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