^ well, to be fair bush just carries on the policy about cuba that goes back to kennedy and castro's takeover. my god lets dont give bush undue credit for coming up with a foreign policy of any type on his own (that's not about oil)!

 

***

 

ps -- not the cleve , but i recently noticed that a popular columbus urban garden on goodale and grandview ave is still going strong. here's an interesting article i found about it:

 

 

 

Wallace Gardens 'paradox' draws Grandview's urban green thumbs

By DONAVON CAMPBELL

Published: Monday, May 19, 2008 2:06 PM EDT

 

 

For some people, there is no better feeling than being elbow-deep in a patch of freshly tilled earth.

 

That's why, dating back to their time as "victory gardens" -- privately planted gardens designed to abate the pressure on public food sources during World War II -- the Wallace Gardens at the southeast corner of Goodale Boulevard and Grandview Avenue have long served as a unique asset to Grandview Heights.

 

The gardens were built on land that was donated to the city by George Urlin, a photographer, real estate developer and owner of Columbus Bicycle Company, in the 1930s, said city Parks and Recreation Director Sean Robey. In the 1980s, they were later named after Jim Wallace, a former city treasurer who worked a plot in the gardens for more than 30 years.

 

Of the 70 total plots available, 42 of them are half-plots -- 15 by 40 feet -- and 28 are full plots -- 40 by 30 feet. While a half-plot costs $45 and a full one $70, all of them are rented for this year's growing season, which, said Robey, typically lasts from April 1 through the first weekend of November depending on when the city can get them ready for planting.

 

Not quite...  Bush initiated far greater restrictions on Cuba then had been in place...  Thus the creative editing to additionally justify it to everyone else.  It all in the Presidents report on Cuba on the State Department website (our blueprints for taking over when Castro dies or there is an uprising)       

Cleveland update:

 

There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to create a citywide vacant land strategy. This would be multi-pronged effort. One of the prongs would be urban farming.

... I did quite a bit of looking into this when I worked for the U.S. Govt (state dept . Cuba program) and wrote some about these programs for some government reports. ...

Thanks, Willyboy. 

 

My research shows that one can garden with rock phosphate, limes, gypsum and a high-nitrogen source.  The nitrogen can come from manure or seedmeal.  The seedmeal that I am using is coffee grounds.  It does not take a  lot.  Three surplus bags from Starbucks was good for one covering on my 500 square foot of raised beds.  I did spade in ten bags of composted manure, though.

Boreal, thanks for linking Cuba to urban gardens and food policy.

 

At last years Bioneers Conference, we premiered a movie called "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil"  a must see for anyone interested in the possibilities brought forth by urban farming.  The movie was produced by the Community Solutions based in Yellow Springs, OH.

 

Community Solutions http://www.communitysolution.org/

 

Power of Community (movie) http://www.powerofcommunity.org/cm/index.php

Cleveland update:

 

There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to create a citywide vacant land strategy. This would be multi-pronged effort. One of the prongs would be urban farming.

 

There's more about this on gcbl.org, if anyone's interested.

The whole urban farming trend is wonderful, but it's only a start. To really make a difference, Ohio needs to build up its food processing and distribution systems. Fresh Fork in Cleveland I believe already taps into urban gardens in its innovative distribution network. Columbus has a busy urban garden that few have ever seen because it's indoors: Sun Sprouts has a variety of sprouts grown, packaged and distributed throughout central Ohio and beyond, all from a big building in the middle of a dense urban neighborhood.

 

Athens has AceNET, a wonderful non-profit that includes a community kitchen that fledgling companies can rent, or time-share, to process sauces, salsas and all sorts of other canned goods that are available in stores. I think Bowling Green has a similar outfit.

 

Ohio is still among the leading states in processing tomatoes, though it is far, far, far behind the leader, California. Ohio needs more new community kitchens, canneries, facilities to freeze produce, etc., to use Ohio-grown goods (whether from rural farms or urban gardens) and create jobs getting those products into homes, restaurants, schools, institutions, etc.  We need more small, family-run slaughterhouses, dairies, etc.

 

Gov. Strickland has created an Ohio Food Policy Advisory Council to examine Ohio's food industry and make ongoing recommendations on how to get more farmers to grow for local markets, build up urban gardens, establish more processing and distributing businesses, get Ohio food in schools, universities, state institutions, restaurants, food banks, grocery stores and homes.

fyi > www.localfoodcleveland.org  < a connection place for urban gardeners

 

also, s. litt on Cleveland's Urban Farming legislation

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2008/11/cleveland_to_discuss_expanding.html#comments

I think it would be awesome if the "forgotten triangle" was used as a huge farm with livestock and produce.  It is within 40 blocks of the Northern Ohio Food Terminal which services grocery stores to all of Northern Ohio including Columbus, western Pa. 

 

I really like the idea of a 100+ acre farm in the city.  There is something similar in Burlington, VT which several CLV city planners visited this past summer.  Along with a working fruit, veggie, livestock, grain (hops too?) farm, I really really like the opportunities for co-housing, experiential education, and green business development on and around the farm, a sort of farm-land-laboratory.

I have been reading the "Cleveland Garden Handbook, 2nd edition", by Susan McClure.  It has essential descriptions of local climate and local soil types.  The book is largely about landscape and ornamental gardening, but it has great information about building soil and how to deal with pests, disease, and the ubiquitous deer.  She wrote a fun Landscaper's Calender, with recipes for whatever produce is in season.

 

The book has a huge reference for local suppliers, schools, gardening libraries, clubs, the extension office (OSU), and another calender of gardening expositions.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1886228000/autonomypublishi

I didn't see this posted elsewhere.

---

 

http://www.clevescene.com/stories/15/84/city-chicken

 

City Chicken

Get Ready For The Rural Revolution

By Dan Harkins

 

On a frigid morning, the soil on the half-acre lot beside Bodnar-Mahoney Funeral Home on Lorain Avenue crunches under your feet like a hard-candy shell. Jocelyn Kirkwood, co-founder of the fledgling Gather 'round Farm, is tossing feed to 16 hens and their fat rooster prince. Shifting from foot to foot, Meagen Kresge, the operation's other half, is surveying the lot's tidy bald mounds and their promise of spring. "A farmer's supposed to be taking vacation this time of year," says Meagen, 38, with a weary roll of the head. "Ha."

Cleveland Council approves urban farming, teardown of foreclosed homes

Posted by Henry J. Gomez/Plain Dealer Reporter February 02, 2009 22:05PM

 

CLEVELAND -- The City Council on Monday approved two measures aimed at reshaping the city's urban landscape.

 

One ordinance will allow residents to raise and keep farm animals and bees. It's a step, proponents believe, toward finding innovative uses for vacant land.

 

The other ordinance sets guidelines for how Mayor Frank Jackson will spend $25.5 million in federal neighborhood improvements funds. The bulk of the money will be used to tear down abandoned homes left behind by the foreclosure epidemic.

Both were passed after intense debate. The "chicken-and-bees" legislation, as it became nicknamed, generated the most buzz, with several council members objecting to the plan. They cited concerns about noise and other complaints urban farms bring...

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/02/down_on_farm_in_cleveland.html

 

http://www.e4s.org/content/eventdetail.asp?id=335

 

Local Food for 4 Million

E4S Third Tuesday Network Event

*NOTE THE LOCATION!* The future of local food as economic development

 

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Time: 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Register for this Event Request a Display Table Location: Trinity Cathedral 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115

General Price: Free

 

Trinity Cathedral - Cleveland, Ohio

 

• What is the big picture economic development potential for our local food economy?
   
  
• What resources are available to scale up our local food infrastructure?
   
  
• How might we create jobs from over 3,000 acres of vacant land in the City of Cleveland?
  

 

Northeast Ohio is home to over 4 million people who spend nearly $10 billion on food each year. What would our local food economy look like if each one of us purchased fresh local foods? What are some next steps? Together we will explore how growing a sustainable local food economy has the potential to create tens of thousands of green jobs in our region while restoring our natural ecosystems, engaging our communities and keeping millions of dollars in our local economy.

 

Note: Registration for last year`s local food event filled up in 48 hours. We now have space for 300+ participants but we advise you register early to ensure your place at this popular event.

 

Agenda

5:30 - 6:15  Registration and Networking

6:15 – 7:45  Program

7:45 – 8:30  Networking

 

Registration is Required

RSVP for this free event today by filling out our online form, or call 216-451-7755.

 

http://www.e4s.org/content/register.asp?id=335

 

I will be there as an attendee.

You should bring up what these guys are doing in Chicago.

 

http://www.growingpower.org/

 

 

This study is pretty awesome, and now there's a small pot of money available to fund a few pilot projects.

 

See the download for additional information and for dates of public meetings.

an outsiders take on the above-mentioned study:

 

 

http://www.circletheusa.com/2009/04/cleveland.html

 

 

Did anyone else notice all the listings in last weeks planning commission agenda....note: "Urban Garden District" on the first page.

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2009/061909CPC.pdf

I did .. I was very intrigued by that, too!

 

So I guess these areas are being rezoned into urban gardens, which could be very, very cool.

Cleveland's for-profit urban gardens are growing

Posted by Jim Nichols July 06, 2009 04:47AM

 

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Money doesn't grow on trees, we've been told our whole lives.

 

But it might grow on vacant lots all over Cleveland.

 

More at cleveland.com:

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/07/clevelands_forprofit_urban_gar.html

Peter McDermott's site/message board for urban farmers and gardeners:

http://www.localfoodcleveland.org/

I have to ponder... How messed up is it that producing food  from so far away, has come to the point it costs less than to get it right here! This needs to change.  Maybe this has something to say about big farm subsidy? The produce shipped here, most of it anyway, is almost always lousy too. We grow for appearance and shelf life, not nutrition. The plants are only as good as the diversity of nutrients in the soil--and big farming overworks it and puts only back in it what makes it look good and grow fast. So many trace elements and micro-nutrients...and taste is gone.

For almost a year, I've assisted my friend and housemate (the aforementioned Mr McDermott) on his/our own urban farm on the city's near west side.  The farm is called Urban Growth, is located south of Lorain on West 48th St, and can be seen and read about here:

 

www.urbangrowthfarms.com

 

We have had a series of successful crops already this year and have sold food to

CSAs (Farm Share), restaurants (Ohio City's Flying Fig), and at market (Howe Meadow in Peninsula).  Though I have played only a minor role in the farm's development--volunteering my labor when I can--I can say that it's been truly inspiring to see what can be done with a small green square in the city of Cleveland.  Peter, our colleagues, and I all feel a tremendous groundswell surrounding issues of local and/or urban agriculture and I am confident that this is a trend that can do nothing but good things for the city of Cleveland.

Not exactly what we consider an "Urban Farm"  but still improving the City of Cleveland and a feel good story:

 

Heidi Sedlak, fighting kidney disease, keeps vital by filling her garden with life

by Roxanne Washington/Plain Dealer Reporter

Thursday July 09, 2009, 7:25 AM

 

Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer

Walking through Heidi Sedlak's garden is like taking a stroll with her friends and family. Most of the plants in her shady West Side garden are from cuttings or gifts from family and friends.

 

When Heidi Sedlak began kidney dialysis due to a progressive kidney disease some 12 years ago, her doctor made a suggestion.

 

"I was advised to keep as physically active as I can," remembers Sedlak.

 

More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/living/index.ssf/2009/07/heidi_sedlak_fighting_kidney_d.html

A little blurb from a Blog I found:

 

http://greenopolis.com/goblog/follownathan/follow-nathan-cleveland-a-bit-greener-than-i-thought

 

Follow Nathan: Cleveland... a Bit Greener Than I Thought

Submitted by follownathan on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 10:02am.

 

 

When in Cleveland I was lucky enough to meet, chat and interview a few different impressive people starting with Meagan who has spearheaded a very cool project known as Gather ‘Round Farm. This was the first “urban farm” I have visited on this journey and I am certainly glad I made the visit.  I never thought I would find myself conducting an interview in a chicken coop on a parking lot right next to fast food joints and a funeral home. But hey… this is America and with American comes urban environments and there certainly should be no reason as to why people cannot grow vegetables and raise chickens in a city landscape and as a matter of fact I encourage more city dwellers to do the same.

 

At the end of the day this was one of the more interesting stops on this journey and the vivid contrast between farm and city life was completely unfolded right before me. As lower income families passed by with smiles and laughter while enjoying a meal from Wendy’s I realized that this urban farm has great potential to make a connection between the youth in the local community and where their food actually comes from. These are the types of people and organization that local communities and government need to support. I wish the people at Gather ‘round Farm the best in their mission and I hope their crops grow healthy and strong!

 

If you know me well you are aware that one of my favorite things to see and do after a long ride is visit a local micro brewery and this was of course on the radar in Cleveland as well. I had put a feeler out to my twitter community letting people know that I was looking for and sure enough my someone came through!  @Merehithmo who grew up in the Cleveland area and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY had guided me to the Great Lakes Brewing Company. I was honestly shocked to see and hear that sustainable business practices were one the very top of the priority list. It was a shock to find out that A. A brewery was environmentally driven and B. It was based in Cleveland Ohio.  Two bullet points I would have least expected to see combined. In fact I am so impressed with the zero waste initiatives at Great Lakes I thought I would share a few with you here in my blog.

 

Awesome blog post!

Perhaps I missed it, but I don't recall seeing references to "Polycultures" here. "Polycultures" is a movie about local food in NE Ohio, urban gardens and City Fresh deliveries in Cleveland and the lack of sustainability of conventional, oil-based agriculture. It premiered in March at the Cleveland International Film Festival, where 1000 people saw various showings. In Columbus this past weekend, about 75 or so people turned out for the central Ohio premiere. For more information:

 

http://polycultures.blogspot.com/

 

I'm really excited about the smaller national attention that Cleveland has been getting as of late. This is one of those areas that I really think Cleveland can be a leader in, in terms of urban gardening. The initiatives they've already put in place are amazing. Cleveland is always seen as an underdog, and over the years it's been the butt of jokes here and there .. but maybe that's why I always root for the underdog. The underdog is the one who's underestimated by the "bigwigs" but fights through, regardless of what other people say about it.

 

Even the foreclosure crisis .. it's all an opportunity to deal with a city that is/has majorly changing/changed over the decades, but not to bemoan the problems as evidence of decline .. it's an opportunity to face the challenges and adapt and bring Cleveland into the future.

Cleveland apparently is the only city in the country with zoning to accommodate urban gardens. I'm pushing the idea in Columbus.

Check out this cool article from Next American City Magazine.  It praises Cleveland and especially the Garden Boys.  It's good to see some positive press about Cleveland.

 

http://americancity.org/magazine/article/clevelands-comeback/

 

Thanks for the link, Down4cle.  I must admit that I don't really understand how a "land bank" operates.

In an area where it is easier to get fast food than fresh produce, I love this!

 

From Vacant to Vibrant

Vision to reuse decaying inner-city land for urban farms, gardens takes shape; advocates see potential for self-sustaining industry

 

 

By KATHY AMES CARR

 

4:30 am, May 10, 2010

 

 

Picture this: Cleveland's landscape reinvigorated with life in the form of urban farms and market gardens. It may be a long way off, but the idealistic vision for the city slowly is taking root as farmers and other entrepreneurs reuse vacant land and parking lots for urban agricultural initiatives.

 

“The local food industry, of which urban agriculture is a part, is experiencing double-digit growth,” said Brad Whitehead, president of the Fund for Our Economic Future. “The great thing about urban agriculture is that it goes beyond business. It unites the rural and urban areas, and we realize a common destiny.”

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20100510/SUB1/305109996

 

 

 

Columbus and Central Ohio are pushing local food through MORPC's Central Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan. Here's the link to the executive summary:

 

http://www.morpc.org/pdf/MORPC_LocalFoodBrochure_ExecutiveSummary.pdf

 

Clevelanders are working on a similar, 16-county Northeast Ohio effort.

Cleveland: Inner city vineyard now a reality

Tom Beres    Posted: 5/31/2010 6:36:06 PM

 

CLEVELAND -- Mansfield Frazier has a dream to become a successful winemaker in Cleveland.

 

He, his wife Brenda, and other urban farm supporters are planting more than 300 grapevines for two hearty white wines at the corner of East 66th Street and Hough Avenue.

 

Chateau d'Hough, they call it.

 

"We have 3,000 vacant lots in the city of Cleveland," said Frazier. His vineyard plan was one of 58 ideas accepted by the ReImagine Cleveland project.

 

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=137098&catid=45

 

^ I have a podcast I did with Mansfield about this...and if anyone cares to get a copy file...let me know.

I'd appreciate a copy.  You can email it to me if it's not larger than 15mb.

 

Thanks!

Awesome...

 

Fresh food coming to Cleveland's Central neighborhood as part of a membership program; first sign-up Saturday

Published: Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 11:07 AM    Updated: Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 11:30 AM

Debbi Snook, The Plain Dealer

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Residents of Cleveland’s Central neighborhood who are looking for fresh food and other healthy ways are being sought for the new Central Community Co-Op, open for the first time on Saturday, July 10.

 

A membership drive for the public runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., that day at Alanbe Food Outlet, 3400 Carnegie Ave.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/taste/index.ssf/2010/07/fresh_food_coming_to_cleveland.html

Farm to grow crops, economic development in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood

Published: Monday, July 19, 2010, 4:00 AM

Debbi Snook, The Plain Dealer

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio City, farm country.

 

Six vacant acres of Cleveland's West Side neighborhood, just blocks from cutting-edge restaurants and the venerated West Side Market, are turning to a fresh food project and a plow.

 

If all goes well, the harvest won't need to travel more than a few blocks.

 

Tillers broke ground June 30 on the newly created Ohio City Farm behind Riverview Tower, a public housing project one block from the market off West 25th Street.

 

"My understanding is that it's going to be one of the largest contiguous urban farms in the country," said Eric Wobser, executive director of Ohio City Near West Development Corp., creators of the project.

 

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/farm_to_grow_crops_economic_de.html

 

 

Eric Wobser is being presented with the Comcast/City Year Leadership Award for outstanding CY alumni this week.

For almost a year, I've assisted my friend and housemate (the aforementioned Mr McDermott) on his/our own urban farm on the city's near west side. The farm is called Urban Growth, is located south of Lorain on West 48th St, and can be seen and read about here:

 

www.urbangrowthfarms.com

 

We have had a series of successful crops already this year and have sold food to

CSAs (Farm Share), restaurants (Ohio City's Flying Fig), and at market (Howe Meadow in Peninsula). Though I have played only a minor role in the farm's development--volunteering my labor when I can--I can say that it's been truly inspiring to see what can be done with a small green square in the city of Cleveland. Peter, our colleagues, and I all feel a tremendous groundswell surrounding issues of local and/or urban agriculture and I am confident that this is a trend that can do nothing but good things for the city of Cleveland.

 

I don't think this is a surprise to anyone who gardens in N.E. Ohio but we (and New Jersey) have a combination of excellent agricultural soils, adequate rainfall and mild climate.  You can grow just about anything here except citrus. 

There are a few sessions at the upcoming “Reclaiming Vacant Properties conference on urban agriculture, with the first session being a “mobile workshop” focusing on Cleveland efforts.

 

Source

 

C. From Cleveland Rocks to Cleveland Grows: Reusing Vacant Land through Urban Agriculture

With close to 60 acres of land in the city that grow $3.5M worth of fresh produce for residents and local markets, Cleveland is combating adverse health outcomes while improving the quality and aesthetics of vacant lots. New agriculture legislation, specialized educational programming, and research projects have all been integral in supporting the transformation of vacant parcels into healthy and thriving urban farms. Participants will learn first-hand how people, policy, and partnerships have been instrumental in this process of transformation as they travel through Cleveland’s neighborhoods and meet with urban farmers, key advocates, and other stakeholders at diverse urban agricultural sites that were once vacant properties.

 

 

G.  Decision Making for Alternative Site Reuse

There are many approaches to reusing previously developed land. But vacant sites are not all the same, and it’s critical for communities to consider site conditions when determining the alternative that best meets their needs. Join this session to hear about the benefits of two alternative uses—green water infrastructure and urban agriculture—and about the issues communities need to understand when making decisions about what use best matches the potential for each site. Speakers will share tools and methods for exploring how health impacts, resource management, and ecosystem service potential affect decisions.

G.  Decision Making for Alternative Site Reuse

There are many approaches to reusing previously developed land. But vacant sites are not all the same, and it’s critical for communities to consider site conditions when determining the alternative that best meets their needs. Join this session to hear about the benefits of two alternative uses—green water infrastructure and urban agriculture—and about the issues communities need to understand when making decisions about what use best matches the potential for each site. Speakers will share tools and methods for exploring how health impacts, resource management, and ecosystem service potential affect decisions.

 

 

More specifics about another agriculture project that's been in the works for a while; in the model of the Evergreen Laundry Coop.

 

Cleveland Foundation seeks to build modern greenhouse in Cleveland's Central neighborhood

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/cleveland_foundation_seeks_to.html

 

Plans call for a 5 1/2-acre greenhouse on a triangular shaped parcel bordered by Grand Avenue, East 55th Street and Kinsman Avenue in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.

 

The cooperative is expected to hire between 40 and 50 people. Employees, many of who will be from the surrounding neighborhood, can eventually receive ownership stakes in the private, for-profit business.

 

I'm sure agriculture strikes many as kind of a dull industry, but it's amazing how much produce is imported from areas that have no climate advantage over Cleveland.  Greenhouse tomatoes from Maine and Canada.  Bell peppers from the Netherlands.  And these things are often very expensive.  There's definitely money to made in local production if the technical know-how is there.

A nice review of the many urban agriculture projects underway in the Cleve in last week's scene:

 

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/downtown-on-the-farm/Content?oid=1968454

 

Good stuff.

Another article on Cleveland urban farming:

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20100830/SUB1/308309978

Interesting. This is on City Council's docket tonight....

 

Ord. No. 1036-10

By Council Members Cleveland, K. Johnson, and Sweeney (by departmental request)

 

Authorizing the Director of Parks, Recreation and Properties to lease certain property north of Otter Avenue, between East 81st Street and East 82nd Street to Rid-all Exterminating & General Contracting Corporation, Damien Forshe, President, or its designee, for the purpose of installing an urban agriculture training center and associated uses, for a term of five years.

Remarks by Director of Parks, Recreation and Properties Department:  See Legislation.

^Hmmm, sounds like that rare urban agriculture project that might make the land more contaminated.

Interesting. This is on City Council's docket tonight....

 

Ord. No. 1036-10

By Council Members Cleveland, K. Johnson, and Sweeney (by departmental request)

 

Authorizing the Director of Parks, Recreation and Properties to lease certain property north of Otter Avenue, between East 81st Street and East 82nd Street to Rid-all Exterminating & General Contracting Corporation, Damien Forshe, President, or its designee, for the purpose of installing an urban agriculture training center and associated uses, for a term of five years.

Remarks by Director of Parks, Recreation and Properties Department: See Legislation.

 

This is one of many urban agriculture projects to be established in a 28-acre site in the Forgotten Triangle.

http://www.bbcdevelopment.org/development/social-enterprise/urban-agricultural-innovation-zone/

Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman proposes legislation to allow farm stands in residential neighborhoods

Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 5:50 PM   

Mark Gillispie, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The foreclosure crisis and the demolition of thousands of properties in Cleveland appears to have an unintended, but positive consequence: the emergence of a farm movement in the city.

 

Cleveland City Council has begun to consider an ordinance that would allow urban farmers to set up stands to sell the fruits of their harvest in residential neighborhoods.

 

And council approved legislation on Monday that permits the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities to create a garden on City Hall property at East 9th Street and Lakeside Avenue.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/09/cleveland_city_councilman_joe.html

I took a tour of four of these while in Cleveland.  Chateaux Hough was the most entertaining...that this guy is seriously trying to grow grapes for wine there. 

 

The one that was the reality check was the one where they were doing repeated soil testing and it was coming up "hot" for lead (and I think some other things), but there was no real standard on safe levels of contamination.  So there was that risk factor.

 

This makes me realize that urban gardening/farming might be oversold as a solution.  One of the things I noticed in some locations (the vicinity of Chateaux Hough and near the last garden we saw, with the hoop houses), was some brand new infill housing.  Similar to what I saw in Buffalo and what is happening here in Dayton.

 

I'm thinking this might be the real solution to vacant land, and that urban farming is a pretty specialized solution, operating at a smaller scale.  I think it can be profitable and self-sustaining, as shown by Will Allen in Milwaulkee, but not at the large scale that I once thought.  Allen uses raised beds and compost-based soil, not planting direct in the ground, so avoids the lead issue.  But this requires a  lot of compost-based soil.

So what you're saying is the next step is creating an urban composting initiative! :)

There will be a press conference this Friday morning at 10am in the Forgotten Triangle regarding urban agriculture

---

 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158555400841852&index=1

 

Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone Press Conference

Friday, October 22 · 10:00am - 12:00pm

Ward 5, Cleveland

Otter Park, East 83rd Street & Gill Avenue

Cleveland, OH

 

Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. (BBC) along with Ward 5 Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland and representatives from the State of Ohio and City of Cleveland are holding a press conference to make a special announcement about the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 10:00am.

 

An endeavor spearheaded by BBC, the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone will recycle and repurpose 28 acres of underutilized vacant land into the largest urban farm in the United States.

 

The Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone will create new income-generating jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for new linkages to a variety of agricultural production cycles, cultivate a new thriving neighborhood economy, and serve as a source of local food production.

 

To learn more, please visit bbcdevelopment.org