Thursday evening saw quite a crowd packed into the Longview Center in Mansfield for the Raising Richland Community Garden Summit.
Featured speakers were Sophia Buggs, owner of Lady Buggs Farm in Youngstown, and Cheryl Harner, Richland County Master Gardener.
Buggs has established a sustainable urban farm in Youngstown with her daughter, Passion. She holds a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice, and a Market Garden Certificate from Iron Roots Urban Farm.
Buggs shared her adventures in establishing her urban farm and her market stand in her speech titled “Growing Hope.”
Buggs received the People’s Garden Grant and the Lots of Green 2.0 Grant to assist in her endeavors, as well as some smaller grants for soil amendment.
Buggs encouraged growers to reach out to other gardeners, farmers, and growers. “You need that go-to person when things get tough. You need that farmer, grower, that buddy that you can call and say, ‘I have dug up twenty rocks today, and I didn’t plant a thing,’” said Buggs.
“If, in this room, you already don’t know a grower, you need to find a grower to inspire you to keep growing,” added Buggs.
Ohio’s number one product is agriculture, noted Buggs, but only 10 percent is consumed, and the small grower is key. “Everyone in this room can grow tomatoes and make money. There’s no competition,” said Buggs. “There is room for all of us to grow, for all of us to make a little extra something.”
Harner is a member of the Greater Mohican Audubon Society and Richland County Master Gardeners. She serves on two land trust boards, works as an environmental educator, and is the co-founder of Flora-Quest.
Harner spoke on “Critters and Compost.” She explained the different kinds of compost: row composting; passive or cold pile composting; and active or hot pile composting.
Worms are not desirable for compost piles, noted Harner. She explained that the parts of Ohio that had been glaciated have no native worms, and that worms have been determined to be detrimental to forests. “They’re not as beneficial as we were thinking they were. The science on worms has completely turned around. They are finding worms are really very, very bad for native areas,” added Harner.
Harner expressed that insects are often beneficial to a compost pile, and it is not advisable to apply pesticides of any kind to the pile.
The event offered displays by Black Fork Bee Club; the city of Shelby; Creating Healthy Communities at School; CSA Cascade Gardens; Earth Stewardship Committee; Friends of the Mansfield Parks; North End Community Improvement Collaborative; Mansfield Men’s Garden Club; OSU Extension/Richland County 4-H; Richland County Community Gardens; Richland County Master Gardener Volunteers; Richland Moves!; Richland Soil and Water Conservation District; and Square Foot Gardening.
Theresa Rozic Sutter, of Richland Soil and Water Conservation District, explained Rain Gardens and Backyard Conservation to attendees that stopped by her table.
Sutter also recruited volunteers for rainwater measuring. “We have a rain gauge volunteer program where we just ask people to collect rainfall from their home,” said Sutter. “We provide a rain gauge and we just monitor rainfall in the county.”
Those interested in participating in the rain gauge program may contact Sutter at sutter.theresa@richlandswcd.net.
Paul Bender, Land Use Planner for the Richland County Planning Commission, manned the Richland Moves! table and informed attendees of the upcoming community garden bicycle and walking tours. More information is forthcoming, but those interested in participating in the Urban Harvest Garden Tour, which will finish with a garden party in Sherman’s Estate, are welcome to contact Bender at pbender@rcrpc.org.
Those interested in becoming a part of the Raising Richland Community Garden Network, an informal association of over 500 gardeners and 25 community gardens, may sign up for the e-newsletter by contacting Jean Taddie of NECIC at jean@necic-ohio.org.
The event was sponsored by the North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC), the Mansfield/Ontario/Richland County Health Department’s Creating Healthy Communities program, the Ohio State University (OSU) Extension, The Richland County Master Gardener Volunteers, and the cities of Mansfield and Shelby, as well as many business that made donations for door prizes.
“Everyone in this room can grow tomatoes and make money. There’s no competition,” said Sophia Buggs. “There is room for all of us to grow, for all of us to make a little extra something.”
