Beet Red Velvet Cake and Other Adventures

It seems that you cannot have a community garden in Central Ohio without growing lots of beets.  They are a two-season crop and are very pretty.  Trouble is,  I wasn’t raised with beets and I just don’t like them.  I’ve really, really tried, but they don’t work for me.  Last year, I tried the national dish of Russia, borscht, but I couldn’t finish a bowl.  Maybe I don’t have a good recipe.  I tried roasted beets (even mixed with roasted potatoes and turnips).  I’ve made them into bruchetta spreads and taken them to parties topped with feta (to very faint praise). I’m told that they are good pickled, particularly at a restaurant in Mt. Sterling, but I’ve never had the pleasure.  I’ve even tried some Mark Bittman recipes. The best I can say is that I can tolerate them raw and shaved onto salads.  They make my kale slaws very colorful.  While the beets in the food pantry plot have been relatively tiny, the beets in my plot have been as big as my fist. 

Last week, as she was driving away, I asked Cathy Alexander what to do with them (because she lovesbeets).  Red velvet cake she says.   I’m not much of a baker and I almost never bake from scratch.  However, I did some research and it turns out that back in the day, beets were used to make the cakes red before there was red food dye.   There are additional benefits to baking with beets, too.  They add a natural sweetness (so that you can reduce the amount of processed sugar) and they add moisture to the batter so that they stay moist longer without adding lots of extra cooking oil.    I found a number of recipes for beet red velvet cake on the internet and used an easy recipeon Friday night to make cupcakes for my intrepid volunteers who showed up on Saturday.  (Of course, it rained until almost 3 p.m.).  Sadly, I used dark chocolate, so you cannot see the red color, but I have no doubt it would be there if I had used regular chocolate.  They are still moist on Monday.   I messed with the recipe a little bit.  I added more than ¾ cup roasted/pureed beets (bad idea) and added ¼ cup lemon juice (to beef up the color).   I will be making these again.  And often.

As for our other adventures.  Sabrina worked really hard this week to catch up on weeding the food pantry plots.  It took her a few trips, but the weeds are finally under control in there.  I can even see cantaloupes growing.  Her husband,  Tom, mowed our lawn.    Cassie stopped by on Tuesday, too, to do some light weeding in her plot and the flower beds.  Sadly, she did not make much progress.  She was able to harvest a lot of neglected vegetables.  Her butternut squash had grown out to almost the alley and there was a large fruit forming out there.  There was no way to bring it back inside the Garden and it was gone by Friday.  I had to spend most of my time at the Garden this week doing her chores since she refuses to make time to weed and prune the flower beds.  Grumble.  Grumble.   Because we seem to be having a mild summer, I decided to plant some extra impatiens in our flower beds with the hopes that they will not get fried out and will spruce up our bare spots.  

When I stopped by the Garden on Friday with new books for the kids, I used my time waiting for them to return from Alum Creek Beach by spraying weeds along the street and alley with Round Up.  By the time I returned on Sunday afternoon, however, Sabrina had come and weeded the alley for several hours in the rain on Saturday.  It hasn’t looked that good since we broke ground for the season in April.  I’m always overwhelmed when someone goes over and beyond their chores and surprises me like that.  She came to the Garden in the rain on Saturday hoping to get some red velvet cupcakes.  She told me that I would notice her work and she was right.

Sabrina and Christen are moving on to their second season crops and it is not even August.  Christen doesn't like to keep plants -- like broccoli  -- long after her major harvest.  Secondary minor harvests just don't interest her.  She pulled her cabbage and giant broccoli plant out yesterday and planted more carrots.  This will create more sunlight for her watermelon and cucumbers. Sabrina will be pulling out her lettuce to make room and might pull out her bug-infested squash.  The food pantry plot is near the end of its Spring crops (turnips, beets, lettuce, and carrots), so I need to start making plans for that space as well.

Squash Bugs.  While Sabrina was weeding on Tuesday or Thursday, I found some squash bugs in her plot.  The adults were hiding in Rose’s cilantro and on Sabrina’s cosmos flowers.  This was her first exposure to the critters.   They had already killed a couple of her squash plants.  (I think they have also killed some of Mari’s plants, one of the boys’ plants and are working on Cassie’s).   I told her that this year I wanted to burn them out.  This works well for the eggs, but the adults – believe it or not – do not stand still to be burned alive.  Sabrina used her own lighter on the eggs, but opted to squash them with rocks and bricks.  While I chatted in the alley with Cathy, we could hear periodic screams coming from Sabrina’s plot as she discovered a new nest of squash bugs.  It was hysterical. 

Yesterday, Barb mentioned to me that she and Frank had seen some tell-tale squash bug eggs in the Garden.  They – like Charlie – decided to not grow squash in their plot this year.  I told her that I had noticed them, but I’m pretty philosophical about it this year.  2013 will be the first time in my adult life that I will be harvesting zucchini in August.  I planted my squash among my invasive chocolate mint plants and it seems to have disguised my squash plants from the bugs.  The only place where I seem to find them is where the leaves overhang Charlie’s plot (which is now so clean, there are no mint plants anywhere near the vicinity).   Fact is, I’m having trouble keeping up with my zucchini harvest.  I’ve also already harvested 2 delicatta squashes from my plot and am hoping for a couple of butternut and acorn squashes.  It’s almost surreal.

Ice Cream.  Speaking of my invasive mint, I gave some to Sabrina at the beginning of the season and she made ice cream with it yesterday.  I loaned her my ice cream maker on Thursday and she emailed me last night confirming my warning:  Most ice cream recipes are a lot of work.  My strawberry ice cream is easy to make, but I don’t make a real custard with it.   She’s not ready to try again anytime soon and will be returning my maker.   I can only imagine what she would have thought if I had loaned her a hand crank machine:-)

Dill and Water Guns.  The volunteer dill in the food pantry plot (left over from Rayna’s crop last year) is nearing the end of its useful life.  I doubt pantry clients will want it, so I’m going to pitch it soon.  Like this week.  So, faithful readers, if you want some dill head seeds to make dill pickles or to otherwise store, please stop by the SACG on Tuesday or Thursday evening and I will fill your bag with large seed heads.  We have dozens of plants.  However, be forewarned.  Thursday is also likely to be the Second Annual  Shootout at the CG Corral.  The kids have been waiting all summer for me to bring my super soaker water gun to the Garden.  However, with the exception of two weeks ago, it just hasn’t been hot enough.  They showed up yesterday with their new super soakers to attack me and I convinced them to give me until Thursday to get my old gun and make it a fair fight.  Assuming they remember this that long, the plants will be getting an unusual amount of water and the gardeners and other volunteers are likely to get wet, too.

Food Pantry Donations.   Finally, for what seems to be the third week in a row, I have been rained out again on Saturday.  Only this time, it was a heavy and sustained rain.  I’m not complaining; .75 inch is always welcome.  However, it made it a challenge to harvest and make a food pantry delivery.  Luckily, my neighbors, the Pipinos have an extra refrigerator which is usually empty.  I harvested over 30 pounds of vegetables yesterday and stored about half of them in their extra refrigerator so that I can deliver them to the food pantry when it is open today.   At this point in the season, we are 300% above our donations for this same time in 2012 and 2011.    Craziness.  This is what perfect growing weather will do.  Even Mari is over the moon with her harvest this year.  The only downside is that the weeds are a little more aggressive this year than in the past.

Upcoming Events.  Well, on Wednesday, some of us will be going to the ProMusica concert at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Thursday is our second annual water gun fight.  (BYOG and filled water balloons).  Be there or be dry.   

On Saturday – weather permitting – we will put the Garden into the final touches for the bike tour of near east side community gardens on Saturday, August 10 by Yea Bikes! and Local Matters.   We are thinking about scheduling a neighborhood litter pick up on the morning of Saturday, September 7.  (Kickoff for the  OSU/San Diego football game is not until 3:30 p.m. that afternoon).  The Children’s Parade starts at 11 a.m. and ends at the Hot Times Festival in Olde Towne East that same day. 

Beet Red Velvet Cake and Other Adventures

It seems that you cannot have a community garden in Central Ohio without growing lots of beets.  They are a two-season crop and are very pretty.  Trouble is,  I wasn’t raised with beets and I just don’t like them.  I’ve really, really tried, but they don’t work for me.  Last year, I tried the national dish of Russia, borscht, but I couldn’t finish a bowl.  Maybe I don’t have a good recipe.  I tried roasted beets (even mixed with roasted potatoes and turnips).  I’ve made them into bruchetta spreads and taken them to parties topped with feta (to very faint praise). I’m told that they are good pickled, particularly at a restaurant in Mt. Sterling, but I’ve never had the pleasure.  I’ve even tried some Mark Bittman recipes. The best I can say is that I can tolerate them raw and shaved onto salads.  They make my kale slaws very colorful.  While the beets in the food pantry plot have been relatively tiny, the beets in my plot have been as big as my fist. 

Last week, as she was driving away, I asked Cathy Alexander what to do with them (because she loves beets).  Red velvet cake she says.   I’m not much of a baker and I almost never bake from scratch.  However, I did some research and it turns out that back in the day, beets were used to make the cakes red before there was red food dye.   There are additional benefits to baking with beets, too.  They add a natural sweetness (so that you can reduce the amount of processed sugar) and they add moisture to the batter so that they stay moist longer without adding lots of extra cooking oil.    I found a number of recipes for beet red velvet cake on the internet and used an easy recipe on Friday night to make cupcakes for my intrepid volunteers who showed up on Saturday.  (Of course, it rained until almost 3 p.m.).  Sadly, I used dark chocolate, so you cannot see the red color, but I have no doubt it would be there if I had used regular chocolate.  They are still moist on Monday.   I messed with the recipe a little bit.  I added more than ¾ cup roasted/pureed beets (bad idea) and added ¼ cup lemon juice (to beef up the color).   I will be making these again.  And often.

As for our other adventures.  Sabrina worked really hard this week to catch up on weeding the food pantry plots.  It took her a few trips, but the weeds are finally under control in there.  I can even see cantaloupes growing.  Her husband,  Tom, mowed our lawn.    Cassie stopped by on Tuesday, too, to do some light weeding in her plot and the flower beds.  Sadly, she did not make much progress.  She was able to harvest a lot of neglected vegetables.  Her butternut squash had grown out to almost the alley and there was a large fruit forming out there.  There was no way to bring it back inside the Garden and it was gone by Friday.  I had to spend most of my time at the Garden this week doing her chores since she refuses to make time to weed and prune the flower beds.  Grumble.  Grumble.   Because we seem to be having a mild summer, I decided to plant some extra impatiens in our flower beds with the hopes that they will not get fried out and will spruce up our bare spots.  

When I stopped by the Garden on Friday with new books for the kids, I used my time waiting for them to return from Alum Creek Beach by spraying weeds along the street and alley with Round Up.  By the time I returned on Sunday afternoon, however, Sabrina had come and weeded the alley for several hours in the rain on Saturday.  It hasn’t looked that good since we broke ground for the season in April.  I’m always overwhelmed when someone goes over and beyond their chores and surprises me like that.  She came to the Garden in the rain on Saturday hoping to get some red velvet cupcakes.  She told me that I would notice her work and she was right.

Sabrina and Christen are moving on to their second season crops and it is not even August.  Christen doesn't like to keep plants -- like broccoli  -- long after her major harvest.  Secondary minor harvests just don't interest her.  She pulled her cabbage and giant broccoli plant out yesterday and planted more carrots.  This will create more sunlight for her watermelon and cucumbers. Sabrina will be pulling out her lettuce to make room and might pull out her bug-infested squash.  The food pantry plot is near the end of its Spring crops (turnips, beets, lettuce, and carrots), so I need to start making plans for that space as well.

Squash Bugs.  While Sabrina was weeding on Tuesday or Thursday, I found some squash bugs in her plot.  The adults were hiding in Rose’s cilantro and on Sabrina’s cosmos flowers.  This was her first exposure to the critters.   They had already killed a couple of her squash plants.  (I think they have also killed some of Mari’s plants, one of the boys’ plants and are working on Cassie’s).   I told her that this year I wanted to burn them out.  This works well for the eggs, but the adults – believe it or not – do not stand still to be burned alive.  Sabrina used her own lighter on the eggs, but opted to squash them with rocks and bricks.  While I chatted in the alley with Cathy, we could hear periodic screams coming from Sabrina’s plot as she discovered a new nest of squash bugs.  It was hysterical. 

Yesterday, Barb mentioned to me that she and Frank had seen some tell-tale squash bug eggs in the Garden.  They – like Charlie – decided to not grow squash in their plot this year.  I told her that I had noticed them, but I’m pretty philosophical about it this year.  2013 will be the first time in my adult life that I will be harvesting zucchini in August.  I planted my squash among my invasive chocolate mint plants and it seems to have disguised my squash plants from the bugs.  The only place where I seem to find them is where the leaves overhang Charlie’s plot (which is now so clean, there are no mint plants anywhere near the vicinity).   Fact is, I’m having trouble keeping up with my zucchini harvest.  I’ve also already harvested 2 delicatta squashes from my plot and am hoping for a couple of butternut and acorn squashes.  It’s almost surreal.

Ice Cream.  Speaking of my invasive mint, I gave some to Sabrina at the beginning of the season and she made ice cream with it yesterday.  I loaned her my ice cream maker on Thursday and she emailed me last night confirming my warning:  Most ice cream recipes are a lot of work.  My strawberry ice cream is easy to make, but I don’t make a real custard with it.   She’s not ready to try again anytime soon and will be returning my maker.   I can only imagine what she would have thought if I had loaned her a hand crank machine:-)

Dill and Water Guns.  The volunteer dill in the food pantry plot (left over from Rayna’s crop last year) is nearing the end of its useful life.  I doubt pantry clients will want it, so I’m going to pitch it soon.  Like this week.  So, faithful readers, if you want some dill head seeds to make dill pickles or to otherwise store, please stop by the SACG on Tuesday or Thursday evening and I will fill your bag with large seed heads.  We have dozens of plants.  However, be forewarned.  Thursday is also likely to be the Second Annual  Shootout at the CG Corral.  The kids have been waiting all summer for me to bring my super soaker water gun to the Garden.  However, with the exception of two weeks ago, it just hasn’t been hot enough.  They showed up yesterday with their new super soakers to attack me and I convinced them to give me until Thursday to get my old gun and make it a fair fight.  Assuming they remember this that long, the plants will be getting an unusual amount of water and the gardeners and other volunteers are likely to get wet, too.

Food Pantry Donations.   Finally, for what seems to be the third week in a row, I have been rained out again on Saturday.  Only this time, it was a heavy and sustained rain.  I’m not complaining; .75 inch is always welcome.  However, it made it a challenge to harvest and make a food pantry delivery.  Luckily, my neighbors, the Pipinos have an extra refrigerator which is usually empty.  I harvested over 30 pounds of vegetables yesterday and stored about half of them in their extra refrigerator so that I can deliver them to the food pantry when it is open today.   At this point in the season, we are 300% above our donations for this same time in 2012 and 2011.    Craziness.  This is what perfect growing weather will do.  Even Mari is over the moon with her harvest this year.  The only downside is that the weeds are a little more aggressive this year than in the past.

Upcoming Events.  Well, on Wednesday, some of us will be going to the ProMusica concert at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Thursday is our second annual water gun fight.  (BYOG and filled water balloons).  Be there or be dry.   

On Saturday – weather permitting – we will put the Garden into the final touches for the bike tour of near east side community gardens on Saturday, August 10 by Yea Bikes! and Local Matters.   We are thinking about scheduling a neighborhood litter pick up on the morning of Saturday, September 7.  (Kickoff for the  OSU/San Diego football game is not until 3:30 p.m. that afternoon).  The Children’s Parade starts at 11 a.m. and ends at the Hot Times Festival in Olde Towne East that same day. 

Half-Price Books Rocks

Faithful readers are aware that the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden has been distributing children’s books to neighborhood kids in July.  There is no library within walking distance and no book mobile makes it to our neighborhood. I realized last summer when we tried to engage in some 4-H gardening activities that a lot of the kids couldn’t read – and certainly not at grade level.   As you know, we ran out of books after just a few weeks – particularly “chapter books.”  I made a plea for more books, and Cathy from Urban Connections found out, and told me last night, how we could obtain free books from Half-Price Books. 

This morning, I submitted an email request, but was told it might take 60 days.  That wouldn’t do because the kids had been pestering me since last week.  So, I called the Upper Arlington store to ask directly.  When I explained why I wanted their fax number, they told me that they already had children’s books packed up for me to pick up as soon as I showed up.  That’s what Cathy and I call God’s will.  I had tears in my eyes.

This afternoon I drove over to the store and Assistant Manager Liz packed up two boxes and two large grocery bags.  She would have given me twice as many, but there are only so many books the kids can read before school starts and there’s the issue of where to store them . . . . .  They took up my entire car trunk.  For those non-profits out there that need children’s books, Liz has more books to donate.

I told Cathy about our success as soon as I got home and she volunteered Urban Connections as a storage place for the extra books.  So, after they returned from a day at Alum Creek beach with the neighborhood kids and their Bible Camp volunteers, they helped me to unload the books.  Cathy then learned that Burt had already picked up three boxes of books from Half-Price Books.  So now we definitely seem to have enough.  I sorted the books (and we have lots and lots of Babysitter Club mysteries).  I picked the best books to keep in my car trunk for when I see the kids at the Garden.

Kenaya and Antoinette are seen here getting new books to read over the weekend.  After all, it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.

I could never work in a book store because I would spend all day reading instead of working.   As it was, I noticed they had a number of British books on Allotment Gardening – that’s the British version of community gardening.  In England, it has been legally required for each community to “allot” land for cultivation by the masses since 1908.  Allotments are critical to people who live in flats (aka apartments) because they would otherwise have no land on which to grow their own food.  Brits take their gardening almost as seriously as football (aka soccer).   The book is very interesting and discusses produce to grow, succession planting, etc.  I took about five copies for our gardeners. 

Half-Price Books Rocks

Faithful readers are aware that the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden has been distributing children’s books to neighborhood kids in July.  There is no library within walking distance and no book mobile makes it to our neighborhood. I realized last summer when we tried to engage in some 4-H gardening activities that a lot of the kids couldn’t read – and certainly not at grade level.   As you know, we ran out of books after just a few weeks – particularly “chapter books.”  I made a plea for more books, and Cathy from Urban Connections found out, and told me last night, how we could obtain free books from Half-Price Books. 

This morning, I submitted an email request, but was told it might take 60 days.  That wouldn’t do because the kids had been pestering me since last week.  So, I called the Upper Arlington store to ask directly.  When I explained why I wanted their fax number, they told me that they already had children’s books packed up for me to pick up as soon as I showed up.  That’s what Cathy and I call God’s will.  I had tears in my eyes.

This afternoon I drove over to the store and Assistant Manager Liz packed up two boxes and two large grocery bags.  She would have given me twice as many, but there are only so many books the kids can read before school starts and there’s the issue of where to store them . . . . .  They took up my entire car trunk.  For those non-profits out there that need children’s books, Liz has more books to donate.

I told Cathy about our success as soon as I got home and she volunteered Urban Connections as a storage place for the extra books.  So, after they returned from a day at Alum Creek beach with the neighborhood kids and their Bible Camp volunteers, they helped me to unload the books.  Cathy then learned that Burt had already picked up three boxes of books from Half-Price Books.  So now we definitely seem to have enough.  I sorted the books (and we have lots and lots of Babysitter Club mysteries).  I picked the best books to keep in my car trunk for when I see the kids at the Garden.

Kenaya and Antoinette are seen here getting new books to read over the weekend.  After all, it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.

I could never work in a book store because I would spend all day reading instead of working.   As it was, I noticed they had a number of British books on Allotment Gardening – that’s the British version of community gardening.  In England, it has been legally required for each community to “allot” land for cultivation by the masses since 1908.  Allotments are critical to people who live in flats (aka apartments) because they would otherwise have no land on which to grow their own food.  Brits take their gardening almost as seriously as football (aka soccer).   The book is very interesting and discusses produce to grow, succession planting, etc.  I took about five copies for our gardeners. 

Latest SACG Soil Test

When we received from the City the loan of our second rain tank last August, it also came with a requirement that we submit our soil for free testing by OSU.  However, no one ever contacted me about submitting a soil sample.  New gardener Sabrina then started asking about soil tests in April because of her young son, Zephyr, so I gave her copies of our 2009 results from UMass at Amherst and nudged and pushed until arrangements were made in June for a new test.   After all, I’m sure that some of the dust from the demolition of the eyesore next door probably landed on the Garden (particularly when last year’s June 29 derecho hit us about 30 minutes after the building came down).   While Rebuilding Together and the City attempted to make contact with the right people at OSU to provide the soil test, I discovered from Dr. Darraugh that CLC Labs would tests for lead in our soil (and CLC says their test is better than the UMass test we received in 2009) for $45.  CLC would also test for the EPA Heavy Metals (including arsenic and 9 other heavy metals) for $190.  CLC would not test for organic toxins, like dioxin or petroleum.

Once the City and Rebuilding Together made arrangements with OSU for a free test, however, I dropped off the sample myself at Cottman Hall on June 14.  OSU still hasn't finished our soil testing (for nutrients and pH) and hasn’t give me an ETA on the rest of the test. (In past years, we have tested off the charts for nutrients, slightly alkaline in 2009 and neutral in 2011 when CLC tested our soil). However, wunderkind Kristin Minca did get back to me a few weeks ago with the results of the total soils extraction test (the test used by the Ohio EPA) for contaminants.  I have attached those results for your edification.

Soil Test Results for Stoddart Ave. Community Garden
	Total concentration in soil	Ohio background concentration	Ohio EPA VAP standards
	mg kg-1	mg kg-1	mg kg-1
Arsenic	13	5.8	21.0
Cadmium	3	0.48	72
Chromium	35	12	230
Copper	191	12	NA
Nickel	30	14.7	1500
Lead	135	14.3	400
Zinc	872	43	23000

 

The first column reflects our soil.  The second column is the amount of that element one naturally finds in the soil in rural areas.  You will note that our urban soil has very elevated levels compared to rural soil.    Of course I became concerned by that and this is what I was told:

Your sample had elevated levels for all the metals we tested for, but none of the metals exceed the risk based standards for Ohio. What this tells me is there was activity on the properties that added metals to the soils (possibly from lead paint, or galvanized metal plumbing), which is common for the urban gardens I've tested.

I recommend you continue to use your soil for food production, but be sure to wash all the produce you grow there very thoroughly before consumption to remove any soil residue that could be present.

(emphasis in original).  Still concerned, I pushed for more information and was told:

You should know that the concentrations of your soil are similar to other urban soils. The background concentrations that have been done in Ohio and the US are typically rural agricultural soils and don't reflect the anthropogenic influence of urban cities. But your soil isn't a risk. People should thoroughly wash produce from any place including the grocery because dust can adhere to those products too and pose the same risks.

Still concerned, I pushed again -- as you all know only I can do --  and this morning she gave me the soil contamination standards used by the Ohio EPA.  They are apparently the standards used in the Voluntary Action Program (VAP) to remediate contaminated sites.   Those standards are reflected in the third column above.   Our soil is well below those levels.  So, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Nonetheless, Kristen -- who now also works for the Ohio EPA and knows I'm thinking about the neighborhood kids and Zephyr -- tells me this about the VAP standards reflected in the third column:

Attached are your results with the standards for noncarcinogenic risk for soil ingestion based on a child. Carcinogenic risk is slightly lower for these compounds (mostly As at 6.7 mg/kg but background concentrations suggest this may be unrealistic).

Again, this concerned me a bit.  So, our children are at risk just for walking out the door?  She responds as follows:

Recent soil surveys in Ohio show that the natural background for Arsenic ranges between 5 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg because of the subsurface geology in our state. Most soils I've seen has Arsenic levels around 10 mg/kg. Risk assessment standards are based on the very worst case scenario, a child with hand to mouth tendencies eating soil while fasting. So the exposure for community gardeners wouldn't be the same, especially if they practice good gardening by washing their hands, tools, and especially the produce.

I feel better now, don’t you?

Latest SACG Soil Test

When we received from the City the loan of our second rain tank last August, it also came with a requirement that we submit our soil for free testing by OSU.  However, no one ever contacted me about submitting a soil sample.  New gardener Sabrina then started asking about soil tests in April because of her young son, Zephyr, so I gave her copies of our 2009 results from UMass at Amherst and nudged and pushed until arrangements were made in June for a new test.   After all, I’m sure that some of the dust from the demolition of the eyesore next door probably landed on the Garden (particularly when last year’s June 29 derecho hit us about 30 minutes after the building came down).   While Rebuilding Together and the City attempted to make contact with the right people at OSU to provide the soil test, I discovered from Dr. Darraugh that CLC Labs would tests for lead in our soil (and CLC says their test is better than the UMass test we received in 2009) for $45.  CLC would also test for the EPA Heavy Metals (including arsenic and 9 other heavy metals) for $190.  CLC would not test for organic toxins, like dioxin or petroleum.

Once the City and Rebuilding Together made arrangements with OSU for a free test, however, I dropped off the sample myself at Cottman Hall on June 14.  OSU still hasn't finished our soil testing (for nutrients and pH) and hasn’t give me an ETA on the rest of the test. (In past years, we have tested off the charts for nutrients, slightly alkaline in 2009 and neutral in 2011 when CLC tested our soil). However, wunderkind Kristin Minca did get back to me a few weeks ago with the results of the total soils extraction test (the test used by the Ohio EPA) for contaminants.  I have attached those results for your edification.

Soil Test Results for Stoddart Ave. Community Garden
	Total concentration in soil	Ohio background concentration	Ohio EPA VAP standards
	mg kg-1	mg kg-1	mg kg-1
Arsenic	13	5.8	21.0
Cadmium	3	0.48	72
Chromium	35	12	230
Copper	191	12	NA
Nickel	30	14.7	1500
Lead	135	14.3	400
Zinc	872	43	23000

 

The first column reflects our soil.  The second column is the amount of that element one naturally finds in the soil in rural areas.  You will note that our urban soil has very elevated levels compared to rural soil.    Of course I became concerned by that and this is what I was told:

Your sample had elevated levels for all the metals we tested for, but none of the metals exceed the risk based standards for Ohio. What this tells me is there was activity on the properties that added metals to the soils (possibly from lead paint, or galvanized metal plumbing), which is common for the urban gardens I've tested.

I recommend you continue to use your soil for food production, but be sure to wash all the produce you grow there very thoroughly before consumption to remove any soil residue that could be present.

(emphasis in original).  Still concerned, I pushed for more information and was told:

You should know that the concentrations of your soil are similar to other urban soils. The background concentrations that have been done in Ohio and the US are typically rural agricultural soils and don't reflect the anthropogenic influence of urban cities. But your soil isn't a risk. People should thoroughly wash produce from any place including the grocery because dust can adhere to those products too and pose the same risks.

Still concerned, I pushed again -- as you all know only I can do --  and this morning she gave me the soil contamination standards used by the Ohio EPA.  They are apparently the standards used in the Voluntary Action Program (VAP) to remediate contaminated sites.   Those standards are reflected in the third column above.   Our soil is well below those levels.  So, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Nonetheless, Kristen -- who now also works for the Ohio EPA and knows I'm thinking about the neighborhood kids and Zephyr -- tells me this about the VAP standards reflected in the third column:

Attached are your results with the standards for noncarcinogenic risk for soil ingestion based on a child. Carcinogenic risk is slightly lower for these compounds (mostly As at 6.7 mg/kg but background concentrations suggest this may be unrealistic).

Again, this concerned me a bit.  So, our children are at risk just for walking out the door?  She responds as follows:

Recent soil surveys in Ohio show that the natural background for Arsenic ranges between 5 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg because of the subsurface geology in our state. Most soils I've seen has Arsenic levels around 10 mg/kg. Risk assessment standards are based on the very worst case scenario, a child with hand to mouth tendencies eating soil while fasting. So the exposure for community gardeners wouldn't be the same, especially if they practice good gardening by washing their hands, tools, and especially the produce.

I feel better now, don’t you?