Slow and Steady Progress at the SACG to Celebrate Earth Day Early

Earth Day is not until near the end of the month, but the Easter holiday next week seems to have motivated Earth Day Columbus to move up the work days and festivities.  Accordingly, the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden – like many other area community gardens – celebrated Earth Day yesterday.  The day started off with a freeze warning and seemed to have scared off most of our regular gardeners and Board members, but we achieved most of our goals nonetheless with help from some new neighbors, Amy, Rayna and Earth Day Columbus.

We’ve missed Robert Seed from Keep Columbus Beautiful who has always kept supply distribution very organized and highly communicative.  With his medical leave of absence following the brutal attack on him in February, the remaining volunteers have been scrambling.   I picked up our supplies on Friday morning and heard that he was planning to stop by KCB around noon to wish them well.  (That's great news, isn't it).   While we received all of the mulch (donated by Kurz Brothers) that we had requested, we only received a few litter grabbers, 3 lawn waste bags and one safety vest (which I declined).  There were no bus passes this year (which I generally use throughout the year for volunteers and to assist some of our economically challenged neighbors).   But, we got a bag of luna bars (for our volunteers and to occasionally pass off to hungry neighbors) and free Jeni’s ice cream.

I arrived bright and early at the SACG on Saturday.  Unlike last week, we had brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.  At least our pictures would be better!  Alexi quickly arrived with his garden agreement and plot fee and I immediately put him to work unloading our mulch.   He then moved on to edge the front flower bed and reconstruct the edging along the strawberry patch.  

Then, neighbor Cameron arrived and was willing to do anything.  Dirtier the better he said, so I put him to work flipping compost from one bin into our new western bin.   He was such a good and willing worker that I tried to recruit him for the Garden, but he’s apparently moving to Brazil in six weeks to work on an organic commercial farm.  (What a sense of adventure!).  He then mowed our lawn and the large Block Watch lot and then weeded the kids’ beds and one food pantry plot before calling it a day.

 I removed and bagged the brambles from the other compost bins, pruned our fruit trees, transplanted a peony bush and pruned some spent perennial flowers in the beds.  Despite the prior night’s freeze, our fruit trees seemed unfazed.  The peach blossoms were still blooming and the cherry blossoms were starting to appear.  I then started planting cold crop seedlings (kale, collards, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage and brussels sprouts)  in our neighbor plot along the alley and watering in the new transplants.  I also had to again clean out our Free Little Library because someone keeps putting perishable produce in there!  Ugh.  Today, it was cucumbers and apples.

Danielle (from Earth Day Columbus) stopped by with her husband David to pass out free Chipotle gift certificates for our volunteers.  They then returned and helped us out a lot.  First, they planted two grape vines for us along our new trellis.  Then, they transplanted a poorly placed hosta, dug out a weed tree growing in the fence line and spread mulch in our flower beds.  (This is one of my least favorite jobs because the mulch sticks to my clothes and runs up my arms.  A few years ago, my legs and feet were attacked by ants that had been living in the bag.  Ouch!).

Amy arrived and I put her to work cleaning up our herb garden.  The chives and oregano really take over.  She expressed interest in the  cherry branches I had pruned.  What a good idea, so I took the branches that she did not want.  We have so many chives (and they are so pretty with their purple flowers when in bloom), and she could not bring herself to dig out more than one bunch.  She put them in a flower pot in the hope that someone would take them home.   She also helped Alexi with the flower bed.

As seems to happen every year, Alexi, Danielle and David left before I remembered to pass out the volunteer rewards (other than luna bars).    I know that I’ll see Alexi again soon, but I wasn’t so sure about Danielle and David.   I finally remembered them as Amy packed up to leave.  

I wanted Cameron to remember Columbus while he is in Brazil, so I gave him our extra Earth Day Columbus t-shirt to wear and advertise our event on another continent.

Rayna and her niece Sarah then arrived to volunteer.  Sara weeded the strawberry patch and liberated a few for the garden at Stewart Avenue Middle School where Rayna works and helps her class raise food.  I had Rayna spread mulch in the herb garden and plant cold crop seedlings that I had brought in our food pantry plot.   I finally got around to planting another two rows of cold crop seedlings in my plot.  Later in the afternoon, I drove down to Dill’s Greenhouse to purchase some onion sets.  Once I put in a couple of rows, I’ll share the remainder with the food pantry and neighbor beds and then with the other gardeners.

In the small world category, Alexi lives a few houses down from the Garden and moved into the neighborhood within the last couple of months.  However, his partner, Isaiah, had visited the SACG a few years ago when, as an employee of Whole Foods, he gave us a cooking demonstration during our 2014 Opening Day and motivated all of us to plant lots of garlic by telling us about all of the garlic he grew for himself in his backyard.    Now, he’s one of our gardeners. 

I’m trying to convince David and Danielle to return.  They cannot grow anything in their condo . . . . . .

We were not the only ones in the neighborhood who were busy.  J. Jireh had a crew picking up litter along East Main Street.

There are always a few more tasks to be addressed, and so these are some of the tasks which will still need to be addressed this month:

1)    Maybe extending the alley curb in front of the western compost bin

2)    Picking up litter in the entire neighborhood and alleys

3)    Straightening up our leaning benches of pisa. (or at least lifting them out of the wood chips because the seat is only six inches above the ground at present) 

4)    Touching up the paint on the shed’s rain barrel

5)    Transplanting some volunteer raspberry bushes to empty spots

Slow and Steady Progress at the SACG to Celebrate Earth Day Early

Earth Day is not until near the end of the month, but the Easter holiday next week seems to have motivated Earth Day Columbus to move up the work days and festivities.  Accordingly, the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden – like many other area community gardens – celebrated Earth Day yesterday.  The day started off with a freeze warning and seemed to have scared off most of our regular gardeners and Board members, but we achieved most of our goals nonetheless with help from some new neighbors, Amy, Rayna and Earth Day Columbus.

We’ve missed Robert Seed from Keep Columbus Beautiful who has always kept supply distribution very organized and highly communicative.  With his medical leave of absence following the brutal attack on him in February, the remaining volunteers have been scrambling.   I picked up our supplies on Friday morning and heard that he was planning to stop by KCB around noon to wish them well.  (That's great news, isn't it).   While we received all of the mulch (donated by Kurz Brothers) that we had requested, we only received a few litter grabbers, 3 lawn waste bags and one safety vest (which I declined).  There were no bus passes this year (which I generally use throughout the year for volunteers and to assist some of our economically challenged neighbors).   But, we got a bag of luna bars (for our volunteers and to occasionally pass off to hungry neighbors) and free Jeni’s ice cream.

I arrived bright and early at the SACG on Saturday.  Unlike last week, we had brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.  At least our pictures would be better!  Alexi quickly arrived with his garden agreement and plot fee and I immediately put him to work unloading our mulch.   He then moved on to edge the front flower bed and reconstruct the edging along the strawberry patch.  

Then, neighbor Cameron arrived and was willing to do anything.  Dirtier the better he said, so I put him to work flipping compost from one bin into our new western bin.   He was such a good and willing worker that I tried to recruit him for the Garden, but he’s apparently moving to Brazil in six weeks to work on an organic commercial farm.  (What a sense of adventure!).  He then mowed our lawn and the large Block Watch lot and then weeded the kids’ beds and one food pantry plot before calling it a day.

 I removed and bagged the brambles from the other compost bins, pruned our fruit trees, transplanted a peony bush and pruned some spent perennial flowers in the beds.  Despite the prior night’s freeze, our fruit trees seemed unfazed.  The peach blossoms were still blooming and the cherry blossoms were starting to appear.  I then started planting cold crop seedlings (kale, collards, broccoli, lettuce, cabbage and brussels sprouts)  in our neighbor plot along the alley and watering in the new transplants.  I also had to again clean out our Free Little Library because someone keeps putting perishable produce in there!  Ugh.  Today, it was cucumbers and apples.

Danielle (from Earth Day Columbus) stopped by with her husband David to pass out free Chipotle gift certificates for our volunteers.  They then returned and helped us out a lot.  First, they planted two grape vines for us along our new trellis.  Then, they transplanted a poorly placed hosta, dug out a weed tree growing in the fence line and spread mulch in our flower beds.  (This is one of my least favorite jobs because the mulch sticks to my clothes and runs up my arms.  A few years ago, my legs and feet were attacked by ants that had been living in the bag.  Ouch!).

Amy arrived and I put her to work cleaning up our herb garden.  The chives and oregano really take over.  She expressed interest in the  cherry branches I had pruned.  What a good idea, so I took the branches that she did not want.  We have so many chives (and they are so pretty with their purple flowers when in bloom), and she could not bring herself to dig out more than one bunch.  She put them in a flower pot in the hope that someone would take them home.   She also helped Alexi with the flower bed.

As seems to happen every year, Alexi, Danielle and David left before I remembered to pass out the volunteer rewards (other than luna bars).    I know that I’ll see Alexi again soon, but I wasn’t so sure about Danielle and David.   I finally remembered them as Amy packed up to leave.  

I wanted Cameron to remember Columbus while he is in Brazil, so I gave him our extra Earth Day Columbus t-shirt to wear and advertise our event on another continent.

Rayna and her niece Sarah then arrived to volunteer.  Sara weeded the strawberry patch and liberated a few for the garden at Stewart Avenue Middle School where Rayna works and helps her class raise food.  I had Rayna spread mulch in the herb garden and plant cold crop seedlings that I had brought in our food pantry plot.   I finally got around to planting another two rows of cold crop seedlings in my plot.  Later in the afternoon, I drove down to Dill’s Greenhouse to purchase some onion sets.  Once I put in a couple of rows, I’ll share the remainder with the food pantry and neighbor beds and then with the other gardeners.

In the small world category, Alexi lives a few houses down from the Garden and moved into the neighborhood within the last couple of months.  However, his partner, Isaiah, had visited the SACG a few years ago when, as an employee of Whole Foods, he gave us a cooking demonstration during our 2014 Opening Day and motivated all of us to plant lots of garlic by telling us about all of the garlic he grew for himself in his backyard.    Now, he’s one of our gardeners. 

I’m trying to convince David and Danielle to return.  They cannot grow anything in their condo . . . . . .

We were not the only ones in the neighborhood who were busy.  J. Jireh had a crew picking up litter along East Main Street.

There are always a few more tasks to be addressed, and so these are some of the tasks which will still need to be addressed this month:

1)    Maybe extending the alley curb in front of the western compost bin

2)    Picking up litter in the entire neighborhood and alleys

3)    Straightening up our leaning benches of pisa. (or at least lifting them out of the wood chips because the seat is only six inches above the ground at present) 

4)    Touching up the paint on the shed’s rain barrel

5)    Transplanting some volunteer raspberry bushes to empty spots

College Students’ Hands Make Light Work at SACG’s 9th Opening Day

Where were all of these kids last year?  That’s what I heard from my gardeners today as we kicked off our ninth growing season at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  Last year, we spread several tons of compost on all of our plots and wood chips on our paths and around our fence lines.   Last year, it was just us gardeners, some members from the Reynoldsburg Alliance Church  and some neighborhood kids (who all got pizza for helping).  This year, we had three groups of college students from nearby Capital University and The Ohio State University.   Many hands make light work.  The college kids spread the wood chips, planted a plum tree and rebuilt a compost bin.  Us gardeners focused on weeding and transplanting daisies (and probably won’t be as sore tomorrow as we were last year).    While it was rather cool (especially to the volunteers who did not wear coats or enough layers), it was also rather cloudy, which means my photos are not quite as cheery or prolific as usual.

Tree King dropped off a ton (or, according to Ken, much more than a ton) of pine wood chips that smelled just swell.   Sadly, they also took up half of the alley, so Cathy sent her two children down with shovels to move enough of them so that cars could drive through.  They worked hard until one of their shovels broke in the process.  While they did that, John Sunami from Nimbus Illustrated and Graphic Design printed us out a new sign cover (that he designed for us in 2012) and I less than perfectly attached it to our sign (an old table top that Charter SACG Gardener Dwayne Penny painted into our original sign).    I was pleased that I at least got it centered.    On Thursday, I also picked up some shovels and garden rakes from Rebuilding Together’s Tool Library.  On Tuesday, I had lunch with Lindsay who will be creating an education garden at Eastgate Elementary School.  While we scoped out locations, I told her that I would try to get some donations of materials and services from some of my contacts. 

When I arrived this morning, Rayna was already there surveying the work to be done.   The rest of the gardeners showed up in pretty short order.  We unloaded my car and started on transplanting volunteer daisies from the paths to the flower beds.  Sabrina also unpacked everything from the shed.  Amy weeded the front southeast flower bed.  We had a group of Capital University students arrive as part of a leadership development class.  They looked cold, so I put them to work shoveling wood chips into wheelbarrows and dumping them around the raised beds, along our paths and along our fence lines.   The chips smelled really good.   Taylor was there to supervise.  Where were these kids last year when he shoveled for almost six straight hours?  I didn’t spend any time checking on their work because they seemed to be making great progress and there were no misapplied wood chips this year.  Sabrina even took our extra wood chips to put around our fruit trees  and she and Rayna insured that our blooming daffodils did not get buried.

I tried to tidy up and clean out our Free Little Library (which is sadly short on books).  A local homeless person has been using it as his food pantry and storing perishable food items and other random items in there (and then tying it shut to keep everyone else out).  A small group of OSU students showed up from a social studies class studying community gardens as a class project.  They brought some children with them.  We retrieved some wheelbarrows from Cathy’s house (as well as an extra drill in case we needed it to rebuild a new compost bin).   These students then helped Rayna weed the center flower bed and then began weeding various garden plots. (I shooed them out of mine because I have all sorts of odds and ends growing there, not just weeds).   Some of them helped me to retrieve bags of potting soil which we purchased last year with our Lowe’s voucher as part of the City’s Land Bank community garden program.  We emptied these bags into the kids’ raised platform beds (after first weeding the beds).

Ken showed up with lots of tools and such.  He had spent the last month attempting to fix our lawn mower.  (He also donated a reel mower which I need to sharpen).   It was quite an ordeal.  I was going to devote a whole blog day to his almost daily blow-by-blow accounts of what he had tried and what seemed to work (and didn’t work).  He told me that we would have a working mower today.  Then, two days ago, it didn’t work.  So, he bought one (which also didn’t work).  So he bought another one and brought it today.  When I saw it, I was like.  Wow.  Did you repaint ours too because I remember it being red and not green.  It’s so shiny.   He just laughed and told me what happened.  I was like – oh you didn’t need to because we just would have used the reel one and Urban Connections’ mower.  But now, we have our own and won’t need to feel guilty borrowing someone else’s mower.  Jeremey from Capital ended up mowing our lawn and the two Block Watch lots.  (He looked really cold weeding one of the raised beds, so I suggested that he mow instead to keep warm).   He didn’t think that anyone could notice that the lawns had been mowed, but we really could. 

A giant bus creeped down between the parked cars on Stoddart.  It was our group of OSU students from the Pay It Forward Program’s Spring into Service event.   We split them into two groups which were both supervised by Ken.  One group helped him to deconstruct an old compost bin and then build a new one.  The other dug a large hole to plant our new (self pollinating) plum tree.    I then set them loose on weeding.  I had packed a bunch of yard waste bags, but couldn’t find them, so we had to put the weeds into plastic bags.    The neighborhood dumpsters were already full, so Ken took them to dumpsters near his office.

I had reattached the spicket to the large rain cistern on Thursday, but I had my doubts about it.     When I checked it last night, it was leaking.  (At least it was filling up, unlike our experiences last year).  The tank was also full of some sort of gunk or white mold.  So, I plan to add a couple of gallons of bleach to it asap to address that new development.  Our gallant hero Ken had the supplies to fix the leak, but we first had to empty the tank (which created a small lake at Kimball Farms).  While he did that, I grabbed an OSU student to help me reattach the tall rain cistern to the downspout on the west side.

We had a number of new gardeners show up and help.  Almost all of them were recruited by Alyssa and one of them even drives a truck -- always an added bonus.    Some picked up litter; some shoveled, some spread chips; some weeded.  Some helped me and a student reattach our sign to its posts for group pictures, etc.   Some helped to repaint the shed’s rain barrel, the chipped paint on the Free Little Library and to varnish our neighbor plot sign.  Rayna then took charge in leading the attack on the weeds in the strawberry patch.  Alyssa, Taylor and the new gardeners then went next door and weeded two of their long raised beds.

I had made dozens of dark chocolate no-bake cookies and brownies and brought tangerines, bananas, cheese sticks, donuts and bottled water for refreshments.  Eventually, each group migrated to our picnic table on the south side of the Garden to refresh their blood sugar.  

Sabrina lead the effort to put everything back in the shed.  There’s enough room left to fit our new reel mower once I sharpen it.  Ken then reconfigured our gate latches so that we can shut our front gate (and eventually lock it when we have food growing inside). 

Ahmed, the new President of the Kimball Farms Civic Association, stopped by to give me his number if I needed any help.   I’m really determined to take it easy this year, but then started thinking that maybe he would want to help build a new picket fence up front.  Ken really shouldn’t get all of the fun . . . .

We have lots of plots left for interested gardeners who sign an agreement, pay their $10 and put in their three hours of work equity.   We have a voluntary work day this Saturday, April 8 to celebrate Earth Day (early this year because of Easter).  This is what we have planned to do this Saturday for folks who want to help out:

1)      Planting red and white grapes along the trellis

2)      Weeding what didn’t get weeded today (including the kids beds)

3)      Cleaning up the front flower bed edging and replacing some of the landscaping stones that got disturbed today

4)      Maybe extending the alley curb in front of the western compost bin

5)      Picking up litter in the entire neighborhood and alleys

6)      Cleaning the brambles out of the compost bins and putting them in the newly found lawn waste bags

7)      Planting seedlings (collards, kale, cabbage) and seeds (lettuce) in the western neighbor bed

8)      Planting a couple rows of lettuce and couple of collards and kale in the food pantry plot

9)      Straightening up the leaning benches of pisa.

10)  Touching up the paint on the shed’s rain barrel

11)  Maybe turning some compost (depending on whether any extra volunteers show up)

12)  Maybe thinning some strawberry plants and sharing with Rayna and the neighbor next door

13)  Pruning the fruit trees and maybe staking a couple of the leaning ones.

14)  Transplanting some volunteer raspberry bushes to empty spots

15)  Probably mowing our lush lawn again with our NEW mower (thanks to Ken)

College Students’ Hands Make Light Work at SACG’s 9th Opening Day

Where were all of these kids last year?  That’s what I heard from my gardeners today as we kicked off our ninth growing season at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden.  Last year, we spread several tons of compost on all of our plots and wood chips on our paths and around our fence lines.   Last year, it was just us gardeners, some members from the Reynoldsburg Alliance Church  and some neighborhood kids (who all got pizza for helping).  This year, we had three groups of college students from nearby Capital University and The Ohio State University.   Many hands make light work.  The college kids spread the wood chips, planted a plum tree and rebuilt a compost bin.  Us gardeners focused on weeding and transplanting daisies (and probably won’t be as sore tomorrow as we were last year).    While it was rather cool (especially to the volunteers who did not wear coats or enough layers), it was also rather cloudy, which means my photos are not quite as cheery or prolific as usual.

Tree King dropped off a ton (or, according to Ken, much more than a ton) of pine wood chips that smelled just swell.   Sadly, they also took up half of the alley, so Cathy sent her two children down with shovels to move enough of them so that cars could drive through.  They worked hard until one of their shovels broke in the process.  While they did that, John Sunami from Nimbus Illustrated and Graphic Design printed us out a new sign cover (that he designed for us in 2012) and I less than perfectly attached it to our sign (an old table top that Charter SACG Gardener Dwayne Penny painted into our original sign).    I was pleased that I at least got it centered.    On Thursday, I also picked up some shovels and garden rakes from Rebuilding Together’s Tool Library.  On Tuesday, I had lunch with Lindsay who will be creating an education garden at Eastgate Elementary School.  While we scoped out locations, I told her that I would try to get some donations of materials and services from some of my contacts. 

When I arrived this morning, Rayna was already there surveying the work to be done.   The rest of the gardeners showed up in pretty short order.  We unloaded my car and started on transplanting volunteer daisies from the paths to the flower beds.  Sabrina also unpacked everything from the shed.  Amy weeded the front southeast flower bed.  We had a group of Capital University students arrive as part of a leadership development class.  They looked cold, so I put them to work shoveling wood chips into wheelbarrows and dumping them around the raised beds, along our paths and along our fence lines.   The chips smelled really good.   Taylor was there to supervise.  Where were these kids last year when he shoveled for almost six straight hours?  I didn’t spend any time checking on their work because they seemed to be making great progress and there were no misapplied wood chips this year.  Sabrina even took our extra wood chips to put around our fruit trees  and she and Rayna insured that our blooming daffodils did not get buried.

I tried to tidy up and clean out our Free Little Library (which is sadly short on books).  A local homeless person has been using it as his food pantry and storing perishable food items and other random items in there (and then tying it shut to keep everyone else out).  A small group of OSU students showed up from a social studies class studying community gardens as a class project.  They brought some children with them.  We retrieved some wheelbarrows from Cathy’s house (as well as an extra drill in case we needed it to rebuild a new compost bin).   These students then helped Rayna weed the center flower bed and then began weeding various garden plots. (I shooed them out of mine because I have all sorts of odds and ends growing there, not just weeds).   Some of them helped me to retrieve bags of potting soil which we purchased last year with our Lowe’s voucher as part of the City’s Land Bank community garden program.  We emptied these bags into the kids’ raised platform beds (after first weeding the beds).

Ken showed up with lots of tools and such.  He had spent the last month attempting to fix our lawn mower.  (He also donated a reel mower which I need to sharpen).   It was quite an ordeal.  I was going to devote a whole blog day to his almost daily blow-by-blow accounts of what he had tried and what seemed to work (and didn’t work).  He told me that we would have a working mower today.  Then, two days ago, it didn’t work.  So, he bought one (which also didn’t work).  So he bought another one and brought it today.  When I saw it, I was like.  Wow.  Did you repaint ours too because I remember it being red and not green.  It’s so shiny.   He just laughed and told me what happened.  I was like – oh you didn’t need to because we just would have used the reel one and Urban Connections’ mower.  But now, we have our own and won’t need to feel guilty borrowing someone else’s mower.  Jeremey from Capital ended up mowing our lawn and the two Block Watch lots.  (He looked really cold weeding one of the raised beds, so I suggested that he mow instead to keep warm).   He didn’t think that anyone could notice that the lawns had been mowed, but we really could. 

A giant bus creeped down between the parked cars on Stoddart.  It was our group of OSU students from the Pay It Forward Program’s Spring into Service event.   We split them into two groups which were both supervised by Ken.  One group helped him to deconstruct an old compost bin and then build a new one.  The other dug a large hole to plant our new (self pollinating) plum tree.    I then set them loose on weeding.  I had packed a bunch of yard waste bags, but couldn’t find them, so we had to put the weeds into plastic bags.    The neighborhood dumpsters were already full, so Ken took them to dumpsters near his office.

I had reattached the spicket to the large rain cistern on Thursday, but I had my doubts about it.     When I checked it last night, it was leaking.  (At least it was filling up, unlike our experiences last year).  The tank was also full of some sort of gunk or white mold.  So, I plan to add a couple of gallons of bleach to it asap to address that new development.  Our gallant hero Ken had the supplies to fix the leak, but we first had to empty the tank (which created a small lake at Kimball Farms).  While he did that, I grabbed an OSU student to help me reattach the tall rain cistern to the downspout on the west side.

We had a number of new gardeners show up and help.  Almost all of them were recruited by Alyssa and one of them even drives a truck -- always an added bonus.    Some picked up litter; some shoveled, some spread chips; some weeded.  Some helped me and a student reattach our sign to its posts for group pictures, etc.   Some helped to repaint the shed’s rain barrel, the chipped paint on the Free Little Library and to varnish our neighbor plot sign.  Rayna then took charge in leading the attack on the weeds in the strawberry patch.  Alyssa, Taylor and the new gardeners then went next door and weeded two of their long raised beds.

I had made dozens of dark chocolate no-bake cookies and brownies and brought tangerines, bananas, cheese sticks, donuts and bottled water for refreshments.  Eventually, each group migrated to our picnic table on the south side of the Garden to refresh their blood sugar.  

Sabrina lead the effort to put everything back in the shed.  There’s enough room left to fit our new reel mower once I sharpen it.  Ken then reconfigured our gate latches so that we can shut our front gate (and eventually lock it when we have food growing inside). 

Ahmed, the new President of the Kimball Farms Civic Association, stopped by to give me his number if I needed any help.   I’m really determined to take it easy this year, but then started thinking that maybe he would want to help build a new picket fence up front.  Ken really shouldn’t get all of the fun . . . .

We have lots of plots left for interested gardeners who sign an agreement, pay their $10 and put in their three hours of work equity.   We have a voluntary work day this Saturday, April 8 to celebrate Earth Day (early this year because of Easter).  This is what we have planned to do this Saturday for folks who want to help out:

1)      Planting red and white grapes along the trellis

2)      Weeding what didn’t get weeded today (including the kids beds)

3)      Cleaning up the front flower bed edging and replacing some of the landscaping stones that got disturbed today

4)      Maybe extending the alley curb in front of the western compost bin

5)      Picking up litter in the entire neighborhood and alleys

6)      Cleaning the brambles out of the compost bins and putting them in the newly found lawn waste bags

7)      Planting seedlings (collards, kale, cabbage) and seeds (lettuce) in the western neighbor bed

8)      Planting a couple rows of lettuce and couple of collards and kale in the food pantry plot

9)      Straightening up the leaning benches of pisa.

10)  Touching up the paint on the shed’s rain barrel

11)  Maybe turning some compost (depending on whether any extra volunteers show up)

12)  Maybe thinning some strawberry plants and sharing with Rayna and the neighbor next door

13)  Pruning the fruit trees and maybe staking a couple of the leaning ones.

14)  Transplanting some volunteer raspberry bushes to empty spots

15)  Probably mowing our lush lawn again with our NEW mower (thanks to Ken)

No Fooling: SACG To Open for NINTH Growing Season on April 1

In like a lion and out like a lamb?  Let's hope that this morning's thunder storms mean that March will end like a lamb because the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden will be kicking off its NINTH growing season on April Fool's Day.    Remember how blustery it was on April 2 last year?  (I was glad that I had a new gardening hat which stayed firmly on my head).  The year before that it snowed!  But our Board wanted to start as soon as possible this year and who am I to disagree?

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/Agreement 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.   You can mail the check and Agreement to SACG at P.O. Box 91106, Columbus, Ohio 43209.

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.  To date, we have donated over 3,600 pounds.

Joining the SACG is not terribly time consuming, but Gardeners are required to help set out the Garden on Saturday, April 1, 2016 (with a rain/make-up date on Saturday, April 8, 2017) and to close the Garden (on Saturday, November 11, 2017). Gardeners must 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.)  Between the chores and keeping your plot planted, weeded and watered, you should plan on spending on average an hour each week at the Garden during the growing season.
We will start working at 9:30 a.m. on April 1, 2016 to spread wood chips on the garden paths and around the fence rows, plant grape vines up our new trellis, turn compost and rebuild a compost bin, mow grass (weather permitting), transplant raspberry bushes, repaint a rain barrel, pick up litter on our lot and in the neighborhood, and hang our sign. The more the merrier because many hands make light work. You need not reserve a plot if you would just like to volunteer to help.   Refreshments will be served (and you should feel free to bring some yourself to share).




Gardeners may begin planting as soon as the plots are staked out.   I have already started pepper, eggplant, cabbage and kale seedlings, but will not be starting sweet potatoes this year.  I’ll be starting tomato, herb and flower seeds next weekend and will share any extra seedlings with gardeners come May.  
So, if you or someone you know likes to get your hands 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.    So, snooze and you lose.  When the Garden is full, we will put names on a wait-list (and we ALWAYS have people drop out by June).

No Fooling: SACG To Open for NINTH Growing Season on April 1

In like a lion and out like a lamb?  Let's hope that this morning's thunder storms mean that March will end like a lamb because the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden will be kicking off its NINTH growing season on April Fool's Day.    Remember how blustery it was on April 2 last year?  (I was glad that I had a new gardening hat which stayed firmly on my head).  The year before that it snowed!  But our Board wanted to start as soon as possible this year and who am I to disagree?

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/Agreement 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.   You can mail the check and Agreement to SACG at P.O. Box 91106, Columbus, Ohio 43209.

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.  To date, we have donated over 3,600 pounds.

Joining the SACG is not terribly time consuming, but Gardeners are required to help set out the Garden on Saturday, April 1, 2016 (with a rain/make-up date on Saturday, April 8, 2017) and to close the Garden (on Saturday, November 11, 2017). Gardeners must 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.)  Between the chores and keeping your plot planted, weeded and watered, you should plan on spending on average an hour each week at the Garden during the growing season.
We will start working at 9:30 a.m. on April 1, 2016 to spread wood chips on the garden paths and around the fence rows, plant grape vines up our new trellis, turn compost and rebuild a compost bin, mow grass (weather permitting), transplant raspberry bushes, repaint a rain barrel, pick up litter on our lot and in the neighborhood, and hang our sign. The more the merrier because many hands make light work. You need not reserve a plot if you would just like to volunteer to help.   Refreshments will be served (and you should feel free to bring some yourself to share).




Gardeners may begin planting as soon as the plots are staked out.   I have already started pepper, eggplant, cabbage and kale seedlings, but will not be starting sweet potatoes this year.  I’ll be starting tomato, herb and flower seeds next weekend and will share any extra seedlings with gardeners come May.  
So, if you or someone you know likes to get your hands 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.    So, snooze and you lose.  When the Garden is full, we will put names on a wait-list (and we ALWAYS have people drop out by June).