Cincinnati Farm program could be in place by spring

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/cincinnatifarm0120.aspx

 

A pilot Cincinnati Farm program could be in place by spring, with 123 parcels recommended for further study.

 

These 123 parcels will be narrowed down to between 5 and 10 to participate in the pilot, which will then be leased to end users for neighborhood gardens at nominal cost.

 

In a report to council, city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. recommends forwarding the list of parcels to controlling agencies to determine if they're needed, then holding meetings with the Law Department, the Office of Environmental Quality, and other City departments to determine management criteria and logistics.

 

A public meeting will likely be held later this month to gauge interest.

 

Following the meetings, the City would name a coordinating agency to run the program and draft a specific policy to guide it.

 

Soil tests will be performed on the selected sites to check for contaminants before any agreements are signed.

 

In October, vice mayor David Crowley introduced the proposal in a council motion as a way to put hundreds of vacant City-owned properties to productive use.

 

Cincinnati staff used GIS technology to screen over 18,000 City-owned parcels, selecting only properties at least 0.2 acres in size with low tree canopy cover and less than 30 percent slope.

City sees appeal in farm living

Several sites OK'd for residents to grow food crops

 

The pieces of land are scattered throughout Cincinnati, 87 small spots the city owns but can't really use - slivers of land along an interstate or near a waste-water treatment plant, acquired long ago.  To the urban gardener these will be places to grow food, save money at the grocery, help the environment, beautify neighborhoods and build a sense of community.

 

The city has whittled down a list of the more than 18,000 pieces of vacant property it owns to the 87 that might work as mini-farms.  The brainchild of Vice Mayor David Crowley, the plan for mini-farms passed council last week.  Details will be worked out in the next month, including how the plots would be leased, and how much they might cost - if anything. But city officials expect 10 to 15 of the plots to be available for growing this spring, as a pilot project.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090217/NEWS01/902170318/1055/NEWS

City of Cincinnati Launches Urban Gardening Pilot Program

Public information session to answer questions and share information

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/city/downloads/2009%20UG%20Media%20Advisory.pdf

 

WHAT: The City of Cincinnati is pleased to announce the launch of the 2009 Urban Gardening Pilot Program to transition vacant, City-owned parcels of land into food production areas. For 2009, the City is offering approximately 15 parcels of land in 11 neighborhoods have been identified that can be rented out.

 

A public informational meeting will be held at City Hall to answer questions about the pilot program. Anyone interested in participating or supporting the pilot program as a gardening mentor, partner, or sponsor is welcome to attend.

 

Information and applications are available on the City’s website at www.cincinnati-oh.gov. Applications may also be picked up in person in City Hall Room 104. Anyone unable to attend the informational meeting, may contact Tiffaney Hardy at (513) 352-5377 for more information.

 

WHEN: March 9th, 2009 5pm-6:30pm

 

WHERE: Council Chambers, City Hall 3rd Floor 801 Plum Street Cincinnati, OH 45202

 

WHO: Anyone interested in learning about the City’s Urban Gardening Program.

Here is the project page for more information...

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/pages/-35862-/

Applications due for city plots

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090305/NEWS0108/903050402/1055/NEWS

 

If you'd like to be one of up to 15 people in a pilot project to operate mini farms on Cincinnati's city-owned properties, your application is due March 20.

 

Interested farmers can learn more at a public-information session Monday, 5-6:30 p.m., in City Council Chambers, 801 Plum St. Go online to www.cincinnati-oh.gov for more information.

Nice thread.

I have been involved with urban gardening project in a few cities over the years. I hope that the city has the foresight to test the land prior to providing plots. In almost all "urban" lots there are high levels of lead and other contaminants that can be absorbed by certain garden plants in unsafe levels. Raised garden plots are preferable where new soil is brought in. Urban gardening can be very successful or a big failure if proper planning doesn't take place. Many city "take' to the urban gardening idea because it is popular and makes sense however there is a great deal of planning. Does anyone know if Cincinnati is doing testing on the soil?

City sees appeal in farm living

Several sites OK'd for residents to grow food crops

 

The pieces of land are scattered throughout Cincinnati, 87 small spots the city owns but can't really use - slivers of land along an interstate or near a waste-water treatment plant, acquired long ago.  To the urban gardener these will be places to grow food, save money at the grocery, help the environment, beautify neighborhoods and build a sense of community.

 

The city has whittled down a list of the more than 18,000 pieces of vacant property it owns to the 87 that might work as mini-farms.  The brainchild of Vice Mayor David Crowley, the plan for mini-farms passed council last week.  Details will be worked out in the next month, including how the plots would be leased, and how much they might cost - if anything. But city officials expect 10 to 15 of the plots to be available for growing this spring, as a pilot project.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090217/NEWS01/902170318/1055/NEWS

 

Based on this highlighted portion I would assume that testing was involved in the selection process.  Although you could always follow up with Councilman David Crowley if you need more clarification.

 

Vice Mayor David Crowley

801 Plum St. Rm 356

Cincinnati, OH 45202-1979

Phone: (513) 352-2453

Fax: (513) 352-2365

[email protected]

I have been involved with urban gardening project in a few cities over the years. I hope that the city has the foresight to test the land prior to providing plots. In almost all "urban" lots there are high levels of lead and other contaminants that can be absorbed by certain garden plants in unsafe levels. Raised garden plots are preferable where new soil is brought in. Urban gardening can be very successful or a big failure if proper planning doesn't take place. Many city "take' to the urban gardening idea because it is popular and makes sense however there is a great deal of planning. Does anyone know if Cincinnati is doing testing on the soil?

I'm pretty familiar with the OTR lot, and I have gardened in a city lot for years.  Truckloads of soil must be brought in and raised beds constructed.  All these lots once had buildings, so sometimes you will dig up foundation stones or bricks if you dig more than a few inches down.  The other problem with the OTR lot selected is that it is 1/2 shaded. 

Cincinnati launches urban gardening pilot program

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/urbangardening0310.aspx

 

The City of Cincinnati has launched its 2009 Urban Gardening Pilot Program, an initiative to develop vacant, city-owned parcels into neighborhood food production areas.

 

City staff used GIS technology to narrow over 18,000 parcels down to 15, selecting only properties at least 0.2 acres in size with low tree canopy cover and less than 30 percent slope.

 

The idea for the pilot project was introduced by vice mayor David Crowley in October as one of 82 recommendations identified in the Green Cincinnati Action Plan (PDF).

 

In statement accompanying his motion to city council, Crowley said that the idea had multiple benefits: Beautifying the city, improving the availability of fresh local foods, supplementing the diets of local residents, reducing storm water runoff, reducing the costs of property maintenance, and creating local jobs.

 

"The decision was made early on to start kind of slowly, then build this thing up and learn what we can learn over time through testing and trying and sharing information with each other," he says.

 

Assistant city manager David Holmes agrees, adding that they wanted to get the program started before Mother's Day, the typical start of growing season.

 

"In studying the issue from some other localities, it took as long as eight or nine months to come up with a program," he says.  "There's a much greater interest in Cincinnati, so we've tried to get this up and running as quickly as we could."

 

Although individuals and groups are encouraged to apply, the need for liability insurance means that applicants should seek sponsorship from community councils or other non-profits.

 

These sponsors can rent the properties for $1, then issue rights of entry to individuals and groups to work the land.

 

Although no money has been budgeted for this year's pilot project, public interest will dictate if the program is funded in future budget cycles.

 

The deadline for applications is 5 PM on March 20, with city council approvals scheduled for April 8.

 

Applications and "Good Gardener's Contracts" are available online or in Room 104 at City Hall.

Veggie tales: Cincinnati farm programs gain following

Business Courier of Cincinnati - by Rob Daumeyer

 

Maybe it was last summer’s jalapeno versus tomato dust-up. Or the wild popularity of healthy-eating books like “Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.”  Either way, the “eat local” movement has caught on across the nation and in Greater Cincinnati. Big time. And there are more ways than ever here to scratch your organic itch.

 

Want to go whole-hog? Join a community-supported agriculture program, or CSA.  A CSA is a way to create a relationship with a farm and receive a weekly basket of produce. By making a financial commitment to a farm, you become a shareholder of the CSA. Most CSA farmers have members pay up front, and some also require that members work a small number of hours on the farm during the growing season.

 

Read full article here:

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/03/23/story11.html

Notwithstanding ordinances push community gardens forward

http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/04/notwithstanding-ordinances-push.html

 

Cincinnati City Council has passed unanimously an ordinance directing the chief building official to grant all necessary permits for Cincinnati's Urban Gardening Pilot Program, notwithstanding Sections 1403-05, 1405-05, 1409-07, 1413-05 and 1421-33 (b) of the Cincinnati Zoning Code.

 

Under the zoning code, "farming" is only permitted in MA Manufacturing Agriculture zones and on a limited basis in single-family zoning districts.

 

But many of the 9 lots do not fall under those criteria, and, because the typical zoning change process takes three to six months and would place a burden on the Department of City Planning and Buildings, the City chose to pursue notwithstanding ordinances to permit planting to begin by mid-May.

 

In a communication to council's Health, Environment and Education Committee, city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. said that taking this route could prevent future problems, as well.

 

"While this is a pilot program, which the City administration believes will be a success, it would be detrimental to modify the zoning of the properties from multi-family, commercial and manufacturing districts," he said. "In the event the program is not continued on a specific site in the future, another user would then need to petition for a zone change back to a less restrictive zoning classification."

 

Urban gardens have been proposed for sites in East Westwood, Hartwell, Madisonville, North Fairmount, Northside, Over-the-Rhine, South Cumminsville (2), and West Price Hill.

 

City administration is currently reviewing applicants for the proposed sites.

 

Created by vice mayor David Crowley as one of the 82 recommendations in the Green Cincinnati Action Plan, the pilot program is expected to beautify the City, make fresh foods more readily available, reduce storm water runoff, reduce the costs of property maintenance, and create local jobs.

'Urban chicken farming' under scrutiny

 

Grace Harpen cradled her pet chicken in her arms, petting and smiling at the small bird.  "You love mummy, don't you?" she asked.  The hen, named Mary, quietly clucked, looking rather comfortable in the nook of Harpen's arms and seemingly unaware of the woman's worries.

 

Harpen said it may not be long before Mary and the other two hens that live in her backyard might be taken away.  Pet or not, Sycamore Township officials consider the chickens to be livestock.  Harpens' backyard, which stretches about 60 feet, is not in compliance with the township's zoning laws, which require the hens be kept at least 100 feet away from the property line.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090430/NEWS0108/905010331/1055/NEWS

Restaurant gardens take root

 

A fragrant lilac bush and an old evergreen hedge are the only things growing in the lot on Walnut Street just south of Liberty Street in Over-the-Rhine.

 

With a boarded-up house on one side, old broken concrete foundation in some places, and old tires edging the acre, it looks like an abandoned lot, which is what it was. But Friday, the lot, owned by Martin Wade, will be unveiled as the future kitchen garden for all the restaurants that are part of his Relish Group (Twist, Lavomatic, Greenup Café, the Bistro and Chalk Food + Wine.)

 

Read full article here:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090430/ENT01/905010347/1055/NEWS

Farm plots sprouting

 

There'll be tomatoes growing soon in the middle of a lot in South Cumminsville. Some other vegetables too, and as many other things as gardeners can fit in.  That's not completely unusual, in this neighborhood or any other. The Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati has helped people grow neighborhood crops for decades, and more local restaurants are growing their own produce.

 

What's different is that these tomatoes will grow on a piece of vacant land owned by the city of Cincinnati, on one of 10 parcels that are part of a pilot project to lease unused city land to people willing to turn them into mini urban farms.  The idea came from the Climate Protection, a.k.a. Green Cincinnati, plan passed last year by City Council. Crowley hopes the farms help people eat local, healthy and more inexpensively as well as clean up some unused spots around the city. Vice Mayor David Crowley pushed the idea through council for approval.

 

Read full article here:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090508/NEWS01/905090331/1055/NEWS/Farm+plots+sprouting

Community garden sprouts in Norwood at Linden Pointe on the Lateral

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0609norwoodgarden.aspx

 

Norwood celebrated the planting of its first community garden on May 30.  The one acre site is located adjacent to Linden Pointe on the Lateral office campus.

 

More than 150 neighborhood residents and guests gathered to celebrate the moment and help plant the two-dozen beds.  Eventually the garden will grow into some fifty 4’ x 10’ plots thanks to the generous land and materials donations from Al Neyer Inc.

 

The community garden will occupy land adjacent to the new office campus with retail.  The location is also symbolic as it once was the site of a General Motors (GM) assembly operation that closed in 1987.  The former brownfield site has literally become a greenfield.

 

“Our community was torn to shreds when GM closed – we didn’t know who we were or what we were going to do.  In the past few years, we’ve turned the corner and can again look forward with renewed hope.  This garden will help us work together as neighbors, to feed our own families and nourish those who are less fortunate,” says the executive director of Norwood Service League, Lupe Gonzalez Hoyt.

 

Hoyt also hopes to create an opportunity where the harvest from some of the beds can be donated to local food pantries.

 

“The gardens are very important to our work on addressing obesity in the Latino population,” says Dwight Tillery, executive director of The Center for Closing the Health Gap in Greater Cincinnati.

 

Also in attendance was former Cincinnati City Councilman and Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell now of SHP Leading Design, Mayor Thomas Williams of Norwood and State Senator Eric Kearney.

 

Tarbell’s SHP Leading Design is an architecture firm that has its regional headquarters in the office building there and assisted in the design of the community garden plot.

 

Mayor Williams continued the enthusiasm for the new community garden by declaring May 30 as “Norwood Community Garden Day” in the City by official proclamation.

Does anyone know the difference between the projects working on the city pilot sites and the neighborhood gardens that are not part of the program?

Most Cincinnati neighborhood gardens are spearheaded by the Civic Garden Center.  They have a garden coordinator and they coordinate location and construction with community councils.  The plots are rented out to neighbors.

 

http://www.civicgardencenter.org/

The reason I ask is that the city approved a pilot project for urban gardening this spring.  There must be some difference between the plots that are a part of the pilot program and ones that have been maintained by the CGC for years.

New urban garden taking root in OTR to supply historic Findlay Market

By Randy A. Simes, Soapbox Cincinnati | April 27, 2010

http://soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0427otrurbangarden.aspx

 

Cincinnati's historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood has embraced an increasing trend nationwide to turn under-performing urban lots into urban gardens.  The new gardens help to rid neighborhoods of previously blighted properties, introduce new plant life into the area, put neighborhood residents to work in their own community and even help supply local markets and restaurants with locally sourced produce.

 

The most recent addition in Over-the-Rhine is a two-thirds of an acre plot of land that sits along Elm Street near Findlay Market.  Over the past two weeks, neighborhood residents and volunteers have been prepping the site that was once occupied by a collection of deteriorating structures and grassy lots.

 

The transformation of the site will produce over 30 produce offerings that will eventually be sold at Findlay Market as part of its Cultivating Healthy Environments for Farmers (CHEF) project.  The goal is to get vegetables growing as soon as possible, and ideally have them available at Findlay Market's Tuesday and Sunday farmers markets by the beginning of July.

 

"We have four existing urban garden sites across the city where apprentice farmers work with experienced farmers and receive on-site training from the volunteers," explained Ken Stern, Urban Farm Manager for Findlay Market.  "Once the produce is ready the apprentices will operate stands at Findlay Market and sell their goods just like a business."

 

Stern explained that the CHEF project focuses on low-income individuals and attempts to not only provide training for them, but also provide access to fresh, local produce.  The apprentices will earn money from their produce sales and have to decide how they will reinvest that money into their garden plots to make themselves successful.

 

So far, the project has 35 apprentices involved from Over-the-Rhine, the West End, College Hill and St. Leo's Catholic Parish where Guatemalan immigrant and Burundian refugees have been integrated into the CHEF project that has been funded through August 2011 by the USDA's Community Funds Program.

 

"When we finish with the grant money, we intend to continue the program" said Stern.  "We are helping low-income residents become urban gardeners while also producing more fresh vegetables in Cincinnati's center city."

 

In the mean time, the individuals working at these urban gardens are in need of critical supplies like shovels, spading forks, nursery hoes, action hoes, weeding/cultivators, wheel barrows, watering cans, pruners and soil knives.  Those that are interested can donate any gently used gardening tools to this effort at Findlay Market (map) outside the Internet Cafe on Saturday, May 15 from 9am to 4pm and on Sunday, May 16 from 10am to 3pm.