Category: Urban Garden

Exciting news! FACCES Families and the community have been awarded three significant grants: the Franklin County Urban Agriculture Critical Infrastructure Grant, the Columbus Foundation Community Garden Grant, and The Dash Impact Grant. These grants will allow us to increase growth in the greenhouse, expand our outdoor garden, and increase deliveries for the Fresh Market. This means more educational gardening workshops and greater access to fresh, locally grown food for everyone in our community.

We are incredibly grateful to the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, Local Food Action Plan, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Door Dash for their generous support! In addition to these grants, our beloved tilapias are back, thanks to Freedom Fish Farm. We’re excited to welcome over 100 tilapias to our aquaponics system! As part of this exciting development, our greenhouse is now open for daily tours for those that register in advance.

We invite all our FACCES families and community members to explore and discover the wonders of growing your own food in the garden. Whether you’re an experienced gardener, new to gardening, or simply curious about aquaculture, our greenhouse offers a hands-on experience for all ages, including the opportunity to care for the fish that will be harvested late fall.

FACCES Urban Garden recently had the honor of welcoming Mr. Solomon from OSU Extension Urban Roots during November’s Urban Gardeners Gathering. Urban Roots is a collaborative initiative involving the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, The Ohio State University (OSU), the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), OSU Extension Franklin County, and local community partners. This innovative program is designed to provide youth with immersive learning opportunities centered around food, agriculture, the environment, and related technologies. Mr. Solomon’s attendance at our gathering allowed us to establish a valuable connection and emphasize the importance of educating youth about growing their own food, understanding its origin, and exploring various career paths in these fields.

Moving forward, we are thrilled to announce that Mr. Solomon will be taking an active role in our FACCES Life Ready partnership with Starting Point’s 21^st Century program, leading a curriculum that aligns with the objectives of the Urban Roots mission. This collaboration signifies a step in empowering the youth with essential knowledge and skills, fostering a deeper connection between education and real-world applications in the realms of food production, agriculture, and environmental stewardship. Together with Mr. Solomon and OSU Extension Urban Roots, we look forward to nurturing a generation that is not only well-informed but also enthusiastic about shaping a sustainable and resilient future. 

Classes with Mr. Solomon are on Tuesdays from 3 pm to 4 pm! If you have a teen interested, click the link below to register for the classes. Let us nurture a passion for gardening together! Education & Food: FACCES Life Ready Urban Garden Class – FACCES – Family Adolescent & Child Community Engagement Service (thefacces.org)

Vibe out with us at our next FACCES Urban Gardener’s Gathering. Enjoy a space where we come together to socialize over food, music and garden giveaways, as we learn gardening tips and share ideas with one another. We are excited to announce the next Urban Gardener’s Gathering for the remainder of the year. This is an event you and your family won’t want to miss!

Click here to find the next FACCES Urban Garden Gathering today!

FACCES Urban Garden has started welcoming visitors! Register your family, group, or classroom to visit and enjoy activities during self-guided tours.  

April 2023, we welcomed 102 fingerlings to the Aquaponics tank and planted seedlings in our garden beds. We are excited to announce that the outdoor expansion is nearing completion. 

Join the FACCES Urban Gardener’s Gatherings to learn all about growing your own food and to connect with other growers on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of the month from 4:30pm-6:30pm. Discussions and lessons are led by Central State Reginal Educator, Marc Amante and FACCES most experienced gardeners. 

Find a date that works for you and attend a FACCES Urban Garden Tour! 

It’s Spring – and you’re invited to FACCES Urban Garden!  

The 2022 – 2023 FACCES growing season was an overwhelming success! Families were inspired to take what they learned from the gardening classes and start their own gardens at home.  

That success inspired us to expand the greenhouse and begin construction on the new outdoor garden beds. This now gives us the opportunity to grow and harvest more food together. Community members can attend the FACCES Farm Stand events and take the delicious fresh produce to their families – at no cost. 

All are invited to tour and to join the next FACCES Urban Gardener’s Gathering! 

Click here for upcoming events!

This year, FACCES plans to expand its Urban Garden program outside the greenhouse. With the support of Marc Amante of Central State University, we plan to build new garden beds outside of the FACCES Urban Garden Greenhouse. These garden beds will give FACCES families an opportunity to adopt a bed of their own, and allow them to grow their own food for a full growing season.

Register here for the Urban Gardener’s Gathering on February 16th, 2023.

In June of this year, FACCES Urban Garden received Tilapia to raise in our aquaponics system. Aquaponics is a sustainable system of agriculture that combines methods of aquaculture and hydroponics to increase efficiency of food production. Aquaponics is a closed system with a fish tank at the bottom and plants that grow on top. The nutrients produced from fish food and waste travel through a water pump and fertilize the plants on top of the tank. The plants then filter the water that flows back into the tank.

There are many benefits to practicing aquaponics in your garden. An aquaponics system has less space needed for cultivating food, uses less water than conventional agriculture methods, and uses no pesticides or harsh chemicals. This system has been shared with members of our community over the past few months, and we are so happy to be learning alongside our families about ways we can practice sustainable and healthy living!

FACCES plans to harvest the fish in November of this year. Be sure to stay up to date on our website and follow us on social media! We will have a butcher on site to fillet the fish and a professional chef will prepare a delicious meal for FACCES Family Members. Space for this event will be limited, so check our events page regularly to secure a spot for you and your family! 

The Urban Garden Greenhouse project is thriving! From construction to completion, it has truly been a journey. The beginning of construction dates back to January of 2021 when the project began.

In our first official growing season, The FACCES Urban Garden is thriving. We have seen significant growth in the many varieties of vegetables that we have, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, okra, etc. We welcome everyone to learn more about our growing process and ask questions about your own gardens through our Urban Gardener’s Meeting on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of each month!

Our crops are not the only thing that we have growing in the greenhouse. At the beginning of this summer, we officially launched our aquaponics program in The FACCES Urban Garden. We are raising 60 West Nile tilapia in our first year. Our tank will harvest 300 fish a year! We encourage families to bring their children to learn with us!

We plan to launch our service, The FACCES Farm Stand, in August of this year to give back to the people who have supported our greenhouse journey. Check out our “Events” page regularly to see what we have in stock and when you can come get fresh produce! Nourishing the minds, bodies and souls of the families and friends in our community will help The FACCES Urban Garden grow beyond what it is today. We are so excited to share this journey with you and look forward at what’s to come.

Gardening together with your children can be a great family activity.

Plenty of families learn online and garden together.  The FACCES Urban Garden allows you to learn how to garden in a real greenhouse. 

Check out upcoming Urban Garden activities and events.