gallo3000

July 21st – Ashtabula Grows! OSU extension & Survey

Posted on July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 by gallo3000

What a dynamic week of hot, humid and heavy rains. This is a sure-fire combination to set the stage for a large crop of bush beans, squash, cucumbers, melons and tomatoes. We are so curious what you are harvesting now and what is on its way! We have also been getting out the pickling recipes and freezing some of the bounty already. And tomatoes are just starting to ripen on the vine – no store bought tomato can compare. Oh, life is slightly better knowing there is food growing in the back yard. We have also been having some fun trading crops with neighbors.

George and Maureen have a beautiful crop of garlic they recently harvested and Barbara’s watermelon is growing circles around her small, raised bed of corn, tomatillos and lovage (a perennial plant used like celery with a stronger bite to the tongue). This week Julie shared her purples: cauliflower and figs, Sandy is busy fermenting her cukes and John Werner’s beans and carrots round out the colors for the week!

This Tuesday join us with our special guest from OSU extension, Andrew Holden. Andrew will walk through the many resources at the extension in Jefferson and invites us all to take a closer look at what is going on over there.

Start thinking about your summer planting for a late fall harvest!

Missed a class? Click here to view all previous classes.

Survey of classes and possible potluck dates available here

We look forward to seeing you Tuesday, July 21st at 6pm!

Check out our website at AshtabulaLocalFood.org for class videos, presentations, handouts and the Ashtabula Local Food guide.
Join us for week long discussion, photos, Q&A on fb: AshtabulaGrows: an online community garden
Email us at AshtabulaLocalFood@gmail.com

July 14th – Ashtabula Grows! Hugelkultur Beds and Survey

Posted on July 14, 2020July 14, 2020 by gallo3000

Scruff Le Puff surveys the gardens and is on guard for rodents and other tasty treats

Hello, Friends!

How does your garden grow? After the loving rain storm of last week we hope your plants are happy, blooming and productive! Here at the harbor garden, there have been peas-in-the-pod breakfasts, raspberry lunches and summer squash salsa tacos for dinner. We hope you are getting to enjoy the sweet summer sun through the bounty of your garden, too!

We are back on this week with special guests; Mardy Townsend of Windsor to discuss the benefits of Hugelkultur beds and Emily Hall of Medina will be presenting some of the lessons learned in her first year utilizing this dynamic permaculture technique. There has been a lot of excitement around this topic so we hope you will join us!

Missed a class? Click here to view all previous classes.

Survey of classes and possible potluck dates available here

We look forward to seeing you Tuesday, July 14th at 6pm!

For a change of pace…Timebanking with Ashtabula Grows! 6.30.20 at 6pm

Posted on June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 by gallo3000

Barbara repurposed her old walker to a tomato stake! — So many tomatoes…so little time (Barbara with walker repurposed as tomato stake)

Join us this Tuesday, June 30th, for a lively discussion on prosperity, growth and abundance! Gallo will be discussing building community resilience through timebanking…how to get what you want and GROW!

Ever thought about an alternative to cash? In a world where we have so much uncertainty, wouldn’t it be nice to not have to worry so much about cash? Ever thought it would be fun to take a class on cooking, get a massage, plant a bigger garden, plan a water catchment system or build a cob oven or take music/singing classes but did not have enough money to justify these “luxuries?” Are you someone who likes to volunteer? What if your volunteer hours translated into giving AND receiving but did not involve cash? Do you have an elder parent or neighbor who would benefit from some company for social interaction or light house duties but did not have enough cash to pay for it? Want help to make your garden really grow?

Tonight’s class will be an introduction to timebanking…a means to trade services, skills, knowledge and goods for time. Many communities, worldwide, have used this system to keep loved ones at home, share skills and resources and build tighter neighborhoods. For our gardening purposes, it could be used as a way to receive help in your garden, help canning, caring for plants, processing food, preparing new garden beds, making a compost bin.

This may be a very new concept for many of us. Join us tonight and check it out!

Missed last week’s class on WEEDS? Click here to view Leah Wolfe of Trillium Center in Conneaut discuss which weeds to pull and which to use.

On Timebanking after the financial crisis of 2009.

We look forward to seeing you Tuesday, June 30th at 6pm!

Tuesday, June 16th at 6pm – Ashtabula Grows! Compost and Worms!

Posted on June 16, 2020 by gallo3000

**An online home gardening series to build community resilience and food security.** Picture of nasturtium flowers and leaves (edible and delicious) plus red cabbage.

Some say cheap…I lovingly call it thrifty! What better way to amend your soil, reduce input to landfill, exercise, connect more with your food AND grow bigger, better and more rich plants all for free? Composting! This week we will learn to turn your food scraps and garden waste into a deep luscious and rich compost. We will be joined by two Ashtabula natives: Isaac Coblentz, an extraordinary gardener, rope maker, artist and chili pepper popper and Suzanne Westlake who you will remember from last month’s class on soils of Ashtabula. Suzanne will be walking us through the worm bin at OSU extension and Isaac will be talking with us about composting. It’s going to be quite a ride – see you on Tuesday at 6pm!

Miss last week’s class? No worries – click here to view. Last week, we were fortunate to have Ashtabula Master Gardener and co-owner of Honey Hollow Herbs, Meghan Davis, join us for some instruction on growing herbs. Check out the website: ashtabulalocalfood.org on the “Previous Classes” tab. Or, click here.

It’s a great day to incorporate a composting routine. Click on this video to find out why!

See a list of classes that will be coming your way…

Walkin’ through the garden and eating a snack…

We look forward to seeing you tonight at 6pm!

Tuesday, June 9th at 6pm – Ashtabula Grows! Herbs!

Posted on June 9, 2020 by gallo3000

**An online home gardening series to build community resilience and food security.** Picture of Thai Basil growing, from seed, in Gallo’s Vietnamese and Thai inspired raised bed started a few weeks ago.

What makes the difference between a decent meal and a fabulous meal? Herbs! It is what distinguishes cultures, culinary acumen and cookbooks for all levels! What brings health and prosperity more than herbs? Oh, yes…the cilantro patch is growing abundantly and I can taste the homemade pico de gallo (hurry up, tomatoes)! Cilantro piled on top of cooked beans (black, pinto, lima, fava, or scarlet runner beans) makes every dish taste like summer. Or, try it chopped and decoratively sprinkled in your favorite noodle with coconut milk soup (can be served cool on a hot day).

And the medicinal remedies continue to line our oral folk tradition. My neighbor George, who has lived in this neighborhood all of his 70+ years just shared an Italian family remedy: at first sign of “cold” or flu; place a few cloves of chopped garlic next to bed and wake up feeling much better and signs of sickness abated. As a nurse practitioner, I can not validate these findings but George’s daughters use this remedy today with continued success!

This week, we are fortunate to have Ashtabula Master Gardener and co-owner of Honey Hollow Herbs, Meghan Davis, join us for some instruction on growing herbs. Many folks have expressed interest in this topic and those who received a free garden kit (provided, with grant Sarah Brower procured, by Pollination Project) know this name well as we included herbs from Meghan’s bounty! We also learned, last week, about some of the protective-against-pests- aspects of herbs.

Miss last week’s class? No worries – click here to view. Class focused on planting your starts, companion planting and some permaculture concepts with John Wright of Red Beet Row and Sarah Brower of Harbor Gardens and Holistic Health. Check out the website: ashtabulalocalfood.org on the “Previous Classes” tab. Or, click here.

Some inspiring ideas about herbs…great for taste, great for body/mind!

See a list of classes that will be coming your way…

Meghan Davis of Honey Hollow Farms and Ashtabula Master Gardener will join us on Tuesday, June 9th to discuss growing herbs!

We look forward to seeing you Tuesday at 6pm!

Tuesday, June 2nd at 6pm – Ashtabula Grows! on planting your starts, companion planting and more!

Posted on June 2, 2020 by gallo3000

**An online home gardening series to build community resilience and food security.** **Sandy M’s backyard garden and supervising chickens**

Hello, Ashtabula Grows friends. We sure hope you are finding a way to get your hands dirty and your face sunned this week! A friend was over to our backyard garden this week and asked me, “Gallo, are you trying to become completely self-sufficient and grow all of your own food?” It was a great question and I had to be honest with myself. While that seems like an admirable goal it felt a bit overwhelming. But inspired, I offered that it is a long term goal but one that would be more attainable as part of a team. To be transparent, I do believe that one day we could, as a community, grow enough food that we would not have to rely on imports from California, Florida, and foreign countries. The idea motivates me. Plus we have the land, community, experienced farmers and access to water to do it!

Still on a bean kick and want to learn something new about beans? Or, trying to decide what kind of beans to grow? Check out this comparison chart of lentils and black beans. This is a link to some of the health benefits of beans. Mostly, I am getting excited about sharing recipes and eating what we grow. However, first things first. Tonight, we will have John Wright of Red Beet Row in Jefferson join us to discuss planting your seedlings, companion planting and more! John is from Jefferson, is a permaculturalist and many of you probably have take a class with him on the farm or in one of the local libraries. We are excited to have him as our guest instructor tonight!

Miss last week’s class? No worries – click here to view. Class focused on container gardening and gardening in small spaces, Alice of Ashtabula Master Gardeners joined us and gave some great instruction! You can also find her handouts on our website: ashtabulalocalfood.org on the “Previous Classes” tab. Or, click here.

An inspired way to look at what you grow and some longer term planning

See a list of classes that will be coming your way…

Mardy Townsend’s hugelkultur bed with cow supervision!

We look forward to seeing you tonight!

Tuesday, May 26th at 6pm – Ashtabula Grows! on Container Gardening

Posted on May 26, 2020 by gallo3000

**An online home gardening series to build community resilience and food security.**

Howdy, friends and neighbors! Somehow we managed to move to full swing summer in the matter of days and the greens are so vibrant! It is one thing the west coast does not have…so many shades of green. They just may be envious! In fact, California just does not have the access to water that we have here, either. In the midst of pandemic – we are in a pretty great spot to thrive.

Many folks tell us that the official first week of planting out of doors is Memorial Day Weekend. Whether you started in March or you are still waiting to be inspired – no worries, you are just in time!

We have been very excited to share with you Tuesday’s class on container gardening. Alice and Meghan of the Ashtabula Master Gardener Volunteers will be joining us for an inspirational discussion on how you can grow food in small places.

Did you miss last week’s class on Soils of Ashtabula? No worries – click here to view.

Not sure where to start? Here is a quick plug for the favorite annual – beans! (The one plant everyone can be growing for food security)

See a list of classes that will be coming your way…

Nasturtium – flowers are gorgeous, spicy, nutritious and great to eat in your salad!

Ashtabula Grows! Tuesday, May 19: Local Soil and Testing

Posted on May 19, 2020May 19, 2020 by gallo3000

“It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.”
― Kate Morton, The Forgotten Garden

Move over snow…spring has sprouted! The greens are back and they are changing by the hour. Light green to darker and the grass is long enough to cut a maze through it. Many of you picked up your garden kits this week. We have more to give away! Email us and we will share instructions on getting your own kit. We also have so many seeds to share. If you want more, we have it! AshtabulaLocalFood.org

We have an exciting presentation this Tuesday by Ashtabula Soil and Water Conservation District Technician, Suzanne Westlake. Suzanne will discuss the various soils around Ashtabula County, walk us through soil testing and what that means and present some very interesting historical perspectives of our land. Suzanne is very enthusiastic and is a native Ashtabulean! Suzanne will also share how to perform a soil test and what you will learn from it.

If you missed any of the classes you can watch the videos and/or see the powerpoint presentations from previous on our website AshtabulaLocalFood.org on the “Previous Class Resources” page. Some highlights are listed below:

May 12th – Mental Health Check-in with Deirdra “Dia” Fleming

May 5th – Seed starting with Sarah Brower

April 28th – Building Community Resilience and Food Security with Sarah Brower

Join the discussion! We have a lively fb private group: Ashtabula Grows: an online community garden. In order to keep it private, you must ask “permission” to join the group. This a great place to share your budding garden with the group, ask questions or share resources. Let’s see how your garden is growing – mind, body and spirit.

Looking forward to seeing you Tuesday at 6pm!

“Our most important job as vegetable gardeners is to feed and sustain soil life, often called the soil food web, beginning with the microbes. If we do this, our plants will thrive, we’ll grow nutritious, healthy food, and our soil conditions will get better each year. This is what is meant by the adage ”Feed the soil not the plants.”
― Jane Shellenberger, Organic Gardener’s Companion: Growing Vegetables in the West

Ashtabula Grows! Tuesday, May 12 at 6pm

Posted on May 12, 2020May 12, 2020 by gallo3000

Mental Health Check In…how are you doing? What is inspiring you this week?

selling herbs at market — The Promise of Spring and Summer Harvest!

Hello, Ashtabula Grows!

What a week of surprise…Snow, more local cases of COVID-19, and, most importantly, even more reasons to be thankful for living on The Great Lake Erie! Perhaps we could use a mental health day.

At this point we have discussed the overall vision – improving community resilience and food security. We all know one thing; there is no guarantee of what tomorrow brings. Being as prepared as we can – as a community – will help alleviate undue stress and maybe even bring us closer as a community. There are some other positives – what is one that works for you right now?

Sarah Brower had the virtual floor last week and spent time devoted to plants, seed starting indoors and outdoors. Gifted in many ways, we have heard from several of you that you would like some time to digest this new material and ask more questions!

This week will be a week of reflection of what you have been up to, so far. We will do some small group questions, polls and we have a very engaged instructor this week to guide us through mental health through gardening. Check out Dierdre Fleming’s bio!

Videos from last week’s class are up!

Part one: Welcome and Sarah Brower on Seed Starting – indoors

Part two: How-to and Garden Tour

Please note: OSU disclaimer – some content may not be part of the OSU guidelines to best garden practice.

We will also be discussing the garden kits! If you have been to two or more classes, learn how you can receive your garden kit this week! If you are unable to attend tonight’s meeting but have been to two classes, email us and we will get you the instructions for kit…

IMG-6037 (1)

“Sometimes we have to soak ourselves in the tears and fears of the past to water our future gardens.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

Have a question or having any trouble with Zoom? Please email us at AshtabulaLocalFood@gmail.com

Ashtabula Grows! Getting Started – Tuesday, May 5

Posted on May 3, 2020 by gallo3000

20200503_073233 — Indoor seed starting – May 2020

Hello, Gardening Friends! This week’s class will include: site selection, soil preparation, indoor seed starting, direct sowing, where to get seeds and seed starts – library, nurseries….This Tuesday, May 5th at 6pm. You do not need to re-register if you previously registered. You will receive an email with information before next class with more information!

The first class held on Tuesday, April 28th was great fun! We have had an opportunity to meet each other, learn about the program and how to help Ashtabula become more resilient, as a community, while improving food security. Twenty-five folks joined the webinar and there is an active fb group, Ashtabula Grows! where you can add pictures of your progress, ask questions and post your favorite resources as well. Links to classes are below and we have a resource page that is being updated frequently with websites, Youtube videos, links to farms in the area and a whole lot more.

Missed the first class? Click on the links below to take a look!

Part I: Introduction to series, collaborators and logistics.

Part II: Community building and food resilience by Sarah Brower.

See a list of classes