Funds allowed us to purchase materials for our new cold frames. Several have been built, planted in, harvested from and used to teach students from the Cleveland Municipal School District about eating locally and season-extension in Northeast Ohio. We were able to install a crop of radishes with some success before the first of the polar vortices came through and took their toll. We will be planting lettuces and endives in the cold frames in the coming weeks and harvesting from them in the coming months; a full 6-8 weeks before we could normally plant and harvest the same crops without the frames. The remainder of the as of yet unbuilt frames, are scheduled to be done so before the end of the month.
The other large portion of the grant funds allowed us to upgrade and expand our hydroponics activities by purchasing new and additional grow lights. Renovations of our hydroponic system are underway and should be completed before the end of the month at which point the lights which have been purchased, will be installed and the system will be put back into use shortly thereafter.
We expect to take full advantage of the items that we were able to purchase with the grant funds and the progress that we were able to make before the end of this winter season. These additions and improvements to our existing program should serve us for many years to come.
I am happy to be able to report on our progress and look forward to answering any questions and to give further updates as requested.
Sincerely,
Chris Bond
Farm Horticulturist/ Farm Food Program Coordinator/ Instructor at the Laura and Alvin Siegel Lifelong Learning Program
Case Western Reserve University Farm 37125 Fairmount Blvd. Hunting Valley, OH 44022
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