Gas station gardens

For some time now I've noticed a trend of gas station attendants creating food gardens.  

Swoon.

It's not widespread.  Plenty of gas stations are landscaped with strictly ornamentals.  I took a quick drive this morning to pass by several of the veggie gardens I've noticed in recent years.  I pulled over, in the first instance got gas, spoke to the gardeners, and with their permission took some photos.

Exhibit A.  My new friend is Nepalese and planted these squash and cucumbers.  Obviously, his patch is highly productive, but adjoining a major highway-- not to mention the nearby pumps.  He shared that this is a long-term practice he's carried in his global migration.  Seeing these resourceful beds reminded me of Vietnam.  Especially in and around Hanoi, I saw people garden everything.  Literally.  Food growing on highway median strips, out of cut milk containers on balconies, in old cups on steps.  I had never seen such persistent food growers and greatly respect the inclination to tend plants.

By the pumps, this gas station gardener had tomatoes, marigolds, and even some roses growing in large containers.  This brings me to my concern: is there potential contamination to the food?  What is the soil like in and around a gas station?  How does the air quality affect the plants?

Secondly, if there is contamination, given the issues with so much of our store-bought produce, is this still worthwhile given the risk?

I reached out to the wise interwebs.  A few friends said that strict environmental regulations usually mean that the soil is safe from gas, however, they worried about lead contamination from paint and from the massive amounts of car exhaust.

I headed to another gas station garden.  This gardener told me he emigrated from north India.  He said that he too gardened this way at home.  He had set up a bed behind his gas station, adjoining a neighboring business.

I could tell that the garden, on a raised bed, was highly productive.  So what about those lead contamination concerns?

On the one hand, I really respect these gardener's inclinations.  Many of these workers are on site more than 80 hours a week.  I respect that they use some of that time to also grow food.  Plus, gas stations are inevitably an environmental blight.  Plants are often the most powerful forces to clean soil and air.

I just wasn't sure about these plants...  I turned to Kevin & my internet crushes at Root Simple.  After sending away soil samples, it seems that the Root Simple gardeners may be dealing with some lead contamination, likely from paint in the 1950s.  They researched ways to safely grow.  The first suggestion is raised beds!  Go gardener #2!  The most labor intensive method is simply hauling up the contaminated soil and replacing it with new, safe soil.  However, each of these gas stations would likely be re-contaminated given their locations and services.

Phytoremediation, or introducing plants that pull lead out of soil, is another fantastic solution.  Guess what plant does that well?  Sunflowers!

 Gas station #3.  This Nepalese attendant lined his station with sunflowers.  Smart gardener.

From the interwebs, our friend Mike shared his thoughts:  "I definitely love... to think that we can reclaim and transform all these 'damaged' spaces with vibrant and potentially edible spaces-- but the reality is that the soil/plant uptake of certain chemicals is definitely a real concern...  Arsenic or lead and some other heavy metals of VOCs and dioxins are unfortunately a whole lot  "stronger" than... plants like a tomato [in terms of] cleansing soil.  Underground storage tanks leak often, things spill, and stuff like lead has a significant half life with its neuro toxicity, [meaning it] hangs around a long time... In certain areas, the toxicity downsides outweigh the benefit of some local produce.  That being said, you can improve the health of a location aesthetically by planting non-edibles."

I would certainly love to see fewer gas stations and healthier job opportunities for my new gardener friends.  In the immediate future, I love their resourcefulness and will continue to watch their gardens grow.  I'd love to become better versed in plants that beautify toxic sites.  If any readers have research or links to sites that have experienced renewed health thanks to plant-life, or a combination of efforts, please share in the comments section.  Plants are powerful-- to the imagination and to the physical world.

Shout out to local business! MOORE BROS. rocks our world!

We have happily found a source for wine bottles to frame our raised beds as well as those of clients.  Moore Bros Wine has been so generous & kind in storing wine bottles for us post-tastings.  I unloaded a few hundred in my basement just this morning.  Rooted may need a wine bottle shed soon... the landscaping take on a wine cellar.

Small business collaboration!  Re-purposing!  Artful design!  Exclamatory statements!

Nap outside

Now.

It's really good for you.

We often hear from clients that their yards stress them out.  They find it challenging to maintain them, are irritated by insects, or can't find beauty in their properties.

I hear you.  It's a challenge.  There is a lot to keep up with, but there are many ways to build efficiency, function, low-maintenance, and pleasure into your property.  Sometimes it requires some initial effort but over time you can find that your property becomes much more manageable.  (We can help!)

Our property felt really out of control.  We had trees that were ready to fall on our neighbor's houses.  The first big effort was felling those trees.  We were sad about it, but we had to be pragmatic about being responsible home-owners.  The up-side is that the loss of the trees created ample sunshine to feed our now bountiful garden.  We kept the trees on the property by using the logs to create raised beds.  That way we didn't have to pay to haul them off-site, but could keep them around.  The soil was so compacted from rescue dogs that used to trample it and all the tree roots, that it would be years before we could have had a successful garden directly in the soil.  Now we have a productive garden, thanks to the service of the trees framing out raised beds.

We tried to keep as many trees as possible and we also planted new fruit trees along the creek bed at the back of our property.  They'll help prevent erosion of the soil and they're far enough away from the houses to not pose a threat of falling in a storm.  Plus, fruit!

So now for taking pleasure in our surroundings.  Years ago we purchased a hammock in Panama.  We simply loved the woven hammocks that we continued to find in Central America.  We knew it wasn't practical for us to hang a hammock at that point, but we figured we'd hold onto it for whenever the right circumstances emerged.

This year we kept looking around.  Where was it going to go?  Obviously, we want shade, and we now have less shade.  We wanted some privacy.

A friend posted a photo of a hammock strung between the V branches in a tree.  Yes!  Now I started looking more closely at our trees & we identified the perfect spot.

Under the magnolia!!!

No nails.  Kevin cemented in a post & hook.  He then wired together a few pieces of bamboo to slide in the V of the branches.  The magnolia was not harmed in the process of hammock hanging.

This hammock is woven, so we store it in a waterproof box under the bush.  Safe from the rain, inside during the winter, & easily accessible on a warm day.  (I can't wait to purchase a few more hammocks as back-up when I go back to Guatemala this winter to lead a yoga retreat!)

And the view.  Sweetly enjoying the lovely land around me.  Finding pleasure.

One day I opened up an instructive YouTube video from a permaculture specialist.  I expected to find a lot of content on maintaining mutually supporting systems in a garden.  This highly lauded permaculture specialist walked the viewer to the little havens he had created in his garden.  He laid down by a swale and began plucking berries off a nearby bush.  He shared that here he could hide from his chores, and his wife, a little while longer.  I was so happy.  It is credible content to think coherently about enjoying the space that you inhabit.

The Groundhog Chronicles

October 22, 2012

Humans are in the house.  Maiga looks out the window as Superstorm Sandy approaches.  A fat, happy groundhog munches on her arugula and spinach.  Blast.

Several more groundhog sightings follow.

Kevin is adamant that a groundhog can take out a garden.  He begins watching YouTube videos.  Friends compare him to Elmer Fudd.  He buys a Hav-a-heart trap.

The groundhog scoffs.  

This becomes battle royale.  Kevin catches several feral cats, squirrels, opposums, and a raccoon in the Hav-a-Heart trap.  Maiga becomes convinced that the groundhog is orchestrating this all safely from his forest den.  

Here, Maiga & Kevin's life long animal rights politics clash with their desire to eat out of the garden.  Maiga advocates meditating on the groundhog, coexisting, sharing.  Kevin claims that's all rather naive.  That they've invested too much time and effort into the garden to lose it all.  

Tensions flare.

June 2, 2013

Two nights after a skunk sprayed and knocked over the trap (do we not have a master-mind groundhog at the helm?!) Kevin finds that vanilla extract on the cage and baiting with strawberries does work.  On this historic date he catches a groundhog.  Once caged he sees that he's indeed an adorable little rodent.  Confused, he eats several coconut popsicles while taking the groundhog to woods several miles away.

June 16, 2013

Another groundhog has ravaged the peas and lettuces.  Re-baiting the trap, this time the hog is caught quickly.  Is it the same?  Is it another groundhog?  Kevin asks me to identify him as though he were in a police line-up.  Yes.  He looks like the shapeless ball of fur that has been eating our veggies.  He too goes the way of the woods.

Meanwhile, I have been conspiring with friends to advocate for our groundhog brethren.  Our designer friend, Oskar Castro, creates a groundhog image inspired by Subcommandante Marcos, spokesperson for the Zapatista movement, EZLN.

Our friend, Mike, uses this groundhog image to turn the tables on Kevin.

Accompanied by this communique:
A communique from the Groundhog Liberation Front (Mike translated from Groundhog)- 

"Welcome to the struggle of all species to be free.
The war of greed over food ravages the earth and species die out every day. GLF works to to scare the rich and greedy oppressors and to undermine the foundations of their speciesist society. For too many years we have sought to simply feed our family and have been treated as second class animals to that puffy white cat. We have to show the enemy that we are serious about defending what is sacred. Together we have teeth and claws to match our dreams. Our greatest weapons are imagination and the ability to strike when least expected. We are practically invisible. We have no command structure, no spokespersons, no office, just many small groups working separately, seeking vulnerable targets to strike back for food equality. Find your family! And let's celebrate as we make ruins of their precious garden.

You cage us, we cage you."

End communication.
You cage us, we cage you." 
End communication.


Kevin feels truly mixed up.

Luckily, it gets better.

I had these tee shirts made.

Epilogue:

Groundhogs continue to roam the woods behind our house and eat our vegetables.  On Sunday, we sighted a deer.

Avant Garden Updates

Here's an aerial shot of Avant Garden geometry.  Corn & sunflower beds to the right, with climbing zucchini building ground cover.  To the left, plenty of annuals like tomatoes, peppers, & cucumbers.  Some lettuces in the shade of cucumbers, & herbs like rosemary, basil, & chives.  Further back find berries & fruit trees.

Borage blossoms.  This herb enhances tomato flavor.  The blossoms are also edible.  They taste kind of like cucumber & marshmallow.

Spaghetti squash!  It is efficiently establishing this hugelkultur bed.

This hugelkultur bed is growing a small army of carrots.  We thin, thin, & thin again.  Baby carrots are adorable!

One of my favorite plants: lavender.  It loves full sun, well-drained soil, other friendly lavender nearby, & herbs.  It attracts butterflies & bees & generally smells fantastic.  Throughout the season I create sachets & spike-filled vases.

Potato plants leafing!

And an organic potato farm on our friend, Calyb's arm.

What makes it all grow.  Courtesy of our buddy, Yvonne.

Stay well-watered!

Berries

We love berries.  We love to eat them, watch them, sniff them, allow them to lure butterflies & birds.

Raspberries vine & tangle.  They get dense & fun but are low-maintenance.  Find a sunny out of the way spot & plant.  Our raspberries are new this season.  We're allowing them to establish and marveling at their serrated leaves & tiny blossoms.

Blueberry hill!  We acidified the soil with plenty of peat moss, holly tone, & bone meal fertilizer.

They're happy!  We're letting the birds help generate new growth.  As the birds bogart our berries the plant continues to produce more.  As these are young plants, we're game for anything that stimulates happy plant growth.  Once these plants are more established we'll net half the berries & leave half for the birds.  Alternate annually & share the bounty!

Strawberries love to crawl & wander.  We housed ours in a raised bed.

We have some full sun in the front yard that's under-utilized.  We'd like to expand the strawberry patch there.  Some grow strawberries vertically in poles or barrels, when space is limited.

Berries are beautiful and delicious.  Our yards should be places to delight all the senses-- sight, sound, scent, & taste!

Lettuces

Everyone should grow lettuces.

Seriously.

It is EASY.  We direct sowed our lettuces in early march.  We've been giving them hair-cut harvests & receiving bounty since early April. I'm hoping to extend their growing season by trellising cucumbers in front of them to create shade & a cooler micro-climate.

 Not only are lettuces delicious & healthy but they're lovely.

Boston bibb makes a beautiful ground-cover.  Like chard & many other leafy edibles, it's a fantastic contrast with showy flowers and ornamentals.  There's no reason that edibles & ornamentals should be segregated.  Get creative!  & then get to eat some of the fruits of your labor.