Flying manure, flattened cardboard, and ammonia headaches signaled a new and exciting project for Edible City and its urban farming friends. In downtown Oakland, near 10th and MLK, sits an empty lot guarded by at least six feral cats, in between apartment buildings, and with a nice view of the Marriott. The landowner, scared off of building by current economic woes, loves the idea of putting in a community garden - so much so that he has guaranteed two or even three years, after which time he will put up a building, and literally move the garden to the roof.

The EBPI crew has spent a few days there already, including a full day last Saturday. With soil samples in the lab for analysis, we gradually covered the ground in flattened cardboard, a version of a process known as sheet mulching. The process, which can vary quite a bit, in general allows weeds to be killed and a garden to be started without having to dig up hard, old dirt. The cardboard, once covering the ground (overlapping so as to prevent any weeds from growing up through cracks), was soaked thoroughly with a hose.

Around 11:00, a man came by with a large truck full of horse manure that Carl had procured from a local stable. After some fairly impressive truck maneuvering, we had two large, steaming piles of manure to spread over the wet cardboard. Armed with shovels and pitchforks, masks over our faces, we spent the rest of the afternoon spreading the manure around, attempting to get a layer, a couple inches thick, to cover the entire lot. Next will be a layer of wood chips, followed by more alternating layers of manure and chips.

As far as gardening goes, that’s essentially it until spring - this process involves a lot of waiting. Other projects include a rain catchment system, and the design of the garden. The basic plan is to make it into a community garden and a school, where workshops and volunteer days can be held regularly - but as it’s a nascent project, much is left to be figured out, planned, decided, and implemented.

This young project has, thus far, been marked by a steady stream of good fortune and timing. An owner willing (and excited) about the project, neighboring construction workers with extra cardboard, a local stable with manure to donate, a neighbor of the lot - whose response upon learning of the garden was ‘my prayers have been answered!’ - who used to work with one our of crewmembers and have given us use of her hose, a friend who can donate wood chips, and much more… the tell-tale signs of an auspicious beginning.

Check back for more updates as EBPI covers the birth of a community garden! And let us know if you would like to be involved.

A trip to Portola was in order on Tuesday, September 2nd, as EBPI set out to document a day-long, permacultural, edible garden installation in Southern San Francisco. The installers, Trevor Paque’s MyFarm, turned a decent-sized barren yard into a lovely space, with keyhole beds and woodchips.

A slow start made us miss a shot Adam really wanted - Trevor and pal leaving home on their bikes. All MyFarm employees go to work on their bikes. Dirt, woodchips, and other heavy things are delivered by truck, but none of the employees drive to work. Adam was able to gather everyone later in the day to shoot them rolling around the corner on their bikes, dismounting, and starting work. Yeah, it was staged. What of it?

When we arrived, dirt was being dragged from the street and poured from various containers into the backyard. Several keyhole-shaped plots were gradually fashioned, as the garden began to take shape. The Ryan family (right ->) was extremely friendly and accomodating - bringing out a steady supply of water and Diet Caffeine-Free Coke, and opening their home up for anything we needed. We grabbed them for an interview after lunch, and found out that they’re newlyweds; she’s a nurse, and he’s a drummer. They learned of MyFarm, as many around here have, from the Chronicle’s front page story on them in June. MyFarm also got some love in the New York Times, which has been running huge quantities of stories on urban farming, permaculture, and related topics recently.

MyFarm’s operation has a few things going for it that set it apart from other urban agriculture endeavors: for one, they’re not a non-profit. In many ways, they’re more of a landscaping company, but their goal is not (only) aesthetic - it’s about practical, sustainable, and community-based food production. It’s a business, and one that Trevor is out to prove can work. As he puts it, he envisions what they create as being a “decentralized urban farm.” Second, the bike thing. Third, the way the CSA aspect is incorporated - for “Owner Member Installations” (as opposed to “Personal Installations”), homeowners get a box of produce from their own garden, and so do others in the neighborhood. The homeowners pay to have the garden installed (as expensive as $1,800 but usually less), pay a small weekly maintenance fee, but only get a portion of the spoils. Even though MyFarm encourages homeowners to get their hands dirty, no actual work on their part is required - they basically host a CSA garden on their property.

It hasn’t taken long for MyFarm to carve out a significant presence. Their press coverage happened before they were even a viable business, and they installed a few test gardens for free to start out. Now, only weeks later, they get 10 online requests a day and already have a significant waiting list. They are doing this at the right time, in this day and age of ‘fresh, local, seasonal, sustainable.’ 

Their crew is made up of paid workers and volunteers. The crew does all of the following: test the soil, design the garden layout, install beds, plant seeds, put down woodchips, install drip installation, and come back for maintenance. Workers get assigned to be the “farmer” for a garden, and are then responsible for weekly upkeep. 

They have a lot of fun, it seems. Working on creating something useful and positive in the sun all day long will do that. They broke for Mitchell’s at lunchtime and humored us with short interviews - mostly “how did you get involved?” and “what’s your connection to farming?”, that sort of thing. Some have extensive gardening/farming experience, and some have essentially none.

In some ways it remains to be seen how successful, ultimately, MyFarm will be - since they plant seeds, nothing has yet been harvested - but it seems likely they will prove this to be a viable model. The demand is high, the time is right, and the know-how is there. Another piece of the Edible City puzzle, and another small step towards independence from agribusiness.

Photos from the day here

Volunteers, Gavin Newsom, Alice Waters, planting, city hall, and good times - all part of Slow Food Nation’s Community Planting Day.