Soil, Water & Sun
The land at Valley View is very fertile. It has been farmed for about 200 years. Soybeans and corn were grown on here until 2003 with very high yields. Our community garden is situated in those very same soils. We are modifying and improving the soils with organic leaf compost and manure and working to optimize yields for our gardeners. Each spring before the growing season we offer to till each garden plot with our rototillers. Gardeners are responsible for maintaining their 5 foot by 20 foot garden plot throughout the growing season. Our volunteers and gardeners share tools and produce and offer help throughout the year. The garden is enclosed by an 8-foot tall net-type fence that keeps deer and other animals out of the garden plots. We installed a well and automated irrigation system to shower the gardens with fresh, natural groundwater throughout the hot summer months. And our garden sits in full sun for ideal growing conditions for fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Family & Friends . . .
It is exciting to see our garden bring out the best people and the best in people. In its first year, the garden brought together 40 individuals and families. Several families shared plots with their friends and shared the fruits of their labor. Gardeners came from more than 20 miles away each day for the soil, animal protection and irrigation at our garden. Cub Scouts from Pack 140 at Cardinal Pacelli School in Mt. Lookout pictured above took over extra garden plots and common areas to grow produce that they sold at the Mt. Lookout Farmer's Market throughout the summer. This taught the scouts about where food comes from, the importance of hard work and the reward of growing something and sharing it with citizens in their community. Students from Cincinnati Country Day School spent a volunteer day in the garden in the fall to help gardeners clean up for the winter and prepare beds for the following growing season. Our garden is truly a community garden. All are welcome.
Fun!
As shown on this little guy's face, from a young age we all learn that there is something inherently rewarding about growing our food from seed into nutritious produce. We regularly see parents and grandparents with their children and grandchildren in the garden. It gives us great pleasure and satisfaction to see that all our effort to preserve this property for the Greater Cincinnati community is now providing the venue for these lasting memories and life lessons to occur. We also hold garden parties where the gardeners who wish to meet their neighbors and make new friends can come together and enjoy the scenic Valley View setting and a shared interest in gardening. The funds raised from the annual rental of garden plots all go towards promoting Valley View's mission of conserving land, preserving history and sharing it with the community. We invest every dollar raised from the garden back into our property and our programs.