Red Bank/Erie Food Forest

The Red Bank/Erie Food Forest plot is a somewhat troubled site. Because it doesn't have any city water attached to it it is completely dependent on rainwater -- of which we've had very little for the majority of the summer. As of now, it looks really great and green because we've had rain off and on the last couple weeks. Yesterday we went out and readied the area for an art project that will combine the arts and agriculture. The round tilled area will be planted with a paw paw colony (a native fruit tree to Southwest Ohio). We removed a lot of rotting logs that were used for hügelkultur beds, weeded, leveled the area and then tilled.

The site will still continue to make use of berms and swales as a means of catching water and keeping it on-site.

As my time in the community gardens comes to a close, the Civic Garden Center has been fortunate enough to get a work study student from Cincinnati State College and our time has overlapped.

Peter has been gracious enough to keep extending my hours (to the end of the growing season?) even though my internship has technically ended. However, my internship has morphed into being a Field Trip Facilitator at the Green Learning Station. I now work with middle and high school aged children talking about compost, diverting rain water from sewers, and growing vegetables in gardens and on roofs. So far, I'm really enjoying myself. Today I was in the West End Community Garden working by myself. I've been working on getting their compost in order, and Peter and I have been working on getting the fence free of unwanted vining weeds (aka morning glory, bind weed, wild grape, etc.). I don't know why it took me so long, but it occurred to me that I had a macro-focus on the camera I've been using all summer long. And I hadn't been using it! How barbaric. The lovely/disgusting and oh-so-damaging tomato horn worm.

Locust.

Monarch butterfly ex-body.

Morning Glory and bind weed pretty bits.

I really can't believe I went 4 months without using macro-focus.