First Rain Barrel Installed!!

Stoddart Avenue Community Garden receives the first rain barrel from a Grant funded by the city and managed by the Tool Library!



RTCO's Tool Library has joined forces with the City of Columbus, Community Garden Partners, and Rain Brothers to offer free rain barrel and connecting irrigation supplies for Land Bank Community Gardens across Columbus!

Stoddart Avenue was the first community garden to receive a 300-gallon rain barrel tank, solar pump, hoses, and first-time water fill-up - all installed by Rain Brothers free to the garden.  When winter comes, the community garden will collect any weather-sensitive items together and store them at the Tool Library until next spring. They will receive free training on the proper use, maintenance, and winterization of the materials.  If they ever have technical difficulties with their rain catching system, Rain Brothers will be available to trouble-shoot.  The 2012 growing season has been so dry, no one can deny the benefit of rain catching irrigation systems in community gardens across the city!

Any land bank community garden interested in receiving a free rain barrel system, please contact the Tool Library: Tool.Library@rtcentralohio.org, 614-258-6392.  Another benefit of this program is that you automatically become a member of the Tool Library.  You do not need to be a 501(c)3.

Requirements to receive the 300 or 550 gallon irrigation system include:

• Community Gardens must be in their second year of good standing with the City Land Bank
• A copy of the lease between the garden partner and the City
• Proof of ID for three garden members who will also be allowed to check out tools

To read more about the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden, click here: http://stoddartgarden.blogspot.com/2012/08/sacg-welcomes-second-rain-tank-and.html

Squash Bugs

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As mentioned in the previous post, we have been dealing with these mean guys in our zucchini plants. They are called Squash Bugs and they are generally attracted to the different Cucurbits, such as yellow squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. They are a terrible pest to have in your garden, as they suck the sap out of those plants.

Continued Harvest

Here at RTCO we have had some pretty successful crops so far this year. We have seen large amounts of tomatoes, yellow squash, potatoes, and we are starting to see some green beans.

The results have been some great looking produce. With consistent watering, we have been able to grow a pretty considerable amount of vegetables throughout the season. With cucumbers, more beans, cabbage, and collards in the ground, we still have some exciting things to look forward to this summer.

Fixing A Hole

There was a brief scare at the Demo Garden the other day, as our hose recently fell victim to a small puncture. It can't really be determined  what caused the issue, but I suspect it was just an old hose that had one or two too many vehicles run over it in its time.

Tomato-Mania!

Our tomato harvest has begun over at the RTCO Demonstration Garden. We have accumulated a great variety of tomatoes so far (as noted in the photo above) and we are now met with the challenge of what to do with them. If you are a member of the Tool Library, or want to become one, feel free to stop by the Lobby at RTCO and pick up a few of these fine looking tomaters.