How to Grill Sweet Corn

My OSU Extension Franklin County colleague, Jenny Lobb, and I have been working on a project that pairs our two program areas( Agriculture and Natural Resources with Family and Consumer Sciences) together for a little social outreach.  Plus we both really like sweet corn.

We will be working on more videos featuring growing and cooking with fresh seasonable produce so be sure to check back.

What to Plant NOW for Your Fall Garden Webinar Recording

This virtual class event was held in partnership with the Growing and Growth Collective on 8/27.  We still have lots of time to grow food and fall is a dynamite season for growing.  The bugs start to leave,  the heat improves and the rain comes back.  Click on the link to learn what you can plant NOW for fall.

 

 

 

Some other supportive webinars and links referenced in the Fall Garden Class to support your fall growing. 

Seed Starting Webinar

Seed Starting Video

Container Gardening Webinar

No Garden? No Problem! Container Gardening Informative Post

 

2020 Urban Gardening Grant RFP is OPEN on August 28th

The RFP for the 2020 Urban Gardening grant opens on August 28th.  This grant is a partnership with the City of Columbus, Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and Franklin County to fund community gardening and urban agriculture.   To view the details, please visit the grant page at the Columbus Foundation

 

 

CLICK HERE for the link to the 2020 Urban Gardening Grant page.

What to Plant NOW for Fall Virtual Class Event in partnership with the Growing and Growth Collective on Thursday August 27th @ 6:30pm

There will be a virtual class event held on Thursday August 27th @ 6:30 pm to talk about what you can plant to get a harvest into fall.  This will be held in partnership with the Growing and Growth Collective.  The class is free, but registration is required, so bring your friends and your questions!

 

You can follow them for great garden pics and updates on Insta or Facebook.

Hi there,

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Aug 27, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://osu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kd-irqz8pG9dJpur1V8bn307pKCl5bGbd

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

 

Virtual Summer Garden Walk at Family Farms on Tuesday August 25th @ 6:30pm

There will be a virtual summer garden walk class event held in partnership with the south side urban farm Family Farms.  This event is free, but does require registration.  Bring your friends and your questions as we virtually visit Family Farms on Tuesday August 25th @ 6:30 pm.

Hi there,

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Aug 25, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://osu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAkfuigrzIiEtT6s4l2503xHuWn2gNjo0DU

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

See you at the (virtual) farm!

Talking Tomatoes and Panzanella in the Veggie Trials Garden with the OSUMC James Mobile Kitchen Team

With the restrictions for in person education due to COVID-19 impacting our programming, we have moved into the virtual world to continue to support backyard growers, community gardeners and urban farmers.  The Ross Heart Hospital Community Garden was unable to get their plots planted for production, education and outreach but when Chef Katie and Chef Stephanie contacted me a couple months ago about co-teaching to provide the Ross Heart Hospital clients with an option for virtual learning I jumped at the opportunity.

Chef Stephanie on the left, Chef Katie on the right

The original plan was to stream the class from the demonstration kitchen at my office at the Kunz Brundige Franklin County Extension building, but the weather was too nice to not take advantage of the Veggie Trials Garden.

 

No possible better evening for teaching.  We set up right in the middle of the garden.

 

After I was done talking tomatoes, it was time for the Panzanella cooking demonstration

CLICK the image to watch the Tomatoes and Panzanella video

 

It was as delicious tasting as it was looking.

After the cooking demonstration we took the attendees on a virtual tour of Veggie Trials with a question and answer session so that they could talk about what they had growing at home. Panzanella uses a tremendous amount of vegetables that are being harvested right now and is a delicious way to enjoy your harvest in a heart healthy way.

 

Nutrition Information (per ¼ recipe):

Calories: 330   Fat: 11 g   Carbs: 45 g    Protein: 12 g     Fiber: 11 g   Sodium: 440mg

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/nutrition-services

https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/rossgarden

 

Would you like to view, print, or download the Panzanella recipe?  CLICK HERE –> Panzanella – Ross Garden

A huge thanks to Chef Katie and Chef Stephanie for their expertise and  including OSU Extension Franklin County in their outreach.  Next months class will be sweet corn, hopefully out in the garden again!

 

Can You Dig It! Fall Gardening Series Class #5: Late Summer Walk in the Community Garden Virtual Class Event on Wednesday August 26th @ Noon

The Can You Dig It! virtual gardening series, a partnership between OSU Extension Franklin County and OSU University Libraries, continues with our 5th class of the year,  a virtual late summer garden walk to talk weather, harvest, fall planning, pests, weeds, disease and answer your questions about your own gardens.  This class is free, but registration is required so bring your friends and your questions.

Wallace Community Garden, original Victory Garden remnant.

 

CLICK HERE to register for the zoom link.  There is no cost for the class, but registration is required.  Hope to see you all in the garden!

Free Fall Vegetable Garden Seed Distribution on Sunday August 16th and Monday August 17th

There will be a free fall vegetable garden seed distribution at the Kunz Brundige Franklin County Extension building at the dates shown below at the listed times.

For questions contact Mike Hogan.1@osu.edu

Starting Fall Seeds Indoors

Ohio is a four season growing state.  Fall is a great season to grow in as the weather improves with the heat decreasing, rain comes back and there is still plenty of light outside for vegetable production.

The weather projection is looking decent for a warm fall, which means we may get a little extra time for growing down the line.  I use the NOAA weather prediction as a guide for my planting throughout the year.

Right now it is looking like a greater chance of a warm fall and an equal chance for normal precipitation.  That is making me plant a few more summer vegetables for fall harvest.  I can always throw row cover over it for an overnight frost.

Right now there is still time to plant lots of vegetables.  I will start the cucumber, yellow squash, and zucchini under the lights as my heavy clay impedes germination when it dries out.

I also started lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli raab, bok choi and a last little bit of basil.  The cool season crops will germinate and mature indoors then go out later in September when it cools down a bit.  I will do multiple plantings of lettuce indoors and at least one more of bok choi.

If you want to try your hand at seed starting I have lots of links on Growing Franklin to share.

Outdoors right now there is still time to plant summer cucurbits, beets, carrots, swiss chard, most brassica greens plus green beans in terms of summer crops.  I will hold off on outdoor cool season plantings of spinach, arugula, lettuce, turnips and radishes for now and wait until closer to Labor Day.

The goal is to have harvest all the way through Thanksgiving dinner and it is almost always possible.

Picture taken Mid-October. Notice due to delayed planting their are no cucumber beetles or stink bugs infesting the plants.

If you have some free space in your garden I recommend you take advantage of the time left for planting.  With a little planning and some frost protection you can extend your harvest deep into the fall and even into the Winter.