Trees n' drama on the East Side

Last night, the Garden Posse was all set: We had our tree, we had our tools, we had our plan. As we got organized, and I carried the Meyer Lemon tree to the garden, one of the neighbors drove up, threw the car door open, and yelled, "Yo, where's my tree?!" Another man in a truck stopped to say that every time he drove by the traffic triangle, he looked to see what was going on. He said he was excited about the tree, too.

Since last week, we saw a Miller Lite had grown next to the Wild Irish Rose. Something about all the broken glass must make the soil especially fertile for alcohol.

We didn't think the same soil would work for lemons, so here is Travis, adding mulch to the box.

Other Posse members were hooking the hose up to the spigot that a local business owner gave us permission to use, when they were rolled up on by the cops. This isn't a particularly good photo, but it is evidence: We had our first run-in with the police.

They thought we were stealing the water. When Megan informed them that we had gotten permission, they told her that if they received any complaints from the neighbors, they would have to charge "the manager" for criminal trespassing, even though this cop said he agreed with what we were doing and the idea behind it. Well, okay. With the response we've been receiving from the neighbors, it seems unlikely that someone would complain. Really, who hates public gardens? Show of hands?

Undeterred and unintimidated, we planted our tree.



We had started watering it with buckets of water when the heavens decided help out by opening up and raining buckets upon us. Thanks, heavens! We all (besides Jonathan) got drenched and ran to Megan's house. Then we had a pizza party. It recalled the humble origins of the guerrilla gardening project.



We also wrote down some garden guidelines for the sign, and discussed our next potential site. Travis is working on finding a spot in South Austin, and will post some pictures on the blog for consideration.

Next week we're on hiatus, and we'll resume on Tuesday, October 28. If you find yourself without activity on Tuesday, feel free to think about guerrilla gardening projects you'd like to do, or write on the blog about how you miss guerrilla gardening.

In the meantime, if you're interested in going to Maker Faire on Sunday, let's have a response/discussion thread in the post on Maker Faire below. Then I'll email info out. Please respond by Friday, because I don't check the internet on the weekends. Otherwise, you can call me. But just to entice you to come, here's a list of the awesome things you can learn to do at Maker Faire.

Do you want to go to Maker Faire?

I'm psyched for guerrilla gardening tonight, but I'm also excited for Maker Faire on Sunday. Megan and I went last year and had a fabulous time and saw lots of cool things. It would be great if we could get a group from the Garden Posse together for an excursion. Because if you're into guerrilla gardening, you're at least a little DIY, and that's what Maker Faire is all about.

Maker Faire is at the Travis County Expo Center. It's pretty far east. If anyone is interested, we could carpool from a central location.

It's $20 for a day, if you pre-purchase tickets at Whole Foods or the Austin Children's Museum. Otherwise, it's $25 at the gate.

Do you want to watch this movie?

Here's a trailer for The Greenhorns, an ongoing documentary project about young urban farmers. It needs funding to be completed, but I can't wait to watch it.



This reminds me of someone I know!

Do you want a guerrilla garden?

Tomorrow is our last night at the garden on the East Side traffic triangle. I've moved the meeting time up to 7:30 pm because it is getting dark earlier, and we have a lot of projects to complete. The Garden Posse has shown me the true meaning of "Many hands make quick work" - it's not just a fun phrase on needlework pillows. Hopefully we will have a large posse tomorrow to share in the triumph of completing a wonderful and useful guerrilla garden.

A key part of that usefulness is our tree, the centerpiece of the garden. As I mentioned earlier, Ted's Trees offered to donate a tree. However, they don't carry fruit trees, and we feel that the edible aspect is central to our objective in planting the garden. So this weekend I purchased a Meyer Lemon tree. Sure, you can't bite in to a lemon, but you know what they say when life hands you lemons, or when a guerrilla gardening group plants a lemon tree right in your neighborhood. The tree was $40, and it would be much appreciated if you contributed just a few dollars. You know what they say: "Many pockets make cheap fruit trees."

Also, finishing one garden means another garden must begin! It is time to ask yourself, "Do I want a guerrilla garden in my neighborhood?"

If you think you have a good site, consider: Can I irrigate it? Meaning, can you commit to watering it every day, and do you have a nearby water source? (Local businesses have been kind to us in allowing us to use their spigots, and it's good to ask beforehand.) Other things to consider: the relative permanence of the site, other people's interest in the site, and how you are willing to take leadership on the project.

We'll discuss potential sites tomorrow.

Also, this just in: Community garden leaders are in the process of planning an Urban Farm Bike Tour on December 6th. Sounds cool.... would you be interested?

Last week and next week at the East Side garden

Hello everyone! Sorry it has taken me a while to post this update. I think we're all feeling the crunch, between the election debates, a deepening and worrisome global financial crisis, and work (aka putting food on the table for you and Joe Six Pack at your failing mortaged home on America's Main Street, etc).

But enough of that. We had a smaller turnout this past Tuesday, but we got a lot of work done and had a great time doing it. First, we took the plants that didn't make it through the past two weeks of drought, and replaced them with a variety of flower called, "Bat Face," and more veggies.

Here, Megan deep waters the doughnut garden. She admits deep watering is one of the great joys of her life.


We also readied the tree box. Robb deconstructed the bottom of the box. We'll be filling it up with manure to give the tree a nice cushion before it has to deal with the poor soil on the traffic triangle.

Then Megan got the idea to attach planks from the doughnut garden up to the box, and plant vining peas at the base. That way, our box will be covered in beautiful edible greenery! This is what it looks like:


Here is Robb hammering in the planks.

While we were planting the peas, we had a neighborhood visitor named James who gave us all nicknames, and was convinced to plant a single seed.

I'm optimistic that the neighborhood will eventually take ownership of this garden. At least one woman has done some watering, and we were happy to find that someone had made a border of rocks around the perimeter of the garden.

Next week is our last week at this garden, and we have a lot of work to do! Here are the projects that need completion.

• Planting the tree in the box
• Creating a welcoming walkway of rocks up through the garden
• Painting a Garden Posse sign, informing the neighborhood that this garden is theirs!
• Planning the next garden site and needs

We'll be meeting at 8 on Tuesday, as always. Bring your friends - we need extra hands!

LBJ Wildflower Center Native Plant Sell

One more thing for that us gardeners may enjoy. Oct. 18th and 19th is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Native Plant sell. Today in our staff meeting they said they would have almost 300 species of Native Texas plants for sell, and they are reasonably priced. I think there is an admission fee to go to the sale (which I find weird), but that is also your admission into the garden and hiking trails.

See http://www.wildflower.org/plantsale/ for more info, prices, and a species list.

Take this info as you wish.

TG

I am being a bad guerrilla gardener

So, I apologize for being truant three weeks in a row. I have no excuse except that my father came in town for a meeting and he took me out for Thia food, and the food and a six pack of Kirin took the night later than expected. I said I would be there yesterday, and for that I am sorry. I got some packets of native wildflower seeds, so I will make some seed bombs for everyone to make up for it. Also, if you guys can give me any chores to do before next week, please do. Again, I apologize for not showing up three weeks in a row. I am not blowing guerrilla gardening off, and do really enjoy it.

On another note. I get wildflower seeds at a discount at work, so let me know when we want to make a mass amount of seed bombs. I bought a $30 bag of 99% pure native wildflower mix that can cover 1,000 sq. ft. for $20 bucks. So, if we can not get donations, that would be an option for us all to chip in. I do not think the Wildflower Center can give any donations because the bureaucracy at UT is tremendous, and there would be no way around it.

Cheers,
Travis