Brick Gardens Turns Vacant Lots into Urban Farms That Feed Cincinnati Communities

The organization provides fresh produce to those living in Cincinnati’s food deserts.

By Mackenzie Manley
City Beet
May 17, 2021

Excerpt:

Domonique Peebles walks along a mulched path hemmed in by raised plant beds at a garden site in Madisonville. The founder of local urban farming nonprofit Brick Gardens points out what’s growing in each container.

“Right now, we already have some (produce) like swiss chard, mustard greens, broccoli. In those far beds over there is a lettuce mix,” Peebles says. “You see the beds that just have soil? Those already have seeds in them. We’ve got carrots, radishes, beets.”

It’s a breezy spring day, and volunteers from MadTree Brewing are milling about the property, helping Peebles and his team prepare the beds for the growing season. Soon they’ll have summertime grub: corn, zucchini, squash. There’s hops and a raspberry bush along the perimeter, and cherry and pear trees around the corner. And just across the street is Brick Gardens’ greenhouse. Inside, sun streams through its slanted roof and onto trays of seedlings.

Brick Gardens operates four different plots to help feed residents in Madisonville, Bond Hill, Evanston, Avondale, Norwood and Roselawn. The organization’s mission is to provide fresh produce to those living in Cincinnati’s food deserts by converting vacant buildings and lots into outdoor urban farms and indoor hydroponic/ aquaponic grow spaces — all with a focus on neighborhood involvement and education.

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