2020 Growing Season

Hey, we may be in the middle of a global pandemic, but the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden is still growing food and building community.

Welcome to our 12th growing season. The year had a somewhat slow start, mainly because our intrepid founder and Garden Manager, Priscilla Hapner retired after last season and we had to organize ourselves in such a way that we could maintain the institution that she had built. The COVID 19 pandemic and a rainy spring also contributed to delays. 

But as the reader can see, we are fully operational now. Sabrina Reynolds-Wing, a longtime gardener, board member and supporter, agreed to step in and serve as Garden Manager. We adopted some policies for social distancing and disinfecting tools. The board scaled back some of the SACG operations and reduced the need for outside volunteers. Board members, neighbors and friends committed to taking on several regular chores to lessen Sabrina's load. The board also recruited a team to manage the food pantry plots, harvesting and donations, headed by Ohio State University grad student, Christie Hammons. We are now in business and about ready to donate a round to the area pantries that Christie has enlisted. You can see early stages of food pantry planting below.  

Joining Sabrina and Christie in 2020 are returning gardeners Charlie, Ethan, Michael and Whitney and Amy.

Our summer has already proven that challenges lie ahead: the strawberry patch suffered from last summer's heat and failed to produce as much fruit as in previous years; our pesky groundhog has shown himself and begun to nibble; June was unseasonably hot and dry; and the city water turn-on got a bit complicated.

But our sisters' plot corn is as "high as an elephant's eye" and the SACG is feeding all of us now.  Happy summer!