With the days becoming shorter, we are starting to reflect on the abundance of food our gardens have produced over the growing season and what the future holds for when the temperatures begin to drop. There are so many crops to be harvested still and the growing concern of what to do with it all is on everyones mind. Sharing with neighbors, friends, and families is always good but making sure you have enough food during the non-growing season is great. We taught and learned the benefits of preserving our harvest by using the canning and dehydrating processes. From turning fresh cucumbers and herbs into pickles and preserving hot peppers by dehydrating and freezing, we were eager to see what else we could preserve. This led us to slicing and dicing other crops like zucchini, sweet potatoes, and kale.
We all have our go to recipes for crops such as kale, tomatoes, and zucchini, but we wanted to explore other ways to prepare this produce so we could add it to our meal plans more often. It could be as easy as creating a healthy dressing to add to leafy greens or using spices that are new to us to add a little zing of new flavor. With the healthy eating classes, we were able to explore these options and give our taste buds something new and create new flavor profiles to share with others.
As we say goodbye to our warm weather crops, we are looking forward to reintroducing the cool crops again from our spring harvests. Enriching our soil by adding organic materials to make sure there is enough nutrients for another season of successful growing, is the way of the land in our gardens at the moment. Feeding, watering, protecting, and mulching is on repeat for our newly transplanted lettuces and other brassicas. Preparing for the change that is soon to come.
Kymisha Montgomery
Urban Agriculture Coordinator
Civic Garden Center
In 1980, members of the Over-the-Rhine community in Cincinnati, Ohio joined forces with the Civic Garden Center and purchased four vacant lots on East McMicken Avenue which they ultimately transformed into a productive vegetable garden known as the Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden. This historic Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden was the first community garden in Cincinnati and is an excellent example of people coming together to improve a neighborhood.
Beginning in 2014, the Civic Garden Center’s Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden began collaborating with Grow Appalachia and Paul Mitchell the School Cincinnati after the then Admissions Leader and Green Team Leader, Christina Matthews, along with a neighborhood art teacher, Ali Burns, decided to apply for a grant from Grow Appalachia to support the garden. Christina Matthews, personally met with John Paul Dejoria, the CEO of John Paul Mitchell Systems and founder of Grow Appalachia, in Toledo, OH where he agreed to donate $10,000 toward their efforts.
The Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden is Grow Appalachia’s only urban partner site. And although it is located in a neighborhood that continues to see high crime rates, it is viewed by many of the residents as a respite from some of the pressures that exist outside its fences. It is also purported to be the longest continuously active community garden in the country!
Paul Mitchell the School Cincinnati eagerly became involved with the garden as a direct result of the culture established in its schools. The culture of Paul Mitchell’s schools encourages individuals to do more for their community by giving back. The Green Team focus on civic responsibility, recycling etc. Christina Matthews’ vision was to meld the goals of Grow Appalachia, Paul Mitchell Schools and the OTR People’s Garden in an effort to improve the Over-the-Rhine community.
Six years later, the Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden has accomplished more than anyone could have ever imagined—growing approximately 500 to 1,000 pounds of fresh food and flowers per year! More importantly, it provides a space for the community to heal, teach, empower, and feed each other. Just last year the garden offered 17 free garden classes with topics that included cooking, generating income from a small garden plot and building affordable season extensions. Events like these brought 250 new friends and volunteers to the garden in 2019!
Christina Matthews, was so inspired by her years of involvement with Grow Appalachia and the People’s Garden that she resigned from Paul Mitchell Schools in 2016 and launched her own flower-farmer-florist business—The Flower Lady OTR. Now Christina devotes all her time and energy to what she loves—growing a business in conjunction with volunteering her time with Grow Appalachia, The Over-the-Rhine People’s Garden, and in the OTR community. Life is flourishing!
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