May

Square Foot Garadeing

Monday, May 21 6:00-7:30 pm
Instructor: Brad Rogers, owner of Urban Harvest
Cost: $10, free for CGC volunteers

Are you looking to grow your own food in a small amount of space? Square Foot Gardening is a vegetable gardening technique that helps gardeners get the most food possible out of each square foot of soil. The premise is that each plant has particular space needs and thrives under certain conditions. This class explains the basics of square foot garden planning, including how much room different plants need and how to maximize production in small spaces using vertical growing. We’ll even plant square foot garden plots on the roof of the Green Learning Station and in the Backyard Vegetable Garden to give attendees hands-on experience.

 

Container Gardens from Cast-Offs

Saturday, May 26, 1:30-3:00 pm
Instructor: Ryan Mooney-Bullock, Green Learning Station Program Manager
Cost:  $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Peppers growing in an olive oil tin, beans climbing out of a rain boot. You can make fun and functional container gardens out of found materials that lend an artsy edge to your patio, balcony, front stoop or rooftop. The class will cover the basics of making and maintaining a successful container planter and explore creative materials from which to make them.

Slowing Stormwater with Plants: Rain Gardens and Bioswales

Thursday, May 31, 6:00-7:30 pm
Instructor: Pam Simmons, LEED and ARCSA AP and Ryan Mooney-Bullock, Green Learning Station Program Manager
Cost:  $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Rain gardens and bioswales are simple and beautiful plantings that can capture stormwater on your property. The class will cover site selection, testing your soil's ability to absorb rainwater, plant picks for shade and sun rain gardens and installation basics. Please bring a topographic map, or sketch showing contours, of your site.

June

Growing Great Roses in Cincinnati

In this three part series we will explore and debunk many of the challenges to growing great roses. Bob Lavieri recent past president of the Greater Cincinnati Rose Association along with other rose club members will lead each session.

Growing Great Roses in Cincinnati: Session 2

Saturday, June, 2, 10-11:30 am
Instructor:  Bob Lavieri
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
A look at pest and disease control, deer management, and watering strategies. We will also look at each of these topics from a non-chemical perspective in keeping with our Earth Kind approach to sustainable gardening.

Hot Color for Hot Weather!

Wednesday, June 6, 6:00-7:30pm
Instructor: Paul Koloszar, CGC horticulturist
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Are you worried that your garden will fade under the summer sun? Mid-season gardens don’t have to look drab. Prepare your garden for the heat of summer; learn about plants and techniques that will keep your garden gorgeous through fall!

How to Build a Rain Barrel

Tuesday, June 12, 6:30-8:00 pm
Instructor: Jerome Wigner, CGC Volunteer
Cost:  $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
FREE WATER for your plants! Come learn how to construct and use a rain collection system from Jerome Wigner, rain collector extraordinaire! A rain barrel is a great way to help with storm water runoff and save a little money spent on summer watering. Jerome has tips that will help you install a barrel at your home.

Permaculture Series: Building Healthy Soils

Thursday, June 14, 6-8pm
Instructor: Mary Lu Lageman and Sam Dunlap
Cost: $10, free for volunteers
It can take thousands of years to build an inch of topsoil, but we can do it a whole lot faster using locally available materials and a variety of techniques. One to note is biochar, an ancient and newly popular technology for building healthy soils. Join Grailville’s Mary Lu Lageman and the CGC’s Sam Dunlap to learn the basics of soil and how we can build it, including an easy, DIY technique for making biochar at home.

Cooking all Summer Long Series

This is a family friendly program, so feel free to bring your budding chefs.

Early Treats

Tuesday, June 19, 6-8 pm
Instructors: Cecelia and Madeline Dorger
Cost: $15
Learn how to cook what is in season in late spring and early summer. The ingredients will depend on the weather but you will definitely learn some basic cooking skills and simple, fresh recipe ideas using seasonal produce.

Growing Mushrooms in a Box

Saturday, June 23, 10am-12
Instructor: Sam Dunlap, CGC School Garden Coordinator
Cost: $25
A box full of straw inoculated with oyster mushrooms can produce beautiful, tasty and gratifying rewards! Learn through doing in this DIY mushroom box workshop and take home your own kit for future fungal fruitings.

 

Irrigation, Efficient Management Practices for Watering Crops

Tuesday, June 26, 6-8:30pm
Instructor: Charles Griffin, urban farmer
Cost: Free
Water is a valuable resource for market, as well as home and community, gardens. Instructor, Charles Griffin, will present strategies and practices that both conserve water and irrigate crops at appropriate stages of their development. In addition the importance of soil structure and building healthy garden soil will be covered in the class.

Hosted by the Civic Garden Center in collaboration with the City of Cincinnati Urban Agriculture Program / Office of Environmental Quality with funding by an EECBG / US Department of Energy grant.

The class is free, however advance registration is required.

To register please call 513-221-0981, extension 18

 

Integrated Pest Management

Thursday, June 28, 6-8pm
Instructor: Charles Griffin, urban farmer
Cost: Free
Insects provide us with valuable environmental services like pollination of flowering plants and promoting decomposition.  Insects also earn our contempt for chewing through garden crops, and feasting on our fruits. In this presentation you will learn some of the techniques that support ‘beneficial’ insects while discouraging ‘harmful’ insects without the use of toxic chemicals.
Hosted by the Civic Garden Center in collaboration with the City of Cincinnati Urban Agriculture Program. To register click here.

Family Fun in the Garden

Saturday, June 30, 10 am – 3 pm
Come explore the Civic Garden Center, Green Learning Station and Hauck Botanic Garden with your family during this day of summer outdoor fun. Your family will solve puzzles that lead you to different parts of our gardens, where you will find hands-on activities that include cooking, tasting, crafts, planting, critter hunting and water games. Come dressed ready to get wet and dirty.

July

Cooking all Summer Long: Mid-Summer Feast

Saturday, July 14, 10 am to noon
Instructors: Cecelia and Madeline Dorger
Cost: $15
Learn how to cook what is in season in mid-summer. The ingredients will depend on the weather but you will definitely learn some basic cooking skills and simple, fresh recipe ideas using seasonal produce… think fresh salsa and pesto.

 

Homegrown Medicine and Congo Fundraiser

Saturday, July 21, 9am-12
Instructors: Diantha Decker and Wes Duren, Marvin’s Organic Gardens
Cost: $50*
Around the world, since the dawn of mankind, people have looked to plants and nature for the cure to all manner of illness. Medicinal knowledge has been passed down and expanded upon as our understanding of science and the human body has deepened. Homegrown medicine gardening is empowering, exciting and a beautiful addition to any yard. Join us as we explore several incredibly unique and useful plants that you can grow and use to alleviate many common maladies. The first hour will be a talk about the plants and their uses and the next two hours will be a hands-on workshop creating herbal remedies such as salves, tinctures, compresses, teas, syrups, smudges and more. Everyone will have the option to take home a portion of the products they make, and we will have additional herbal products for sale.

*All proceeds from this event will go toward supporting our mission in the African Congo to promote Edible Food Forests.  

Preserving the Harvest: Water Bath Canning

Tuesday, July 31, 6-8pm
Instructors: Betsy DeMateo & Jennifer Even, OSU Extension Agency
Cost: $10 (free to CGC Volunteers)
Do you want to preserve fruit, jams, jellies, tomatoes, or salsa? Come find out how to can safely and efficiently. Make a delicious, high-quality product to give away or keep in your cupboard! With Water Bath Canning you can preserve your garden harvest to enjoy throughout the year.

 

August

Cooking all Summer Long: Garden Bounty

Saturday, Aug 4, 10 am to noon
Instructors: Jamie Stoneham, Gorman Heritage Farm cooking instructor
Cost: $15
Learn healthy recipes for preparing the staples of the late summer and fall garden: greens, tomatoes (red and green), squash and more. Jamie will provide new twists on classic southern recipes and give you great ideas for eating the same locally harvested foods night after night without getting bored!

Food Preservation Methods: Freezing, Drying, Pickling and Fermenting

Tuesday, August 7, 6-8pm
Instructor: Besty DeMateo & Jennifer Even, OSU Extension Agency, Hamilton County
Cost: $10 (free for CGC Volunteers)
Discover even more ways to make your harvest last longer by fermenting and drying your vegetables. Sauerkraut is just one way to preserve cabbage, but you can also make a delicious Kimchi! Tomatoes, fruits, squash and others can be dried for a taste of garden freshness even through the winter. Don't miss this opportunity to stretch your garden harvest for months longer!

 

Growing Roses in Cincinnati: Session 3

Saturday, August18, 10-11:30 am
Instructor:  Bob Lavieri
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
We will be focused on pruning and winter preparation. We will talk about how to finish the season strong and prepare our roses for a great start to the next growing season.