“The purpose of it is to extend seasons, so growers can put things in the ground sooner, and have things harvesting later,” said Steve Gay, a board director of Hamilton Urban Garden Systems (HUGS), a 7-year-old non-profit organization that has installed dozens of urban gardens, has managed and participated in farmers’ markets and offered classes throughout the county.
“I would like to see tomatoes (harvested) out of this by Memorial Day, which is really, really early for tomato production,” Gay said. “What we’re going to do also, this winter, is have things like spinach and arugula that we’re going to grow and sell or give away all winter long. We’re hoping we can grow all winter, except for maybe when there’s just not enough sunlight, around the solstice.”
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The organization received a grant for a bit more than $10,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which covered all but about $300 of the construction costs, Gay said.
That agency allows food growers to apply for financial and technical help for what it calls “high tunnel systems,” also known as “hoop houses,” as ways to provide nutritious food closer to where people live.
According to the agency, “High tunnel systems not only benefit people, they protect the environment too. Managing plants grown in a high tunnel reduce off-site movement of pesticides and nutrients, improving plant health and soil quality. Growing and purchasing food locally improves air quality by decreasing fuel use for transportation.”
The Hamilton structure was built in one day by Martin’s Produce of Liberty, Ky.
“We will try to always make space for people who want to garden for themselves,” Gay said. “We have a couple of objectives. The main one is to give people the opportunity to grow their own food from the health aspect and the financial aspect.”
Other food is given away in the surrounding neighborhood, with still more distributed through social-service agencies.
Such urban gardens also help build community, he noted: “We really want to use this as a tool to build community.”
Gay, a Hamilton native now living in Cincinnati’s Hyde Park neighborhood, said HUGS hopes to add another one next year. A retiree, he also operates “Cincy Urban Ag” and helps numerous projects in southwestern Ohio.
The best way to connect with HUGS is through its page on Facebook, Gay said. Gay said he first learned about the opportunity for the grant from Lisa Craig of the Central State University Extension, which has an office in Hamilton at 1802 Princeton Road.
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