Oases in the Food Desert: An Introductory Tour — Eric Imhof & Tasha Jones

Submitted by nickpetr on Thu, 08/21/2008 - 17:27.

ecology/environment

image:

garden picture - Remington Village Green.JPG

People have been gardening in various forms in many cities for centuries, whether planting a victory garden during World War II or simply growing herbs on their windowsill today. These kinds of individualized gardening practices are important because they provide supplements to commercial food sources and make up for deficits. However, community gardens—gardens that are created and maintained collectively, often through a process of re-appropriating an otherwise vacant lot—have an additional benefit: they serve as important common spaces that catalyze the formation of new kinds of social, cultural, and economic arrangements that don’t and can’t exist in the conventional workplace.

We visited a handful of community gardens in Baltimore to observe the ways in which they are started, organized, and maintained. Although we only visited a few gardens (there being probably over ten in Southeast Baltimore alone), we were nevertheless struck by the unique qualities of each and how differently they function and operate. Some gardens were started collectively while others were started by just one person. Some have designated plots for individual gardeners and others have more of a communal arrangement. However, despite these (and many other) differences between the gardens, they are all vital to the communities that cultivate them, for the reasons mentioned above.

We hope that these snapshots of community gardens in Baltimore will highlight the myriad ways in which people all over the city have begun to take ownership over their own environments and, to quote our very own masthead, “build a new society on the vacant lots of the old.”

Mr. Sonny’s Garden

Mr. Sonny cleaned a vacant lot on North Avenue and Chester Street about 20 years ago. At first, it was his personal garden, but over the years he put in a grill and tables and collected tricycles for the neighborhood children to play with. The garden eventually became a safe gathering space for the neighborhood. When we went to visit Mr. Sonny’s Garden, both young and old residents greeted us. Some were playing cards, others were sitting around a table and talking, and kids were scampering about among the piles of tricycles and other objects amassed near the entrance. The residents were very amenable to telling us the story of how the garden was started and were quick to invite us to one of several community events they hold in the space. Enough produce is harvested to allow for regular neighborhood cookouts. Community members come by and help themselves to fresh okra and cabbage at suppertime too. Mr. Sonny’s garden also has huge grapevines, corn, peaches, apples, strawberries, and rose bushes. The entire neighborhood chips in to support the garden. People donate soil, plants, and tools, and Mr. Sonny has taken on most of the maintenance tasks.

The Madeira Garden

The C.A.R.E. community began planning this garden in the winter of 2006. A dozen or so residents from around the 400 block of Madeira Street formed a steering committee of sorts. Everyone had different motives: wanting a place for her children to be children, to let her dog walk, to grow real food, or simply to have somewhere free of rats and trash. The area of the garden is about 3,000 square feet and the focus is almost exclusively vegetables. The food is freely harvested by those who support the garden, including gardeners of all ages, neighbors who watch over the space, and community members who live down the street. They usually have a big harvest once a week, and someone delivers the yield around to supporters and friends. There are about 10 or so adults and another 10 young people who contribute regularly to growing the food, not including about 20 other residents who help on a less consistent basis each season. The garden has also received a substantial amount of support from organizational partners, including non-profit organizations, civic groups, and educational institutions. If you would like to volunteer, stop by the garden at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays. To receive more information or to schedule a visit to Madeira, please write and e-mail to gregory.strella@gmail.com.

Duncan St. Garden

While exploring Southeast Baltimore, we were struck by the unique artistic and structural qualities of this small corner garden, which community members who were cleaning up the vacant lots around their houses started in 2003. Ivy Parsons, a contributor to the garden, whom we found sitting on a stoop at the end of Duncan street, informed us that, in the past year, several residents have stepped up and taken ownership of the space. In addition, students from the Maryland Institute College of Art donated birdhouses and helped construct the fence at the entrance with found materials. Community members grow and harvest their own food on individual plots. If you’re in Southeast Baltimore and you’re searching for this beautiful garden, look for the potted plants that run all along Duncan Street between Jefferson and McElderry Streets.

Village Green Community Garden in Remington

This garden was started in August 2007, when Remington residents decided to clean up the garbage on the lot on 29th and Fox Streets. Over the following winter residents determined that it would be a good spot for vegetables. In March 2008 residents had their first big clean-up day with over 40 volunteers from the neighborhood. Since then they have met once or twice a week, usually in smaller groups of five to ten people, to plan and maintain the garden. The informal distribution policy is that if someone comes out and works—water, weed, move dirt, mulch, etc.—then she gets a bag of harvest. There are about six people at work in any week, and probably 15 total, including those who drop in once a month to do some work. The tasks include watering, weeding, building new beds, planting seeds, mulching, shoveling dirt, digging holes, and building compost. The garden has received the generous support of organizations including the Maryland Cooperative Extension, Parks and People Foundation, and Civic Works vacant lot team, all of whom provide material and service support for establishing gardens and green spaces in the city. The gardeners also continually pursue grant money and other support from local organizations and community associations. Volunteers are welcome to stop by and work for food. The group gathers on Wednesdays around 6 p.m. and Sundays around 10 a.m. Feel free to contact Roy Skeen by e-mail at skeensgreens@gmail.com or Megan Beller at
megan.beller@yahoo.com.

issue:

Summer—Fall 2008