One Small Gift

It’s still early August in the Midwest, but this past week’s weather is definitely September-leaning. The light has shifted in the yard, making for more golden sunrises and sunsets. The air is dense with anticipation of a changing season as the calendar itself beckons children everywhere back to school.

Our raised gardens are fuller now with the fruits and vegetables of our early spring and summer labor. It’s a wonderful time of year when our plates overflow with abundance - so much so that our community turns to sharing our beautiful, collective bounty.

Each year at this time, our friends, family and neighbors all swap zucchini for carrots, tomatoes for cucumbers, and so on. We all tend to grow different fruits and vegetables, and perhaps there is a subconscious motivation to do so. We know that the end of summer will yield a kind of fresh produce potluck where we will all benefit from each other’s caring work in our separate gardens. For some of us, it’s become a kind of ritual to meet at the fence with veggies in hand, offering what we cannot use.

Our One Small Garden raised beds... 

...feed us in so many ways. We spend time with them through the year nurturing growth. They give us sustenance for ourselves. And then, they encourage us to commune with others. We look forward to hearing how Susan successfully grew broccoli this year. Her stories lead her to tell us how her family is faring and none of us can believe her youngest is going to graduate in a few years. Bob tells us of his recent travels in Yellowstone as he hands over basil and thyme. The stories of our lives are sown into these precious vegetables and we consume them in many places outside of the dining room table.

Exchanges like this bring with them a quiet reflection that will surely deepen as the colder months draw nearer. Memories of putting our hands in the warm soil and the feeling of the sun on our cheeks will sustain us when Cincinnati turns grey for a solid two months in from January through February. We’ll relish the time spent cultivating food and friendships in our backyards and look forward to the earth tilting and the sun growing brighter again.

But until then, we still have much harvesting to do, food to share and stories to tell. I’ll plan on bringing the corn. You bring the radishes, friend.

Optimize Your Shed Installation!

Shed & Cabin Checklist

We’ve made a handy checklist of things to keep in mind for delivery and enjoyment of one of our Sheds or Cabins. By following these simple guidelines, your shed or cabin placement and use will be everything you dreamed of and more!

Before placement, take a few minutes to determine:

1. Is there at least 2-3 ft. clearance from all gates, fences and trees in the area surrounding the building’s placement?

2. Is the roadway from the main highway to your property wide enough to accommodate safe delivery without damage to the building?

3. Are all trees along secondary roads to your property clear of overhanging limbs by a minimum of 16 feet?

4. Is the unloading area free of obstructions?

5. Is the ground where the building is to be placed basically level?

After placement, you’ll want to transform the space to suit your needs. We suggest:

1. Make a list of all the shelving, furniture and/or tools you’ll want in the space and begin visualizing where each can go.

2. Go to the hardware store to purchase pegboard, shelving and utility hooks for your new work shed.

3. If this space will be used as a home office or studio, decorate with interesting rugs, tables and curtains to create a cozy, inviting workspace. (Pinterest has tons of ideas and inspiration, if you need a place to start!)

4. Need electricity in your building? We use solar panels in our office at the lot - ask us how you can, too!

5. When your Shed or Cabin is ready for you to make it part of your everyday life, invite friends and family over to see your new addition! One Small Sheds and Cabins create useful space to make the most of your existing property and its potential!

Turner Farm Community Garden Program

Are you Interested in Learning and Growing Vegetables Together?

A series of five free gardening classes where we will work and learn together in the classroom and the community garden in the East End Garden District. For more information please visit: www.turnerfarm.org

To Register Contact:

Peter Huttinger, Turner Farm Community Garden Program

peter.turnerfarm@gmail.com

Class Schedule

Sunday, April 19, 1:30 - 3:30pm
Gardening for Health & Self - Class 1

An introduction to the basic ecology of organic/biological gardening, plant anatomy and growing fruits and vegetables for flavor and health.

Sunday, April 26, 1:30 - 3:30pm
Cultivating a Healthy Garden - Class 2

An introduction to seed starting and transplanting, garden bed design, testing and amending soil, working with compost and how to water a garden.
 
Sunday, May 3, 1:30 - 3:30pm
Gardening in Partnership with Nature - Class 3

Learn how to develop garden planning skills - what to grow, succession planting and crop rotation, dealing with garden pests, understanding a garden's relationship to its surrounding ecosystem, and using natural garden management practices.
 

Sunday, May 31, 1:30 - 3:30pm
Create Your Garden Plan - Class 4

Learn when and how to harvest, an introduction to storing and preserving your harvest, field and kitchen practices, creating a basic garden plan and how it can be applied to a home garden or community garden.
 

Sunday, June 7, 1 - 4pm
Garden Practicum - Class 5

Get down and dirty - an opportunity to put what you learned in classes 1 through 4 to work!  We will work and learn together at the Turner Farm community garden in the East End Garden District - our "living textbook.
 

Instructor & Location

Instructor: Peter Huttinger
Location: Carnegie Center of Columbia Tusculum
3738 Eastern Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45226