gardener Training Program.  This program focuses on business development and marketing for farms.  Also – if you want to farm and do not have land, you can get land to use on Kinsman Farm in Cleveland.  There is also a hotline you can call to get advice about diagnostics, pest and disease treatments, and other issues.

Other drop-in workshops that OSU Extension office offers throughout the year include topics such as how to raise chickens, caring for fruit trees, new tools, urban farming policy, and other topics.

The deadline for the training programs is January 3.  and the garden mini-grant is due February 24th.

Need more information or application materials for the gardening and farming programs?  Contact Amanda Block at the OSU Cuyahoga extension office at block.91@osu.edu or goto the website cuyahoga.osu.edu.

Image Source:
OSU – Extension Oregon
OSU – Extension Ohio 
Links:

OSU – Extension Ohio  http://cuyahoga.osu.edu/

Grants and Applications – OSU Extension office 

Purslane:  Edible, Healthy, and Growing in Your Yard

Purslane: Edible, Healthy, and Growing in Your Yard

Purslane is a plant that represents edible landscaping at its best: it’s free, and there’s no work involved in growing it.  Considered a weed, it is seen growing in garden beds, in sidewalk cracks, and in most urban neightborhoods.  The plant is considered healthy due to the plant containing lots of vitamins including vitamin A and C, minerals, and alpha-linolenic acid, one of the highly sought-after Omega-3 fatty acids.  It has only 15 calories in a 100-gram portion.

Purslane (also called Portulaca olearacea) has a stem that is round and smooth, and it trails along the ground like a small vine. When young, the plants hae a green stem, but as it ages – the stem takes on a reddish color. It has small, oblong, green leaves, which form clusters and are reported to be “juicy.”

In order to harvest purslane, it is best to pick it in the morning or evening.   Purslane can either be used raw in salads or sauteed as a side dish.   It has a crispy texture and a interesting peppery flavor.   The plant has made it onto the menu of several restaurants, and there are lots of recipes on CSA and community garden websites.

The plant was one of Gandhi’s favorite’s foods, and Henry Thoreau ate it while staying at Walden Pond.  It has been part of Chinese Medicine, Japanese cooking, and has been eaten in Mediterranean for many years.  The Russians dry and can it for the winter, and in Mexico it is called Verdolaga.

Image Source:
Gradually Greener

Links:
Purslane Recipes

Eat the Weeds: Purslane Video

 

 

The Sustainability Diet : Peter McDermott at CMNH

The Sustainability Diet : Peter McDermott at CMNH

Last weekend I attended a workshop entitled The Sustainability Diet given by Peter McDermott at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  McDermott is an urban farmer, a “network weaver” at E4S(Entrepeneurs for Sustainability) and the founder of Local Food Cleveland.

The first part of the workshop McDermott focused on, “How did we get here?” – or a brief history of how we got to our present day food system. He reviewed key events in history which included the development of the refrigerated railroad car, the process of making nitrogen out of oil, and the use of phosphorous and farming.

All three of these events have led to us having food that is shipped from far away, relies on petroleum as part of the process, and makes our food easy and fast to get.  Today for every 1 calorie of food that we eat, there are 9-10 calories of energy that were used to produce the food.  On the road today – 1/3 of trucks that we see are carrying food.

In 1915, Fritz Haber created a process where nitrogen, which is used as a fertilizer,  could be made from oil. This process helped support our modern farming practices.  One other additive that we use in farming is phosphorous, and we do not put it back into the soil.  Currently the industry mines for phosphorus, and there are predictions that in the next 50 years we will be not be able to continue to get a supply of this.

The outcome of these practices is that the current industrial system of food production treats soil and animals as materials, and we have gotten used to food being cheap, easy, and convenient. In the last 5 years, there has been a shift of people starting to move to local food.  This is being caused due to the current personal health and fitness movement,  interest in the environment that is increasing, and discussions about healthy food access, and discussions about the social justice of food economy.   Other challenges to our system is the national security threat that exists due to a food system that relies heavily on transportation for food supplies.

Besides these challenges of resources, there is a move to local foods due to the rise in “foodie” interest the economic potential of local food production, and neighborhood revitalization.

There is a growing movement to support the local food movement in Northeast Ohio.  McDermott went on to report that there are over 200 community gardens, and over 40 local farms in the area.  Cleveland is one of the leaders in policy and food systems.  Laws that support new zoning to support community gardens, individuals being allowed to have bees and chickens in their backyards, and a new law where catering companies need to use 10% of local food in their work have been positive changes to support food policy.

So how much has support of local food changed?  There has been a 13% growth in Farmers Markets, and sales of Ball jars for canning has increased in recent years.

McDermott reported that there has been lots of media coverage about local food only 1% of food is local.  The media coverage almost makes it seem as if the issue has greatly improved – but there is lots of change to happen.

Two current challenges that exist to changing our food system is the scale changing from an industrial to a local food system.  Most local farms farm on average 2 acres, with a couple of farmers and part-time help working the farm.  To make a change to local food, we will need many more farmers, and larger local farms.

Food equity and use of local food is another issue.  Generally it is upper and middle class individuals who buy local food, attend farmer markets, etc.

The second part of the McDermott’s presentation reviewed ten key questions that face the local food movement, and what we can do as individuals to support change.

10 Key Questions that the Local Food Movement is Facing:

1. How will we train and mobilize 50 million new farmers in the coming decades?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Support local farmers
Become a farmer
Start or join a community garden
Expand your backyard garden

2. How do we feed ourselves locally year round?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Learn to preserve food
Build a root cellar to store potatoes, carrots, squash, etc.
Garden year round – (grow crops under plastic)
Fermentation

3. How can we begin to provide a complete local diet with the production of staple crops? (beans, grains are not grown locally usually, due to the specialized equipment needed)
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Get regional equipment for farms to use

4. How to finance and rebuild food infrastructure? (ex: there are few small dairy farms)
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Need facilities for processing
Invest in local food enterprises (check out the Slow Money site)

5. Can the market for local food grow and support an expansion in production?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Shop at the farmers market
Join a CSA
Support restaurants and retailers who support local food

6. How can local food be accessible and affordable for all?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Check out a local food guide for your area
Support initiatives and non-profits that are working on food equity issues

7. How will we get local food into schools and institutions?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
(note : one challenge – Cleveland  and other schools have $1 per child budget for the day)
The supply of local food is not here yet to support these changes

8. How will we create a culture of conscious cooking and eating?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Invite family and friends – and cook and share about local food
Cook with children – and teach others to cook

9. What policies must we enact at the federal, state, and local levels to make this happen?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Look into the work of The Cleveland Cuyahoga County Food Coalition

10. How will we accomplish this work amidst peak oil, climate change, and the end of growth?
WHAT WE CAN DO:
Support policy to make changes

At the end of the presentation, McDermott recommended some books to learn more about growing your own food which included:  How to Grow More Vegetables, Gaia’s Garden, and The One Straw.  He also showed the Local Food Cleveland website – and reviewed the resources on the site which include events, guides to local markets, and other information.

Links:

Local Food Cleveland

E4S (Entrepreneurs For Sustainability)

The History of Refrigeration