Community Gardening Plant a Row Project Update PLANT EXTRA! PLANT EXTRA! PLANT EXTRA! Please Help the Hungry. The new Master Gardener Community Gardening Committee is looking for gardeners to participate in the Plant a Row for the Hungry Project. This project is a national program that has contributed millions of pounds of fresh produce to hunger centers across the country and we want Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners and Community Gardeners to be a part of this effort. We need YOU to plant an extra row of vegetables for the hungry of Cleveland. The need is greater than ever because of the current economy. When planning your garden please plant extra for the Cleveland Foodbank and local food pantries! There are three ways to help: Plant, harvest and deliver your fresh produce to the hunger center of your choice. Please weigh the produce and report the amount you donate to Master Gardener Gwen Morgan at [email protected]or 440-823-1591 (cell) or 440-423-0225 (home) so we can track how much we give. Your donations are tax deductible. Contact Gwen for a receipt. Plant, harvest and deliver your fresh produce to a drop-off point in your area. The volunteer at the drop-off point will deliver contributions to the Cleveland Foodbank and/or food pantries. This volunteer will also weigh all SEE PLANT A ROW PAGE 5 Cooking in the Garden by Becky Orenstein, Student Position H alf of the fun of gardening is enjoying the fruits of your labor. We all love gardening, but do not always know what to do with our vegetables when harvest time rolls around. Fresh vegetables are always delicious when eaten on their own, but we often run out of ideas on how to prepare our produce once it is picked. Who better to give suggestions than a chef? There will be two “Cooking in the Garden” workshops this summer, each featuring a chef who will give a free cooking lesson! Not only will you be able to sample professionally prepared food, you will learn how to make it at home! Each dish prepared will highlight a vegetable and give you creative ideas on how to make the most of your hard work in the garden. In addition to the cooking portion of the workshop, there will be an informative section focused on the health benefits of different fruits and vegetables. We often forget how valuable the nutrients in fruits and vegetables are to the proper functioning of our bodies. Each “Cooking in the Garden” workshop will include a potluck meal so you will have the opportunity to showcase your favorite dish prepared with fresh fruits or vegetables. Last year, gardeners brought everything from zucchini soup to tomato wine. Bring your recipe and swap with your fellow gardeners! There will be two “Cooking in the Garden” workshops: June 18th (East Side) August 27th (West Side) 6:00-8:00 p.m. 6:00-8:00 p.m. Paul Revere Garden El Sol Garden 10334 Gay Ave. 3202 Woodbridge Come to one, or both! Last year’s “Cooking in the Garden” workshops featured great food and great company. They are the perfect opportunity to mingle with fellow gardeners, see a garden you might not have seen before, and pick up some new information! Summer 2009 The Community Gardening Newsletter Published by the Community Gardening Program of Ohio State University Extension, Cuyahoga County Joy at Garfield Garden July, 2008 Chef Andy at Brighter Side Garden August, 2008
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Community Gardening Plant a Row Project Update P L A N T E X T R A ! P L A N T E X T R A ! P L A N T E X T R A !
Please Help the Hungry. The new Master Gardener Community Gardening Committee is looking for gardeners to
participate in the Plant a Row for the Hungry Project. This project is a national program that has contributed millions
of pounds of fresh produce to hunger centers across the country and we want Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners and
Community Gardeners to be a part of this effort. We need YOU to plant an extra row of vegetables for the hungry of
Cleveland. The need is greater than ever because of the current economy. When planning your garden please plant
extra for the Cleveland Foodbank and local food pantries!
There are three ways to help:
� Plant, harvest and deliver your fresh produce to the hunger center of your choice. Please weigh the produce and report the amount you donate to Master Gardener Gwen
Morgan at [email protected] or 440-823-1591 (cell) or 440-423-0225 (home) so we can track how
much we give. Your donations are tax deductible. Contact Gwen for a receipt.
� Plant, harvest and deliver your fresh produce to a drop-off point in your area. The volunteer at the drop-off point will deliver contributions to the Cleveland Foodbank and/or food pantries. This volunteer will also weigh all
SEE PPPPLLLLAAAANNNNTTTT AAAA RRRROOOOWWWW PAGE 5
Cooking in the Garden by Becky Orenstein, Student Position
H alf of the fun of gardening is enjoying the fruits of your labor. We all love gardening, but do not always know what to do with our vegetables when harvest time rolls around. Fresh
vegetables are always delicious when eaten on their own, but we often run out of ideas on how to
prepare our produce once it is picked. Who better to give suggestions than a chef? There will be
two “Cooking in the Garden” workshops this summer, each featuring a chef who will give a free
cooking lesson! Not only will you be able to sample professionally prepared food, you will learn
how to make it at home! Each dish prepared will highlight a
vegetable and give you creative ideas on how to make the most of
your hard work in the garden. In addition to the cooking portion
of the workshop, there will be an informative section focused on
the health benefits of different fruits and vegetables. We often
forget how valuable the nutrients in fruits and vegetables are to
the proper functioning of our bodies. Each “Cooking in the
Garden” workshop will include a potluck meal so you will have
the opportunity to showcase your favorite dish prepared with fresh
fruits or vegetables. Last year, gardeners brought everything from
zucchini soup to tomato wine. Bring your recipe and swap with
your fellow gardeners!
There will be two “Cooking in the Garden” workshops:
June 18th (East Side) August 27th (West Side)
6:00-8:00 p.m. 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Paul Revere Garden El Sol Garden
10334 Gay Ave. 3202 Woodbridge
Come to one, or both! Last year’s “Cooking in the Garden” workshops featured great food and great company. They are
the perfect opportunity to mingle with fellow gardeners, see a garden you might not have seen before, and pick up some new
information!
Summer 2009
The Community Gardening Newsletter Published by the Community Gardening Program of Ohio State University Extension, Cuyahoga County
Joy at Garfield Garden July, 2008
Chef Andy at Brighter Side Garden August, 2008
Page 2 The Communit y Garden ing News let ter Summer 2009
Cleveland Public School students use team work in their victory garden, May 1942
Healthy Eating, Active Living in Ward OneHealthy Eating, Active Living in Ward OneHealthy Eating, Active Living in Ward OneHealthy Eating, Active Living in Ward One by Amanda Block, Program Assistant
OSU Extension (OSUE) and the Harvard
Community Service Center
are delighted to announce
five new community gardens
in Cleveland’s Ward One.
This project is made possible
through a grant from Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy
Eating Active Living (HEAL) program. The goal for
OSUE is to provide research-based education,
resources, and support to residents in order to
establish and maintain quality gardens in Ward One.
HEAL was implemented to reduce obesity rates
and promote improvements in nutrition and physical
activity in targeted neighborhoods. Data from the
City of Cleveland’s Department of Public Health, as
well as other sources, indicates significant health
disparities in Ward One. For example, statistics have
shown that rates of both heart disease and stroke are
about two-times higher in Ward 1 than in the rest of
the City of Cleveland.
The community gardens will increase access to
fresh and nutritious food, while stretching the food
budget, as families put local food on the table. In
addition to the nutrition, the gardens will also create
opportunities for exercise and introduce residents to
a lifelong hobby.
The sites for the gardens have yet to be determined,
but they will be located in areas that demonstrate
community support. A core group of dedicated
gardeners is essential to the sustainability of these
gardens. The aim is to build gardens throughout the
Ward and put in place infrastructure that will facilitate
the building of more gardens in upcoming seasons as
the community drives them. In an effort to encourage
residents to take on the management of garden projects,
OSUE will host workshops in Ward One on topics
pertaining to building community gardens. As the
gardens are developed OSUE will be excited to share
updates with the Cleveland
gardening community!
Grant Opportunity Gardenburger™ Community Garden Grants
This program provides necessary support to
organizations looking to sustain or create a community
gardening project in their neighborhood that will provide
community residents and neighborhoods with improved
health, vitality and quality of life that comes from access
to fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. All 501(c)3
organizations may apply. The deadline is June 30, 2009.
Contact: Gardenburger™ Community Garden Grants at
www.gardenburger.com to download the application form
and the terms and conditions.
http://healwardone.com/
Open in the Thomas F. Campbell Gallery,
CSU Levin College of Urban Affairs
Feeding Cleveland—Free and open to the public
A recurring theme in 20th century Cleveland that
continues to the present day is that during difficult
economic periods communities of people have come
together to raise food crops on city land.
The working man's farms during the Great
Depression, the victory gardens during World War II,
community gardens established during the years of
urban renewal, and the present day market gardeners
of the local food movement, all provide examples of
revivals of urban agriculture as a response to
economic difficulties. As more and more people try to
stretch their budgets during this recession, some are
turning to the backyard as the place to look for food.
The exhibit features images of commercial
greenhouses, victory gardens, work relief gardens,
community gardens and Cleveland Public School
Horticulture Program. More photographs, ebooks and
other information is available at:
www.clevelandmemory.org
The Exhibit runs from May 1 through August 31, 2009 in the Campbell Gallery
Gallery hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday
Feeding Cleveland Exhibit
Summer 2009 The Community Gardening News let ter Page 3
Garden Leader Corner Garden Leader: Tom Sargent
Garden Name: Benjamin Franklin Community Garden
Location: Located on Spring Road behind Ben Franklin Elementary School
How long have you been a garden
leader? I have been the garden
leader since 2001, so 9 years. Before
that, I helped Barney (previous
garden leader) out for 5 to 6 years
running the garden.
How long have you been
gardening? All of my life! I grew
up in southern West Virginia, so I
had been doing mountainside
gardening all my life; that is just my
culture. That is the Appalachian
culture.
What is the biggest benefit your
garden provides? We have 5 acres
of land, and I believe we are the
largest community garden in the county, possibly the state.
What is the biggest challenge your garden faces? The biggest challenge is managing gardeners who do
not maintain their plots. A lot of the time when that happens, it is because gardeners do not understand the
attention gardening demands. We have a delicate rule system here because of that. I do not want it to seem like
a gulag, but there is a delicate balance between having too many rules and what is needed to keep the garden
maintained. There are a lot of different gardening styles in the garden. We have more than 200 gardeners
involved, some are first time gardeners. But the committee is becoming very active and they have been really
helpful with this issue.
Tell us something special or unique about your garden and its gardeners. Our crew is relatively
diverse. We have some really good gardeners involved, some are Master Gardeners, and they are really helpful.
We also work with the Benjamin Franklin School, which makes us unique. Plus, we donate a good amount of
food. Last year we donated between 6,000 and 9,000 pound of fresh food.
What do you keep in mind to be the best leader you can be? I try to keep in mind that we are a diverse
group, and we have different gardening cultures. Like me, we have gardeners from Appalachia, we have
African American gardeners, we have first generation gardeners, and we even have gardeners from South
America. All those different cultures mean there are a lot of different ways things are done, and there is a great
opportunity to learn. I really enjoy seeing all of those different styles of gardening.
Anything else you would like to share? I have been very happy with the support that the Garden Committee
[Ben Franklin] has been providing.
Page 4 The Communit y Garden ing News let ter Summer 2009
Secret Hideaways and Fun Structures Author: National Gardening Association
S ecret hideaways, garden playrooms, and special structures are enticements for involving kids in the garden, and they can transform the garden into a fantasyland and refuge. This project can make your garden the most kid-friendly place on the block.
Planting a Sunflower House
You'll need:
• a garden spot, with good soil, that receives at least 6 hours of sun daily
• seeds for tall sunflowers, such as 'Mammoth' or 'Paul Bunyan'
• seeds for medium-height (about 5-foot) sunflowers
• seeds for a colorful, flowering annual, such as zinnias
• seeds for morning glories
• string
1. With your young gardeners, decide on an exterior shape and dimensions for your house. You'll need at least a 4- by 6-foot house, but an 8- by 8-foot space is more generous and looks more convincing when fully grown. Allow some extra space so you can walk around the building to tend to the plants. When you've decided on an outline, have your child mark it on the ground so the seeds don't get stepped on accidentally while you are waiting for them to grow.
2. Plant seeds for the tall sunflowers in a row to mark the outline, starting at the corners. Help your child plant the seeds about a foot apart. Then between the tall ones, plant the mid-height variety. Then plant a colorful flowering annual such as zinnias all around the outside. (Using these different heights will make the walls seem more solid.)
3. Another colorful way to fill in the walls is to plant morning glory vines to climb the sunflowers. (Soak the seeds in water overnight to hasten germination.) Help your child train the vines to climb the tallest sunflowers by directing the early growth toward the sunflower stems. Your child may be fascinated to see that they only twine in one direction! Once the vines have found the stem, they will twine their own way up.
4. To encourage the morning glory vines to form a "roof," help your child weave a network of string or yarn across the open top from sunflower to sunflower. Add the string when the sunflowers are about four feet tall. The sunflowers will raise the roof as they grow.
5. Finally, to keep down weeds and make a cleaner surface for your child to play on, use a thick layer of mulch to carpet the interior or cover it with flattened cardboard boxes. You could even add a beach towel for a rug or even some small-scaled furniture.
Your sunflower structure could be the most popular hangout on the block!
Summer 2009 The Community Gardening News let ter Page 5
To the Garden We Grow! by Becky Orenstein, Student
D uring the summer months students often put education on the back-burner to make room for having fun and enjoying their free time. What is often forgotten is that having fun can be incorporated into learning! To make sure that these summer months don’t go to waste, the horticulture department and nutrition educators will be joining forces to teach the “To the Garden We Grow” program. For the second year, we will be visiting youth in Cleveland to teach lessons focused on nutrition and gardening basics. While we are returning to many sites from last year, we will be meeting a lot of new faces this summer. This year, each group in the program has a garden at their site, which will enable the students to obtain hands-on experience. Each lesson will include information, activities and opportunities for the students to try new things. There are six different lessons that will be taught this summer: Building a Good Base for Health, Plants Eat Too—Understanding Roots and Seeds, The Foods We Eat from Parts of the Plant, Worms are Wonderful!, Cleveland: A Green City on a Blue Lake, and Keeping Foods Safe to Eat/What’s Up with that Bug? Included in these lessons, students will be able to plant avocados, see worms in a compost bin, learn why both humans and plants need water, sample new foods, and much more! Each lesson will have physical activity and gardening time, ensuring that the students get exercise and don’t get bored! To the Garden We Grow is just as helpful to the educators as to the students. The lessons are great reminders of things we might forget about on a daily basis, such as the importance of reusing materials (not just recycling), or of choosing water over more sugary beverages. In addition to reminding ourselves about basics of nutrition and gardening, OSU Extension educators love the opportunity to meet students from all areas of Cleveland. After creating great memories last year, we are excited for another year of nutrition in the garden. For more infor-mation on this program, contact Lauren Melnick at 216-
429-8200, ext. 229.
Summer Student Positions Join the OSUE Community Gardening Team We are pleased to share that three Student Positions will be enhancing our educational
outreach efforts to community gardens. Becky Orenstein (rejoining us from last summer),
Mike Auerbach and Bryn Adams will be out visiting gardens, planning special network-
ing events, assisting with workshops, and helping to implement a new children’s program
that blends nutrition with gardening, “To the Garden We Grow.”
SAVE the DATE!SAVE the DATE!SAVE the DATE!SAVE the DATE! OSU Extension, Cuyahoga County and Cleveland Department of Community Development present:
Saturday, August 15 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 Saturday, August 15 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 Saturday, August 15 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 Saturday, August 15 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.p.m.p.m.p.m. The event will kick-off at the Ben Franklin
Garden (1905 Spring Road) in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood and the tour will wind through nine more community gardens and one urban farm. For additional information, call the Garden Tour Hotline at (216) 429-3148.
Page 8 The Communit y Garden ing News let ter Summer 2009
June Garden Practices Vegetables Fruits
● Weed the garden regularly. ● Water gardens during the
morning if possible. ● Store unused seeds in a cold,
dry location. ● Plant buckwheat in vacant
areas of the garden to retard weeds.
● Inspect your garden daily.
● All summer harvest crops should be in the ground by now.
● Pull soil or mulch up against potato plants when they are 8 to 12 inches tall.
● Sow more carrots and beets for continuous harvest.
● Sidedress asparagus and rhubarb with aged manure or a 10-10-10 fertilizer.
● Remove radish, spinach, and lettuce plants when they send up seed stalks.
● Thin apples, pears and peaches for larger fruit.
● Remove blossoms from newly established strawberry plants.
● Loosely tie grape vines to the trellis using soft twine or plastic ties.
● Protect ripening fruit from animals with netting or row cover.
July
Garden Practices Vegetables Fruits ● Prevent weeds from going to
seed! Scrape smaller weeds with a hoe or hand-pull larger and perennial weeds.
● Water deeply when needed; avoid light sprinkling.
● Remove faded flowers and over-ripe fruit that attract Japanese beetles.
● Never apply pesticides to stressed plants.
● Inspect your garden daily.
● Sow more beets, beans and carrots. ● Sow parsley, dill and basil in pots for use
indoors during winter. ● Plant Chinese cabbage, endive, snap beans,
kohlrabi, lettuce and radish for fall harvest. ● Plant late-season cabbage transplants in the
garden. ● Plant rutabagas for harvest in early autumn. ● Lightly fertilize onions, tomatoes, peppers
and other long-season plants. ● Allow broccoli to develop side shoots after
central head has been harvested. ● Pinch or cut back mint, oregano, and savory
to promote bushy growth. ● Harvest summer squash when they are
young and tender. ● Blanch celery a week before harvesting by
wrapping stalks with paper. ● Allow a few green peppers to turn red
before harvesting.
● Prop branches of heavily loaded fruit trees.
● Renovate overcrowded strawberry beds (ask Extension for fact sheet).
● Prune suckers and water sprouts from apple trees.
● Enjoy local peaches. ● Cut down raspberry canes that
produced fruit earlier this summer.
August
Garden Practices Vegetables Fruits ● Continue to cultivate around
vegetables and flowers to discourage weeds.
● Handpick Japanese beetles and drop them into a jar of detergent and water.
● Do a soil test before planting a new garden.
● Watch for wasps when working near rock piles, old tree stumps and stone walls.
● Inspect your garden daily.
● Harvest tomatoes when their color is fully developed. Know your tomato variety to determine ripeness.
● Plant collards, kale, and turnips for the fall garden.
● Sow seeds of leaf lettuce, radish, turnip (for greens), and spinach for fall harvest.
● Dig potatoes after vines have died. ● Sow spinach for fall harvest. ● If you have too many zucchini or tomatoes,
reduce the number of those plants you put in the garden next year.
● Harvest cantaloupe when the stem separates from the fruit with gentle prodding.
SEE TTTTIIIIPPPPSSSS PAGE 9
Summer 2009 The Community Gardening News let ter Page 9
ALSO,ALSO,ALSO,ALSO,
● SHARE your harvest with neighbors, friends, and those in need. Call the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland at 216-619-8155 ext. 12 to find a location to drop off excess produce, talk to your local church or food pantry, or call OSUE for guidance.
● HARVEST the vegetable garden every few days. AVOID MID-DAY PICKING: Vegetables picked in the cool, early morning taste best and store longer!
● SAVOR fresh vegetables from your garden and farmers' markets. ● ATTEND OSUE Garden Workshops this summer (see below for more details)! ● SHARE, LEARN, EAT, MEET! At a Garden Potluck (see page 7 for more details). ● CALL the Master Gardener Hotline (Mondays and Thursdays 10am-1pm) or Community Gardening staff anytime for Fact
Sheets about Pest and Disease, Growing Tips and Techniques for individual fruits and vegetables, Compost How-to, etc.
Special note for GARDEN LEADERS AND COORDINATORS:Special note for GARDEN LEADERS AND COORDINATORS:Special note for GARDEN LEADERS AND COORDINATORS:Special note for GARDEN LEADERS AND COORDINATORS: ● Create committees and delegate tasks; you don’t have to do it all yourself! For example: Weed Patrols, Compost,
Fundraisers, or Grant Seekers and Writers ● Talk to other leaders/coordinators and share and learn best practices.
Workshop Schedule Weed ID & Management with John Cardina
Saturday, June 13, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Free to the public
Building Healthy Communities
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Cooking in the Garden Thursday, June 18, 2009
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Free to the public
Paul Revere Garden
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Pest & Disease—with Jim Chatfield Saturday, June 27, 2009
10:00 a.m.. – 12:00 noon
Free to the public
Shaffer Miles Garden
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Composting Saturday, July 11, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Free to the public
Hirst Avenue Garden
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Season Extension
Saturday, July 25, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Free to the public
Herman Avenue Garden
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Soil/No Till Thursday, August 20, 2009
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Free to the public
West 47th Garden
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Cooking in the Garden
Thursday, August 27, 2009
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Free to the public
El Sol Garden
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Harvesting/Seed Saving Thursday, September 10, 2009
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Free to the public
Madison Community Garden
RSVP to Marty 216-429-8220
Grant Writing Tuesday, October 13, 2009
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Free to the public
YWCA of Greater Cleveland
RSVP to Michelle 216-429-8224
Upcoming Events Community Garden Tours Saturday, August 15, 2009
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Ben Franklin Garden
Cuyahoga County Fair Monday, August 10 – Sunday, August 16, 2009
Berea Fair Grounds
“Medieval Times at the Fair”
ACGA 30th Annual Conference Thursday, August 6 – Sunday, August 9, 2009
Franklin Park Conservatory
Columbus, Ohio
Garden Leader scholarship applications are due
June 30th (City of Cleveland Summer Sprout only)
TIPSTIPSTIPSTIPS FROM PAGE 8
Ohio State University Extension
Cuyahoga County
9127 Miles Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44105
www.cuyahoga.osu.edu
Mission Statement The Community Gardening Program provides education and resources, helping communities to
grow nutritious food, develop important life skills, and create a healthy environment.
Do you have a question about your garden?
• Unsure of when to plant seeds or transplant seedlings?
• Curious about what vegetables make good companion plantings?
• Want to improve the health of your soil naturally?
OSU Extension Master Gardeners can answer your questions and send you
information to increase your gardening successes.
Call (216) 429-8235 between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Mondays and
THANK YOU for making the Community Gardening Program possible through your monetary contributions, time, and effort:
The Cleveland Foundation
The George Gund Foundation
The Edward and Betty Sloat Foundation
Centers for Disease Control’s Steps to a Healthier US
The SK Wellman Foundation
City of Cleveland, the Honorable Frank Jackson, Mayor
City of Cleveland, Department of Community Development, Division of Neighborhood Services
Cleveland Department of Public Health
Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Cardiovascular Health Program
Cuyahoga County Board of County Commissioners
Ohio State University Extension embraces human diversity and is committed to ensuring that all research and related educational programs are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or veteran
status. This statement is in accordance with United States Civil Rights Laws and the USDA. Keith L. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Vice President for Agricultural Admini-
stration and Director, Ohio State University Extension. TDD No. 800-589-8292 (Ohio only) or 614-292-1868.