Bronzeville Growers Market

05/25/2026

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=957174910628034&id=100090066006540&post_id=100090066006540_957174910628034&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=VhDh1V

Some of the most exciting crops in American gardening are actually incredibly easy to grow. The catch is that they are just hard to find. You usually have to hunt through specialty seed catalogs because your average grocery store rarely carries them, and local garden centers almost never stock the transplants. Believe it or not, most of these are much easier to grow than standard tomatoes. Here are nine crops that are absolutely worth adding to your garden.

Kohlrabi tastes like a wonderful cross between a broccoli stem and a crisp apple. It takes about fifty-five days to grow from seed to harvest. It is delicious whether you slice it up raw for a crunchy snack or roast wedges of it in the oven.

Ground cherries offer a sweet flavor blending pineapple and tomato, all wrapped up in a delicate, papery husk. A single plant can produce hundreds of these bite-sized treats, and they do exceptionally well growing in containers on a sunny patio.

Celeriac is perfect if you love the taste of celery but want a hearty root vegetable. It stores beautifully for months in a cool spot and makes a phenomenal side dish when you boil and mash it up just like potatoes.

Sunchokes grow toweringly tall and produce charming yellow blooms at the top. In the fall, you can dig up the soil to harvest delicious, nutty tubers. Just be sure to plant them in a dedicated, contained space, as they are famous for enthusiastically taking over entire garden beds.

Malabar spinach is a gorgeous climbing vine that thrives when the fierce summer heat makes regular spinach bolt and turn bitter. It is a fantastic heat-loving substitute that loves to scramble up a tall post or trellis.

Luffa gourds are incredibly versatile. You can harvest them young and cook them just like zucchini. But if you leave them to fully mature and dry on the vine, they transform into amazing, natural bath and kitchen sponges.

Shiso is a beautiful Japanese herb that offers a complex, bright flavor falling somewhere between basil, mint, and anise. It is traditionally used as a fresh wrap for sushi, and you will love how reliably it drops seeds to grow itself again the following year.

Tomatillos are essential if you want to make an authentic, tangy salsa verde. Just make sure to plant at least two of them near each other so they can cross-pollinate. Once they do, they are incredibly productive and will yield massive harvests for your kitchen.

Yardlong beans are vigorous, heat-loving climbers that produce a heavy bounty of pods growing well over a foot in length. They are incredibly satisfying to grow and perfect when chopped up into bite-sized pieces for fresh summer stir-fries.

These wonderful plants are considered unusual simply because of mass commercial grocery marketing, not because they are difficult to cultivate. Give them a try this season and bring some exciting new flavors to your homegrown harvests.

04/30/2026

There's still time to register for this free, informative class. Open to all ages.

04/14/2026

Many people want to add fertilizer to the soil for their seeds. NO. Use specific seed starting soil which is lighter and has the necessary ingredients (or make your own). Even when the seeds become seedlings they don't need extra fertilizer. Wait until the plant is fully developed and THEN know which fertilizer in what form and when it should be applied. Quite a puzzle but important for the healthiest crops. A good STEM project as well.

04/10/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18ZmiGxN9i/

Where the Tree Grows Slow, a visual arts exhibit by local artist Sierra Hamilton, opened our Land Justice Series. Shepherd’s Corner is pleased to present the second event, SEEDS Documentary.

This award-winning documentary by Brittany Shyne is a visually stunning portrait of one of the last centennial farms in the United States.

Filmed in black and white, this documentary follows several generations of the same family as it examines their legacy and the challenges they face in holding onto their land. Check out the trailer for a preview of this thoughtful and lyrical film.

DETAILS:
What: SEEDS Documentary and Community Conversation
Where: Matesich Theater at Ohio Dominican University
When: Friday, April 24, 5-9 PM

No cost, but registration is required- link below.

Please share widely with your friends, colleagues, and the local community. We are doing the same. It’s energizing to think about how many people we can reach by working together to spread the word!

Sponsored by Ohio Dominican University & Ohio Dominican University’s Black Student Union.

https://shepherdscorner.org/seeds/

04/08/2026

Floating row covers are good for early spring and early fall when you can add or remove according to the weather. Same with the cold frame. Bird setting is simply to keep out birds to protect the plants from being eaten. And shade cloth is to protect plants in the early stages of growth, or that prefer shade at all stages, from the sun.

04/07/2026

An expected but dreaded drop in temperatures has meant that trays of seedlings were brought back inside and rows already planted got row covers. All should survive and be brought back outside later this week. Zone 6b could be on a rollercoaster for another month. .

01/30/2026

This Monday, February 2 at 4 pm..

12/02/2025

Our community's food needs are diverse and can be met in part by a variety of currently existing sources. But a full service grocery store is essential to the overall health of any community. Bronzeville Food Co-op urges you to connect with our mission to build a community-owned grocery store rooted in health, equity, and sustainability in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the Near East Side. Are you willing to help make it a reality? Join our efforts by giving $10 or more by on December 2nd! Give Today - Support the Bronzeville Food Co-op! | GiveMN"

11/17/2025

This is the season to give stratigically and I encourage you to support South Side Family Farms through the 2025 SeedMoney Challenge. Min. Aaron Hopkins has provided food for dozens of families and training opportunities for doezens of youth over the years and is now seeking to expand their reach.

With Seed money funds, we will purchase seedlings and Supplies to start a Leafy Greens and Microgreens production within our community farmstand.

11/16/2025

Across rural Kenya, an ancient technique finds a new form — clay refrigerators shaped like beehives. Crafted from porous terracotta and cooled by natural evaporation, these passive chillers preserve vegetables, dairy, and even cooked meals for several days without electricity.

Their rounded, hive-like design isn’t just aesthetic. The bulging lower half maximizes surface area to encourage evaporation, while the narrower top traps cooler air inside. Water is poured into the outer layer or placed in a shallow trench around the base, seeping into the clay. As heat evaporates the moisture, the inner chamber cools — often maintaining a temperature 10–15 degrees Celsius lower than the outside.

Villagers place bananas, tomatoes, milk, and even fish inside — all shielded from sun, dust, and pests. In drought-prone areas where electricity is scarce and expensive, these clay fridges extend the life of food and reduce spoilage. It also means fewer trips to markets or streams, giving women and elders more time for other work.

The beehive shape also speaks to local craftsmanship. Built by hand, each fridge reflects the hands that shaped it — some with decorative ridges, others with smooth coils or clay carvings. Children are taught to use them, to refill the trench with water, to lift the cover gently.

These fridges do not hum. They do not plug in. Yet they whisper resilience. In a world racing toward high-tech solutions, Kenya’s cooling hives remind us that sustainable answers often sit in the soil beneath our feet.