Farm’s Open Harvest Draws 40,000 in Colorado

I was checking out the Garden Rant Blog when I came across their post about a really wonderful couple, Joe and Chris Miller.

They opened up their farm at the end of the season to anyone who wanted to harvest the leftover potatoes, carrots, and leeks. 40,000 people showed up! The highways around the farm were shut down!

Could we apply this idea to the leftover veggies and flowers in Columbus community gardens?

Here is an interview with Joe Miller from NPR in an audio format. It is a beautiful story that captures the state of our economy, the importance of food, and the power of a community supporting each other.

Autumnal Assesment

In the shadow seasons the reasons are unknown to all save a few who hold the seeds in their hearts. Hello Columbusopolis! The gardens @Milo and 4scf are brushing their teeth and preparing for bed. Removing the waste at this stage of the year is both a melancholy and meaningful activity. One can prune in autumn. The metaphor of the maker remains self evident. What is impeding progress and growth? What needs attention at this stage of the green life cycle? Who cares? We do - the plant people. The grass roots givers and shakers. Community gardens are a way we can help our new president to solve social problems. It is scary simple. A friend and I just had a nice lunch with mustard greens from our fall planting. Nourishment Nice New Day!

Animal (poo) Dreams

are you a gardener frustrated by the lack of easy to get compost necessary to grow your toms, cukes, broc and corn? intensive planting requires a steady supply of goodness and making enough for one bed let alone an entire garden for a season means dedicating time and money toward collecting materials, compost pile construction and management. if you are looking for a poop connection and you are nowhere near horses, cattle, et al, sources from craigslist can help with free compost and affordable hay and straw. these last two have skyrocketed in price but keep looking until you find some in your price range. my chickens help out in the home garden but a community garden, unless secured and with caretakers on site, are not animal friendly places. being in the city look for neighborhood fertility options like krogers. i gave 2 garbage cans to a market where i lived and would pick them up every day filled to the top with discarded produce. hay mulch, alfalfa pellets, day-lay industrial chicken farm compost, cover crops and rotation have helped in the gardens i have planted recently but there is nothing like real compost from manure, urine, straw and time. as i meditate on next years projects and how to keep costs low and productivity ample i'd like to hear from columbus and area people who have a system, strategy or source ideas for soil tilth and plant happiness.

Tulips....It's not too late!

It is not too late to tip toe through your own tulips! Don't forget the feeling of seeing tulips poking out of the soil in Spring. Planting bulbs in October and November is also another great activity to bring us all together in our gardens. Many of our local nurseries will donate bulbs to community gardens. Here are some fun photos of people and tulips. It seems that tulips are a popular backdrop for people all over the world.

Need Help With Fall Cleanup?

LAFF Club – Hire OSU students for fall clean-up:

It is that time of year again when all the leaves of the trees are turning fantastic colors, but soon those leaves will be falling to the ground and making a mess in your yard and gardens. Also this is the time to do your last minute planting of trees and bulbs that will bloom in the spring. If you are too busy to take care of your yard clean-up, don’t fear because the students in the Landscape and Floriculture Forum, or LAFF for short, are here to help you. We can send two of our club members out to your house to do this clean-up. Two of the club members come out to your house and work in your yard raking leaves, planting bulbs, trimming trees and other yard maintenance. 2 members for 5 hours = $100.00 2 members for 2 hours = $50.00. If you are interested please e-mail us at: laffatosu@gmail.com or call us at: (330) 234-4057.

Columbus Winter Farmers Market

From their website:

When it's cold outside this winter, join us inside for a warm farmers' market experience full of local homemade, handmade and organically grown farm products from many of the same farmers that you know at the Clintonville Farmers' Market.

Our market will include chicken, eggs, baked goods, herb dips, rubs, seasonings, artisan cheeses, pies, bread, gourmet chocolates, meats, honey, seasonal produce & much more....

December 13, January 3 & 24, February 14 & 28, March 7 & 21, April 4 & 18,

10am - 1pm

to be held in the fellowship hall at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 West Weisheimer Rd.Columbus, Ohio 43214 (Google Map and Directions). Located 3 blocks North of West Henderson Rd., the church parking lot is behind Panera Bread at 4519 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio.

A Little Color for You!

These images start from this summer until now. This perennial is called Chinese Lanterns. Look for the bright orange seed pod through the veins. SO COOL! Here is a description I found online:

This 1-2 foot perennial produces extremely decorative seed cases that look like glowing orange paper lanterns. Excellent fresh cut and they can also be easily dried and will make choice winter arrangements. Can spread quickly, plant where it can be controlled. Good in large containers. Perennial. Winter hardy to zone 3.

Teleconference For ACGA Members

I just read about this from the ACGA listserv:

TELECONFERENCE FOR ACGA MEMBERS

To Join ACGA Click Here

Join us for Involving Community with David King, November 28th, 7:00 pm Eastern time, 6:00 pm Central, 5:00 pm Mountain, and 4:00 pm Pacific.

David King is the Gardenmaster/Director of the Learning Garden at Venice High School in Los Angeles and a member of ACGA's Board of Directors. David's horticultural blog is lagarden.blogspot.com.

Register today by emailing your name, organization, city, and short description of your garden/program to share with other particpants: info@communitygarden.org, or call toll-free (877) 275-2242. Those who register will receive a reply email from ACGA with the telephone number and access code you will need to use to enter the call. Conference calls typically last 60-90 minutes and involve a portion of time for questions and answers from the guest speaker and the audience. All Teleconferences are recorded and are available for download from the ACGA website. Click Here to access previous workshops.

Photo/Video/Author Requests!

The Columbus Community Gardening Blog, www.columbuscommunitygardening.blogspot.com is requesting photos/utube submissions from community gardeners here in Columbus and other areas. We would like to feature all of the hard work that you've all done to transform your neighborhoods, grow food and create beauty!

Please submit photos to: trish@local-matters.org.

In addition, anyone who is interested in becoming a contributing author on the blog, please submit your name, garden name/location, role in the garden, and a brief description of your garden history. If you don't do it already, blogging will expand your garden knowledge and enjoyment more than you could imagine.

We want this blog to be about, enriched by, and from all the different community gardening perspectives in Columbus, so write to us. We can't wait to hear from you!

Sincerely,
Amy (Penny) and Trish (www.local-matters.org)

Wildlife Certification

© Copyright - Pat D. Hemlepp (published with permission)

A lovely friend suggested that I read this article to help with the planning of our community garden. It talks about getting backyards (and businesses, parks, etc) certified for being wildlife friendly.

Dublin aims for citywide wildlife certification
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 By BRITTINY DUNLAP ThisWeek Staff Writer

The city of Dublin is working toward becoming a certified community by the National Wildlife Federation. It needs the help of residents to accomplish this task.
To obtain the certification, several city parks, businesses and at least 150 residences must be certified.

"We're doing all these great things, but this will be a great way for the whole community to be involved in the project," said Dublin's nature education coordinator, Mime Migliore.

Interested residents can download an online application that includes requirements for property designs, food, water sources, places for cover, places to raise young and sustainable gardening practices for wildlife such as butterflies and hummingbirds.

Dublin resident Sue Swyt and her husband, Bill Marek, certified their yard more than 10 years ago.

"We actually had everything to certify when we got the application," Swyt said. "I think most people in Dublin don't realize they can probably be certified already. It's just a matter of going and seeing what you have."

Swyt described her yard as a "typical Dublin backyard" that has plenty of room for her children to play in, but she and Marek have made small changes over the years to become friendlier to native plant and animal species.

"My biggest advice is to take a look at the application," Swyt said. "It's very simple and easier than you think. We thought we'd have to buy more plants and spend a lot of money, but we didn't. We were shocked to see all we had to do was fill (the application) out."

Many residents probably already have in place several things required for certification, Swyt said. For example, a pile of wood is considered a place for cover and a birdhouse is considered a place to raise young.

"In a way it joins us in an effort and in something green that's really beneficial to insects and birds," Migliore said. "On a grander scale if we're planting native species in our yards, we're using less water and fertilizer because they already know how to survive in the clay soil and that benefits the environment."

Besides being environmentally friendly, there are other benefits to residents who become certified. It increases curb appeal, restores habitats that have been damaged by construction and more animals will be attracted to the property, Migliore said.

"As we better our environment, the animals traveling through like birds are going to find our environment richer," Migliore said. "This also supports native plants in our landscaping. It fits into that whole picture of allowing people to see the city of Dublin as its own ecosystem."

The certification process will take two to three years to complete, Migliore said. Contact Migliore at (614) 410-4700, or go to the National Wildlife Federation's Web site at www.nwf.org.