Sometimes I mention "my" garden, but really it's a #CommunityGarden I share with about 20 other people.

A few years ago, this small lot had an old house that was in very bad shape. It was sold and the buyer intended to build a new one as an investment rental. But for some reason the construction was delayed and it was left as an empty lot after the sale and demolition.

Some neighbors got together and approached the owner, asking if they could turn the lot into a community garden. They made fences and beds out of recycled material like pallets and decking. They planted fruit vines and trees for everyone to share. The local food bank agreed to pay the water bill.

10 or so years later, here we are! Every year we don't know if this will be the last one, the owner will finally need to start building. It could end at any minute.

I wish that cities would plot more gardens or that it was easier to establish them on private property. I love guerilla gardening but it's hard to grow vegetables that way in this climate (you have to water them in summer) and you miss out on the community part.

I think the ideal housing pattern is small apartment buildings (4-20 units, up to 3 floors tall) #missingmiddle with shared gardens. This maximizes the useful space and minimizes wasted space for everyone. You could do this retroactively by converting parking lots into gardens and allowing residential infill to densify neighborhoods. #urbanplanning #urbanism

In some cities the waitlist for community gardens is years long. That's an absolute travesty. How much more value do gardens give people and cities than endless expanse of lawn and pavement? #FoodNotLawns #gardening

Food, not Lawns. I’ve tooted about this, before. The book sits on my shelf next to other great books. It’s more than just about your lawn…
#FoodNotLawns
#GreenWizardry #SolarPunk
#Permaculture

https://www.foodnotlawns.com/

turn your #yard into a #garden and your #neighborhood into a #community. #foodnotlawns #growfoodnotlawns #grasstogardens

#Read the #book for #free! https://bit.ly/3rVqkOO — view on Instagram https://bit.ly/3HbHcaA

Slowly, low growing Mints, like this Orange Mint,are replacing the Grass upfront and in back for the Garden paths. Walking on Orange Mint is so sweet smelling. Thyme and Oregano are here, too; but, Orange Mint is my favorite.
#Plants #Mints #Garden #FoodNotLawns

@HeatherInNZ, here I walk a pretty thin line over what I can get away with growing. Used to be easier, but then we are not as rural as we used to be, so more cops and more NIBYs moving here. Had a visit from the police last month because someone complained my blackberries were too unruly…. Wankers…
#FoodNotLawns #FlowersNotGrass

Plan to plant food! #Garden2023 #Hope #Permaculture #FoodNotLawns

"Why would we rather surround our homes with lawn instead of grape arbors? The first business of the household is security, and surely food is at the top of that list."

~Joel Salatin

#SimpleLiving #RadicalChange #FoodNotLawns

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched .....The difference between the man who just cuts lawns and a real gardener is in the touching, he said. The lawn-cutter might just as well not have been there at all; the gardener will be there a lifetime.”

~ Ray Bradbury

#SimpleLiving #RadicalChange #Gardening #FoodNotLawns

everyone knows Elton's "Rocket Man" was about arugula, right? #veganfacts #nerdshit #growyourownway #foodnotlawns ●●● Eruca vesicaria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruca_vesicaria?wprov=sfla1

@jeffmills2

Nature's bounty. Over 50% of the world's calories come from three monoculture crops. That's a massive potential point of failure, as the Russia war on Ukraine has shown.

I love these plants that sustain with little effort.

#FoodNotLawns

@KLB @bethsawin

Favorite source:

The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann is one of my sanity-savers, an oasis of intelligent, useful, in-depth interviews and discussions about techniques that could revolutionize our food supply and our communities. Permaculture is our best weapon against the accelerating horrors of climate change.

Scott Mann has a lovely, soothing, NPR-sounding radio voice, calmly breaking down complex ideas and terrifying problems, from the philosophical to the practical, with great patience, earnesty, and compassion.

You won't hear about these solutions in the corporate news theater.

https://thepermaculturepodcast.podbean.com/

#Permaculture
#Podcast
#ScottMann
#SoilFoodWeb
#FoodSovereignty
#FoodNotLawns
#Compost
#RegenAg
#WaterConservation
#FoodForest
#LandscapeRehabilitation
#Recommendation

#FoodNotLawns

It’s December, so of course I’m thinking about #FoodNotLawns and what I’m going to grow next season.

Things I grew last year that did well: okra, San Marzano tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant

Things I grew last year that did okay but could probably do better this year with some adjustments: squash ($@&%-ing squash vine borers), peppers, leeks, tomatillos

Things that crashed and burned: peas, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers

Last summer was unbelievably hot and kept going back and forth between no rain for weeks and nothing but rain for days. Next summer, I’m going to pick more heat-tolerant plants and maybe set up drip irrigation.

My stepmother (expert gardener, grew up on a farm) suggested that I start my garden outside earlier and do a fall planting, but the latter may be challenging because my summer plants produced until November this year. I may put in a few more raised beds so that I can do some crop rotation.

I also want to start a mushroom garden on the north side of my house, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for such an absurdly big undertaking yet.

It’s December, so of course I’m thinking about #FoodNotLawns and what I’m going to grow next season.

Things I grew last year that did well: okra, San Marzano tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant

Things I grew last year that did okay but could probably do better this year with some adjustments: squash ($@&%-ing squash vine borers), peppers, leeks, tomatillos

Things that crashed and burned: peas, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers

Last summer was unbelievably hot and kept going back and forth between no rain for weeks and nothing but rain for days. Next summer, I’m going to pick more heat-tolerant plants and maybe set up drip irrigation.

My stepmother (expert gardener, grew up on a farm) suggested that I start my garden outside earlier and do a fall planting, but the latter may be challenging because my summer plants produced until November this year. I may put in a few more raised beds so that I can do some crop rotation.

I also want to start a mushroom garden on the north side of my house, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for such an absurdly big undertaking yet.

December kale harvest. I love my kale and my kale loves me! #foodnotlawns #foodisfree
https://adam4235.github.io/recipes/supper/kale_potato_soup.txt

December kale harvest. I love my kale and my kale loves me! #foodnotlawns #foodisfree
https://adam4235.github.io/recipes/supper/kale_potato_soup.txt

Also, #artdeco #architecture #fungi #snow #foodnotlawns #ancienthistory #biology #ottomanempire #homehacks #winter #naturalhistory #wholefoods #thrifting #artnouveau #Museums #rainydays

Also, #artdeco #architecture #fungi #snow #foodnotlawns #ancienthistory #biology #ottomanempire #homehacks #winter #naturalhistory #wholefoods #thrifting #artnouveau #Museums #rainydays

#gardening #hiphop #foodnotlawns #streetknowledge #community

I have better pictures deep on my camera roll, and maybe I’ll dredge them up later. This is from the olive tree in my backyard – yes, we can grow olives very well in Oregon. A tea made of the leaves taste kind of like artichoke. Grow food not lawns.

#FoodNotLawns #GrowYourFood #GrowYourMedicine #PlantMedicine #OliveLeaf #OliveTree #BackyardMedicine #HerbalistDoctor