Four years ago, a group of us started five community gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio. The largest was a one acre plot that we entitled, "The UC Urban Farm!" Sponsored with funding from the University of Cincinnati, and (loved and) cared for by UC students, staff, and faculty our 'farm' has continued to thrive. This year, the summer of 2012, marks a landmark for me. Another team, working in Rolla, Missouri created the Rolla Community Garden. Again, we have about one acre. What's improved dramatically is the diversity of our team. Rather than spread our resources to create five gardens as we did in Cincinnati, the RCG is a joint effort of the City of Rolla, two Universities, and numerous local organizations. The benefit of this approach is that we have not only created a local garden within a community, but we have also created a local garden that is maintained by the community. We have approximately 50 small plots (10 ft x 15 ft), and each plot is used by a different individual. While this has been one of the hottest and driest summers in years... we still managed to have a successful first year. Details about the RCG and the great work of this diverse team can be followed on the Facebook page (
@rollagarden) or on the Wordpress blog (
http://rollagarden.wordpress.com/).
I visited the UC Urban Farm twice in the summer of 2012. The first visit in the spring left me wondering if there would be a successful farm... the second visit just this past week convinced me that this was a great summer! Despite all of the very hot, and very dry weather, the UC Urban Farm has been thriving. Veggies are growing, the stewards are happy, and looking forward to the autumn harvest. Its a wonderful blessing to have been able to have helped contribute to the creation of this local, community garden in the Westwood neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. Next year will be the fifth year, and I'm left wondering if we should do something 'special' to celebrate? Five years of a community garden is a milestone, and it would be a shame not to celebrate! So, perhaps next year the UC Urban Farm blog will be updated a bit more... with some stories of success (and challenges) over the past five years.
