Growing Value Nursery 2025 Fall Plant Selection

Find out what we’re carrying this fall at Growing Value Edible Nursery! We have selections for every layer of your food forest, specially chosen for what does best in our bioregion and growing zone.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This list reflects everything we’ve ordered, but may NOT show what we currently have in stock. If you are looking for something specific, we strongly recommend calling (513) 259-3504 or emailing cpinursery@gmail.com to check on what is available.

FOOD FOREST TREES

APPLE

• Domestic (pollinator)

• Golden Delicious

• Liberty, 2yr semidwarf

• Pristine, dwarf

• Pristine, semidwarf

• Ruby Rush

• Zestar

ASIAN PEAR

• Hosui

• Shinseiki

• Yoinashi

BASSWOOD/LINDEN, American

CHERRY

• Balaton (tart)

• Coral Champagne

• Shelan

CHESTNUT, Chinese

DOGWOOD, Gray

ELDERBERRY

• Adams

• Bob Gordon

• Marge

• Pocahontas

• Ranch (Lg, Sm)

• Wyldewood (Lg, Sm)

• York

FIG

• Olympian

• Chicago Hardy

HAWTHORN

• Russian/Black

• Green

HAZELNUT

• Jefferson

• European Hybrid

MULBERRY

• American/red

• Wild seedlings

NECTARINE

• Earliglo

• Summer Beaut

OAK FAMILY

• Bur

• Swamp White

PAWPAW

PEACH

• Gala

• Indian Free

• Indian Blood

PEAR

• Shenandoah (Lg/Sm)

• Magness

PERSIMMON

• American

• Asian, Fuyu

• Prairie Star

PLUM

• Black, P. Nigra

• Victory

• Vision

SUMAC, Staghorn

TRIFOLIATE ORANGE

WALNUT FAMILY

• Heartnut

• Hican - Dooley Burton

• Hican - Clarksville

• Hican - McCallister

WILLOW, Basketry varieties

NITROGEN FIXERS

• Black Locust

• False Indigo, A. fruticosa

• Honey Locust

• KY Coffee

• Redbud

• Siberian Pea Shrub

FRUITING SHRUBS & VINES

ARONIA

• From seeds of cultivars

• Mckenzie

• Viking

BLACKBERRY

• Apache

• Caddo

• Chester

• Thornless, variety unknown

BLUEBERRY

• Blue Sunset

• Chippewa

• Duke

• NorthBlue

BUSH CHERRY

• Jan Bush

• Joel

• Joy

CURRANT

• Titania Black

• Imperial White

• Consort Black

GOJI BERRY

• Phoenix Tears

GOOSEBERRY

• Amish Red

• Pixwell

• Black Velvet

• Captivator

• Black

• Jahns Prairie

• Unknown var.

GOUMI BERRY

• Sweet Scarlet

• Red Gem

HONEYBERRY

• Aurora

• Beast

• Beauty

• Blizzard

• Czech 17

• Indigo Gem

• Indigo Treat

• Mystery variety

• Tundra

HOPS

• Centennial

• Fuggle

• Horizon

• Mystery variety

• Sterling

• Sunbeam

JOSTABERRY, Black (Lg/Sm)

JUJUBE, Lang

KIWI

• Anna

• Arctic Beauty Female

• Arctic Beauty Male

• Geneva 3

• Male (unknown)

• MI State

PASSIONFLOWER, Native

RASPBERRY

• Anne Yellow

• Boyne Red

• Caroline Red

• Double Gold

• Fall Gold

• Heritage Red

• Jewel Black

• Nova Red

• Royalty Purple

• Wine, Red

ROSE

• Rugosa

• Swamp

SEABERRY

• Male

• Sirola

• Seedlings, unsexed

SERVICEBERRY

• Western

SPICEBUSH, Native

HERBACEOUS, GROUND COVER, ROOTS & FORAGE

ANISE HYSSOP

ASPARAGUS

• Purple Passion

• Mary Washington

BAPTISIA, Blue

BEE BALM, M. Didyma

BEE BALM/WILD BERGAMOT, M. Fistulosa

BLACK EYED SUSAN

BLUE ASTER

BLUE FLAG NATIVE IRIS

BUTTERFLYWEED

COLUMBINE

COMFREY

• Large Leaf

• Seedless

COMPASS PLANT

CONEFLOWER, E. angustifolia & E. purpurea

CUPFLOWER

DAHLIA

EGYPTIAN WALKING ONION

FO-TI (Polygonum multiflorum - Traditional Chinese Medicine herb)

GARLIC CHIVES

GINGER, Native

GOLDENSEAL

GOTU KOLA (Centella asiatica - Traditional Chinese Medicine herb)

HORSERADISH

HORSETAIL

LANCE LEAF COREOPSIS

LAVENDER

LEMON BALM

MOTHERWORT

MOUNTAIN MINT

MULLEIN

NETTLES, Stinging

PRAIRIE CLOVER

PRICKLY PEAR

RATTLESNAKE MASTER

RHUBARB

ROSEMARY

SAGE, Culinary

SAGEBRUSH (ARTEMISIA)

SELF-HEAL

SOCHAN (CUTLEAF CONEFLOWER)

SOLOMON’S SEAL

• Variegated

• Native

SPIDERWORT

STRAWBERRIES

• mixed varieties

• Jewel

• Honeoye

• Gensic

• Earliglo

• AC Valley

SUNCHOKE (JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE)

SWAMP MILKWEED

SWEET FLAG

THYME

VALERIAN

Howard Zuefle: Nurseryman, Yogi, Linchpin

Since coming to serve as Nursery Manager at Growing Value Nursery, Howard “Howie” Zuefle has proved himself to be invaluable to Cincinnati Permaculture Institute on so many levels: teacher, nursery manager, advisor, designer, installer, consultant, guide, friend. He wears these hats as easily as he wears his winning smile. He says he owes it all to his basic desire to eat well. Wild forage of food and organic growing of food are among his many passions and pathways to that end. 

His knowledge and experience, combined with his community network in East Price Hill, and other Cincinnati neighborhoods, made him the likely force with both the “Seeds of Change” and the “Boots on the Ground” programs, funded by grants we received in 2024-25. He rather single-handedly consulted, designed, selected, instructed, and installed alongside more than a dozen of our 27 Food Champions at their sites.

All while he was creating and managing the perennial edible nursery stock at CPIs Growing Value Nursery. He takes skillful care of our plants, the high quality of which continues to be praised by GVN customers.

More on Howard Zuefle in his own words:

Howard has been on his journey to find a way of living that integrates our human role in our local ecology for a good while now.  For him it took a car accident to motivate him to look beyond the quick fixes mainstream culture throws at us.  

The journey started in studying neuroscience and psychology at University of Cincinnati.  Then a clear need to be outside took the steering wheel, which brought an internship at the Civic Garden Center, a Permaculture Design Course with CPI, Foraging Mentors, Farming Mentors, and the rich Earth centered community of Cincinnati into his life.  

That was all on the going towards the connection with nature outside of himself part; there was also a coming into his own nature side of the journey by integrating the experience, which has involved embodiment practices, somatic experiencing, yoga, grounding/earthing, and learning to stay with the uncomfortable parts of living.

Finding local food, water, and the community that it takes to allow those to happen has been another major variable on the journey.  When one finds real food and the nourishing feeling that accompanies it there is no going back.

Howard is always looking to do Permaculture consultations, Botanical surveys, Nature Education, lead Foraging excursions and support others on their journey to a harmonious way of living. You can email him at HowGround@proton.me.

Calling All Permaculture Designers: Help Us Relieve a Design Bottleneck

In 2025, Cincinnati Permaculture Institute was introduced to and began a friendly partnership with another local organization with a complementary mission to our own: Food Not Lawns, a mutual aid group with a permaculture foundation. Both organizations envision a more resilient future in which food consumers become food producers, and grow food (and other essential lifestyle staples) in a way that is beneficial for the Earth we all rely on. A better, more sustainable way of life that we believe is entirely possible and within our power to create.

The good news: there is a growing awareness of and demand for sustainable, edible landscaping & environmental design in and around Cincinnati, and between our two organizations (and other mutual partners), we have a potentially huge community of willing hands and hearts who could be planting food forests all over the city and surrounding counties.

The issue? We have a bottleneck.

Lots of sites to design for, lots of volunteers ready to implement and maintain, but for the time being, only a handful of trained permaculturists currently engaged in the work to get us from Idea to Execution. It’s preventing us from taking on more than a project or two at a time and building momentum.

That’s where you come in… we hope!

CPI has graduated more than 350 permaculture designers in the last 15+ years, and we just know that the skills to solve this bottleneck are out there, right in our backyard. Skills like:

• Creating basemaps and using design software

• Assessing the water, sun, slope, soil, and other key landscape features to inform design

• Plant selection and companion/guild planting for a food forest or edible garden

• Planning phases of implementation

Think small scale residential yard upgrade, not whole-site comprehensive design or large undeveloped sites, and you’ll have a sense of the scope of work.

What’s that…you don’t think you can do it? You’re not experienced enough? Not a pro? Out of practice?

Well, there’s no cure for Impostor Syndrome like proof, and projects like these are a great way to gain experience and put a few more designs under your belt until that “I can’t…” voice in your head is replaced with “I did!” Whether you’re a recent PDC graduate or it’s been a few seasons since your class design project, you’re qualified to do this!

Our teacher Felix Marisa has been laying the groundwork for collaboration between CPI and Food Not Lawns, using a “design jam” model for collaborative design that anyone can replicate, and would be available to help coach and facilitate any designers wanting to get involved.

If you are interested, please use the form below to contact Felix by email:

Food Champions of Cincinnati: Mary Dudley

In 2024, CPI received a generous grant award from the City of Cincinnati's Boots on the Ground program and set about growing and nurturing ten “Food Champions" around the west side of the city. This year, we are inviting our Food Champs to share their stories. In this article we’d like to introduce you to Mary Dudley.

Mary is a pivotal person in the CPI Food Champions stories. Her tireless efforts weaving community through gardening has brought more connections than we can count. She tells her own story below…

Mary on the back porch of her Westwood home near Mt Airy Forest

I am a seeds & soil kinda gal.

I find my fondest moments are those when I am filled to the brim with excitement as I prepare soil for a new garden bed, stirring the black compost with soft brown peat. Since my daily schedule is unpredictable, the time to fill and seed these freshly churned beds occasionally falls under a shining moon and I go to bed soil streaked and hoping for a gentle rain to awaken the sleeping seeds. Once the seeds germinate and put on new growth, I nurture them with trellising structures compiled from unused items pieced together with love and twine. My passion is for the resilience of the plants who boldly root themselves and make life blossom in the face of rain, wind, drought and heat, fending off pressures from herbivores along the way. I love sharing my plant fascination with others and working together to protect the fertile spaces of our community for many generations to come. 

My current volunteer work through the nonprofit Westwood Grows (started in 2022 in an effort to support public gardens in the Westwood neighborhood of Cincinnati) focuses on celebrating neighbors who plant native gardens, cultivating community through seed and plant swaps, and empowering those who sustain existing food forest installations in the community with tools and education.

While a bountiful harvest of fresh produce is desired, the real value lies in the daily interactions I have with neighbors turned friends in the form of compost conversations, texts with fuzzy pictures and questions of identification, smiles shared from snacking in the garden, and friendly honks from drivers who wave their gratitude as we pull up weeds along the road. It is through these relationships I am the most nourished. 

To learn more about Westwood Grows and meet the team, visit our website: www.westwoodgrows.org and check out our upcoming events including plant swaps at the Westwood Farmers Market and the Westwood Native Garden Walking Tour hosted in collaboration with Seeding Community.

Growing together,

Mary Dudley, she/her
Botanist, Educator, Nurturer
Website / YouTube / LinkedIn

Food Champions of Cincinnati: Q&A with Heather Sayre

In 2024, CPI received a generous grant award from the City of Cincinnati's Boots on the Ground program and set about growing and nurturing ten “Food Champions" around the west side of the city. This year, we are inviting our Food Champs to share their stories.

This month, meet Heather Sayre and learn about her project “Endaknorr” in South Fairmont:

About Heather:

I have experience in urban agriculture, occupational therapy, and community organizing. I completed the permaculture design course in 2008 with Braden and Ande’s first cohort in Cincinnati, grew vegetables for Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage and various WWOOF opportunities, led garden classes at Parker Woods Montessori, started a resident garden at Brookside Intermittent Care Facility, supported community integration groups gardening at Village Green, and worked for Wildwood Flora flower farm. I currently work at Working In Neighborhoods, where I coordinate Beekman Community Market.  I studied occupational therapy to become an educated advocate for my daughter who has CriDuChat and feel that my work with food is a branch of the philosophy of occupation. I believe that participation in food producing activities is an essential component of the human experience, and that everyone deserves to have access to the opportunity to interact with the life forms that give them sustenance. I enjoy making brooms, baskets, bouquets, and preserving bunny furs, attending my son’s music and theatre performances, and helping my daughter participate in be well programs.

About Endaknorr:

Endaknorr is a Food Playground located on a 5 acre property at the end of Knorr Avenue in South Fairmount. The goal is to provide a public space where kids can play in the company of food bearing plants with shared community supervision. The site has been subjected to dumping for generations, so the plum terrace, berry grotto, and persimmon bank are all no dig installations. We used logs, bramble, and chips that were harvested in the neighborhood as well as purchased compost to build up the soil. There is room for additional installations as more honeysuckle is harvested.

What motivated you to do this?

I love this property because I grew up eating mulberries and looking for treasures in the dump as I walked past. The closest playground or park is over a mile away in any direction, so kids play in the street and come over to my house to play in the gardens, visit rabbits, read, and play piano. I love the privilege of teaching the kids in my neighborhood. I have wanted to create structure so that I can expect when to see them, and they can expect when I am open to supervising them. The location of the food playground on the curb gives play space to the kids, gives my home more privacy (because sometimes I need to rest), and gives more adults the opportunity to participate in line of sight supervision. As much as I like finding treasures in the dump, I hope that the installation results in less dumping, because I would rather spend my time planting, weeding, and harvesting.

Who is your audience? Who helped out?

Twelve kids between the ages of 2 and 11 who live up to four blocks away (plus kids in my family) have participated in garden projects at Endaknorr in the past year. Their attendance is sporadic and unpredictable. A newly designed structure uses prizes to reinforce communication with caregivers and skill building.

The installation of the new zone was assisted by Susan Vonderhaar, Krystal Gallagher, Jules Brookbank, Chad Reed, Renu Bakhshi, Anna Taylor, and Bill Heibroch (of South Fairmount Community Council). Working In Neighborhoods assisted with directing the focus of the demonstration project toward the curb. Growing Value supplied plants, and Hafners’ supplied soil.

How did the project help grow community?

Our neighborhood lacks adult gathering places as well. I enjoy waving and chatting with neighbors while working on the project. A few neighbors have asked what I was doing, and one offered to help! I am planning to host a block party at the food playground this summer so that everyone can come out and learn what it’s all about and how to enjoy the space. 

Adopting the framework of a permaculture demonstration site has allowed me to feel comfortable asking for help implementing my design. Neighbors from former residences came to work with me. I connected with a professor at UC whose students need places to study browsing patterns. I’m excited for the whole property to be a demonstration, and am getting better about talking about it.

How did the project help grow food?

Endaknorr replaced invasive honeysuckle with a diverse selection of perennial plants that produce fruit, nuts, berries, biomass, and more. The food playground makes the skills related to food production a normal part of the environment as our youth mature, and provides prizes for learning new skills. I have been able to add one or two perennials to the property each year since I moved here. The support of the CPI project allowed me to plant 27 new plants as well as purchase tools so that I can work at the same time as guests.

What do you see as future impacts? What kind of vision do you have for this or other sites going forward?

The youth of Endaknorr are going to grow up experiencing food forests, not dumps, as the norm. They are going to know how to grow food. There is going to be a diverse seed bank for them to propagate from and take to their property, where they will teach the next generation.  Cincinnati can be a food paradise where all the extra little spaces are planted with food crops. Endaknorr can become an example for that. I have a nice notebook of ideas for play features that engage all of the senses (not just the 5, but also temporal, vestibular, etc.), train motor and cognitive skills, and direct food production skills. I’m looking forward to continuing to create as well as plant as more honeysuckle moves. 

Based on your experience, what can you advise to mentor a new, budding food, champ?

Advocate for your idea as much as you advocate for others’. Focus on one spot at a time. Dream big, work small. Start, and then keep going. Plan the start time as soon as you plan to do the project- time goes by really fast. Additional planning can come after starting, especially if you have invasives to harvest. They need to get harvested so you can really see the space. Design is a lot about planning the end point, make sure to design micro phases.

Growing Value Nursery 2025 Spring Plant Selection

Find out what we’re carrying this year at Growing Value Edible Nursery! We have selections for every layer of your food forest, specially chosen for what does best in our bioregion and growing zone.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This list reflects everything we’ve ordered, but may NOT show what we currently have in stock. If you are looking for something specific, we strongly recommend calling (513) 259-3504 or emailing cpinursery@gmail.com to check on what is available.

Scroll to the bottom of the list for a gallery that includes pricing information on all varieties.

FOOD FOREST TREES

APPLE

• Domestic

• Liberty (Dwarf)

• Liberty (SemiDw, Lg/Sm)

• Grimes Golden

• Ruby Rush (Lg/Sm)

• NY 35

• Goldrush

• Dolgo Crab

• Zestar

• Pristine (Dwarf)

• Pristine (SemiDwarf)

• Golden Delicious

ASIAN PEAR

• Hosui

• Yoinashi

• Shinseiki

BASSWOOD/LINDEN, American

CHERRY

• Balaton (tart)

• Chelan

• Coral Champagne

• Evans Bali

• Sam

• Skeena

• Sweet Heart

CHESTNUT, Chinese

DOGWOOD, Gray

ELDERBERRY

• Adams

• Bob Gordon

• Marge

• Ranch (Lg/Sm)

• Wyldewood (Lg/Sm)

• Pocahontas

• York

FIG

• Olympian

• Chicago Hardy

HAWTHORN

• Russian/Black

• Green

HAZELNUT

• Beaked

• Jefferson

• European Hybrid

MULBERRY, American/Red

NECTARINE

• Earliglo

• Summer Beaut

OAK FAMILY

• Bur

• Red

• Swamp White

PAWPAW - LOW STOCK

• Native (Lg/Sm)

• Allegheny

• Sunflower

PEACH

• Gala

• Bounty

• Indian Free

• Indian Blood

PEAR

• Shenandoah (Lg/Sm)

• Magness

PERSIMMON

• American

• Prairie Star

PLUM

• Black, P. Nigra

• Fortune

• Victory

• Vision

SUMAC, Staghorn

TRIFOLIATE ORANGE

WALNUT FAMILY

• Heartnut

• Hican - Dooley Burton

• Hican - Clarksville

• Hican - McCallister

NITROGEN FIXERS

• Buttonbush (NOT EDIBLE)

• False Indigo

• Redbud

• KY Coffee

• Honey Locust

• Black Locust

• Siberian Pea Shrub

• Wisteria, American

• Groundnut, Apios

FRUITING SHRUBS & VINES

ARONIA

• McKenzie

• Viking

• Black (Lg/Sm)

BLACKBERRY

• Caddo

• Apache

• Chester

• Thornless (unknown var.)

BLUEBERRY

• Northland

• Chippewa

• Blue Sunset

• Duke

• Robeson

BUSH CHERRY

CURRANT

• Consort Black

• Titania Black

• Junk Van Tet Red

• Imperial White

• Pink Champagne

• Golden

GOJI BERRY

• non-variety

• Crimson Star

• Phoenix Tears - OUT OF STOCK

GOOSEBERRY

• Amish Red

• Pixwell

• Black Velvet

• Captivator

• Black

• Jahns Prairie

• Unknown var.

GOUMI BERRY

• Carmine

• Sweet Scarlet

• Red Gem

GRAPE

• Reliance

• Mars

HONEYBERRY

• Aurora

• Tundra

• Blizzard

• Beast

• Indigo Treat

• Czech 17

HOPS

• Fuggle

• Sterling

• Sunbeam

• Horizon

• Centennial

• Unknown var.

• Native

JOSTABERRY, Black (Lg/Sm)

KIWI

• Male

• MI State

• Anna (Lg/Sm)

• Arctic Beauty (m/f)

PASSIONFLOWER, Native

RASPBERRY

• Caroline Red

• Heritage Red

• Nova Red

• Boyne Red

• Wine Red

• Jewel Black

• Royalty Purple

• Double Gold

• Anne Yellow

• Fall Gold

ROSE

• Rugosa

• Swamp

• Carolina

SEABERRY

• Male

• Sirola

• Seedlings, unsexed

SERVICEBERRY

• Native

• Success

• Western

SPICEBUSH, Native

HERBACEOUS, GROUND COVER & FORAGE

AMERICAN GINSENG

ANISE HYSSOP

ASPARAGUS

• Purple Passion

• Mary Washington

BAPTISIA, Blue

BEE BALM/WILD BERGAMOT, M. Fistulosa

BLACK EYED SUSAN

BLUE FLAG NATIVE IRIS

BUTTERFLYWEED

COMFREY

• Large Leaf

• Seedless

COLUMBINE

COMPASS PLANT

CONEFLOWER (ECHINACEA)

CUPFLOWER

DAHLIA

EGYPTIAN WALKING ONION

GOLDENSEAL

GOTU KOLA (Centella asiatica - Traditional Chinese Medicine herb)

FO-TI (Polygonum multiflorum - Traditional Chinese Medicine herb)

GARLIC CHIVES

GINGER, Native

HORSERADISH

HORSETAIL

LANCE LEAF COREOPSIS

LAVENDER

LEMON BALM

LOVAGE

MOTHERWORT

MOUNTAIN MINT

MULLEIN

NETTLES, Stinging

PRICKLY PEAR

RAMPS

RATTLESNAKE MASTER

RHUBARB

ROSEMARY

SAGE, Culinary

SAGEBRUSH (ARTEMISIA)

SELF-HEAL

SOCHAN (CUTLEAF CONEFLOWER)

SOLOMON’S SEAL

• Variegated

• Native

• Giant

SPIDERWORT

STRAWBERRIES

• Jewel

• AC Valley

• Earliglo

• Honeoye

• Gensic

• mixed varieties

SUNCHOKE (JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE)

SWAMP MILKWEED

SWEET FLAG

THYME

VALERIAN

YARROW

PRICING INFORMATION BELOW

Use the Left and Right arrows to flip through each page of pricing.

Implementation Follow-Up: Nora & David, 2024

In 2024, CPI selected one of the final designs from the year’s permaculture design course as a candidate for implementation. That site belonged to then-students, now-grads Nora & David of Florence, KY. This spring, we asked for an update on their site and anything they have learned.

What they shared was that they were faced with unexpected setbacks, in the forms of life-changing losses and health events, that changed the trajectory of their permaculture dreams. Though time spent in the garden was limited, there were still lessons learned, which Nora shared with us by email in March:

“Things have settled down a little since this January and we've been able to assess the needs of our plantings. Most of everything survived and all sorts of valuable lessons learned which, for the sake of brevity, I will list:

• Accepting our limitations... circumstances and physical challenges caused us to re-evaluate what we could actually do.

• Adjust and overcome: move EVERYTHING closer to the house and a water source. Incorporating edible bushes and plants into my already existing flower beds.  (There was a mental block all these years in my head from doing this. hahaha. BUT, I'm not alone in thinking this way.)

• Water access is a BIG DEAL. 

• Having just one hose to reach everywhere was a little challenging.

• I put several barrels around our back shed and was quite impressed with how much water was able to be collected! But... in the dead of summer, a 55 gallon barrel was only enough for 1 bed!

• Wood chips and deep mulch REALLY helped.  I'm convinced that this is what kept most of our plants alive when we couldn't get around to watering.

• The raised beds that we installed around some old locust trees created a problem.  We underestimated how even mostly dead locust stumps would send up all sorts of thorny little branches!!!!!  I have begun to move plants from the raised beds to other locations, pulling back soil and cut off those branches.  I plan on burning the stumps to avoid using chemicals to kill them. Once I can be certain that this has fixed the problem, I will probably reinstall raised beds, but use something like metal raised beds.

• Deer pressure was unrelenting... even in the suburbs.  I used netting around several bushes and trees and they still somehow were able to reach through and nip some down!  Taking extra steps to protect everything including Irish spring soap and "Scram" (blood meal).

• Making low cost fertilizer without the typical manures. This has become something I've given a lot of thought to.  I don't trust buying manure from unknown sources due to what cows and horses are eating these days (Graze-On herbicide can be ingested by these animals and pass right through to their manure!).  I'm also not allowed to keep chickens in Florence. While I do purchase some organic fertilizers, this can get expensive.  So, I've focused on comfrey tea as well as fermenting other plant material (inspired by JADAM - a low-cost sustainable organic farming method that originated in Korea).  I've also started growing cover crops like clover and daikon radish.

“I am so grateful to CPI and all those who came out to help,” Nora adds - and we’re thankful to her for sharing her lessons learned this first year post-implementation.

To keep up with our ongoing implementation days, see the full schedule here.

Food Champions of Cincinnati: Nate Hale

In 2024, CPI received a generous grant award from the City of Cincinnati's Boots on the Ground program and set about growing “Food Champions" around the west side of the city. By working with leadership already present in these neighborhoods, we were able to assist in launching ten inspiring projects, each one unique to the group of individuals who conceived and orchestrated it. These folks brought their vision, goals, friends, volunteers and hard work, and CPI helped guide and finance to establish significant food production. This year, we are inviting our Food Champs to share their stories.

Nate Hale, in his own words…

I want to thank the folks at CPI so much for the support over the past year. The fruit-producing trees and shrubs you provided were of exceptional quality, and the planting event, where we added over 20 trees to our growing orchard, was truly inspiring. 

My family and I have immense gratitude for the opportunity to live on and steward this land. We've been transitioning large parts of it from a landscape dominated by a few opportunistic species to a more diverse and balanced ecosystem and incorporating food producing plants. 

Our hope is that this space will continue to become a place for sharing, learning, and building community. My background in production agriculture has instilled in me the importance of integrating annual and perennial food production for a sustainable future. For the past several seasons we have been working on the first phase of the design - to establish a productive market garden where we produce annual and perennial fruit and vegetable, and enact practices to improve overall soil health. 

The recent planting of orchard trees marks a significant step in realizing our vision for a larger orchard as a part of the whole site design. We're also implementing water management techniques, planting nut trees, and reintroducing native species. 

I am incredibly grateful for this partnership in helping us realize this vision and move towards a more resilient way of living and working with the land. I am excited to see how our partnership evolves in the coming years. Food is a beautiful and inspiring aspect of life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to interact with it in this way. 

Food Champions of Cincinnati: Ellie Suggs' Story

In 2024, CPI received a generous grant award from the City of Cincinnati's Boots on the Ground program and set about growing “Food Champions" around the west side of the city. By working with leadership already present in these neighborhoods, we were able to assist in launching ten inspiring projects, each one unique to the group of individuals who conceived and orchestrated it. These folks brought their vision, goals, friends, volunteers and hard work, and CPI helped guide and finance to establish significant food production. This year, we are inviting our Food Champs to share their stories.

Ellie Suggs

In her own words…

I’ve lived in Cincinnati my whole life - when I was born my family lived in Cheviot, and we’ve always identified as proud West Siders, so taking the job as Director of Agriculture at Cincinnati Urban Promise (CUP) in Westwood felt like coming full circle!

My overarching interests are in human food security and ecological restoration, so I have loved learning about permaculture’s applications in edible landscapes through CPI!

My journey with growing started in college, where I majored in Biology and researched population genetics of native plants to support the habitat restoration efforts of Great Parks. Since then, I’ve shifted my efforts to focus more directly on making food and outdoor education more accessible to urban areas.

At CUP, my job is to provide local preK-12th grade students with agricultural and conservation education so they can grow up to be food-independent residents who care about the ecological wellbeing of our city. To aid in this, we are striving to create an almost entirely edible landscape on our property, with plantings of native perennials and annual vegetables along with some pollinator plantings for education (and aesthetics!).

When I saw Susan VonderHaar’s gardens at Dater Montessori, I just knew I needed to collaborate with her! Sure enough, CPI has been an invaluable partner thus far as CUP now has a fruit tree orchard and berry patch where we used to have lawn and weeds. We are so excited to see what the rest of 2025 brings!

Stay tuned for more Food Champion stories!

CPI Featured on Cincinnati Bucket List

We were featured in a Redfin article! Check it out here: Things to Do in Cincinnati: A Bucket

List of Adventures in Cincinnati

Growing Value Nursery: 175+ Varieties Available Starting Spring 2024

Cincinnati Permaculture Institute’s Growing Value Nursery carries a specialized selection of edible perennial trees, shrubs, bushes, and berries, along with complimentary plantings for your food forests and guilds, such as flowers to attract pollinators and perennial ground covers. This rare selection has been curated over the years to include the varieties and species that perform well in our local bio-region and includes many edibles that are hard to find at traditional nurseries and garden centers. By shopping at Growing Value, you help support CPI’s mission to catalyze a resilient culture in Cincinnati.

FULL PLANT LIST - A to Z

Below is a list of all of the plants we expect to have available for sale starting this spring. However, this list may not reflect our current inventory, so if you are looking for something specific or want to ask before you buy, please feel free to reach out by email or call (513) 259-3504 for the most up to date information.

((SCROLL DOWN FOR PRICING INFORMATION))

• Anise hyssop

• Apple, Arkansas Black

• Apple, Domestic

• Apple, Enterprise

• Apple, Gold Rush

• Apple, Grimes Golden

• Apple, Liberty

• Apple, Pristine

• Apple, Zestar

• Aroniaberry/Chokeberry, Nero

• Aroniaberry/Chokeberry, Viking

• Asian Pear, Hosui

• Asian Pear, Shinsui

• Asian pear, Tennosui

• Asian pear, Yoinashi

• Asparagus

• Asparagus, Purple passion

• Basswood/Linden, Native

• Beebalm/Monarda

• Black Locust

• Blackberry, Arkansas Prime

• Blackberry, Osage

• Blackberry, Triple Crown

• Blueberry, Blueray

• Blueberry, Bonus

• Blueberry, Duke

• Blueberry, Jersey

• Blueberry, Northland

• Blueberry, Patriot

• Bur Oak

• Butternut

• Buttonbush

• Cherry, Carmine Jewel

• Cherry, Chelan

• Cherry, Coral Champaign

• Cherry, Evans

• Cherry, Lapins

• Cherry, Sam

• Cherry, Skeena

• Cherry, Sweetheart

• Cherry, Tart, Mt. Morancy

• Chestnut, Chinese

• Comfrey

• Coneflower

• Currant, Black Consort

• Currant, Black Titania

• Currant, Pink Champagne

• Currant, Red Cherry

• Currant, Red Jonkheer Van Tets

• Currant, Red Lake

• Currant, White Primus

• Dogwood, Cornelian Cherry

• Dogwood, Gray (Native)

• Dwarf Mulberry

• Egyptian walking onion

• Elderberry, Adams

• Elderberry, Bob Gordon

• Elderberry, Marge

• Elderberry, Native

• Elderberry, Nova

• Elderberry, York

• False Indigo (Baptisia)

• False Indigo, (Amorpha)

• Fig, Olympian

• Goji Berry, Crimson Star

• Gooseberry, Amish red

• Gooseberry, Black Velvet

• Gooseberry, Captivator

• Gooseberry, Hinnomaki red

• Gooseberry, Pixwell

• Goumi Berry, Carmine

• Goumi Berry, Sweet Scarlet

• Grape, Agria

• Grape, Mars

• Grape, Niagra

• Grape, Reliance

• Green Hawthorn

• Groumi, Red Gem

• Hazelnut, American

• Hazelnut, beaked

• Hazelnut, Jefferson

• Heartnut

• Hican, Clarksville

• Hican, Dooley Burton

• Hican, Mcallister

• Honeyberry, Aurora

• Honeyberry, Boreal Beast

• Honeyberry, Boreal Beauty

• Honeyberry, Czech

• Honeyberry, Tundra

• Hops, Fugle

• Hops, Nugget

• Hops, Sterling

• Horseradish

• Jostaberry, black

• Jostaberry, Red

• Jujubee

• Jujubee, Shanxi Li

• Kentucky Coffee tree, Native

• Kiwi, Anna

• Kiwi, Male

• Kiwi, MI State

• Mountain Ash

• Mountain Mint

• Mulberry

• Mullein

• Nettle, Skinny, Native

• Nettle, Stinging

• Passionflower

• Pawpaw, Mange

• Pawpaw, Native

• Pawpaw, NC-1

• Pawpaw, PA golden

• Pawpaw, Sunflower

• Peach, Gala

• Peach, Red Haven

• Pear, Magness

• Pear, Potomac

• Pear, Shenandoah

• Pecan, Kanza

• Persimmon, American

• Persimmon, Asian

• Plum, American

• Plum, chickasaw

• Plum, Satsuma

• Prickly pear

• Quince, Champion

• Raspberry, Boyne Red

• Raspberry, Double Gold

• Raspberry, Heritage Red

• Raspberry, Jewel Black

• Raspberry, Purple Royalty

• Raspberry, Yellow Anne

• Red Cedar (Juniper)

• Red Mulberry (Native)

• Red Oak

• Redbud

• Rhubarb, Green victoria

• Rhubarb,Crimson Red

• Rose, Rugosa

• Seaberry, Frugana

• Seaberry, Golden Sweet

• Seaberry, Male

• Senna

• Serviceberry, Downy (Native)

• Serviceberry, Northline

• Serviceberry, Regent

• Serviceberry, Western

• Siberian Peashrub

• Sochan/ Cutleaf Coneflower, Native

• Solomon Seal

• Spearmint

• Spicebush, Native

• Spiderwort

• Strawberry, AC Valley

• Strawberry, Gensics

• Strawberry, Honey

• Strawberry, Jewel

• Strawberry, Native

• Sumac, Staghorn

• Sunchokes/Jerusalem artichoke

• Super spur Mayhaw

• Swamp Rose, Native

• Swamp White Oak

• Sweet Annie

• Sweet Flag (Acorus americana)

• Sweetshrub/carolina allspice

• Trifoliate Orange

• White Pine

• White Sagebrush

• Wild Ginger, Native

• Wineberry, Red

• Wisteria, Native

• Witch hazel, Native

• Yarrow

• Yucca

Spring 2024 Volunteer Opportunities

Want to help Cincinnati Permaculture Institute prepare for the spring season and maybe learn some new gardening skills along the way? Below is our volunteer schedule.

NURSERY

Saturday, February 10, 11-2:

Saturday, March 9th, 11-2

Saturday, March 30th, 11-2

Wednesdays, April 17 and 24th, 4-dusk

Tuesdays in May: May 7, 14 and 28, 5 PM to 8 PM

Our nursery manager Howard Zuefle will be onsite for all volunteer days providing instruction and access to our tools and materials. Come dressed for the weather, whatever it may be! Our nursery is at 824 Enright Ave. Price Hill Cincinnati (in the back of the lot, behind the greenhouse) and parking is available on Enright and Terry St.

OTHER PROJECTS

Sunday, February 18, 2-4 p.m.: Button Making at the Reading branch of the Cincinnati Public Library - Help our events & marketing committee make buttons to use at our events table this year. All supplies provided. Kids welcome!

SIGN UP

Registration is not required, but signing up helps us communicate with you in the event of a change, cancellation, or other details for each volunteer date. Use this link to be added to our volunteer roster!

QUESTIONS?

Contact us at info@cincinnatipermacultureinstitute.org

Raising a Toast: Ten Kinds of Gratitude for 2023

It is said that success results when opportunity meets preparation.

This is meaningful to me in my first full year as Director of Cincinnati Permaculture Institute. Nothing comes about in a vacuum. It’s always a number of people and events that align for a path of success; that help you prepare, that bring opportunities.

It seems my primary duty this year was to observe and interact with the exciting energy that has been channeled to CPI. In 2023 we welcomed five new guest teachers into three PDC classes that were filled with warm, eager learners. The PDC courses have delivered the five newest board members to us and they keep us moving forward. Our founders remain and provide sage guidance.  Our deepening relationships with committed communities and individuals hold great promise for future developments.

At times I have felt pushed to my personal limits when presented with decision-making and the discomfort of growing pains. But I know we are on very solid ground and well prepared for the opportunities that await us. After all, we create our own success, yes?!

Susan VonderHaar

Together We’re Better: Ten Kinds of Gratitude for 2023

Growing Value Nursery gets some TLC before spring plant sales start

October Harvest Festival Potluck Dinner

Making art with compostable veggies at the Summer Solstice party

Westwood Grows bed installations

Learning about soil at the July 2023 PDC at Antioch

Our 2023 Yearlong PDC Graduates + Lead Teacher Doug Crouch

• New “Neighbors” : We welcomed 12 new members, or as we like to call them, Neighbors, through our membership program that sustains and supports us. We look forward to seeing them at the Growing Value nursery, where members enjoy additional discounts and special shopping hours.

• OneSource gave us a nonprofit wellness check-up and found our organization to be dedicated, effective, transparent, and responsible stewards of our resources. Their suggested strategy is to build our capacity to increase impact. Maybe you or someone you know would be interested in joining our board or working with a committee? 

• Expanding Beyond Cincinnati: Antioch College in Yellow Springs asked us to partner in offering a summer intensive PDC in July. This partnership continues with the second offering scheduled for Spring of 2024. 

• Record-Breaking Growth: The flagship Year Long Permaculture Design Course saw a record number of registrants, growing our total number of graduates to over 300 in 15 years.

• Clear the Nursery: Growing Value Nursery nearly sold out of stock this year! We were able to source some stock locally and organically from growers in the bioregion. New plants arrive in April. 

• Neighborhood Impact: Thanks to the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Urban Agriculture grant funding, we partnered with Westwood Grows and Lincoln Heights Community Development Council and installed perennial, edible plants in nine different residences, schools, and churches. 

• Bringing the Party: We hosted or joined several events, including Spring and Fall Plant Sales, a Harvest Celebration at the Price Hill Greenhouse, the Monarch Festival at Christ the King Church, and a beautiful Summer Solstice gathering at Treasure Lake.

• Getting Our Hands Dirty: We broke ground on our newest continuing education program, “Permaculture Implementation,” on December 9 in Florence, KY with 17 volunteers.

• We Are the Champions: We join many other Green Cincinnati Plan Champions working on six action steps, including “Training farmers and gardeners to increase success, including adaptation to a changing climate.”

• All Aboard: We extend a very special thanks to our board and committee members who work tirelessly to improve CPI and strengthen our community web.

We can’t say it enough: THANK YOU for being part of our mission to create a resilient permanent culture in Cincinnati. We are here for you, with you, and because of you, whether you’re a PDC student, a teacher, a community leader, a nursery customer, a volunteer, a neighbor — you are part of this ecosystem and your contribution matters!

Introducing Our Pilot Implementation Program, Featuring Student Designs

Cincinnati Permaculture Institute’s growing community of permaculture design graduates has been asking us for implementation opportunities and continued education that will give them skills beyond just designing systems and experience actually building them. In other words: you’re ready to get your hands dirty!

In permaculture, one element can serve many functions. As our board brainstormed different ways we could meet this emerging need in our community, we discerned that an output that our classes already produce - student design projects - could become the input for a new implementation education initiative. By selecting a student design project from each year’s class to begin implementing, we create a natural pathway for succession while creating opportunities for our community to come work together and stay engaged with each other past the completion of the class. Our hope is that the selected sites become part of our larger network of educational sites throughout the region that future students can learn from. 

Choosing the Pilot Site

Six designs were presented at the end of the most recent yearlong PDC for six very different sites across Cincinnati. The CPI board reviewed and discussed these designs and narrowed down the selection to one project to sponsor a Phase I implementation at that site. We considered factors such as the scale and scope of the project, the location of the site and access for the surrounding community, and the types of projects that our organization could best support with materials and funding. 

Jess Rinehart presents her segment of the group design for The Shire.

With so much appreciation for the efforts of all of our students this year, who made our job incredibly hard by submitting six excellent designs, we are pleased to announce that the selected site project is "The Shire" - a half-acre suburban homestead in Boone County Kentucky, designed by Jess Rinehart, Jeremy Janson, and Shaher Banu Vagh.

For more than 25 years, this site has been home to PDC classmates David and Nora Brown, who affectionately call their home “The Wallace Avenue Center for the Reality Impaired” and regularly host gatherings there. The group's proposed design includes a food forest, a meditation garden, water catchment solutions, and a passive solar greenhouse.

Nora and David Brown watch the presentation of the group who designed for their site.

CPI will work with the Browns to determine an implementation plan for part of this design in the coming year. Look forward to future announcements of our plans and opportunities to get involved!

Meet Our Graduates: Ayla Bella of Rooting Resilience

CPI students come from all walks of life and bring a diversity of experience and knowledge to our community. In this feature we introduce you to some of our graduates, the work that they’re doing, and how their permaculture education has benefited them.

Rooting Resilience: A Young Nonprofit Focused on Community Forest Gardens

Hello, everyone! My name is Ayla Bella, I am a 2023 graduate of a Cincinnati Permaculture Institute Permaculture Design Course (summer intensive at Antioch College) and the founder of Rooting Resilience, a permaculture-based organization. I’m excited to share our vision with you!

In my city of Columbus, Ohio, much of the public land I see is greatly underutilized. Parks have grass lawns that provide no protection from urban heat, community centers and libraries are bordered by landscaping or grass, and many lots lie vacant. Similarly, there is a great disparity in tree coverage between communities, varying from 41% to 9%. The city has several wonderful initiatives, like the Urban Forestry Master Plan, to address these issues, but more must be done.

Rooting Resilience, the nonprofit organization I am establishing, is focused on creating community forest gardens on this underutilized public land, with the mission to cultivate resilience, equity, community empowerment, and connection to the earth and her inhabitants. Forest gardens have the opportunity to address many problems at once by reducing food insecurity, climate change impacts, and inequity in access to food and green space - but I’m sure you all knew that already! We have been networking with the Columbus community for several months and have an eye on a few sites for pilot projects in the spring in partnership with Recreation and Parks. 

If this mission excites you, below are some ways you can help!

1. If you know of nurseries or seed companies that may be interested in donating plants, seeds, or materials please contact us at rootingourresilience@gmail.com. 

2. If you’re interested in supporting us while staying up-to-date on our projects, follow us on Instagram (@rootingresilience) and Facebook (Rooting Resilience) and share these accounts with others!

3. If you’d like to make a financial contribution to support our forest garden pilot project, this link will take you to the donation page for our fiscal sponsor, Local Matters. Important note: for a donation to go to Rooting Resilience, you must write “Rooting Resilience” in the donor notes section of the donation page. Otherwise, you will be donating to one of Local Matters’ other worthy causes! 

If you have any other thoughts, ideas, or connections, you can reach us at rootingourresilience@gmail.com. 

Thank you for your support!