I love this vertical, little garden in Philadelphia that caught my eye last summer. The potted plants are hanging by chains from the ledge of the roof, with larger planters below. A drip line “rains” water down on the whole thing.
It probably uses a lot of water (??) but it sure maximizes space and creates a cool section along the sidewalk. It was a great section of the street to walk past in the middle of the summer.
Finally, I made it to the Mecca of school gardens: The Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California.
Wow.
I was not disappointed. First of all, the place is Enormous! Much larger than I had imagined—about a third of a city block. Plus, the space feels larger than it might (if it were, say, a soccer field) because there is so much going on. If I were a kid, I could imagine running around and exploring this place for hours.
There is a giant (purple) building to the south of the garden that houses an industrial kitchen, dining area, and offices for the staff. There is a solar-powered waterfall. A greenhouse. A cob tool shed. A poultry palace. A rainwater catchment system. There are water fountains, fruit trees, row crops, arbors with kiwi vines climbing over them, hand-tiled retaining walls, and of course, compost. Totally mind-boggling.
As my friend Maggie said, “These folks have a lot of funding.” Yes, they do, certainly in relation to other school gardens I’ve seen. Then again, this site is designed as a model classroom, and you can tell they are experimenting with anything and everything that can be done with a garden at a middle school. (Interestingly, the garden program is actually a non-profit run next door to the school, but obviously it’s a close partnership.)
I took about a billion photos, but here are some of the highlights from our visit:
A super tall arbor tunnel. I just love how they really went for it. This thing must be at least 12 feet tall!
The fluffiest chicken that I ever did see.
Asparagus fruit in the evening light. Happy Holidays!
The Edible SchoolyardI’m excited to read this new book by Darrin Nordahl. It’s about using municipal spaces with total public access to grow food.
Diane Rehm does an interview with the author here.
I love this little garden in the Mission. It sits in a quiet alley just a block away from bustling Guerrero (and one of the best bakeries in the city). What a lovely oasis.
The outside borders are lined with roses, lavender and other perennials. People obviously care about the place a lot. You can see into the garden from the street, and go inside if there’s someone working there.
The garden also has some huge fences! 10 feet tall with barbed wire (interwoven with spiky canes from the rose bushes and dead palm fronds!). I guess that’s gardening in the gritty city for ya.
I stopped by the Stanford Farm yesterday to see what was going on there. A lot, apparently.
The student garden section has taken off like wildfire, mostly thanks to a new, full-time staff member who coordinates gardening and education projects around campus. (Frankly, it sounds like a pretty sweet job.)
She showed me how the student garden has warp-sped into high production mode, supplying food for a weekly farm stand in the middle of campus. (The food is driven across campus in a tiny, electric truck.)
This quarter, 35 students were turned away from the on-site sustainable agriculture class, and there is discussion of moving the student section of the “farm” to a larger, more central location near the equestrian center. (Oh-so-convenient to all that manure, I imagine.)
Wow! Stanford is joining the sustainable food movement in some significant ways.
I visited this cool garden last weekend. We drove down the pacific highway, arrived late in the day, and there was only one person and one dog hanging out there by then. But, the person was totally friendly and the dog was very, very awesome:
He came right up to us with his tail wagging, just the sweetest animal I’ve ever met. One day, I will adopt a dog. One day! Anyway, the garden was great—huge and full of interesting projects (including a hutch full of ducks!!) and lots of flowers. Definitely a garden with a lot going on.
I once told a vegan friend that my ancestors had worked long and hard to develop lactose tolerance, and I would dishonor their names to reject such a gift. Fortunately, my vegan friend has a sense of humor and is very tolerant and forgiving.
I would never defend abusive factory farms, but my love for dairy products is deep, which is partly why I love, love, love the idea of a backyard cow. Some people are getting into this, bringing more farm animals into suburbs and cities. Maybe it’s a fad, maybe it’s a revolution, maybe it will save everyone’s lives when the shiz hits the fan. Whatever, I think it’s cool. I really want to read this book by Novella Carpenter about being a city farmer.
