Spring 2014

This past winter, Lynea applied for a grant to put in a neighborhood garden site that could be used for education, demonstration, and even job opportunities for teens. She got it! Problem is, we couldn't seem to get any land to put it on, despite all the vacant properties in our neighborhood. Through the arduous process, we learned a lot about who's in control of land and even how people get displaced from their land. Money is powerful.
But eventually, we are grateful to say that we found 2 schools that are allowing us to put school gardens in and grow food with the kids. It all happened really fast. And through it all, I was reminded how Lynea can get stuff done! Here's some photos:

Working hard in the rain! 

Planning and planting. 

Now to my job. I'm in the second growing season with Cleveland Crops, and we're off and running. Got lots of stuff in the ground: kale, swiss chard, leeks, collards, lettuce, etc. Feels good to move from the greenhouse back into the field. Did I mention I like hot weather?

Hydroponically grown mustard greens that are sold to the zoo for the gorillas to eat. Seriously.

Putting lettuce in the ground.

Making more rows with elbow grease.

Laying out lettuce starts to be put in the ground.

Paradise Lot

It's catching up time for the blog. I realize that I've been dropping the ball on this lately, but luckily this isn't football, so there's no coach yelling at me. Here's to picking it up again. I'll start with some thoughts on a recent trip to Massachusetts:

Lynea and I live in a city. Cleveland to be exact. It's part of a region some refer to as the Rust Belt. I'm sure wikipedia can give you more information about this, but basically, it used to be a booming, industrial city, and now it's not. There's lots of abandoned land, buildings, and factories literally rusting from un-use. One of the more viable ways to re-use land is to convert it into space for growing food. This meets many needs, a few including re-purposing of land, beautification, healthy food, and re-connection to the land that our food comes from. Having said that, Lynea and I are interested in growing food and education and we've been dreaming of ways to do both hear in Cleveland.

With this in mind, we heard about an urban homestead/farm in Holyoke, Massachusetts that's been doing this stuff on 1/10 of an acre of land. That's pretty small! But they've found ways to use every inch of the land with permaculture techniques, resurrecting what was once a junky piece of property into a Paradise Lot (the title of the book, written by Jonathan Bates and Eric Toensmier). So of course we did the only irrational thing possible: booked a 2 hour farm tour 8 hours away. Thankfully, we realized we had friends close by in Vermont and New York, so why not make a week of it! And that's what we did. So here's a few pics of the tour:

Inside the hoop-house/bioshelter where they grow food all year round. And yes, it gets well below zero in Massachusetts. Don't act like you're not impressed.

 The idea is to grow edible perennials (keep coming back year after year as opposed to annuals which only grow once), which most know to be fruit. But there are many varieties of perennial vegetables most folks have never heard. Luckily, Eric happens to be the world leader in growing perennial vegetables (another reason we booked the tour; he wrote a book with that title). Although not much had come up yet this spring, due to the harsh winter, we were able to get a visual on how everything works together as one system.

Jonathan explains sheet mulching.

A view of the back of the duplex where Jonathan and Eric live with their families and experiment with their small plot. Chicken coop is on the left.

Definitely got a lot out of this experience, and were able to visit some great friends in Vermont and New York. Here's some photos from the rest of the trip:

It's been 3 years since we began our farming journey at Taft Hill Farm.

Lynea at the sugar shack. Got to help out with Maple sugaring.

Seriously good syrup.

Robert's hand blown glass filled with his own maple syrup.

Ahh, memories.

We helped with honey extraction, too. I was told to "get in the picture and look like you're doing something." Me moving a box that did not need to be moved. 

Jake spinning hone.

With new friends, Brandon, Jessi, and Jake.

And finally, we stopped in New York, Brooklyn to be exact, to see our dear friends Vanassa and Denton. Oh, to be young and in love.