As Twain says, Everyone Talks About the Weather, But Never Does Anything About It

As many of you know, this was an exciting week at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden. Usually, that’s a good thing, but not always. We had a good crew out working again yesterday.

I planted peppers, dill, parsley, marigolds, and nasturtium, continued to dig bricks out of my plot, watered extensively, mulched the new south flower bed, watered Antoinette’s bed, and helped two groups of boys and one of their sisters plant their beds (with watermelon, sweet potatoes, greens, tomatoes, etc.). Sabrina came, tended her plot and began weeding her second plot (which had been abandoned by another gardener). Cassie came, helped mulch flowers and tended her plot. Neal came, weeded, thinned, watered and photographed his plot. Frank and Barb had already mowed our lot and the two Block Watch lots and substantially weeded their own plot yesterday, but stopped by and waved anyway. Rose came, spread mulch under her raised bed, fed the kids, brought us drinking water, weeded her bed and planted tomatoes. We had two different people stop by asking to join, but we’re full up at this point. I sent them over to the Big Garden run by Four Seasons City Farm at Mound and Carpenter.

The Garden looks so much better than it did this time last year. All of the plots are being actively tended. The daisies, bachelor buttons and cat mint look lovely. I have several engaged volunteers. However, I’m still staying hours later than I intended each day because there is always more to do. Ugh.

The kids were mostly interested in the chocolate no-bake cookies I brought as a reward for helping out. I had promised them last week to one of our youth gardeners (because they are her favorite), but she was not here yesterday. Her uncle was shot in the chest and murdered right in front of her and a couple of other neighborhood kids on her front porch – just a few houses down and across the street from the SACG -- at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. This has been a pretty traumatic event for the neighborhood. The other three murders in the neighborhood since the Garden broke ground in 2009 have been at night. No one has been so brazen as to do something like this in broad daylight in front of lots of witnesses and with children present. Now, no one -- particularly the witnesses -- feels safe until he is caught and put behind bars.

A police officer stopped by to say hello and thank us for all of our hard work. She is new to the weekend day shift and has a garden of her own.

It was warmer than expected yesterday when the sun was shining. We haven’t had any significant rain in almost two weeks and certainly not since I hooked up our second cistern on May 17. This has required us to water a lot and caused me to be very frustrated with the local weathermen who had predicted lots of rain in the last week. If Bill Kelly and Yolanda celebrate a dry day one more time on WSYX, I’m likely to throw my shoes through my television. My only consolation is that the Memorial Golf Tournament is about to start. I think I can count on one hand how many times since I’ve lived in Central Ohio that they haven’t had to postpone play because of rain delays. If anything is a rain magnet in Central Ohio, that tournament is. And then we can look forward to at least one rain shower during the annual Arts Festival downtown. After that, who knows?

Carpenter bee on Bee Balm in 2009

There have been virtually no bees at the SACG (or my backyard) this year. I saw our first and only bee at the SACG yesterday. Like the SACG, my own backyard is full of roses, cat mint and purple salvia – which are typically bee magnets. Nonetheless, I’ve had only a couple of carpenter bees and no honey bees. My fellow knitwits said they heard there had been a 90% die-off of hives over the winter (with the cold temperatures on top of mites and other mysterious causes). OSU reported this weekthat only a 31% die-off had been reported nationally. If that’s true, there are areas in the US with lots of bees because there are none on the near-East side. I’m not sure yet how this will affect my bean, pepper, or eggplant crop, let alone our peaches and cherries . . . . . .

Tonight looks to be the last cool night of the season. That means I can finally transplant our basil seedlings into our herb garden tomorrow and my eggplant into my own plot. I’ve grown weary of having to bring them inside every night in the past week. While I sleep better on cold nights, my eggplant and basil do not. Of course, this also means that I need to substantially reduce the size of our several overgrown oregano plants. They have almost completely taken over parts of the SACG. So, if you want some fresh oregano to dry, stop by the SACG tomorrow around 10-10:30 and there will be lots of free fresh oregano available. If you’re really nice to me, I may even divide some of the plants so that you can transplant them into your own garden.

Finally, our strawberries have begun to ripen at the SACG. That means strawberry season is upon us and I will be updating our annual strawberry farm list sometime this week. Sabrina and I (and possibly Rose) will be organizing a strawberry picking expedition within the next 10 days. Email me if you’d like to join us. I usually pick around 15 pounds, freeze a bunch and then make some jam. If it gets as hot as predicted, I may even make strawberry ice cream. I promised my fellow Knitwits fresh berries for our evening dessert on June 4 and I intend to keep that promise.

As Twain says, Everyone Talks About the Weather, But Never Does Anything About It

As many of you know, this was an exciting week at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden. Usually, that’s a good thing, but not always. We had a good crew out working again yesterday.

I planted peppers, dill, parsley, marigolds, and nasturtium, continued to dig bricks out of my plot, watered extensively, mulched the new south flower bed, watered Antoinette’s bed, and helped two groups of boys and one of their sisters plant their beds (with watermelon, sweet potatoes, greens, tomatoes, etc.). Sabrina came, tended her plot and began weeding her second plot (which had been abandoned by another gardener). Cassie came, helped mulch flowers and tended her plot. Neal came, weeded, thinned, watered and photographed his plot. Frank and Barb had already mowed our lot and the two Block Watch lots and substantially weeded their own plot yesterday, but stopped by and waved anyway. Rose came, spread mulch under her raised bed, fed the kids, brought us drinking water, weeded her bed and planted tomatoes. We had two different people stop by asking to join, but we’re full up at this point. I sent them over to the Big Garden run by Four Seasons City Farm at Mound and Carpenter.

The Garden looks so much better than it did this time last year. All of the plots are being actively tended. The daisies, bachelor buttons and cat mint look lovely. I have several engaged volunteers. However, I’m still staying hours later than I intended each day because there is always more to do. Ugh.

The kids were mostly interested in the chocolate no-bake cookies I brought as a reward for helping out. I had promised them last week to one of our youth gardeners (because they are her favorite), but she was not here yesterday. Her uncle was shot in the chest and murdered right in front of her and a couple of other neighborhood kids on her front porch – just a few houses down and across the street from the SACG -- at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. This has been a pretty traumatic event for the neighborhood. The other three murders in the neighborhood since the Garden broke ground in 2009 have been at night. No one has been so brazen as to do something like this in broad daylight in front of lots of witnesses and with children present. Now, no one -- particularly the witnesses -- feels safe until he is caught and put behind bars.

A police officer stopped by to say hello and thank us for all of our hard work. She is new to the weekend day shift and has a garden of her own.

It was warmer than expected yesterday when the sun was shining. We haven’t had any significant rain in almost two weeks and certainly not since I hooked up our second cistern on May 17. This has required us to water a lot and caused me to be very frustrated with the local weathermen who had predicted lots of rain in the last week. If Bill Kelly and Yolanda celebrate a dry day one more time on WSYX, I’m likely to throw my shoes through my television. My only consolation is that the Memorial Golf Tournament is about to start. I think I can count on one hand how many times since I’ve lived in Central Ohio that they haven’t had to postpone play because of rain delays. If anything is a rain magnet in Central Ohio, that tournament is. And then we can look forward to at least one rain shower during the annual Arts Festival downtown. After that, who knows?

Carpenter bee on Bee Balm in 2009

There have been virtually no bees at the SACG (or my backyard) this year. I saw our first and only bee at the SACG yesterday. Like the SACG, my own backyard is full of roses, cat mint and purple salvia – which are typically bee magnets. Nonetheless, I’ve had only a couple of carpenter bees and no honey bees. My fellow knitwits said they heard there had been a 90% die-off of hives over the winter (with the cold temperatures on top of mites and other mysterious causes). OSU reported this weekthat only a 31% die-off had been reported nationally. If that’s true, there are areas in the US with lots of bees because there are none on the near-East side. I’m not sure yet how this will affect my bean, pepper, or eggplant crop, let alone our peaches and cherries . . . . . .

Tonight looks to be the last cool night of the season. That means I can finally transplant our basil seedlings into our herb garden tomorrow and my eggplant into my own plot. I’ve grown weary of having to bring them inside every night in the past week. While I sleep better on cold nights, my eggplant and basil do not. Of course, this also means that I need to substantially reduce the size of our several overgrown oregano plants. They have almost completely taken over parts of the SACG. So, if you want some fresh oregano to dry, stop by the SACG tomorrow around 10-10:30 and there will be lots of free fresh oregano available. If you’re really nice to me, I may even divide some of the plants so that you can transplant them into your own garden.

Finally, our strawberries have begun to ripen at the SACG. That means strawberry season is upon us and I will be updating our annual strawberry farm list sometime this week. Sabrina and I (and possibly Rose) will be organizing a strawberry picking expedition within the next 10 days. Email me if you’d like to join us. I usually pick around 15 pounds, freeze a bunch and then make some jam. If it gets as hot as predicted, I may even make strawberry ice cream. I promised my fellow Knitwits fresh berries for our evening dessert on June 4 and I intend to keep that promise.

Fair Weather for Gardening

We had quite a hard-working impromptu crew today at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  You would have thought it was opening day again from the crowd.   I had a lot planned to do, but had not planned on having so much help.  Nonetheless, I still did not leave until well after 2 p.m. and there were still gardeners there working.   I can only attribute all of the passion to the beautiful Spring day we had today.

The morning started around 9:30 with filling the new neighbor raised bed along Cherry Street.   As I was unpacking my supplies, neighbor Rose stopped by and said that she wanted to help.  So, we pulled weeds, laid newspaper down, spread bags of hummus/manure donated on Monday by Scotts Miracle-Gro and then bags of similarly donated Garden Soil.  While we worked, new gardener Greg joined us.  After filling this bed, we then moved to top off the youth raised beds inside the fence.  After those were filled, I sent Rose and Greg to reconfigure the new raised flower bed outside the southwestern part of our fence (parallel to East Main Street) and fill that bed with donated soil.  Sadly, I forgot to pack my car with the perennial flowers I purchased during DeMonye’s sale a few weeks ago.  So, the flower-planting will have to wait until next Saturday.  While they worked on that project, I planted seedlings of cabbage, broccoli, kale, and lettuce in the neighbor raised bed and planted seeds of collard greens. 

Sabrina came (sans her men – who were at COSI) and I put her to work weeding and prepping the food pantry plot to plant carrots, lettuce and potatoes.   She was the only one of us smart enough to pack a lunch for today.  (I had some refreshments, but nothing substantive).   Sabrina also did something none of us thought was humanly possible:  She broke a hoe while creating a ditch for the potoates.  I should have had her cultivate the soil first, but I didn't realize it was that compacted . . . . . She was embarassed, but we still have four other hoes in our shed . . .

Cassie came and I had her help me put a section of fence (which we repurposed from the demolished building next door) over the neighbor plot.  As you may recall, we used to have three neighbor raised beds along Cherry Street.  However, the dozen or so stray cats that hang out at the Garden had turned them into a litter box and some neighbors were not anxious to eat the food which grew out of them.  So, now those beds are now compost bins and we have constructed a new – and higher – raised bed for the neighbors.  I put this wire fence (which coincidentally fit perfectly) over the bed to keep the cats from jumping into it.  We’ll remove the fence and turn it back into a trellis once the bed is fully planted and the seedlings are big enough to deter the cats.  (The fence idea was actually suggested to me last week by Sabrina.  She suggested chicken wire, but I realized that the fence would do and was free).

Cassie then went to work on digging out our excess spearmint from the front southeast flower bed.  One of our neighbors stopped by last week to complain that her house is being overrun by mice (from the vacant houses on each side of her).  She had heard that mint plants would deter mice and asked me where she could get some.  I suggested that she get a cat, but one of her children has cat allergies.  (I still think she should start feeding one of the neighborhood’s 50 stray cats on her back porch to  deter the mice).   I don’t know about the affect of mint on mice, but I told her that she could have our spearmint, which was taking over the front flower bed.   Since Cassie offered to help, she dug up and potted the spearmint and I dropped off several pots on the neighbor’s front porch.

Neal surprised me by showing up and offering to help (after first asking for planting advice for his plot).  He’d been travelling for the past few weeks, so Sabrina hoed his plot for him.  I put him to work digging a hole for a rose bush and then transplanting one of our front yellow roses.  Last year, the drought took its toll on our yellow tea roses.  Then, they were affected by black spot disease.  Rootbarb pruned them in November and one of them has come back beautifully, but the northern one looked almost dead.  Instead of pitching it, I thought we’d give it a last shot by planting it at the southeast corner of the flower bed.  Neal dug a very deep and wide hole for it and then covered the bush with wood chips.  Time will tell if it will survive.  I then ran to Lowe’s to find a replacement (because we need a thorny rose bush by our front gate to keep n’ere-do-wells from sneaking in between the fence and the gate).   There were no yellow tea roses, but there was a yellow knock-out rose bush.  While it will not be symmetrical with the yellow tea rose bush to the south of the gate, I have become a huge fan of knock-out roses because of the two overgrown ones we have by our back gates.  At least it’s yellow.

Frank and Barb then came and hung up our front gate sign and then hoed and weeded their plot.

Orlando stopped by.  He’s going to convert our excess lumber (from old compost bins, etc.) into firewood to heat his auto garage.  He also picked up some lettuce seeds for his home garden.

Rose brought brownies for us all to share.  Then she and Greg turned to putting wood chips around the platform raised bed at the northeast corner of the Garden.  Greg had to leave for work, but will be returning to tidy up our wood chip pile.  Rose decided to garden with us and took that raised bed to plant radishes, cilantro and lettuce.

Ben, Hope, Cathy, and her mother stopped by.  Hope will be gardening with us again and picked out her raised bed.  This year, she will grow more food instead of mostly flowers.  The Urban Connections folks were busy across the street planting grass in the lot where they play with the kids over the summer (next to their basketball court).

We have an overabundance of oregano in our herb garden this year.  I need to make room for the basil which we grow for Bexley Pizza Plus (in exchange for the pizza they provide us gratis on our opening work day).  I encouraged Rose, Sabrina and Cassie to divide the plants and take some.  Otherwise, I will have to pack it up and take it to a food pantry.    Maybe Charlie will help us out (since he wants some in his plot and saved one of the oregano bushes last year from the rototiller . . . . )

I planted some more lettuce and potatoes in my plot, packed up the shed and called it a day.  Cassie was still there planting in her own plot and Sabrina was still weeding the food pantry plot when I left. Whew.   (I had to return to pick up my garden rake, which I left by mistake . .  . . )

This was a longer day than I intended.  Next week, I will be focusing almost exclusively on the front and new flower beds.  We have lots of daisies and other perennials coming up.  We need to weed it and then plant some other flowers, like cosmos and sunflowers, and the rest of the perennials I picked up at DeMonye’s.  (I usually don’t get to this until near the end of May).    As always, I could use whatever help is offered so that I can spend more time on my own plot . . . .  

Fair Weather for Gardening

We had quite a hard-working impromptu crew today at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  You would have thought it was opening day again from the crowd.   I had a lot planned to do, but had not planned on having so much help.  Nonetheless, I still did not leave until well after 2 p.m. and there were still gardeners there working.   I can only attribute all of the passion to the beautiful Spring day we had today.

The morning started around 9:30 with filling the new neighbor raised bed along Cherry Street.   As I was unpacking my supplies, neighbor Rose stopped by and said that she wanted to help.  So, we pulled weeds, laid newspaper down, spread bags of hummus/manure donated on Monday by Scotts Miracle-Gro and then bags of similarly donated Garden Soil.  While we worked, new gardener Greg joined us.  After filling this bed, we then moved to top off the youth raised beds inside the fence.  After those were filled, I sent Rose and Greg to reconfigure the new raised flower bed outside the southwestern part of our fence (parallel to East Main Street) and fill that bed with donated soil.  Sadly, I forgot to pack my car with the perennial flowers I purchased during DeMonye’s sale a few weeks ago.  So, the flower-planting will have to wait until next Saturday.  While they worked on that project, I planted seedlings of cabbage, broccoli, kale, and lettuce in the neighbor raised bed and planted seeds of collard greens. 

Sabrina came (sans her men – who were at COSI) and I put her to work weeding and prepping the food pantry plot to plant carrots, lettuce and potatoes.   She was the only one of us smart enough to pack a lunch for today.  (I had some refreshments, but nothing substantive).   Sabrina also did something none of us thought was humanly possible:  She broke a hoe while creating a ditch for the potoates.  I should have had her cultivate the soil first, but I didn't realize it was that compacted . . . . . She was embarassed, but we still have four other hoes in our shed . . .

Cassie came and I had her help me put a section of fence (which we repurposed from the demolished building next door) over the neighbor plot.  As you may recall, we used to have three neighbor raised beds along Cherry Street.  However, the dozen or so stray cats that hang out at the Garden had turned them into a litter box and some neighbors were not anxious to eat the food which grew out of them.  So, now those beds are now compost bins and we have constructed a new – and higher – raised bed for the neighbors.  I put this wire fence (which coincidentally fit perfectly) over the bed to keep the cats from jumping into it.  We’ll remove the fence and turn it back into a trellis once the bed is fully planted and the seedlings are big enough to deter the cats.  (The fence idea was actually suggested to me last week by Sabrina.  She suggested chicken wire, but I realized that the fence would do and was free).

Cassie then went to work on digging out our excess spearmint from the front southeast flower bed.  One of our neighbors stopped by last week to complain that her house is being overrun by mice (from the vacant houses on each side of her).  She had heard that mint plants would deter mice and asked me where she could get some.  I suggested that she get a cat, but one of her children has cat allergies.  (I still think she should start feeding one of the neighborhood’s 50 stray cats on her back porch to  deter the mice).   I don’t know about the affect of mint on mice, but I told her that she could have our spearmint, which was taking over the front flower bed.   Since Cassie offered to help, she dug up and potted the spearmint and I dropped off several pots on the neighbor’s front porch.

Neal surprised me by showing up and offering to help (after first asking for planting advice for his plot).  He’d been travelling for the past few weeks, so Sabrina hoed his plot for him.  I put him to work digging a hole for a rose bush and then transplanting one of our front yellow roses.  Last year, the drought took its toll on our yellow tea roses.  Then, they were affected by black spot disease.  Rootbarb pruned them in November and one of them has come back beautifully, but the northern one looked almost dead.  Instead of pitching it, I thought we’d give it a last shot by planting it at the southeast corner of the flower bed.  Neal dug a very deep and wide hole for it and then covered the bush with wood chips.  Time will tell if it will survive.  I then ran to Lowe’s to find a replacement (because we need a thorny rose bush by our front gate to keep n’ere-do-wells from sneaking in between the fence and the gate).   There were no yellow tea roses, but there was a yellow knock-out rose bush.  While it will not be symmetrical with the yellow tea rose bush to the south of the gate, I have become a huge fan of knock-out roses because of the two overgrown ones we have by our back gates.  At least it’s yellow.

Frank and Barb then came and hung up our front gate sign and then hoed and weeded their plot.

Orlando stopped by.  He’s going to convert our excess lumber (from old compost bins, etc.) into firewood to heat his auto garage.  He also picked up some lettuce seeds for his home garden.

Rose brought brownies for us all to share.  Then she and Greg turned to putting wood chips around the platform raised bed at the northeast corner of the Garden.  Greg had to leave for work, but will be returning to tidy up our wood chip pile.  Rose decided to garden with us and took that raised bed to plant radishes, cilantro and lettuce.

Ben, Hope, Cathy, and her mother stopped by.  Hope will be gardening with us again and picked out her raised bed.  This year, she will grow more food instead of mostly flowers.  The Urban Connections folks were busy across the street planting grass in the lot where they play with the kids over the summer (next to their basketball court).

We have an overabundance of oregano in our herb garden this year.  I need to make room for the basil which we grow for Bexley Pizza Plus (in exchange for the pizza they provide us gratis on our opening work day).  I encouraged Rose, Sabrina and Cassie to divide the plants and take some.  Otherwise, I will have to pack it up and take it to a food pantry.    Maybe Charlie will help us out (since he wants some in his plot and saved one of the oregano bushes last year from the rototiller . . . . )

I planted some more lettuce and potatoes in my plot, packed up the shed and called it a day.  Cassie was still there planting in her own plot and Sabrina was still weeding the food pantry plot when I left. Whew.   (I had to return to pick up my garden rake, which I left by mistake . .  . . )

This was a longer day than I intended.  Next week, I will be focusing almost exclusively on the front and new flower beds.  We have lots of daisies and other perennials coming up.  We need to weed it and then plant some other flowers, like cosmos and sunflowers, and the rest of the perennials I picked up at DeMonye’s.  (I usually don’t get to this until near the end of May).    As always, I could use whatever help is offered so that I can spend more time on my own plot . . . .  

2013 Gardening Season Starts on April 6

Even though March seems to be entering like a lion and we are still searching for a new Garden Manager, the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden is planning to open in five weeks on April 6, 2013.  Gardeners who are interested in reserving their own plot to grow their own vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers should complete, sign and return an Applicationalong with $10/plot (preferably by check made payable to the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden).  Families in the Stoddart Avenue neighborhood are eligible for a full scholarship if the fee presents a financial hardship. 

Gardeners’ participation is subject to the SACG Garden Rules as well as some rules by the City of Columbus (prohibiting, for instance, being in the Garden at night, and bringing alcohol onto Garden property, etc.).  Gardeners are also encouraged to donate a portion of their produce to area food pantries and shelters, like Faith Mission, Lutheran Social Services and the Salvation Army.

Joining the SACG is not terribly time consuming, but Gardeners should plan to help set out the Garden on Saturday, April 6, 2013 (with a rain date on Saturday, April 13, 2013) and to close the Garden (probably on Saturday, November 9, 2013).  Gardeners should also volunteer for three chores to perform for one month over the summer (like watering flowers, tending the food pantry plot, pulling weeds in the paths, mowing our lawn, picking up litter, etc.) 

We will start working at 9:30 a.m. on April 6, 2013 to spread compost, flip the compost bins, improve the compost bins, spread wood chips on the Garden paths and around the fence rows, till the ground (weather permitting), move some raised beds and possibly hang/move some fence.   The more the merrier because many hands make light work.  You need not reserve a plot if you would just like to volunteer.   We are thrilled that OSU students will be joining us as part of their Pay-It-Forward week.  Pizza will be supplied by Bexley Pizza Plus.

As in past years, a gazillion free Botanical Interest seeds are being donated by one of my fellow knitwits from Christ Lutheran Church.  Gardeners and volunteers may help themselves at the end of our April 6, 2013 work day and begin planting as soon as the ground is tilled and staked out.  (However, that early in the year, I only recommend planting potatoes, onions, leeks, peas, lettuce, kale, spinach and greens).   I’ll be starting pepper seeds this weekend and will share any extra seedlings with gardeners come May.

So, if you or someone you know likes to get your hand dirty and grow your own food, you are welcome to join us at the SACG.  Plots will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis, with preference being given to gardeners from last year who volunteered at the opening and closing work days.

AND, although there are no guarantees, the Farmer's Almanac is NOT predicting a drought for Central Ohio this year.  Happy Days!

2013 Gardening Season Starts on April 6

Even though March seems to be entering like a lion and we are still searching for a new Garden Manager, the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden is planning to open in five weeks on April 6, 2013.  Gardeners who are interested in reserving their own plot to grow their own vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers should complete, sign and return an Application along with $10/plot (preferably by check made payable to the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden).  Families in the Stoddart Avenue neighborhood are eligible for a full scholarship if the fee presents a financial hardship. 

Gardeners’ participation is subject to the SACG Garden Rules as well as some rules by the City of Columbus (prohibiting, for instance, being in the Garden at night, and bringing alcohol onto Garden property, etc.).  Gardeners are also encouraged to donate a portion of their produce to area food pantries and shelters, like Faith Mission, Lutheran Social Services and the Salvation Army.

Joining the SACG is not terribly time consuming, but Gardeners should plan to help set out the Garden on Saturday, April 6, 2013 (with a rain date on Saturday, April 13, 2013) and to close the Garden (probably on Saturday, November 9, 2013).  Gardeners should also volunteer for three chores to perform for one month over the summer (like watering flowers, tending the food pantry plot, pulling weeds in the paths, mowing our lawn, picking up litter, etc.) 

We will start working at 9:30 a.m. on April 6, 2013 to spread compost, flip the compost bins, improve the compost bins, spread wood chips on the Garden paths and around the fence rows, till the ground (weather permitting), move some raised beds and possibly hang/move some fence.   The more the merrier because many hands make light work.  You need not reserve a plot if you would just like to volunteer.   We are thrilled that OSU students will be joining us as part of their Pay-It-Forward week.  Pizza will be supplied by Bexley Pizza Plus.

As in past years, a gazillion free Botanical Interest seeds are being donated by one of my fellow knitwits from Christ Lutheran Church.  Gardeners and volunteers may help themselves at the end of our April 6, 2013 work day and begin planting as soon as the ground is tilled and staked out.  (However, that early in the year, I only recommend planting potatoes, onions, leeks, peas, lettuce, kale, spinach and greens).   I’ll be starting pepper seeds this weekend and will share any extra seedlings with gardeners come May.

So, if you or someone you know likes to get your hand dirty and grow your own food, you are welcome to join us at the SACG.  Plots will be assigned on a first-come-first-served basis, with preference being given to gardeners from last year who volunteered at the opening and closing work days.

AND, although there are no guarantees, the Farmer's Almanac is NOT predicting a drought for Central Ohio this year.  Happy Days!

SACG Faces Dog Days of August



Block Watch and SACG on August 1, 2012



The dog days of August are upon us. Traditionally, August is one of the wettest months of the year, so I am not particularly dreading the next couple of weeks because the humid heat also generally brings late afternoon thunderstorms.

Demolition Update. The demolition of the next-door eyesore is finally complete and the back hoe is gone. The crew removed all of the bricks and foundation stones from the old building and filled it with dirt and top soil (some of which had some stones). However, gardening next door will not be nearly as back-breaking as cleaning out our current two lots (which are riddled with construction debris, old sidewalks, driveways and foundations). The crew spread grass seed and topped it with straw. Sadly, the seed is unlikely to germinate anytime soon in this drought. The crew also replaced our cherry tree, but used peat moss (instead of Scotts tree soil) to plant it, so I’ll be properly replanting it this Saturday morning. After watching us work steadily in the high heat for the past month and watching all of the kids come and go, the crew began to appreciate all of our hard work and planted two more cherry trees in the newly vacant lot (since it looked so lonely with only straw). It was kinda sad to see them try to water the new trees on Monday evening armed with only gallon jugs of water. (I let them use water from one of our barrels).

The Block Watch has asked the City to lease the lot for another flower garden and has begun to water the new trees, but we haven’t heard anything back from the City. . . . . .

The new president of the Franklin Park Area Association (i.e., the neighborhood civic association) is so impressed with the improvements that have been made over the last year that he wants us to put a marker on the lot designating it as the southern gateway to the Franklin Park neighborhood. Of course, he also wants us to raise the money for the marker . . .

Super Stoddarts. Our youth program continues to meet on Monday evenings. Although no one came last week (with the 93 degree heat at 6:30), we had a couple of girls come this last Monday. Root Barb read them a fairy story and sent them home with their own book to read for the rest of the summer. I then showed them how to make a rain gauge out of a two-liter bottle. Over the summer, we have read a few chapters from Seed Folks, learned about different irrigation techniques, garden safety, seed structures and types, and the basics of rooting. We have five beds being tended by youth gardeners this year. Unlike past years, the kids have been very good about weeding their garden beds, but they have not been as reliable in watering them.

FCMG Intern Volunteers. Last week’s rain made all our plants double in size, including the weeds. Thankfully, four new interns from the Franklin County Master Gardener program came last night to help me weed and water. They watered and weeded our food pantry pepper and bean plots for about 90 minutes and one stayed even later to water and weed the center flower bed. They were obsessed with properly composting the weeds. The peppers perked right up and the bean plot looks respectable again.

Second Umbrella. Anne from the Women’s Board of the Franklin Park Conservatory donated a patio umbrella to us to provide us with more shade during these hot and sunny days. The kids feel very special playing in the sand box when it is covered with an umbrella and always ask us to put it up for them. If I could only get them to clean up after themselves before they leave for the evening . . . . .



SACG on March 31, 2012 Pre-Demolition



Drought Tips. While our plants (particularly our beans) are not as prolifically productive this year as last year, several of us had had a decent harvest and I’ve already started to can tomatoes again. We’ve even had corn and my eggplants have loved this dry and hot weather. While we usually do not utilize fertilizer at the SACG because of all of the compost we’ve invested in our soil, this year fertilizer has made a huge difference in helping our plants to thrive in the drought because they cannot absorb enough nutrients when the top few inches of soil are dry. Those of us who regularly water our plants have been more fortunate than the gardeners who are trying to survive by only watering once every 7-10 days. Not only are our fruits larger, but the regular waterers have avoided the worst of the cracked tomatoes and blossom end rot (i.e., the black bottoms on tomatoes). Our peppers are also bigger. My bean crop has shockingly shriveled up. This is because I didn’t water it much – if at all – in May. However, the beans I planted in mid-June or later are doing ok. Indeed, my half-row of asparagus beans (also known as Chinese beans or yard-long beans) are drought tolerant and I’ve already harvested several pounds of them. I should have planted more of them.



SACG on August 1, 2012 Post-Demolition



Finally, I've put an end to the continued theft of our water by placing bibb locks on the spickets of our tank and one of our barrels.  These are pretty nifty. (You screw a plug onto the spicket that keeps water from escaping and then put a bibb on top of it which is then locked).   The expensive brass bibb does not come with a lock, but I purchased an extra combination lock to use.  The less expensive model comes with a small key-lock, but there are only three keys and I never remember to bring one with me to the Garden.   You can get them at Zettlers on East Broad Street or on Amazon.

SACG Faces Dog Days of August



Block Watch and SACG on August 1, 2012



The dog days of August are upon us. Traditionally, August is one of the wettest months of the year, so I am not particularly dreading the next couple of weeks because the humid heat also generally brings late afternoon thunderstorms.

Demolition Update. The demolition of the next-door eyesore is finally complete and the back hoe is gone. The crew removed all of the bricks and foundation stones from the old building and filled it with dirt and top soil (some of which had some stones). However, gardening next door will not be nearly as back-breaking as cleaning out our current two lots (which are riddled with construction debris, old sidewalks, driveways and foundations). The crew spread grass seed and topped it with straw. Sadly, the seed is unlikely to germinate anytime soon in this drought. The crew also replaced our cherry tree, but used peat moss (instead of Scotts tree soil) to plant it, so I’ll be properly replanting it this Saturday morning. After watching us work steadily in the high heat for the past month and watching all of the kids come and go, the crew began to appreciate all of our hard work and planted two more cherry trees in the newly vacant lot (since it looked so lonely with only straw). It was kinda sad to see them try to water the new trees on Monday evening armed with only gallon jugs of water. (I let them use water from one of our barrels).

The Block Watch has asked the City to lease the lot for another flower garden and has begun to water the new trees, but we haven’t heard anything back from the City. . . . . .

The new president of the Franklin Park Area Association (i.e., the neighborhood civic association) is so impressed with the improvements that have been made over the last year that he wants us to put a marker on the lot designating it as the southern gateway to the Franklin Park neighborhood. Of course, he also wants us to raise the money for the marker . . .

Super Stoddarts. Our youth program continues to meet on Monday evenings. Although no one came last week (with the 93 degree heat at 6:30), we had a couple of girls come this last Monday. Root Barb read them a fairy story and sent them home with their own book to read for the rest of the summer. I then showed them how to make a rain gauge out of a two-liter bottle. Over the summer, we have read a few chapters from Seed Folks, learned about different irrigation techniques, garden safety, seed structures and types, and the basics of rooting. We have five beds being tended by youth gardeners this year. Unlike past years, the kids have been very good about weeding their garden beds, but they have not been as reliable in watering them.

FCMG Intern Volunteers. Last week’s rain made all our plants double in size, including the weeds. Thankfully, four new interns from the Franklin County Master Gardener program came last night to help me weed and water. They watered and weeded our food pantry pepper and bean plots for about 90 minutes and one stayed even later to water and weed the center flower bed. They were obsessed with properly composting the weeds. The peppers perked right up and the bean plot looks respectable again.

Second Umbrella. Anne from the Women’s Board of the Franklin Park Conservatory donated a patio umbrella to us to provide us with more shade during these hot and sunny days. The kids feel very special playing in the sand box when it is covered with an umbrella and always ask us to put it up for them. If I could only get them to clean up after themselves before they leave for the evening . . . . .



SACG on March 31, 2012 Pre-Demolition



Drought Tips. While our plants (particularly our beans) are not as prolifically productive this year as last year, several of us had had a decent harvest and I’ve already started to can tomatoes again. We’ve even had corn and my eggplants have loved this dry and hot weather. While we usually do not utilize fertilizer at the SACG because of all of the compost we’ve invested in our soil, this year fertilizer has made a huge difference in helping our plants to thrive in the drought because they cannot absorb enough nutrients when the top few inches of soil are dry. Those of us who regularly water our plants have been more fortunate than the gardeners who are trying to survive by only watering once every 7-10 days. Not only are our fruits larger, but the regular waterers have avoided the worst of the cracked tomatoes and blossom end rot (i.e., the black bottoms on tomatoes). Our peppers are also bigger. My bean crop has shockingly shriveled up. This is because I didn’t water it much – if at all – in May. However, the beans I planted in mid-June or later are doing ok. Indeed, my half-row of asparagus beans (also known as Chinese beans or yard-long beans) are drought tolerant and I’ve already harvested several pounds of them. I should have planted more of them.



SACG on August 1, 2012 Post-Demolition



Finally, I've put an end to the continued theft of our water by placing bibb locks on the spickets of our tank and one of our barrels.  These are pretty nifty. (You screw a plug onto the spicket that keeps water from escaping and then put a bibb on top of it which is then locked).   The expensive brass bibb does not come with a lock, but I purchased an extra combination lock to use.  The less expensive model comes with a small key-lock, but there are only three keys and I never remember to bring one with me to the Garden.   You can get them at Zettlers on East Broad Street or on Amazon.

There’s No Joy in Dustville

As most of you know, much of Central Ohio is experiencing a drought. The Stoddart Avenue Community Garden has received less than an inch of rain in more than a month. On Sunday, we had exhausted the water in our tank and rain barrels. Not only is our garden thirstier than normal because of the abnormally high temperatures, but thieves have been siphoning off our water into large containers that are ferried to and from the SACG in grocery carts very early in the morning. Although we received almost half an inch of rain yesterday, our barrels did not receive any (for the second rain in a row) because this time someone who had tipped the lead barrel to get the water in the very bottom forgot to reconnect the downspout before he left. Happily, the tank captured enough to get us through the next week (as long as too much is not stolen in the meantime).

I feel like I am living in the far west about to enter an open-range water war against people who are desperate or slimy enough to steal dirty rain water. On Sundays, I posted stickers on the tank and rain barrels warning our grocery-cart thieves that the unfiltered water is unsafe to drink and is for the sole use of the SACG. (Remember folks, the rain washes pollution and bird poop off the roof and goes right into the tank).  Sadly, homeless men also have been seen bathing and washing clothes with our barrel rain water, but I cannot bring myself to object strongly to that.  Nonetheless, without that water, we have no way of watering the neighbor plots along the alley, the food pantry plots or our four new cherry trees (which need five gallons each week). While the SACG gardeners know that they might have to bring water from home to water their own plots, I can’t legitimately require them to bring water for the flower beds, the neighbor plots, the cherry trees, or the common or food pantry plots. Thus, we need the water in our tank and barrels or those plants will die.

When I realized three weeks ago that we were about to run out of water, I called Leslie Strader at the City. I knew that she had been researching our options last year. She stopped working on this project when we received rain a couple times each week, making 2011 the wettest on record in Central Ohio. I asked her to update her research and she reported that the City would supply the SACG with water from a street sweeper truck if I could find another three community gardens to join and we each paid $115. I explained that was prohibitively expensive and she suggested that I contact Rain Brothers (who has not called me back in two weeks). [Editor's Note:  Rain Brothers has since gotten back to me that their water delivery business has been swamped and are booked at least two weeks in advance.  They charge $120 for delivery of 600 gallons of water].   I could only find two other community gardens in a similar hardship because other gardens pay for City water. Morrison Hill is also getting a tank and has a little funding, but I did not tell them it would cost $115. Growing Hearts and Hands, like us, cannot afford $115, but luckily has two neighbors willing to share their garden hoses. I’ve calculated that 350 gallons of water at Bexley rates (which are higher than City rates) would cost around $55. Union rules preclude the City from asking the Fire Department to empty a truck at a community garden.

Our SACG gardeners have coped in different ways. Root Barb planted succulents in the Fairy Garden which do not need much water. Beth is letting nature take its course. Barb and Frank delayed planting anything until last week in the hope that it would start raining at some point. Charlie created a volcanic hill for each seedling and planted each seedling in the crater in order to catch any water runoff. (I think he is also watering pretty frequently). His plants look fabulous. James had placed a gallon jug of water next to each plant and let the water leak out slowly through a hole in the bottom corner. You can’t argue with success because his tomatoes and okra are very green and thick. Thanks to Epworth United Methodist Church's recycling program and Sharon from the Knitwits at Christ Lutheran Church, I last week planted water bottles next to tomatoes, pumpkins and watermelon in my, the neighbor and food pantry plots and poked holes in the bottom and side in order to water the roots slowly. (The new seedlings planted without a water bottle died in one day in last weekend’s heat). About five of us have put down thick layers of straw mulch (donated by Rayna and Cathy). It ain’t pretty, any way you look at it.

On the plus side, the drought is equally tough on weeds and there are no weeds in the plots which were hoed at the beginning of May. For those who didn’t hoe in a timely fashion, the ground is hard as a rock and it has become seriously difficult to hoe in this environment. We have had one such new gardener officially throw in the towel.

We started our youth program on June 4 and all of the kids wanted to plant carrots and watermelon. To solve the problem of germinating seeds, we used a trick I read about in a Virginia newspaper a couple of years ago. After planting and watering in the seeds, we covered the rows with boards in order to slow the rate of evaporation. We still watered a couple of times each week and checked under the boards every three days. Last night, we achieved success. The seedlings emerged after only one week. We removed the boards and let the new carrots soak in the light rain. The watermelon has been a bit tougher. The seedlings are hanging in there (because most of the kids are better about watering than the adults). However, the seeds have not been able to stay moist long enough to germinate. (I am surreptitiously starting watermelon seeds at home where I can water them daily and then they will magically appear where the seeds were planted. I have no shame.).

[Editor's Note:  The Dispatch recently ran a story about how the lack of rain is adversely affecting farmers, and thus, future food prices].

As I explained to Leslie, I think our only real option is to increase our storage capacity so that we can survive lengthy dry spells.  In the meantime, we desparately need donations of empty half-gallon, liter, quart and half-liter plastic bottles which we can plant next to tomatoes, melons, peppers and squash in order to economically water our plants.  The 16 ounce bottles we retrieved from the recycling bin are really too small and require us to still water the plants more than once each week.

So, please say a prayer each night for more rain and consider contributing to our rain barrel collection. We are at least three or four inches of rain behind schedule, but even one more inch will fill our tank and barrels for another three weeks. I am behind planting flowers in the beds and they don’t have a chance without more rain. Then, there is the subject of my rows and rows of beans, our three rows of thirsty corn, our greens and our cabbage.

There’s No Joy in Dustville

As most of you know, much of Central Ohio is experiencing a drought. The Stoddart Avenue Community Garden has received less than an inch of rain in more than a month. On Sunday, we had exhausted the water in our tank and rain barrels. Not only is our garden thirstier than normal because of the abnormally high temperatures, but thieves have been siphoning off our water into large containers that are ferried to and from the SACG in grocery carts very early in the morning. Although we received almost half an inch of rain yesterday, our barrels did not receive any (for the second rain in a row) because this time someone who had tipped the lead barrel to get the water in the very bottom forgot to reconnect the downspout before he left. Happily, the tank captured enough to get us through the next week (as long as too much is not stolen in the meantime).

I feel like I am living in the far west about to enter an open-range water war against people who are desperate or slimy enough to steal dirty rain water. On Sundays, I posted stickers on the tank and rain barrels warning our grocery-cart thieves that the unfiltered water is unsafe to drink and is for the sole use of the SACG. (Remember folks, the rain washes pollution and bird poop off the roof and goes right into the tank).  Sadly, homeless men also have been seen bathing and washing clothes with our barrel rain water, but I cannot bring myself to object strongly to that.  Nonetheless, without that water, we have no way of watering the neighbor plots along the alley, the food pantry plots or our four new cherry trees (which need five gallons each week). While the SACG gardeners know that they might have to bring water from home to water their own plots, I can’t legitimately require them to bring water for the flower beds, the neighbor plots, the cherry trees, or the common or food pantry plots. Thus, we need the water in our tank and barrels or those plants will die.

When I realized three weeks ago that we were about to run out of water, I called Leslie Strader at the City. I knew that she had been researching our options last year. She stopped working on this project when we received rain a couple times each week, making 2011 the wettest on record in Central Ohio. I asked her to update her research and she reported that the City would supply the SACG with water from a street sweeper truck if I could find another three community gardens to join and we each paid $115. I explained that was prohibitively expensive and she suggested that I contact Rain Brothers (who has not called me back in two weeks). [Editor's Note:  Rain Brothers has since gotten back to me that their water delivery business has been swamped and are booked at least two weeks in advance.  They charge $120 for delivery of 600 gallons of water].   I could only find two other community gardens in a similar hardship because other gardens pay for City water. Morrison Hill is also getting a tank and has a little funding, but I did not tell them it would cost $115. Growing Hearts and Hands, like us, cannot afford $115, but luckily has two neighbors willing to share their garden hoses. I’ve calculated that 350 gallons of water at Bexley rates (which are higher than City rates) would cost around $55. Union rules preclude the City from asking the Fire Department to empty a truck at a community garden.

Our SACG gardeners have coped in different ways. Root Barb planted succulents in the Fairy Garden which do not need much water. Beth is letting nature take its course. Barb and Frank delayed planting anything until last week in the hope that it would start raining at some point. Charlie created a volcanic hill for each seedling and planted each seedling in the crater in order to catch any water runoff. (I think he is also watering pretty frequently). His plants look fabulous. James had placed a gallon jug of water next to each plant and let the water leak out slowly through a hole in the bottom corner. You can’t argue with success because his tomatoes and okra are very green and thick. Thanks to Epworth United Methodist Church's recycling program and Sharon from the Knitwits at Christ Lutheran Church, I last week planted water bottles next to tomatoes, pumpkins and watermelon in my, the neighbor and food pantry plots and poked holes in the bottom and side in order to water the roots slowly. (The new seedlings planted without a water bottle died in one day in last weekend’s heat). About five of us have put down thick layers of straw mulch (donated by Rayna and Cathy). It ain’t pretty, any way you look at it.

On the plus side, the drought is equally tough on weeds and there are no weeds in the plots which were hoed at the beginning of May. For those who didn’t hoe in a timely fashion, the ground is hard as a rock and it has become seriously difficult to hoe in this environment. We have had one such new gardener officially throw in the towel.

We started our youth program on June 4 and all of the kids wanted to plant carrots and watermelon. To solve the problem of germinating seeds, we used a trick I read about in a Virginia newspaper a couple of years ago. After planting and watering in the seeds, we covered the rows with boards in order to slow the rate of evaporation. We still watered a couple of times each week and checked under the boards every three days. Last night, we achieved success. The seedlings emerged after only one week. We removed the boards and let the new carrots soak in the light rain. The watermelon has been a bit tougher. The seedlings are hanging in there (because most of the kids are better about watering than the adults). However, the seeds have not been able to stay moist long enough to germinate. (I am surreptitiously starting watermelon seeds at home where I can water them daily and then they will magically appear where the seeds were planted. I have no shame.).

[Editor's Note:  The Dispatch recently ran a story about how the lack of rain is adversely affecting farmers, and thus, future food prices].

As I explained to Leslie, I think our only real option is to increase our storage capacity so that we can survive lengthy dry spells.  In the meantime, we desparately need donations of empty half-gallon, liter, quart and half-liter plastic bottles which we can plant next to tomatoes, melons, peppers and squash in order to economically water our plants.  The 16 ounce bottles we retrieved from the recycling bin are really too small and require us to still water the plants more than once each week.

So, please say a prayer each night for more rain and consider contributing to our rain barrel collection. We are at least three or four inches of rain behind schedule, but even one more inch will fill our tank and barrels for another three weeks. I am behind planting flowers in the beds and they don’t have a chance without more rain. Then, there is the subject of my rows and rows of beans, our three rows of thirsty corn, our greens and our cabbage.