Preparing for the 2018 Gardening Season

Although Spring is still a few weeks away and there is still some snow on the ground, February is always the beginning of the community garden calendar if we intend to get off to a productive start in April.  Also, it’s a good time to look back and clean up some loose ends from the prior growing season.  So today, I will report on the City’s Land Bank Community Garden held last week, the GCGC meeting held on February 1, the SACG Board meeting held on Sunday (where I served the pictured pie to the SACG’s faithful volunteers), our February seed starting and my learning experience at last year’s We Dig Ohio Conference for community gardens at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

We Dig Ohio: The Conservatory holds an annual community garden conference in March, which brings attendees and speakers from all over Ohio.  Last year’s conference was on March 25.  Clara Coleman was the keynote speaker and much of the focus was on four-season agriculture.  Margaret Ann from Four Seasons City Farm had an extra ticket and generously offered it to me at the last minute, so I missed the first presentation (while I tried to get some paying work done).    I have to admit that I had never heard of Ms. Coleman before, but her presentation was riveting.   She grew up in Maine and enjoyed eating fresh vegetables year round (even when there were several feet of snow outside) because her father had some sweet-looking cold frames where he could grow greens and root crops.  She then moved to Colorado (which also has cold and snowy winters) and she expanded upon what she learned as a child.  In particular, they had some hoop houses (like the ones popping up all over Columbus pursuant to a federal grant administered by the Mid-Ohio Food Bank) on wheels.  They would keep chickens in them in the winter and move the hoop house across the field so that the chickens could forage on the ground (while also spreading their special fertilizer). 

She went into some detail about specifics of being successful with high and low tunnels.  She talked about what materials she found more durable for hoop and high tunnels.   I was surprised to learn that greens will do well inside a high tunnel with little more than row covers on top of them.  She discussed and showed photos of washing stations inside the hoop houses and how far along the seedlings should be before winter comes (because the plants grow very little once it gets cold).  I took many notes, but now cannot find them.  Drat.   However, by the time she was done talking, everyone wanted a hoop house, which made it convenient when the Mid-Ohio Food Bank announced that it had secured federal funding to supply one to any local community garden that wanted to install one.  Kimball Farms (next to us) took four of them.  Highland Youth Garden also installed one last fall. 

OSU also supplied some speakers, so I headed off to the Plant Pathology and the Basics of Plant Diagnosing.  This was very interesting as well because the professor discussed all of the different ways that plants can become sick, from viruses, to bacteria, to bugs and nutrition.    Some of these issues can be more easily controlled than others.  The plant diagnosis clinic in Reynoldsburg can help when you get stumped diagnosing the problem. 

There was also a lovely lunch (with Jim Budros again giving us freshly made pizza from his portable stone oven) and a tour of the community garden campus at the Conservatory.  I was particularly interested in the apiary (with the bee hives), but I also liked the giant stone planters where different varieties of mint are grown (to avoid them spreading and taking over the garden).  One of the attendees told me that she could make them for us if I were interested.

The conference was very well attended.  Our Sabrina also attended and already posted an article here about what she learned.   This year’s conference will be March 24, 2018 and is focused on Growing the Next Generation (i.e., youth and educational gardening).

GCGC.  I attended this month’s GCGC meeting on February 1 at New Beginnings Church on Williams Road, south of Columbus.    Straders donated approximately 25 bicycles to GCGC and I realized that we could cover our $40 annual GCGC dues if we raffled off such a bicycle.  GCGC gave them out as door prizes and the SACG scored one when my name was pulled from the proverbial hat.  Neighbor Pastor Norman Brown offered to transport it to my house in his truck because it was unlikely to fit in my Jetta.  (He told me not to drive too fast, but then he passed me on Route 104, that trickster).    Derek from Helping Hands community garden also scored one for his garden.   I reminded everyone that it is time to start pepper seeds because they take so long to germinate and you will want them to get larger before you transplant them in May. 

A few days earlier, I had stopped by the Growing to Green offices at the Conservatory.  They receive lots of donations of seeds and every community garden can get 50 packets of free seeds.  I inventoried the SACG seed stache and picked up seeds that we were low on, such as carrots, greens, some herbs, and lettuce.  I reminded the GCGCers that they should go over there as well.    You need only to contact Bill or Erica and schedule a time.   They have so many seeds this year that they have a separate container for the type.

GCGC is also trying to organize a plant swap for those of us who start our own seeds and then have extras to trade with other community gardens.   They also promoted OSU’s INFACT program.  Free gardening classes will be held each month and families with children can raise their own food and sell the excess to OSU to raise supplemental cash for their families.

Starting Seeds.  Sabrina and I got together the first weekend in February to start our pepper and eggplant seeds.    I use Scott’s organic potting soil because it has the best success rate with pepper plants (which, unlike tomatoes, do not germinate as reliably with regular potting soil or peat moss).  The eggplants and one pepper started sprouting this week, and so I moved the seed starting tray from the top of my kitchen cabinets (the warmest spot in my house) to the growing shelves in my basement (where I hang grow lights and also use regular heating pads to keep the soil warm to a good germination temperature).   We will start tomatoes, herbs, greens, lettuce and marigolds, etc. in March and then maybe some squash and cucumbers in April (although squash tends to grown pretty well and fast when started from directly-sown seeds).  Sabrina brought a bottle of Ohio-grown wine to make this festive.  We had fun planting poblanos, bells, marconis, jalapenos, cayenne, serranoes, passillas, etc. 

I also decided to force some crocus bulbs (i.e., trick them into blooming early inside my house before Mother Nature brings them into bloom outside).   I had purchased a bag in November, but never got around to planting them (because my squirrels love them so much and will dig up my yard and all of my planters looking for them).  I kept them in the garage and then planted them into pots that I brought into the house.  One of them has started to poke through and I should have pretty fresh flowers by the end of the month or early March.

Land Bank.  The City of Columbus Land Bank held their annual community garden meeting at their lovely offices on Parsons Avenue.   They had several speakers, including President Charles from GCGC, the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, Broad Street Presbyterian Church’s food bank, and Com-Til (i.e., the City’s solid waste recycling/composting program).   

There had been a lot of discussion at last year’s meeting about how and where community gardens could donate extra produce to feed the local hungry population.   The Mid-Ohio Food Bank in Grove City takes donated produce during business hours on week days and on Saturday mornings.   The BSPC food pantry has more restricted hours. The MOFB encouraged gardeners to call them at 614.277-3663  to get details of  food pantries closer to their gardens if Grove City is too inconvenient.  They are also going to post this information in the MOFB website. (I asked that they distinguish between pantries that take fresh produce and those that do not because not all of them have coolers to store the produce).    I pointed out that some gardeners cannot take the time to battle the I-71 traffic to Grove City or time off from work to deliver donations during business hours. (The last time I tried to drive down there, someone rear-ended my car at the 70-71 split).   Thus, Faith Mission’s Homeless Shelter is an alternative because it is open seven days each week until 5:30, making Saturday afternoons and Sunday’s an alternative for gardeners who hold day jobs and are busy tending their gardens or children’s soccer games on Saturday mornings.    I wish Lutheran Social Services would make arrangements to get some of this produce to their food pantries, but maybe Faith Mission uses it all. . . .  

However, the highlight of the meeting for Sabrina and me was the Com-Til presentation.    She gave a powerpoint presentation and went into great detail about how Com-Til is created, why it is safe and how much it improves the soil.   It is regularly tested to ensure that it is safe from heavy metals, etc.  That being said, it is not certified organic because of the solid waste issue.  The City provides 10 free cubic yards to Land Bank community gardens.  This year, we are even allowed to pick it up ourselves in pick-up trucks or trailers.    The City also offers free group tours of the facility, so I will have to arrange one.   I am not the only fan.  Leigh Ann from the Miracle Garden also weighed in on the magic black gold that is Com-Til.   If you have ever used it, you do not need much convincing after seeing how much bigger the plants are with Com-Til than without.   We put a couple of inches on the SACG in 2016 and a few times before that as well.     Other gardeners can purchase it at Kurz Bros, or Ohio Mulch in bags or loose.    Com-Til also accepts lawn waste for free, but is fairly picky about what you leave.  You can, for instance, leave branches and leaves, but not tree roots, lawn waste paper bags or grass clippings.    Contact me if you would like to go with us for a group tour of the Com-til facility and I will circulate some possible dates. 

Seth announced that although there may be some budget cuts, he was hoping that the City would again offer the tank re-fill service and a Lowe’s voucher.  It was anticipated that new Land Bank gardens would be charged $50, but that existing gardens could still renew for $10/year.  They would also be looking into long-term leases.

SACG Annual Board meeting.  The SACG Board met at my house on Sunday for our annual organizational meeting and to plan our 10^th growing season.  I baked them a tart cherry pie with cherries that I canned last June from our own cherry trees.   We added a new Board member, Taylor, who has gardened with us for two years now.  

I reported that we will need to spray our tart cherries this year.  The flies have become a problem.  I have never done this before, but plan to research it.  The cherries will be sprayed twice after the blossoming period, but well before they ripen.  The flies plant eggs in the fruit and then over winter in the dropped fruit in the ground beneath the trees, to hatch again in the Spring to start the process over again.  Cathy volunteered that she has a sprayer that she could loan us.  I may reach out to Lynd’s Fruit Farm and/or OSU to find out what the best spray would be. 

Opening Day. Easter is April 1 this year, which rules out March 31 (when there will be area Easter egg hunts and busy families that will not have time to volunteer at the SACG).  So, we are looking at Saturday, March 24 (our earliest opening day ever) or April 7.  We opened on April 1 last year.  I thought snow was too much of a risk with a March 24 opening (and would conflict with the Conservatory's We Dig Ohio conference) and so we opted for April 7.  Taylor and Amy will be unable to come before April 21, so Priscilla promised to hold lots of work for them to do.  Registration for plots will begin, as in past years, on March 1 when I will post the information and agreements, etc. here and email former gardeners and others who have expressed interest. 

Volunteers.  I contacted both OSU and Capital University to see if we could get volunteers like last year.  Capital has not planned a Spring work day, but is looking into providing us with volunteers for either April 7 or 14.  OSU is still holding is Spring into Service on March 31, despite the Easter holiday, but is also looking to see if it could recruit volunteers for us.   

I was contacted about possibly taking groups of non-violent offenders who have been sentenced to community service.  Most of them want to work between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but some might be able to volunteer on evenings and weekends.  They can pick up litter, water, weed, etc.  I’m thinking that we may want to rake out all of the wood chips (because our paths are higher than our plots) before we add more wood chips this year.  We can add the existing chips to our compost bins.  Amy and Sabrina volunteered to help supervise. 

Earth Day in Columbus is April 14 through 22 (and its website opened for work site registrations two days ago).  While I would have preferred April 22 as our official celebration, if we have it earlier, we get earlier supplies and longer to use the rewards, so we’re having it on April 14.  I suggested adding another peach and plum tree to our “orchard", if Barb/Block Watch agrees (since many of our trees on the Block Watch lot).  One day, I hope to actually pick a ripe peach.  We simply have to grow enough peaches to outpace demand, although we are always at risk for losing a year’s crop from a late frost. 

Fundraising.  The Board agreed to support a raffle of the bike generously donated through GCGC/Strader’s.   The tickets will be $1/each and we will pull the winning ticket at the conclusion of our Earth Day work day on April 14 (or April 22 rain delay).  We should easily raise $200+  if someone doesn’t want the bike, they could donate it to Urban Connections or we could donate to a neighborhood kid based on an essay contest or something.  That would mean each of us selling $20 worth of tickets.  We raised much more than that when we raffled off the garden cart in 2010 [at $5/ticket when Board members sold $50/each worth of tickets and we raised $345].  Anyone who wants to buy some raffle ticket for a special child in their life (or themselves) should contact me.  Obviously, I will post more information here shortly, but it is a brand new Schwinn Signature Series black bike with a cup holder.   I have attached some photos -- which you will see again J.   

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act doubled the standard deduction, so fewer people will be itemizing or making year-end charitable donations as a tax planning device

Newsletter, Agreement and Rules.  Updated newsletters, agreements and rules were reviewed, discussed and approved.  They will be distributed in the neighborhood the first weekend in March and Board members should feel free to volunteer to help distribute them.  Amy and Sabrina both helped last year.

Security.  Mari had revealed that one reason that she dropped out as a gardener was because of the hassle of negotiating all of the combinations and locks.  We discussed and agreed on simplified security measures.

Opening Day agenda.

·         Mow the lawn

·         Spread compost or wood chips

·         Hook up the tanks

·         Pick up litter on the lots

·         Mark the plots

·         Hanging our sign

·         Turn compost

·         Top off raised beds

·         Restocking free little library – the Bricker & Eckler law firm’s staff has donated boxes and boxes of books and magazines for us

Old Business. Marcel emailed Priscilla that she plans to return this year and her husband has recruited a young friend/mentee that will want her old, small plot.

New Business.  Cathy reported that two of our long-term families have moved away.  The property values have greatly increased in the neighborhood. A duplex that was listed for sale for $5K just five years ago is now listed at approximately $300K.  This is going to make it too expensive for some of our long-time families to remain in the neighborhood as the rents rise.   Fairwood Commons is supposed to open in July.

We weren’t the only CG Board meeting this weekend.  Four Seasons City Farm also met on Saturday at noon to eat pizza, plan and start seeds.