Posted on 06/28/2009 5:10:03 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
(NOTE: This is a craze in the UK, so the terms are a little different in this article.)
Here are just a few tips I've learnt about how to go about Guerrilla Gardening, a basic twelve step guide of things to think about. These are not rules, you make them up, you're a guerrilla, they are just some lessons from war. Share yours and discuss more in the Community here.
1. Spot some local orphaned land.
You will be amazed how many little grubby patches of unloved public space there are. Neglected flower beds, concrete planters sprouting litter and untamed plants, bare plots of mud. Chose one close to home, perhaps you pass it on the way to the shops or work, and appoint yourself it's parent. This will make it much easier to look after in the long term and reduce the risk of straying into a dangerous neighbourhood. The patch photographed here is off Lenox Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.
2. Plan a mission.
Make a date in the diary for an evening attack, when trouble-making busy bodies are out of sight. Invite supportive friends, or perhaps enrole supportive strangers by announcing your attack in the Guerrilla
3. Find a local supply of plants.
The cheaper the better. For city dwellers think local DIY stores, supermarkets and whole salers. The cheapest plants are ones that are free. Sometimes garden centres will have spare plants to give you for the cause. Or befriend someone with a garden (you might even be lucky and have a garden yourself). Think of these private spaces as the training camps for harvesting seeds, cuttings and plants hardened for their big adventure in the wilds of public space. If you have things going spare please leave a message in the Community forum for guerrillas near to where you live.
4. Choose plants for front line battle.
Think hardy - resistant to water shortages and the cold, and in some locations pedestrian trampling! These plants need to look after themselves a lot of the time. Think impactful - colour, ever green foliage, scale. These plants need to really make a difference, for as much of the year as possible. Visit the Community to get advice about specific plants for your part of the world, and to share your horticultural advice with the less experienced. In London I use a lot of herbs like Lavander and Thyme, tulip bulbs, shurbs.
5. Get some Wellington Shoes.
Whilst protecting your feet from mud and providing good purchase on a fork, these rubber shoes also don't look too obviously "agricultural" as the usual boot, and blend in well with the urban environment. I've even worn these clubbing. Andy (233) wrapped his white trainers in carrier bags which worked very effectively, and enables a very convincing clean-footed get-away should you want to whip them off quickly.
6. Bag some bags.
Plastic bags, bin liners (not only can they keep your feet clean), but they are essential for clearing up the deteritous of war. Weeds, litter, flower pots, and pebbles need to be carried away. For gentle work recuse wind blown carrier bags or for more serious gardening reuse compost bags or giant sacks from builder's merchants. The thick plastic does not rip and you can lug a great deal in them to a nearby bin.
7. Regular Watering.
One of the responsibilities of a Guerrilla Gardener is ongoing tendering. Water is short in many parts of the world, even drissly old London. The Guerrilla Gardener must usually carry water (though I know of New York guerrillas who have keys to road side hydrants!) I have used petrol cannisters, they are the perfect water-tight, efficiently-packed portable transportation. But it has caused passers-by to ask if I am a nocturnal arsonist. Julie (159) came up with the genius idea of using old water dispenser bottles. Here she is with the bounty from her office! They work extremely well.
8. Seed bombs.
For gardening those areas where access is difficult or a long dig is unsuitable, use a seed bombs - seeds and soil wrapped in an explosive capsule or moulded together. The 1970s New York green guerrillas bizarrly recommended using polluting plastic and glass containers but these days guerrillas just mould soil, clay and seeds together or have been known to make delicate bombs by sucking out chicken eggs and filling them with seeds and soil.
9. Chemical Warfare.
Boost your plants with natural chemicals. Some guerrillas are lucky to have space for compost heaps. Alex (1797) lives in a flat with no garden so has employed an efficient army of red worms to help him make his chemical weapons. In a box in the kitchen his Eisenia Fetida transform food into a rich vermicompost and worm juice fertiliser. Click here to read his blog and for links to other worm farmers.
10. Garden with a girl
Clara (005) pointed this out to me. Having a girl on a dig (not only is as useful as the equivalent male troop) is a brilliant diversion should the cops pass by and get inqusitive. I encourage participants to take inspiration from the appropriately named Daisy Duke, who was masterful at diverting Boss Hogg from whatever Bo and Luke were up to. Then again, dressed like Daisy, the police might assume you were into floral bedding of a very different nature.
11. Spread the word
Let people know what you have done with a few flyers under doors near the guerrilla gardening war zone, a poster taped to a phone box or bus stop, a marker in the soil. Engage passers by in conversation, perhaps even bring a few spare tools. And welcome local media (particularly if they'll help towards the cost of your gardening, which many do).
12. Transportation.
If you are not guerrilla gardening within walking distance from your home (the ideal) you will need some transportation. My solution has been capacious two seaters. Convertibles with big wide flat boots enable both trees and large trays of plants to be easily transported. The one pictured is an old Volkswagen Porsche 914 with a wipe clean vinyl interior. Andrew (1679) gets all over the place on a bicycle, with plants strapped to his back (even a Washingtonia palm).
I've created a haven for butterflies and birds and insects (like honey bees!) because they do so much good for my garden and orchard.
Selfish? You bet. Hurting anyone? Nope. :)
Ping Worthy? I came across this site linked in an ‘Organic Gardening’ mag today. I’m FORCED to read that lefty rag to keep up with the local Hippies that visit my garden center, LOL!
>>Selfish? You bet. Hurting anyone? Nope. :)
Hey I’m all for it, so long as those gardeners realize that this is someone else’s land and they may come back someday to their garden gone.
It is when they do things like create community vegetable gardens and then protest and the like when the owner decides to finally improve that previously empty lot that I get pissed.
“It is when they do things like create community vegetable gardens and then protest and the like when the owner decides to finally improve that previously empty lot that I get pissed.”
Yep. I’m sick of seeing Darryl Hannah chain herself to things, LOL!
The land behind my farm is protected so it’s never going to be used for anything...at least in MY lifetime. What happens after me, happens. ;)
I recommend this thread for anyone and everyone seeking gardening and survival info. FReeper NW_arizona_granny spent a lot of time, effort and energy putting this together for the benefit of all of us interested in such things. Thanks Granny!
Ping the the Weekly Gardening list!
Let’s see here...what percentage of them dyes their hair?
Butt crack warning!
Wonder how those witches turned that soil so black?
Thanks for adding that link!
Lots of great info there; I post when I can after wading through the TONS of info Granny adds on a regular basis. :)
“The owner of an auto shop is so pleased, he’s been changing our oil for free.”
This goes back to our other threads about bartering in the new ‘0bamaconomy.’ ANYTHING to keep the Washington Fat Cats OUT of our pockets. Yeesh!
I currently manage a Garden Center, but I plan to be out of there in another year. (Husband is pursuing HIS dreams right now; we need health insurance, it’s as simple as that.)
But when I’m ‘back on the block’ so to speak, developing gardens for people is yet another bankable skill I’ll have to exploit for cash or trade. :)
I was wondering the same thing! LOL
Haven’t the MJ warriors been doing this for years?
Hey, Diana, how are you?
You're gonna kill me....
Got a link? :)
Don’t forget container gardening! I have eight miniature/dwarf tomato plants on the deck. Some are starting to bear, some are starting to ripen, some will come inside under lights to finish if there is an early frost. I even planted one bush cucumber in an 18” pot....we will see what that does. Lettuce does well indoors. Spinach, though, is too large and sprawling. I also managed to get a pack of spinach seeds with a very low germination rate. Aggravating.
I am working on having cherry tomatoes and lettuce year ‘round. Also, I really want to try miniature carrots and beets over this next winter.
Meanwhile, my garden tomato plants have flowered, but not yet set fruit, due to our crazy weather. They did well in the last week of hot weather, but now we have a cool week on tap and I am seriously wondering if I will have a harvest. The high winds are also not good for the larger plants. They have surprised me before, but ya never know!
I’m fine, thanks! Looking forward to three days OFF this week so I can play in my own garden instead of my 2-acre ‘garden’ at work. :)
I’m gonna go with 20%, Regis. Final answer!
Thank you very much! I added “survivalist” to the keywords. Yes, indeedie, I did. :)
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