Urban Agriculture
Food Growing
In 2014, we started our urban agriculture efforts with funding from a 5-year, Interact For Health – Thriving Communities grant. Our food-growing network now consists of seven gardens, including a school garden and two orchards, that are dotted around the neighborhood. Each one has a unique purpose and personality. In some, gardeners grow collectively; in others, they have individual garden beds. To start growing in one of the gardens or to volunteer, contact Gary@walnuthillsrf.org.
Click the image to see a large map of the garden network. Learn more about each garden below!
Concord Garden
2400 Concord
The theme of the Concord Garden is upcycling: Our funding covered the construction and soil for 66 raised beds. Everything else was repurposed: a tool bin made out of used doors; a greenhouse made out of used windows; an irrigation pond made out of used tires; a community patio made out of reclaimed bricks. We used old tree tubs and clawfoot bathtubs to plant flowers around the perimeter of the garden.
Frederick Douglass Elementary School Garden
2642 Park Avenue
Students formed the afterschool program, The Planting Panthers, that meets Mondays from 2:30–4p. It’s a quiet outdoor laboratory that provides a respite for the sometimes stressful day of a student. And a place where they can feel the healing power of nature while gaining hands-on experience learning where fresh food comes from.
Melrose Foraging Forest
2647 Melrose Avenue
This formerly blighted lot is now a forageable oasis with fruits, berries, herbs, veggies, and native perennials thanks to the hard work and financial generosity of dedicated volunteers. We believe that everyone in our neighborhood should have access to fresh, healthy produce.
St. James Garden
2317 St. James
We’ve built this garden with the chef in mind. In addition to greens, tomatoes, peppers, and onions, the focus is on more exotic fruits such as currants, goji berries, and gooseberries in addition to a wide array of perennial culinary herbs: rosemary, chives, oregano, tarragon, marjoram, parsley, and lemon verbena.
May Street Orchard
2704 May Street
At our food access events, residents often preferred fruit dishes. With that in mind, we cleared a lot and planted fruit trees amongst seven raided beds of berries and melons. We put up a tool shed, a chicken coop, and a shelter with sun catcher walls made of wine bottles. Residents can come and pick a pear to go with their lunch or harvest peaches to make a cobbler.
The Walnut Hills Community Garden
811 Beecher
Way back in 1985, a group of Walnut Hills neighbors started the first community garden in Walnut Hills and one of the longest-running in Cincinnati. It has 24 raised beds and is looking for at least 10 new gardeners for this year.
The Taft Garden
950 William Howard Taft
We have 14 raised beds where we grow greens, veggies, herbs, and flowers. It’s conveniently located between the Library, the Rec Center and several senior apartment buildings. We welcome residents to come and help us tend to the garden and take home produce so they can make tasty, healthy meals for themselves.