Pumpkins defy logic in that they are so big that it’s hard to imagine them hanging from fences; but these squash in fact are Super Climbers who seem to love growing vertically.
Organic Weed Killer: Does It Exist?
We are looking for a good Organic Weed Killer to stave off the early composting of our streets, sidewalks and buildings to the effects of weeds. Our urban area has weeds growing out of every crack in the street. And while I’m grateful that one day when we humans are gone Mother Earth will break up the concrete and compost everything, but for as long as we are here I need a good Organic Weed Killer to stave off the powerful effects of entropy on our streets, sidewalks and buildings.
Weeds:
- Grow in cracks in the sidewalk helping to push the cracks apart, increasing the breakdown of the concrete.
- Look like no one cares
- Break up the Foundation of Houses and Causes Cracks in the Foundation between the sidewalk allowing water into the basement of buildings.
- Weeds grow up the brick buildings that eventually break up the roof, grows into shingles, and like everything else will eventually destroy the building.
- Weeds can be poisonous like Poison Ivy and Poison Oak.
- Weeds hide things like knives, needles, and broken glass
There are weeds growing out of every crack in the sidewalks and at the base of all of the houses in OTR on Pleasant St. We have labored many hours pulling these weeds and tried many approaches to fighting them en masse to no avail. One Person can not pull them all. Most people rent their places in Over The Rhine so it is not there job to weed in front; other buildings have been abandoned a long time ago.
We have tried to pull them, we even tried to Burn Them using a torch attached to a propane tank designed for this. Burning worked to kill the plants but then it left the plant in the street standing but now dead and brown instead of green. This worked to stop the plant but did not make the street look good. Instead the street had dead weeds growing out of every crack in the street which still needed to be pulled.
Does anyone have Real Success with Vinegar? Or have tried sodium solutions?
Does anyone have any Real Success with an organic product that I can apply to several blocks without contaminating the water supply and:
Is Safe for animals that may try to eat the plant while it is applied,
Will break down quickly,
Will not harm the applicator,
Will not harm anyone who touches it (urban area).
Avon Woods Nature Preserve
There is a little nature preserve in the middle of Avon Woods ; growing up in St. Bernard whole groups of us would walk up Rose Hill, “up to where the mansions are”. When you get up there far enough there is a steep hill in the road that you would only go up if you knew that just off the sidewalk there is a stairwell that leads down into Avon Woods and connects to the nature preserve. A beautiful stair case goes down the creek slope wooded hill. One which would be too muddy to climb down for not the poured concrete stairwell.
View St. Bernard to Avon Woods. in a larger map
Garden To Biergarten
Start your Saturday with friends in a calm green garden in your city. The OTR Homegrown Garden is on Pleasant St. a block from Findlay Market.
You know what that means? Saturday Market at The Christian Moerlien Beirgarten is only a block away!
Start Your day gardening or Chilaxing on the garden Benches enjoying the calm of a city park. Those who want to help we always enjoy people taking some time to themselves in Zen like states playing in the dire; AKA Pulling Weeds, Planting Seeds. We have a big project going on this Saturday where we are moving a truckload of leaf mulch into the garden to add to the soil. Bring a change of clothes and Gloves.
Then walk with friends a block North to the Findlay Market Christian Moerlien Beirgarten for drinks, music, and …….CornHole. (Buy YOB and food)
Or, Helpers who grow food in the community can wear garden clothes with pride as you sip Christian Moerlien at Findlay Market.
Be sure to bring clothes for gardening that you do not mind getting dirty, a hat, and water, and gloves.
BTW, we’ll be grilling out! ~~
10:00 AM Saturday. July 13
Race Street Garden Grading: Volunteers Needed!
Volunteer to help in OTR at the Race Street Garden.
This Saturday, June 29, from 9:00am to 2:00pm The Race Street Garden is installing garden beds and grading the garden area with your help.
They are in need of around 18 volunteers to help wheelborrow and shovel loads of soil and compost into beds around the garden area.
- Hand Raking
- Sifting Debris
- Moving Topsoil
- Placement and Install of Relocated Plants,
- Material Handling
The garden is located at:
1409-1411 Race St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
View Larger Map
Have Tools? They can definitely use these tools:
- Bow Rakes.
- Flat or Pointed Shovels.
- Ratchet Set.
- Wheel Barrows
THANK YOU!
Mounding Beds for Depth, Drainage, and Capacity.
Invasive Species: Tree Killing Ivy.
In Cincinnati we have an ivy that grows up the trunks of trees and into the canopy of trees. If left unchecked these vines will take over the tree and kill the tree.
What is this vine called?
There are some of us who are in an active fight against these vines using a saw and hammer.
Join us?
Harvesting Lettuce Beds After Scatter Planting
May 2013 OTR Homegrown Arugula Sprouts
Going to Seed with Rainbow Chard
Growing Rainbow Chard to Seed in A Cincinnati Urban Garden
Timeline – Two (2) Seasons
The Winter of 2011 – 2012 was very mild in Cincinnati. Normally green leafy plants die in the frost of the winter s. But several of our leafy lettuces survived that winter and began growing rapidly in the 2012 Spring.
As the heat of spring progressed the plants bolted and ran.
Rainbow Chard Produces a Huge Bush of a seeding plants 6 Feet Tall!
They grew vertical stocks as shown above, the stocks sprouted pollen sacks and then blooms on the same plants if I remember correctly.
By late Spring this all fell back and small granola like seeds formed, very small at first but they grew on the stocks in number and in size. I checked on their size, color, dryness, and hardness each week until they were dark, dry, hard, brown, and fell right off. I could now obviously tell the seeds were done, the plant was telling me as seeds covered the plants and even began to fall to the ground.
I could take my hand and run my fingers down a stalk and the seeds would fill my hands. The seeds fell off in droves as I collected droves, thousands. From six plants that seeded I got more than I can take.
Still Missing The Harvest Shots. These Girls Get Bushy and Huge! Here are shots throughout three years of The Rainbow Chard Cycle.