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Images from an afternoon at Stratford Ecological Center March 26, 2012.
1) baby lamb 2) chicken coop 3) hens protecting eggs 4) u-pick greenhouse 5) giving garden sign 6) goats and cows 7) Rachel and sheep pen 8 ) Lil petting cat 9) cernal pool 10) mayapple 11) spring beauty
In central Ohio the weather is exceedingly warm for this time of year. The temperatures coupled with lots of rainfall make it feel a bit like June around here.
Most of us are itching for the garden to catch up to the weather. If the grass is growing so high, why shouldn't we start summer vegetables early? If the fruit trees are in bloom, why not plant tender annuals?
Hold your horses. The experienced growers at Monday's Central Ohio Food Forum (Jaime from Wayward Seed Farm, Joseph from Swainway Urban Farm, Trisha from Local Matters and myself) agreed that the risk of a frost is just too high right now. The frost free date is a debatable May 1- May 15 in our new zone and too many growers have been burned by planting before early May.
Don't be bummed. There are plenty of other spring gardening tasks to take up your time.
Use your gardening energy wisely right now to ensure bigger better harvests later on. Here are some seasonally appropriate ideas:
These activities should be plenty to dirty your hands for the next 38 days until the full growing season begins!
How are you keeping busy in your spring garden?
City Folk's Farm Shop opens today in North Clintonville. Located at 4760 North High Street, at the intersection of Beechwold and High, City Folk's is a sustainably-minded urban homesteading store. They stock gardening, house keeping, and animal husbandry supplies for central Ohio backyard growers. Lil and I stopped in yesterday to see the store before the soft opening.
It's hard not to scheme and dream in City Folk's. Tucked into corners of the store are charming handmade bat, bee, bird, and worm houses. A rack on the wall holds the most rustically beautiful hand tools I have ever seen. Everything a homesteader needs from laundry detergent to cheese making supplies to dehydrators are stocked in the welcoming, well lit show room.
Seeds from a variety of organic and heirloom producers are stacked in colorful packages just waiting to burst into plants. Pots in a variety of sustainably sourced materials are available to fill with bulk or bagged organic soil.
The back of the store houses a selection of chicken feed, soil, and amendments that can be loaded right out the back door into the parking lot.
City Folk's Farm Shop obviously has a preference for local, sustainably made tools - a preference I share. Shop keeper Shawn is committed to providing what local homesteaders need and welcomes our ideas. She put together a schedule of educational events to be held in store, including Backyard Chicken Basics (April 15, 3:30-4:30 pm) and Homesteading with Children (June 3, 3:30-4:30 pm) led by yours truly. See the full calendar on the City Folk's event page.
City Folk's opens today with hours from 10 am - 6 pm. They are planning a grand opening celebration for Earth Day weekend, April 21-22. Visit soon to outfit yourself for the spring growing season.
Disclosure: City Folk's hired me to write copy for their website and manage their social media account during opening. This post was not part of our agreement and opinions are my own.
Spring is most definitely in the air in central Ohio! We're already sweating with nearly 80 degree highs, we just had our first huge storm and there are buds blooming everywhere. I am uneasy about this weather and worry about a late frost, but I can't help but enjoy the outdoor time.
Hop into spring gardening and food culture by attending some of these great events:
Lil and I will be in the Central Ohio Food Forum crowd to talk about home gardening and homesteading at this month's discussion. Doors open (free admission) this Monday at 5:30 pm at Wild Goose Creative to enjoy Sassafras Bakery goodies; the forum starts at 6:30.
City Folk's Farm Shop soft opening is this Tuesday at 10 am. I am working with City Folk's to promote their new organic gardening and homesteading store and couldn't be more proud of their philosophy and offerings. Tuesday's first day will include treats from Pattycake Bakery and free seeds (up to $15) for every tenth seed buying customer!
On Wednesday I will join other food blog fans of Ree Drummond at her Pioneer Woman book signing from 6-9 at the Barnes & Noble at 1739 Olentangy River Rd Columbus OH.
I really wish I could get out to the Creative Arts of Women show opener this Thursday, March 22 at the Shot Tower 546 Jack Gibbs Blvd, Columbus, OH 43215. The reception will feature dance and puppetry performances by CoCo Loupe, Heidi Madsen & Denise McDonough.
Grab a bite of spring locavore fare at Black Creek Bistro and stop in the nearby CS Gallery for their Open artist's show through March 27 and in early April their Two Year Anniversary show debuts. Alex's parents have pieces in both shows.
Next Tuesday the 27th, I'm excited to be attending Cement Marketing's Timeline for Facebook Pages workshop. I love the work of Alaina and her crew and look forward to learning more for myself and my clients.
The North Market debuts a new event at the end of March: the Coffee Roast. Samples, demonstrations, and a home-roasted bean contest will buzz visitors about Columbus' vibrant coffee scene. Grab a cuppa March 31 from 9 am to 2 pm.
Columbus Food Adventure's famed Taco Truck Tours start up again April 1. Or choose the Short North, German Village, or Alt Eats Tours. All are great for a staycation, special date, or introduction to a new food scene in the city.
Beginning gardeners or anyone wanting some new skills will want to check out the Gardening Programs at Franklin Park Conservatory. They offer everything from container gardening to making a living wreath to constructing a rain barrel.
Register now to volunteer with Root Down for Earth Day and then go to the celebration on April 21 at Columbus Commons.
Join me to talk hens at the Backyard Chicken Basics class April 15th from 3:30 - 4:30 pm at City Folk's Farm Shop. We will cover coops, chicken varieties, care and feeding.
I'm teaching about sauerkraut, yogurt, kimchee, and more Fermented Foods at Franklin Park Conservatory on Sunday April 22 from 3:30-5:30 pm. Taste and create cultured, healthy foods in this workshop.
Clintonville Farmer's Market Spring Sprout Day begins the farmer's market season on April 28, only seven weeks from now! Buy organic seedlings from me at the Swainway booth and check out the season's first produce.
The spring 2012 Market to Market ride is scheduled for May 5th with the bicentennial theme Moustaches & Monacles. Get your bike tuned up for another great ride!
NB. Our new family travel blog has its first posts up! Check out Curious Wanderlust for a little bit about our recent travels and look for updates from Alex in India this coming week.
I asked Hounds in the Kitchen Facebook fans what they wanted to read today and they chose garden plans. If your favorite was an alternative topic (salt, cornbread, or charcoal) I'll get to it soon! I remember hanging out of a second story window last year to get the overhead view for the 2011 Garden Plans post. I had big plans.
Then the spring rains came...for a month on end. The few peas that poked their leaves through the wet soil were mowed down by sparrows. Most of our early season crops like spinach, radish, and lettuce did not get enough sun through the rain to even sprout.
Early spring winds also knocked off most of our fruit tree blossoms. Raspberries were the only fruit we harvested in any quantity.
Summer sunshine finally arrived and we planted a variety of seedlings, many from Swainway Urban Farm. Everything grew well but unfortunately some bacteria grew in my sinuses and I suffered lethargy, sinus pain and pressure for two months.
The potato, onion, and garlic harvest were so minimal as to not be worth the space we planted them in. I don't know if they didn't do well due to my negligence or the weather, but I think we'll skip planting these until we have more space. By the way, City Folk's Farm Shop is getting a shipment of organic seed potatoes March 26th if you are planting potatoes this year.
Farmers and backyard growers alike agree that 2011 was not a good year for tomatoes. We barely had enough for fresh eating and canning a few batches of sauce. I did discover a new favorite variety - black prince - and I hope to grow more of these rich purple beauties this year.
Thankfully the peppers were grand. Lillian loved Jimmy Nardellos, I pickled pepperonicinis, and we are still eating frozen pimentos. I tricked my peppers into not cross pollinating by planting the sweets early (May 1) and spicy anchos much later (June 1).
For all the planning I usually do, I have nothing for 2012. Really nothing.
I am uninspired because I do not know where we will live this summer. I truly hope we will sell our house and move before the real growing season is under way. (By the way, I cleaned top to bottom and took pictures yesterday. If you want to see them, head over to the 'Sell the Homestead' Flickr set.)
I am scattering seeds (peas, spinach, and lettuce so far) so that our raised beds are full for the next home owners or for us if we end up staying. I didn't start any seeds indoors because I'll be bartering some of my Swainway Urban Farm market hours for Swainway seedlings.
For all that I'm not planning, Lil is on top of things. She independently came up with the idea of marking out a pattern and planting seeds in squares. Ever heard of square foot gardening? I told her a little bit about the idea and drew a grid to represent one of our 5'x5' beds that she can use.
I helped Lil read the back of the seed packets for the vegetables she picked. The visual guides are handy for a beginning reader! She made a key for plants she wants to grow and put them in the grid. We will plant the first seeds in the next few days.
What are your garden plans this year?
If you are starting from scratch, consider downloading my Grow Your Garden ebook.
I presented and attended the 33rd annual conference of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) conference last Saturday and Sunday.
The conference was inspiring, educational, and fun. I loved learning from experienced growers, meeting new and old foodie friends, and strolling the exhibit hall to learn what's happening.
In the coming weeks I hope to summarize the workshops I attended in more detail. Some news from the weekend is too timely not to share first:
If you attended, what were your impressions and takeaways? If you didn't, what do you want to hear more about?
NB: On Monday, I shared notes from one of my talks, Food is Social: How to use New Media to Promote Your Food Business.
The USDA recently updated their Plant Hardiness Zone maps. The new map reflects that warmer temperatures allow less-hardy plants to survive Ohio winters. Columbus (and most of Ohio) is now in Zone 6a, an upgrade from Zone 5b. Not in Columbus? Check out the interactive map to find your Zone.
It must be noted that the Arbor Day Foundation came to the same hardiness zone conclusion in 2006. Both groups say that this is not necessarily a reflection of climate change but better data mapping. I think it must be a combination of climate change, heat island effect, and natural variability.
What does this mean for fruit and vegetable gardeners?
First, some annuals can now be grown as perennials. Many herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and oregano will pop up in the spring and not require re-planting. Greens allowed to go to seed may reseed themselves.
Some fruit trees previously thought to be too difficult to keep through the winter may now be planted outside. Fig trees may grow more successfully with lessor no cool weather care. Peaches, nectarines, and cherries will have a better chance of setting fruit.
The Zone reclassification means that our last-frost date edges towards the beginning of May and the first-frost date more towards the end of October. I have long planted annuals outside starting on May 1. Cold-weather crops like kale, swiss chard, peas, lettuces, and beets, can be seeded as early as April 1.
Essentially, gardeners can move everything up a few weeks and hope to have a slightly extended season in the fall too. Sweet potatoes become a more likely success. It may be possible to fit in more succession plantings of beans.
Personally, this rezoning will not change my garden habits much as I am already accustomed to pushing the planting dates a bit. I may, however, finally plant our very overgrown potted fig tree outside this year.
How will the new Zone affect you?
I love the new Hounds in the Kitchen logo so much I want to wear it!
I used Skreened to upload the design and print on an American Apparel ethically made baseball shirt. I know the owner and several employees at Skreened and love to support their sustainable business. The best part of ordering from Skreened is that their location is only a mile from the house so I can pick up!
If you want to sport the Hound look, I uploaded four versions of the design - large and centered like on the shirt above, a chest emblem, medium logo for a tote bag, and large logo on the back. The cool thing about Skreened is that you can choose the shirt style (short sleeve, hoodie, etc.), color, and size for any of the Hounds in the Kitchen designs. They print quickly (my order was done in less than 24 hours!), ship around the world and have a pick-up location at I-71 and Hudson in Columbus.
Disclosure: I receive a few bucks commission off Hounds in the Kitchen shirts sold through Skreened. A girl's gotta buy groceries once in awhile.