Gardening has been going on in Cleveland since — well, ever since the first settlers arrived because there were no grocery stores back then! In the early 20th century, Cleveland greenhouses provided produce for much of the country, until improved transportation and refrigerator shifted production to warmer climates. And the Victory Gardens that flourished during World War II (even Public Square had one!) were replaced by processed food in the 50s. In the last two decades, there’s been a resurgence of interest in locally grown fresh food, with an explosion of farmers markets and CSAs, new boutique farms such as those in Cuyahoga Valley National Park and urban farms, and a flourishing restaurant scene based on local, seasonal foods (hopefully some of it will survive the pandemic).
Western Reserve Historical Society’s Then and Now blog features items on the history of local gardening (such as this piece about Victory Gardens) and many other topics as well.
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106