Edible Estates. Someone had the same idea as me.

[SSimon]

Thanks for the post, Bac. It looks like fairly easy management. Your pots are nowhere near the size I thought would be required of crops. I was concerned about this as with moist dirt this would be a heavy load on my shingles. I'll still look for studs, however. This will look either very strange on the side of my house, or add a nice element. It'll be highly visible from the street. My house already looks "different" and I've not received hate mail yet.

Thanks for the topic, Godiva.

[bac]

Originally Posted by SSimon

This will look either very strange on the side of my house, or add a nice element.

I had the same thought before I decided to roll the dice. In the end, the plants helped shade my side porch also ..... so it was really a win/win deal for me.

Good luck!

... Brad

[SSimon]

First thing I noticed was that they provided you with privacy and how nice they looked.

[DaveinOlyWA]

well Godiva, i nominated you for TOTM....i think... nothing to click on, so i went to Danny's announcement post...

anyone else see the TOTM link here?

[Godiva]

Thank you. That's very nice. But it's disabled. And I'm not participating due to it's being tainted by bribery. Glad you're enjoying the discussion.

Originally Posted by DaveinOlyWA

well Godiva, i nominated you for TOTM....i think... nothing to click on, so i went to Danny's announcement post...

anyone else see the TOTM link here?

[DaveinOlyWA]

oic... oh well, thank you for your contribution.

the thread info's contribution is enough for me... very imformative

[SSimon]

Yeah, me too. I also nominate you for this thread even without bribes.

I'm really digging this project and can't wait to get started.

[Godiva]

And for those with no yard or access to dirt or even hanging baskets.....

I just got a notification today that they are reviving our community garden. We had one in the I-15 easement when there was a lot of litigation regarding eminent domain. There was a community garden set up where the houses had been torn down. It lasted for quite a few years until they finally built the new I-15. It was quite successful. Apartment dwellers had a little plot of ground to grow things. Many new immigrant families (we have a lot in our area due to affordability) could grow familiar crops they couldn't find in the grocery stores. And everyone socialized even with language limitations. Everyone learned English as a common language. It was only a temporary garden due to the impending freeway. When the freeway went through the city did nothing to help relocate the garden.

Well, I got a notice today that a new garden is being proposed on some city land. It's called the New Roots Community Farm. It will have fifty 20x30 foot plots, thirty 15x15 foot plots and three community organization plots. There will also be a community tool shed, a shaded gathering place, a compost station and a recycling center. I haven't been to the proposed site but from the description it sounds like it's a strip between freeways and streets not suitable for other development. It's so timely now that we're looking at getting back to the old "Victory Garden" concepts.

I remember traveling through Germany and seeing these strips of community gardens along the railways and freeways all of the time. There is plenty of space for that concept here. Often there is already water access. Instead of planting useless landscaping, why not edible gardens for the community?

[PriuStorm]

Originally Posted by Godiva

Could the family have been the Foti Family of Lakewood, CA? Looks like it was started in 2006 so the family could have extended it in the last two years. Perhaps they liked the front so much they also expanded to the back yard?

Godiva,
I'm digging this topic, too... and love the other ideas coming in also, like the hanging baskets (though I wonder if our sun here in CA is too intense for that, i.e. frying the roots if hanging in the sun all day long).

I don't think that was the family because I don't recognize any of the pictures. Also, I think I discovered this site like 3-4 years ago, and by that time, the garden had already evolved a few years. I'll keep looking for it... the pics of the 8 foot high tomato plants were stunning.

[SSimon]

Originally Posted by Godiva

And for those with no yard or access to dirt or even hanging baskets.....

I just got a notification today that they are reviving our community garden. We had one in the I-15 easement when there was a lot of litigation regarding eminent domain. There was a community garden set up where the houses had been torn down. It lasted for quite a few years until they finally built the new I-15. It was quite successful. Apartment dwellers had a little plot of ground to grow things. Many new immigrant families (we have a lot in our area due to affordability) could grow familiar crops they couldn't find in the grocery stores. And everyone socialized even with language limitations. Everyone learned English as a common language. It was only a temporary garden due to the impending freeway. When the freeway went through the city did nothing to help relocate the garden.

Well, I got a notice today that a new garden is being proposed on some city land. It's called the New Roots Community Farm. It will have fifty 20x30 foot plots, thirty 15x15 foot plots and three community organization plots. There will also be a community tool shed, a shaded gathering place, a compost station and a recycling center. I haven't been to the proposed site but from the description it sounds like it's a strip between freeways and streets not suitable for other development. It's so timely now that we're looking at getting back to the old "Victory Garden" concepts.

I remember traveling through Germany and seeing these strips of community gardens along the railways and freeways all of the time. There is plenty of space for that concept here. Often there is already water access. Instead of planting useless landscaping, why not edible gardens for the community?

I had been banking on our township for a community site just like this. I learned of it at some conservation meeting I was at. I called the township later that week to learn they've dismantled the project. People were messy, left stuff laying around and didn't care for their space properly so no more garden. Behave yourselves or fear the same fate. They really should have guidelines and monitoring to ensure compliance so that many don't suffer at the hands of a few.