Community Gardening, Bulk Food Buying, Composting and CSA

[Dan Slife]

Seasoned Observers, Lurkers and Newcomers,

A growing group of Lakewoodites are aiming high with pitchfork and plow to bring: Community Gardening, Bulk Food Buying, Composting and organized CSA (community sponsored agriculture) participation into a single, multi-dimensional network of good neighbors working together with good neighbors for the building of a sustainable community.

At present, individuals all over our city are engaged in any number of these activities. Many have participated in the City Fresh market, Covered Bridges or other CSA programs. The city is ripe with backyard gardeners tending to Edible Estates. Composting is undoubtedly an art-form mastered by many a Lakewoodite, vegetable and aesthetic gardeners alike. Individuals are participating in brokered bulk buying services offered by regional and national outlets. Yet, many of these individuals don't know each other.

There is a great potential for consolidating the energies of these many disparate green thumb actors and vegetable/bulk food conesuers into a focused, community building effort.

We are a small, yet growing group of citizens, now numbering 34. Our interests and enthusiasm for the project range from economizing, sustainable agriculture and landscaping, organic/healthy eating/lifestyle, community building, economic development, education, brand-building and good ol' fashion fun.

If you have any interest in entering into this exciting dream scape, please send me your contact info via Observation Deck private messaging. If you know anyone who might want to join this community building effort, please link them to this thread.

We look forward to connecting with you.

Best Regards,
Dan Slife

[Lynn Rodemann]

Dan when are the next meetings.. that would be a good way to get people to meet each other....
Lynn

[Jim O'Bryan]

Dan when are the next meetings.. that would be a good way to get people to meet each other....
Lynn

Lynn Rodemann in da house!

Always nice to see.

Speaking for Dan, there should be many additions to the web as soon as this afternoon to get the messgae out.

.

[Annie Stahlheber]

Dan and neighbors,

I'm really excited about this program! Utilizing local farmers will help us
1. Obtain fresh, in-season, tastier produce
2. Add variety to our diets
3. Save money (no added cost for transportation across the country)
4. Receive the nutritional benefits of fresher, organic foods
5. Avoid wasteful packaging, grocery bags, etc.
6. Reduce the problem of urban sprawl, making farmers land more valuable
7. Reduce rainwater runoff/flooding
8. Meet our neighbors - develop new friendships
9. Learn how to prepare new fruits or vegetables
and More! I am also interested in future meetings. Thanks for getting this conversation started

~Annie

[Chris Trapp]

If anyone is interested in purchasing a winter share bag from City Fresh, there is still produce available that is in the farmers' cold storage. The following are available: hydroponic lettuce, cabbage, garlic, onions, potatos, turnips. I purchased one of these bags a couple weeks ago and loved it.
The cost is $15. You get approximately:
1 head lettuce
1 head cabbage
2# onions
2# potatos
1# turnips
1# garlic
All of this was grown by local northeastern ohio farmers.
If you would like to purchase a share, please email me know by Friday. Delivery would likely be early next week. You would pay upon delivery.
Thanks,
Chris
trapp_christopher@yahoo.com

[Tom Bullock]

Dan, I'm in. Make me participant #35. (Key word, participant, not organizer!) I'm interested in esp. gardening.

For food, I'll be a buyer, though my day-to-day needs are small. Someone mentioned to me we could trade to customize to our needs. True? How's that work?

Thanks in advance for the explanation. (I suspect others might have cool feet about surrending "control" over their purchase decisions to the group.)

[Dan Slife]

All,

As enthusiasm for this project continues to build, we each need to channel that energy into recruitment mode.

As Jim mentioned, soon we will have a virtual meeting room here on the Observation Deck. This can act as both a great tool for recruitment and side-stepping some of the time bank depletion resulting from too many meetings. No doubt, the face-to-face is essential though.

Lynn,

We are working on bringing City-Fresh and Covered Bridges to a Lakewood for a Q&A session sometime within the next few weeks. The most important thing we can do at this point, is generate interest, get the names, the email addresses, and actively recruit. What about your friends who are interested? Let's get them in the loop.

Tom,

Thanks for joining in, you're actually one of 6 newbies added today! We have hit 40.

Unfortunately, at this point we;re are still hammering out the details. It may be possible, if the ranks are deep enough, to have such preferences with both programs. I have to abstain from speculating at this point.

Either Chris our I will report back soon.

Dan

[Kenneth Warren]

To experiment with bulk buying from a local Ohio apiary, I ordered ten pounds of bee pollen. I should have it by Saturday or Monday.

Let me know if you want try some of this fabulous food.

Supporting the beekeepers of Ohio is one way to participate in a smart sustainability practice.

Kenneth Warren

[Heidi Hilty]

Dan,
Count me in as well. I'm a buyer not a gardner at this point and again, a participant but not an organizer.
Thanks for all your work in keeping the momentum going.

Now when is it that we can expect another article from you for the LO?
Peace, Heidi

[David Anderson]

Hello -

I am very interested in participating and echo the interest in knowing more about future virtual or actual meetings.

My wife and I are developing a plan to organize our street into a farmed food sharing avenue. If we get 5-15 houses to successfully grow something specific and share ...

Here's a neat story. In addition to peppers and onions, I put in two patches of carrots last year. My kids could not wait to get out after dinner, dig up a carrot, wash it under the hose and eat it while walking the neighborhood. Soon, all the neighbor kids were lined up in my driveway enjoying carrots. The parents were shocked at the sight of their kids enthusiastically eating their vegetables.

My neighbor across the street was successful with cucumbers and I know someone had tomato plants.

So far, we want to promote the growth of these on our street.

onions
carrots
bell peppers
tomatoes
string beans
zucchini
rhubarb
sunflowers

Maybe if/when we gain some traction, we can move into fresh herbs.

What have other Lakewoodites been successful in growing?

[Rhonda loje]

I would be happy to become involved in your project! I have alot on my plate right now..but I would like to contribute when and however I can.

Rhonda Loje

[Jim O'Bryan]

I would be happy to become involved in your project! I have alot on my plate right now..but I would like to contribute when and however I can.

Rhonda Loje

Rhonda

Would it be possible for a city farmer or two to grow heirloom vegetables at the Historical Society? That could be a great marriage, city growers with a 200 year-old-garden.


.

[Rhonda loje]

We already have a garden that grows in the back of the OHS. The Herb Society from the LHS tends the garden and uses the herbs and flowers to dry to sell at the Lakewood Arts Festival.

We are already doing it!

Rhonda

[Jana Christian]

Not sure if anyone has responded to Mr. Warren's call for Bee Pollen buyers, but I wanted to make you all aware of the benefits of supplementing with this specific substance...
Check out this website!
http://www.envirobee.com/beepollen.htm

We are still working on local suppliers for many other commonly used items.

Jana

[Kenneth Warren]

The 10 lbs of bee pollen has arrived, very clean in one pound freeze locked bags. The quality is very, very good. I prefer a soft texture that melts into your saliva without much sandiness, a quality I have experienced when the pollen is imported from South America. For the price and the proximity in Ashland, OH (eBeeHoney), this is a good deal. (I have paid $8 for four ounces of pollen).

The 10 lbs, including shipping cost $97.36 total. That means a one pound bag of bee pollen will cost you $9.73.

Let me know if you want some.

Kenneth Warren