October, September 24, 2006 – 7:00 p.m.
Museum of Biological Diversity
1315 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH
COMPOST TEA FOR THE ORGANIC GARDEN
RON HOWELL, owner of Howell’s Tree and Landscape Service, will provide our group with a demonstration and explanation of how compost tea is used in the organic garden to enhance the quantity of good beneficial bacteria and fungi, leaving no space on the plant leaves for bad fungi to grow. Also, he will explain the use of compost tea in the fall as a soil dressing to super-charge the organic matter already present. Ron will have slides to share and will have a microscope available so we can see the activity that is happening in the compost tea.
Ron is a Certified Arborist and has owned his tree care business for 35 years. He employs 5 Certified Arborists, 2 of which are also Certified Horticulturists, as well as 2 Certified Landscape Installers. Each of his employees has over 15 years of experience in his field of expertise. Ron is a Board Member of the International Society of Arboriculture.
This should be a very enlightening presentation and you are encouraged to
bring a friend or neighbor who might also be interested in attending.
PLEASE NOTE: For security reasons, the Museum has asked that we lock the entrance doors 30 minutes after our meeting begins, therefore, you are urged to plan to arrive promptly.
Refreshments and beverages will be served following the program, allowing time for mingling and sharing gardening experiences with others in attendance. We look forward to seeing you on the 24th.
Click here to get a map & directions to our meeting!
Kent's resignation letter:
Dear Members,
It is with a feeling of sadness and great anticipation that I must step down
as your president. In a nutshell, I am going to turn a new page in life to
become an organic vegetable farmer. This club has helped fuel my fire. I
am grateful to all of you for sharing your time and your thoughts with me
and everyone else. You have been a part of this new change for me and I am
thankful to you. We have been looking to buy a farm in Ohio for about a year.
The new revolution is to buy food from local farms. This removes the transportation
layer out of food costs. It takes about 1000 calories of energy to ship 20 calories
of food to you across the country and to your table. This old model was based
on cheap fuel, which we have no longer.
What I wanted was an urban farm. What we’ve discovered is that Ohio has
no laws for protecting urban farms. The developers have too much clout with politicians
to preserve farms near cities in Ohio. Yet, massive evidence shows that within
the next 30 years we as a nation will have to import 40% of our food supply.
This just doesn’t make sense. We are literally biting the hand that feeds
us.
The stigma against large smelly commercial farms is applied to fresh smelling
small farms that are managed properly. Its pure public ignorance to pursue zoning
that pushes small farms away, the innocent neighbors, disconnecting our community
and children even further from connection to the land. If I had bought land in
Ohio I’d have to live out in the sticks away from art and culture or risk
losing my farm to development and perhaps even eminent domain. Ohio is pursuing
a future filled with shopping malls and sports stadiums that sell imported food,
with urban decay left in its wake.
This combined with the failing health of my parents convinced me to look elsewhere
in the country closer to my folks. We found our farm in central MA and it is
backed up against hundreds of acres of preserved forest two hours from my parents.
It is 30 minutes from a city and 60 miles from Boston. So we are moving our lives
to do this. It is a wonderland filled with over 100 species of edible fruit trees
and plants. I’ve got my work cut out for me.
As your president it became very hard to find lecturers. It might be a good
idea to merge with OEFFA so that members could get a cut in bulk seed and
all the other perks OEFFA could offer, including perhaps getting some new
lecturers. I also want to say there were several occasions where I had
NO luck in finding anyone and Gertrude bailed me out by finding someone.
The heart of this club really is Gertrude, she is so much better connected
than I. Please give up your help for her or risk losing her. The club remains
alive by a delicate thread and yet Ohio needs this club to promote education.
I will miss each of you for your special contributions to my knowledge
but rest assured your time with me was well spent, and now I carry a Torch.
Peace and blessings to everyone and happy organic gardening! Kent Byron
ORGANIC GARDENING CLUB
OF CENTRAL OHIO
Gertrude Rasor, Secretary
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
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ORGANIC GARDENING CLUB OF CENTRAL OHIO