Gardening in Community: HUB Garden Classes!

By Kymisha Montgomery, CGC Urban Agriculture Coordinator

There are many similarities between farming your own space and growing food in a community garden, but there are some major challenges that separate the two. At home, creating and following best practices on soil health, what can be grown where, and when to harvest are solely your responsibility. But when you participate in a community garden, things are a bit different.

The main thing to keep in mind is the word “community,” defined as a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society. Communities can take different forms in different neighborhoods, but generally, they begin with a group of people and a dream. People can come together to clean up an empty lot or to preserve the land and its habitat. When it comes to community gardens, each community creates a space of its own design, one that meets the needs of the community and potentially becomes the center of community life and vitality.

Throughout the summer, we hold free classes in some of our community gardens around the Cincinnati area. They’re open to the public, so you’re welcome to attend even if you’re not a community gardener! This year we decided to switch it up a bit, adding four new gardens to the mix: Melrose, Roselawn, Spring Grove Village and St. Bernard. Class topics range from medicinal plant ID to natural trellising, succession planting to season extension, pest ID and natural pest management to native pollinator plants for urban gardens to soil health and more! Check out the full schedule here.

I hope to see you in the garden soon!