Posts Tagged ‘gardening’

Join me!

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

This Saturday is an upcoming tour of the Eco Village neighborhood. This is where you will find our building and we look forward to taking this tour. Come join us! I got this note from Lilah, who is the community go to person for all things Eco Village:

Hi All,
Happy Summer! Over the months I have had many requests for tours of the Cleveland EcoVillage. Unfortunately I have not been able to accommodate all of the requests. This Saturday, the 29th, we will be offering a tour of the Cleveland EcoVillage for anyone interested in seeing the latest in green building and sustainability centered urban redevelopment. The tour is sponsored by a great new group – YNPN – Young Non-Profit Professional Network. We welcome you to join us as we meet new friends and explore the ever evolving Cleveland EcoVillage. Bring a bag lunch and stay for a meal and discussion in the Ithaca Community Garden. Drinks will be provided. The details are below! We hope to see you there. Also- please forward this email to anyone and everyone that may be interested. Thanks! – Lilah Zautner

Then here are the details from Ian at YNPN:

Tour the Cleveland EcoVillage with YNPN Cleveland!

Join YNPN Cleveland on Saturday, August 29th at 10:00 a.m. as we tour the Cleveland EcoVillage, a neighborhood that champions sustainability. We’ll be joined by the EcoVillage Director, who will lead a one hour walking tour of the neighborhood. We’ll also discuss transit-oriented development, urban gardens, sustainability initiatives, grassroots resident initiatives, “pocket parks” and cool new super-efficient housing. The tour will end at the EcoVillage garden with sandwiches and refreshments and a conversation about how you can make your organization more sustainable.

Join us at 10 a.m.at the Michael Zone Recreation Center at the corner of West 65th Street and Lorain Avenue. The parking lot is off of W.65th directly south of Lorain. Registration is not required, but you can RSVP here: http://www.ynpn.org/ecovillage-cle.

Additional details about the EcoVillage:

Located in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood on Cleveland’s near west side, the EcoVillage is based around the West 65th/Lorain Rapid Station. The EcoVillage is:
• An innovative partnership involving nonprofit organizations, the city, the regional transit authority, private developers, and neighborhood residents.
• A national demonstration project that will showcase green building and transit-oriented development.
• An opportunity to realize the promise of urban life in the most ecological way possible.

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Time to get a little corny.

Monday, August 17th, 2009

As you know, I am now a big fan of farmers markets. Fresh, local produce is fantastic! Moreover, it promotes the local economy by creating jobs and promoting local farmers. Besides, the flavor of veggies grown right here in Ohio, as opposed to shipped while still unripe from California, Texas, or (gulp) New Zealand, is immeasurable. While touring Amish country with my family, I could barely stop myself from buying fresh produce at every roadside stand and country market. I haven’t eaten peaches that delicious in years! I even ate a meal that was little more than tomatoes-they were that tasty!

200px-vegcornThis week, I am looking forward to the Corn Festival at the Gordon Square Farmer’s Market. If you aren’t familiar, the Gordon Square Farmer’s Market was previously known as Ward 17 Market. It is every week, on Saturdays, at the Bethany Presbyterian Church, at 65th and Clinton. This week is the famed “Sweet Corn Festival!” There will be local, roasted, sweet corn and live music. If you have kids, this is the time to bring them down and talk about local foods with them! There will be games to keep them occupied, too! There will be a 50/50 raffle and of course all the regular vendors. Market hours are 9am – 1pm and the Sweet Corn Festival runs from 11am – 1pm. For more information, visit the Local Food Cleveland group. Think about joining (it’s free) to find out more about what is going on in the movement. This group was started by Peter McDermott and Cleveland is lucky to have him help lead the charge for local food in our region. He is a great guy and works hard to grow our local economy by growing local food demand. And to find out about all the farmers markets visit this post. There is one that needs to be added and that is the one starting next month. At the summit, I met LeeAnn Westfall and Erin Huber of CSU. They were responsible for putting a green roof on Rec Center building at CSU. Not to end there they are starting a downtown farmer’s market that will open the first week of September. Watch this space for more information about both of their projects!

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Tours de Farms this Saturday

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

If you are into local growers and gardening, you should consider seeing what some of the great urban gardens are doing in Cleveland this Saturday.  Here is the info as sent to me:

This self-directed tour offers visitors the opportunity to visit farms in Cleveland and the surrounding area.

For a map, please go to:
http://www.communitywalk.com/cleveland_tour_de_farms/map/394646

Below are descriptions of the participating farms.

EcoVillage Produce
EcoVillage Produce brings the bounty of fresh vegetables and herbs from the urban garden to your kitchen. We grow quality food products, use and improve the quality of neighborhood land, create personal relationships in the neighborhood, and increase our personal financial well-being. It’s all about food and people!
Locations: West 57th near Lorain Avenue at Ithaca Court Community Garden and 6207 Pear Avenue

Urban Growth
Urban Growth is a quarter-acre entrepreneurial urban farm on the Near West Side of Cleveland. Incorporating diverse production models including permaculture design, biointensive mini-farming, and SPIN Farming, we aim for the sweet spot of profitability, ecological sustainability and community health.
Location: West 48th and Turn Avenue (south of Lorain Avenue)

Gather ’round Farm
This garden, built over an asphalt parking lot, grows vegetables, berries, herbs, and flowers. It is being developed as an educational and market farm, to serve the neighborhood. It is also features a Thyme Keepers Herbs and Crafts garden. Using Permaculture principals, It demonstrates backyard sustainability practices such as: rain water use, run off best management practice, and native plantings for wildlife support. Tour the garden and feed the chickens.
Location: 3919 Lorain Ave. (Between W. 38th & W. 41st)
gattherroundfarm@yahoo.com

Hooper Farm
This farm was established in 1988 and is located 1 mile from downtown in the historic Tremont Valley along the TowPath Trail. See working compost, wildflower beds, and a working greenhouse with mushrooms. Enjoy salad greens, artwork by local students and a musical guest. Camping sites available.
Location: 2835 West 11th street Cleveland, Ohio 44113

Vel’s Purple Oasis
Vel Scott’s Garden on University Circle is a blend of market and community gardening. The garden is in its first year of major soil remediation and bed building. We’ll be taking a tour of the grounds.
Location: 10821 Frank Ave, Cleveland

Blue Pike Farm
Blue Pike Farm is the first farm started in Cleveland in the 21st century. The 1 acre plus facility in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood grows seasonal vegetables using natural and recycled inputs along with an Integrated Pest Management system.
Location: 900 E. 72nd Street

The Green It Up Project of Fairfax
Dilapidated houses, abandoned buildings and a spirit of poverty have plagued Central Avenue in Fairfax. Visitors can expect to see a variety of fruits and veggies, high-tunnels, a greenhouse, beautiful landscape and flowers and a community working together.
Location: E. 79th and Central Avenue

TINKERS VALLEY FARM
The 8-acre site has been run as a farm for about 18 years. We use antique tractors for all farm chores. Come enjoy our farmers market and taste our products! Tinkers Creek runs through the property. Wear walking shoes if you want to go on a nature walk. Later in the day we will be having a cookout and fire. All are welcome!
Location: 6845 Richmond  and Forbes in Glenwillow. Take 271south out of Cleveland. Exit at Forbes road. Go left. Drive till road ends (1-2 miles off freeway. When Forbes deadends, you are at the farm!)

J&M Hammer Apiaries and Orchards
Stop by and see our beehives and taste some
sweet local honey. Learn how we grow shitake mushrooms on hardwood logs. Learn about raised bed growing and the use of hoop greenhouses
to extend production. Our pie cherries should be about ripe and there might be some early rasberries.
Location: 19424 Whitney Road,Strongsville
email: dotzero@gmail.com


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Declaration of Independence!

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

3650251966_a2afae39faSo I get emails from a great site that I wanted to share with you.  It is foodindependenceday.org. They are trying to get everyone to commit to buying the food for their 4th of July celebrations from the most local and environmentally friendly sources possible. We here in Ohio have it made! With so many farmers markets, and so many great local farms and CSAs, it should be easy. They are forming a petition to send to local government officials to encourage them to support their local economies as well by also buying local. There is an interactive map of the US that shows the locations of those who want to be on it. I was flabbergasted to see that there were no Clevelanders on the map! I know that many of you are probably growing most of your own July 4th meals yourselves, so please take a moment to sign up! Supporting local growers is a great way to vote with your dollars. Not only is your food fresher, and thus usually tastier, you are supporting your neighbors. But it is biggger than that. Locally produced food means less stress on the environment. Tomatoes trucked from California, fruits from Chile, apples from New Zealand, these things all add tons of CO2 to the air to get onto your plate. Why not stick to what is fresh, local, and seasonal. Local farmers are in general smaller entities. We need to support them, or they could go away, being bought up by corporate giants. Now I have nothing against corporations in general, but I like my food produced by the family farm, where they are more likely to care about quality of the product and quality of life for the workers and the consumers. So go and declare your food independence and lets make this map packed with little markers for Cleveland!

Those of you with kids, who are growing your own “victory gardens” should check out the whole site. Pull out your video camera, and help your kids make a video about “Why I Am A Victory Grower.” There is a great contest and your kids can get a free membership and seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. They are a group that tries to preserve and propogate rarer species of plants. The top 5 videos will also be featured a conference in Washington DC. What fun! Help bring awareness to Cleveland as a local growing hotspot and have fun with your kids while you are at it! You might even teach them something while they are not in school-you clever parent you! There are examples here.

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This may be NE Ohio’s greenest summer on record!

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

So many great events, so little time. Earth Day was really only the beginning of the events to attend this year. There are things happening all the time, so I wanted to share some of them with you.

As you know Urban gardening and community gardens are bigger than ever this year. The call for a Victory garden at the White House was even taken up by our first lady, Michelle Obama. For those of you in Cleveland, there are ample opportunities to learn and interact this year! Thanks to Julie Lindstrom for this list:

Saturday, June 13th from 10:00 am -12:00 pm
Weed Identification and Management Workshop Instructor: Dr. John Cardina from The Ohio State University
Location: Building Healthy Communities Garden East 35th and Cedar Ave in Cleveland
RSVP to 216.429.8200 ext. 220

Thursday, June 18th from 6:00-8:00 pm
Cooking in the Garden with the Greenhouse Tavern-Paul Revere Community Garden 10334 Gay Avenue in Cleveland
Learn new ways to cook fresh produce from your garden and bring a dish or beverage to share with other gardeners at this workshop/potluck!
RSVP to 216.428.8200 ext. 220

Saturday, June 20th from 1:00 -3:00 pm
Rain Garden and Run-off Best Management Practice Workshop Instructor: Jean Loria
Gather ’round Farm 3919 Lorain Ave. in Cleveland $5-10 sliding scale
For more information contact gatherroundfarm@yahoo.com

Saturday, June 27th from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Pest and Diseases in the Garden Instructor: Dr. Jim Chatfield of The Ohio State University
Shaffer Miles Community Garden Miles Ave at East 120th in Cleveland
RSVP to 216.429.8200 ext 220

Sustainable Cleveland 2019
Cleveland is moving forward and maintaining its commitment to sustainability. Mayor Jackson has a firm committment to Cleveland being a leader in the sustainability movement. In August, there will be a 3 day summit of community leaders, business owners, and citizens who are going to help develop a plan for moving forward.

With an increasing emphasis on developing green technologies, minimizing impact on the environment and the need for all people to participate in economic success, the green economy will be one of the important growth sectors of the future. Cleveland’s Office of Sustainability, several local organizations and regional companies have set the stage for Cleveland to become a leader in the emerging green economy. Now is the time to take these efforts to the next level.

Thanks to whomever put me on the list, as I received an invitation to participate. But do not fret, if you didn’t get your own. You can apply to participate as well. The dates are August 12-14. But be sure you can attend the entire summit as it is going to be an interactive presentation. If you can’t make it, don’t worry. I will try and blog about the entire summit, complete with all my own commentary….When it is all over, Cleveland leaders hope to be armed with all the information they need to implement an agenda for a new, prosperous decade.

If you are in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, plan on attending one of several important meetings that are coming up this month. On Saturday, June 20th, there will be a block grant meeting at the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization to look at ways for innovative vacant land re-use projects. Give the Eco Village Coordinator Lillah Zautner a call for more information (216) 961-4242. There is also a rail revitalization meeting at St. Coleman’s Church on June 24th at 6pm. If you do not live in the Detroit Shoreway, contact your local Development Corp to ask when the meeting is for your neighborhood. There likely is one! These meetings are about how to use the rail system to revitalize our local neighborhoods. This is an important goal, so find out where your meeting is attend! Don’t forget about your local farmers markets this year! Gordon square Farmer’s Market is opening soon…

I am happy to find out that Cleveland is not the only city with ideas on going green. I stumbled upon this festival in Youngstown called the Grey to Green Festival. It is the second of annual events and will be held on Saturday September 12, 2009 in Wick Park on Youngstown’s North Side. Youngstown is working to transform the city from an area that has suffered (like much of NE Ohio) to a thriving green hot spot. They are taking the necessary steps to embrace the challenges of the future and reinvent themselves in a way that make sense for them. Youngstown serves as a model for other rust-belt cities that must recreate and reinvent themselves after years of decline. Part of the city’s plan is a revitalization of this important park. On September 12, there will be a host of local and regional agencies, environmentally oriented businesses, and community organizations. Throughout the park, there will be workshops, displays, demonstrations, entertainment, food, and “green” merchandise vendors. The Festival itself will be put together with an emphasis on sustainable practices – minimal energy and resource consumption, maximum recycling and waste reduction.

The city in a radical move began bulldozing abandoned buildings, tearing up blighted streets and converting entire blocks into open green spaces several years ago. With help from community groups dedicated to reforestation and urban gardening, the abandoned neighborhoods are being returned to a more-natural state, ultimately permitting the city to cut services to less-populated areas and instead concentrate on development where people want to move. The goals of the 2010 plan are “to create a safe, clean, enjoyable, sustainable, attractive city.” The beauty of the vision here is that they are looking to a future that is right for Youngstown. They are not trying to use concepts of Cleveland or take on initiatives that are drafted for Pittsburgh, but developing their own. This is an important lesson for many US cities. We have to figure out our own unique strengths and build on them. We are planning on attending this festival and may even have a little table. I encourage all Clevelanders to join me and support our neighbors in their efforts to green their future. To find out more, contact Debra Weaver [debraweaver2000@hotmail.com].

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Archwood Street Sale.

Friday, June 5th, 2009

This weekend is the Archwood Street Sale. I have always loved this sale. It has a great eclectic mix of items, and it goes on for several blocks. Come out and see what is up for sale. Archwood is just south of Interstate 71 between W 25th and Fulton. I will definitely be stopping by to see the Brooklyn Centre Naturalists. They are a great group, and you could learn a bit from them and find out how to start a Naturalist group in your neighborhood. Here is the email I got in my inbox this afternoon:

It’s the first weekend of June and time for the Annual Archwood Street Sale. This year the event is expanded and better than ever. Go here for details.
Saturday, June 6 9 am to 4:30 p.m.
The Brooklyn Centre Naturalists will be there selling raffle tickets for a Garden Gift basket and , signing people up to become a backyard habitat.
Look at the beautiful Brooklyn Memorial Garden.
Saturday, June 13th. 2:30 p.m. til 4 p.m. Mark your calendars for our regular monthly meeting at CPL-Brooklyn Branch. Bring your project to the meeting, be part of planning our next move, become part of this dynamic group.
email bcnaturalists@gmail with questions.

Besides the gardening aspect, you can find a great deal. Remember that buying used and buying local are both sustainable concepts. C’mon out!

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Native plants make gardening a delight!

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

I am very excited about the upcoming Eco Park that we are planning at our offices. Educational and relaxing, it should add quite a bit to our offices and to the neighborhood. We are going to handle our stormwater runoff on site. That is great for the water shed, but what are we going to do with all that water. One plan is to find a way to share with the great collection of community gardens in our neighborhood. Even though we are going to have extensive plantings of our own, we plan to plan native species that will require little or no maintenance, and thus little or no irrigation. Oh, if only I had learned these things before we installed our garden at home.

A few years ago, I removed all the grass from our backyard and installed a large garden, complete with walkway. I knew very little about gardening, but what is there to know, right? Wrong! There are a large amount of day lilies that I managed to separate, and a good chunk of Dutch Irises as well. They have been in our yard for probably 40 years, so they require little effort. In fact, they were so happy to be separated, that they spread out and choke out nearly all the weeds that try to spring up. The rest of the garden, however, is another story. I planted whatever I thought was pretty and that has turned out to be a mistake. Non-native plant species are either high maintenance (many have dried up on a single hot day) or are so invasive that they are taking over huge portions of the yard. Furthermore, they cannot keep up with the local weeds and are often choked out by them.

No matter what area of the planet you live on, the best way to landscape is with plant species that are native to your region. Native plants are adapted to the local climate and thrive on the average conditions. They do not require heavy watering and as they grow stronger will help keep weeds at bay. They aid in the proliferation of native insects and other wildlife. There are great selections for all parts of the country that are both functional and beautiful. Plant perennials as they will come back year after year, and do not need to be grown and shipped over and over like annuals.

While at the Earth Day celebration, I picked up a great brochure from the Natural History Museum that lists native plant species. Here are some great choices:

Sun: New England Aster, Black Eyed Susan, Butterfly Weed, Cardinal Flower, Cup-plant, Foxglove Beardtongue, Goldenrod (rough), Ironweed (tall), Oswego Tea, Queen of the Prairie, TurtleHead and though not listedon the brouchure, my Dutch Iris do great!

Shade: Columbine (wild), Geranium (wild), Anemone (Canada), Culver’s Root Mayapple, Aster ( big leaf or common blue wood), Phlox (wild blue), Solomon’s Seal, and Violet (Canada)

Ferns: Christmas, Lady, Intermediate, Ostrich, and Royal (I think we have Royal on the side of our house and I have been told they are over 50 years old.)

Shrubs: Bayberry (northern), Dogwood (grey and red osier), Flameleaf, Buttonbush, Spicebush, Nannyberry, Winterberry and Chokeberry

Vines: Honeysuckle (limber), Virginia Creeper, Clematis (Sweet Autumn) and American Bittersweet

Ground cover: Foamflower, and Wild Ginger

Planting with native plants will make your life easier and use less water. You will also spend less time and money trying against all odds to keep a plant alive that was never meant to grow here. Pay attention to particular breeds of plants as well. Just because one type does well here, does not mean that another variety that was cross bred in a lab in UCLA will do as well. That special pink or bright red species often comes at the expense of the variety being able to stand up to the winter or the Cleveland humidity.

In addition to good plants, there are a number of invasive plant species. These should be avoided as much as possible. There are a variety of reasons for this. Some spread very quickly or easily and can escape your garden and threaten natural native plant communities. Some spread so fast that they will choke out all other plants around them. They didn’t include mint in this list, but believe me, that is one that does just that! Some may be harmful to the wildlife of our region. Still others may repel native insects that are necessary for pollination. Here are some to avoid:

Crown Vetch, Cypress Spurge, Devil’s Paintbrush, Sweet Woodruff, Privets, Pachysandra, Myrtle, Mullein, Mugwort, Loosestrife, Japanese Knotweed, Bethlehem Bells, Goutweed, English Ivy, and Yellow Flag Iris

This list doesn’t include the bad shrubs and vines, or either good or bad trees. If you need more, contact the Botany Department of the Museum at 800-317-9155 ext 3505.

Gardening for food or for fun can be enjoyable, it just takes a little planning. Speaking of gardening, on May 30th, you can come to celebrate the Eco Village green Space Day. Join neighbors as they celebrate the hard work and dedication that has gone into
three EcoVillage greenspaces.
Simmons Park Dedication 11am – Bridge Ave. and W. 58th St.
Join Ward 17 Councilman Matt Zone and neighbors as the Bridge Avenue park is officially dedicated as Simmons Park in honor of long time residents Mary and Earl Simmons.
Fir Street Cemetery Open House 11:45am formal program at Noon – 6015 Fir Ave.
Join neighbors and long time resident and Cleveland Housing Court Judge, Raymond Pianka as they showcase the many beautification efforts put into Cleveland’s second oldest Jewish cemetery.
Ithaca Court EcoVillage Community Garden BBQ 1pm to 3pm – W. 57th and Ithaca Court
Join the community gardeners and neighbors for a party in the garden. Entertainment, kids activities and main BBQ dishes will be provided. Side dishes and desserts to share are greatly appreciated.
AND don’t forget that the great farmer’s markets are beginning soon! Look for The Gordon Square Farmers Market to open in July!

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Brooklyn Centre goes au natural

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Bud managed to attend an event last week that I could not. He returned with a pamphlet for the Brooklyn Centre Naturalists. At first I thought it had something to do with nudists, but soon realized that I once again had gotten naturist and naturalist mixed up. For some reason, I can never seem to keep those two straight in my mind. You would think that with all my concerns over sustainability that it would be easy to remember…

So who are the Brooklyn Centre Naturalists? They are a group of businesses and home owners who got together and decided they wanted to make their community a better place to live. They worked with the National Wildlife Federation to register Brooklyn Centre as a registered NWF community habitat. What does that mean? It means that the residents make wildlife a priority because the health of a community depends in no small part on the health of the environment. A designated community wildlife habitat promotes and fosters the vigor and diversity of native plants and animals by providing the four basic elements needed to promote a healthy ecosystem. Those elements are food, water, cover and places to raise young. They work to provide these elements around the neighborhood, not just in the public parks, but also in community gardens, backyards, on school grounds, at the local church yards and even in business areas.

This is a lofty goal for a neighborhood organization, but achievable none the less. They are developing public workshops to get more residents involved. They are working to establish educational programs with local schools and community groups. They are trying to implement organic gardening techniques and preserve the local area’s unique ecosystem. They are working to establish and maintain a resource library. Most importantly in my mind is the eradication of invasive plant species and promoting the use of Ohio Native Species plants for gardens and in landscaping. What many gardeners don’t realize is that every area has a natural ecosystem. The planet has maintained itself for thousands of years. Unique species of plants have naturally developed that are perfectly suited to our local area, based on weather, rainfall, etc. Animal species that best make use of these native plants develop. It is only by the introduction of man to any region that the delicate balance of the ecosystem is upset. One need only look at how rabbits were introduced to Australia to see what can happen. Long ago rabbits were brought to Australia by settlers to give them something familiar to hunt. But with no natural predators, the rabbit population exploded, and the problems have escalated for years. By planting native species, you can promote native wildlife by giving them the food and shelter they originally had, and depend on.

If you would like to know more about this great group, email them at bcnaturlists@gmail.com-and keep your clothes on!

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