Last week I was offered tickets to attend the Home and Garden Show and to give tickets away to readers of this blog. (To see my original giveaway post, click here.)  Thanks to all who left comments. I’m excited to hear how your plans and commitments to local food systems progress this season! In this addendum, I wanted to share my brief review of the show based on my experience attending this past Monday with some friends of the farm and our children.

In a nutshell: 
Chances are, if you are reading this blog you shouldn’t go to the home and garden show.

I should have predicted this based on the show’s sponsors, but I like to think of myself as someone who’ll try anything once. In short, this is a trade show not befitting DIY homsteaders or urban farmers. It’s a place for people to find others to build and plant things for them and there was little to no mention of sustainable gardening practices, planting with native species, or growing fruits and vegetables. So do yourself a favor, and stay home and get to work!

All that said, if you enjoy visiting conservatories, you’ll appreciate the picturebook-themed garden installations at the show this year. I can appreciate the effort the nurseries and landscapers put toward bringing these spaces to life inside the Ohio Expo Center.

The Lorax garden installation. Mildly amusing, but not really useful as urban farming inspiration.

In the meantime, my friends and I will be dreaming up plans for a home and garden show befitting our kind. A good place to start would be visiting any number of farms and homesteads, like ours, that host open houses throughout the growing season. Stay tuned for updates on our 2018 open houses and Ohio-based events hosted by Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) and OSU Extension.