Back in the dirt

It is 1:30 on Saturday afternoon. (4/21/2012) and I am still on the couch. Went to Findlay Market earlier for coffee and to the West End community garden project to drop off my key from last year. I will be getting paid to garden this summer (PT hours) in historic Over-the-Rhine adjacent to downtown Cincinnati, OH. Above are some pictures of the garden in its early stages for summer production. I have been working a lot this week and going to interviews and my apartment is a wreck so only have time right now for a short post, but just want to say that I am proud of myself for getting this internship. Even though the pay is not great it is doing what I spent many years of my life learning how to do, and it is something I can do unsupervised and I enjoy the work. Also I feel like I am providing a living demonstration for the impoverished community surrounding the farm. It is my hope that eventually the local residents will be able to work this urban farm and I can move on to other projects once this one is established. I know that not many people can do this type of work in this place/time, so that makes me also proud. This is the kind of thing I was hoping to be involved with when I returned to Cincinnati in 2005 from my travels out west.
One thought I would like to leave you with before I tackle cleaning every dish in my kitchen is that, as a gardener, one must really respect the tenacity of weeds. I spent time weeding this urban farm this week and had the thought: name one garden annual that if you rip the top off and much of the root mass will spring back within days! Every gardener loves to hate weeds, and I have worked in some gardens where weeds were not a problem, but this takes lots of time and effort (especially if you are using organic methods). In any garden you will always be fighting weeds, but once you have them in check, gardening becomes a real delight, requiring only occasional light weeding.
This garden, named Relish the Garden will be supplying a handful of restaurants (including Local 127, Lavomatic) over the summer with fresh, organically grown produce. Its on Walnut St. just south of Liberty if you are familiar with downtown Cincinnati so feel free to drop by and check on the progress. Lately I have been working on Thursdays and Fridays.