Ohio Bio is run by Carl who has been a grower for many years and participated in the Market Gardener Training Program this spring.  He is currently growing produce at three different sites throughout the city.  In addition to growing pumpkins, tomatoes, and carrots at his new one-acre farm in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood this season, he is also focused on building healthy and fertile soil.

Growing a variety of cover crops including buckwheat, vetch, and sorghum-sudangrass this season will add organic matter and nitrogen to the soil that will ensure healthy production for years to come.  Carl has also been working with City Fresh Youth, providing them an opportunity to see the evolution of a vacant lot to a productive farm.

Wonder City Farm is located on the near west side of Cleveland.  Emmy and Jessica participated in the training program this spring and were the recipient of a City Fresh Seed Grant to help cover start-up costs for their garden.  This season they have provided beets, carrots, greens, and herbs to City Fresh to be included in the market share bags that are sold at the Fresh Stops.  Emmy and Jessica have also been collecting organic waste materials from area restaurants in their effort to reduce waste and recycle these nutrients in their compost system for use at their garden site.  In the future they hope to expand their outreach to the local community and neighborhood youth and offer a variety of educational opportunities in the garden.

EcoVillage Produce is comprised of four market gardeners, Margaret, Barbara, Marilyn and Peter, who completed the training this spring.  Their market garden is located on the near west side of Cleveland at the Ithaca Court Community Garden.  They are growing a variety of produce this year from popcorn and peanuts to tomatillos and greens.  EcoVillage Produce has provided a variety of herbs, cooking greens including bok choi and collards and lettuce mix for the City Fresh share bags this growing season.  They hope to expand their sales to local ethnic restaurants in Detroit-Shoreway in future growing seasons.

Meagen was a participant in City Fresh's inaugural market gardener training. She is currently developing a site on the near west side of Cleveland. A former parking lot, located near the middle of the block, she has been coordinating with the city's Urban Forestry Department to dump truckloads of wood chips on the blacktop to create an organic foundation for her garden beds. She is also planting native plants that thrive in moist conditions to help manage some of the runoff from neighboring parking lots. Meagen plans to start building soil on top of her wood chip base by collecting organic waste from neighborhood residents and local restaurants. Her garden is located near a day care center and many of the kids at the center have taken an active interest in her project and as her garden develops she hopes to include the kids and their families and the staff in the garden.