Save Money! Grow your own Food!

This fabulous photo comes from a fantastic Backyard Gardening blog you can find from this link:

http://www.gardeningblog.net/2008/05/21/grow-your-own-food-to-save-money/

Here are the main points:

• Oil prices reached $130 a barrel today, and getting food shipped around the country costs money, which means non-locally grown food (most supermarket food) costs you more
• he highly suggests raspberries, asparagus, onions, and squash as great plants to save you money
• he provides logical advice for choosing other plants that would be helpful for any gardener

Link to story below

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/20/watch20x.ART_ART_05-20-08_B1_CPA8GP7.html?sid=101

Bill

Wellington and Charles School help rejuvenate SouthSide Community Garden

Students from two area schools came out in force to help the SouthSide Settlement House Community Garden get growing again.

Erin Noviski and 45 -8th grade students from the Wellington School and Annie Carlson and her 'Green Team' of students from The Charles School combined their efforts along with the Growing to Green program of the Franklin Park Conservatory to help get this green space active once again.

Several area residents came out also on this cold, rainy and muddy morning to work with us. The garden has had problems with an invasive grass species taking over the plots. Many of the gardeners are seniors and were having a tough time battling the maintenance. New, smaller plots were laid out, grass seed was sown, trash was cleaned up, rocks were cleared and trees pruned and mulched. The sun came out in the afternoon as the Charles School arrived to help with remaining chores and cleanup. they even were able to plant a few sunflowers at the entry way. The plan was to work with SouthSide Settlement House to make the garden easier to maintain, involve more South Side residents and create an avenue of sustainability.

The garden will always welcome assistance from other neighborhood groups and our fantastic Community Gardens Network!

Thanks All,

Bill Dawson

The Top 10 Farm-to-Table Restaurants

I n case you haven't heard: After years of importing ingredients from all over the world, chefs are going back to basics and staying local. The goal is to limit the human impact on the environment—less flying, driving, and fuel consumption (all of which leaves a smaller "eco-footprint"). Farm-fresh fare is also packed with nutrients, doesn't have to be sprayed with chemicals to protect it for the long haul to the restaurant, and just plain tastes good. Everybody wins, from farmer to chef to diner.

read more..... http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/diningtravel/restaurants/farmtotable_intro

AND let's get a Columbus eatery on this list someday soon!!

SHCG coordination with Dan

It is important to get in touch with Dan from the Columbus Foundation when you are looking for funding for your garden. Helpful facts he shared with me: the grants are typically due around October, gardens can be in any stage of development (as in already established all the way to just beginning), the more people you have involved the better, and they do not favor urban blighted areas over others.

I am attempting to upload a copy of LAST YEARS grant (so DO NOT use) via Google documents. This is an interesting technological jump for me. Feel free to use the grant to help you along on starting your own garden.

Dan said to check out the website as the date draws near for the actual grant application form.
http://www.columbusfoundation.org/

SHCG coordination with Bill

Penny,

I would really like to help with your project! I left you a VM and you could borrow the GtoG video anytime you like to present to your group if that helps.

I am also attaching a site visit request form if you want to get a date on the calendar for a visit.

Thank you,
Bill

Sycamore Hills Community Gardening First Response!

Good Morning, My name is Tomasina __ I live at _.

I would like to hear more about the community gardens. I am interested in the idea and just myself signed up for a CSA share of produce and fruit from a Marysville farmer, I realize thats not a community garden but it the next best thing.

One problem I have right now is TIME, i am over extended for now, but would be willing to help in worker bee fashion. I work FT and go to school in evenings. And my days are filled planning my daughters graduation party, etc etc.

But I am really interested in Community Gardening and would like to know more and would enjoy helping where I am able to .

I look forward to hearing from you!
Tomasina

Sycamore Hills Community Gardening Proposal

This is the first of the communications to my Neighborhood to start a community garden. It was in our May newsletter (I took out some of the personal info since this is the WWW!):

Community Gardens - Proposal

Greetings! My name is Amy _, and I have been a part of SH since I was a baby! Now that I am all grown up, I purchased _ from my mother because I wanted to make SH home for my family, as well. I feel that we have an incredible neighborhood and I would like to do my part to make it even more beautiful, as well to create the possibility for a more connected community.

After a year of working in community gardens all over the Columbus area, I would like to bring all that I have learned back to our community to start our own CG. There is a $4000 grant from Franklin Park Conservatory and Scott’s Growing to Green that we can apply for, and I am willing and able to coordinate this adventure.

At this moment, everything is just an idea, so now is the time to get involved if you have a vision for our CG. I would like for anyone and everyone who is interested in being a part of our CG to join in the planning process on whatever time commitment that works for you, from a quick one time email all the way to helping to write and implement the grant. It is up to you; it is your
community garden!

Feel free to send any ideas, concerns, offers of help, specific skills/tools you can contribute to our CG to _ and/or _, or call _.

CLINTONVILLE COMMUNITY MARKET

A gift to our compost from new WPCG Member Cortney Porter---Thanks!