Colorful and inventive vertical gardening systems were donated to NECIC [North End Community Involvement Collaborative] and were installed by volunteers this week. Nearly thirty volunteers assembled the units as part of a workshop to demonstrate the functionality of these now permanent structures at NECIC.
The three gardens are located behind the Bissman building and beside the Voegele building, occupying only two parking-lot spaces. Dale Larson spent the last ten years developing the vertical design, and two years of production through his Cascade Garden Cooperative. Two vertical cascade garden units and a raised bed unit were set up at NECIC in a matter of hours: assembled, filled with soil substitute, planted and watered.
It’s transforming the NECIC parking lot. Deanna West-Torrence, Director at NECIC stated, “In a neighborhood that has nearly as many renters as there are homeowners, this allows a tenant to grow food without having to dig up a yard, etc. The demonstration gardens also shows how, in apartment complexes, food can be grown in a parking space.”
NECIC has ambitious goals in developing the community through gardening. “Long term, we see this as a step in the right direction as a means of not only providing food for oneself or one’s family, but also provides an opportunity to grow food as a small business,” Torrence stated.
“These are portable units,” Jean Taddie said, “So people with apartments can even utilize vertical cascade gardens in a parking lot like this.” Taddie’s role as the Community Gardener, and Local Foods Program Coordinator for NECIC, is helping expand local food production for the area. They want to encourage and support growers, how to include their produce in the marketplace. “This is bigger than just a few pockets of soil,” Taddie said. “There’s a method to increasing the amount of food in the local scope.”
Six variations of tomatoes were planted Monday afternoon, along with carrots, potatoes, cucumber, and squash. The Vertical Cascade Gardens have capacity for more, some of which will be planted this week, and another program in August will plant a fall garden.
Links:
http://www.necic-ohio.org/
