Boy oh boy have I been dropping the ball in keeping this blog updated!
I kind of got kicked in the old rubber parts at the beginning of last season (2011) when there was a very strange and stubborn destructive event that wiped my spiritually permacultured urban treasure chest right off the map! It happened while I was helping other family members throughout the region get their own gardens started during the week just prior to Memorial day, and when I returned, the entire garden had been dismantled and bulldozed compost pile, hoses, tools, fencing, tires, tarps, and all sorts of innovative little pieces and parts of the previous years garden awaiting to get reassembled...
Especially nice is the fact that I'm a service-connected disabled USN veteran and everything they cleared was 100% charity motivated and a personal 'thank you' to my community for contributing to taking care of MY OWN needs by hopefully providing a little bit of self-sufficiency, security and dignity along with some avenues for community building and involvement and skill-set/knowledge base sharing and mentoring.
Before anyone fumes about it, my spirits were so high from helping and being with my family when I heard the news, I never once felt any anger about the ordeal. In fact, in my first correspondence afterward, I merely asked: "Since I always have had and still do hold the valid permit for a community garden, can I start over without it getting bulldozed again?"
Apparently the city was so embarrassed by the 'accident' that they sent 3 people to personally apologize (including the initial inspector that wrote the work order) and offer the sale of the lot AND the additional sale of the adjacent lot for a mere 500 bucks each, all title recording fees and a bunch of other stuff included AS WELL AS offered to reimburse me for anything I could scrape up a receipt for, so I gues stuff happens for a reason, eh? };^/?
The picture is a before/after comparison, but I DID REBUILD and I will continue to build it even greater because now I have full-use of the soil, AND TWICE AS MUCH!
Not only that, but the incident should give me a bit of 'pull' with the people who approve the permits and there is another lot close by that I've had my eye on because of it's perfect position for 'showcasing' a collaborative effort that I HOPE (fingers crossed) can demonstrate how efficient and functional, as well as eye-catching neighborhood maintained urban permaculture gardens can become. I've joined forces with few different local organizations, some 'well rooted', others mere seedlings searching for anchor points, and the location seems to be attractive to number of them!
Not even a block from the Pennsylvania St. entrance of the Public Market and right across the street from my house and garden(s) so I can easily supply stuff for it and be there as a central contact point.
I have 3 more 75 variety heirloom produce seed sets along with culinary and medicinal herbs, and 15 pounds of certified seed potatoes (3 varieties) on their way, and the kick-off will be on April 29th at 9am just before the Occupy Your Health Fair up the street at 11 am at the old Vietnam Vets Thrift store on East Main in the new Greenovation organization's space! Can't wait!
Brian
