General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThey're growing more than just weed out in Washington State ....
I love this idea.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,308 posts)Coyotl
(15,262 posts)Seattle's Food Forest 2012
LWolf
(46,179 posts)that I'm going to be late for work this morning.
Thank you.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Phlem
(6,323 posts)That's my state! Don't know why I didn't post, must be all the weed.
-p
Control-Z
(15,681 posts)Imagine if this catches on with the rest of the country? I love this plan!
Bring back the commons!
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)pick a piece of fruit, eat it, amd pay no one? Damn commies (how I wish I could lib in such a progressive place)
angstlessk
(11,862 posts)I like this...since I am too old to climb anything
rustydog
(9,186 posts)walking past orchards and picking apples right off the tree for a snack on the way home.
That is theft, isn't it?
I think Seattle's idea is a good one. I hope it works.
malthaussen
(17,066 posts)... the guilt from doing it caused a huge crisis of conscience for Augustine of Hippo. So much so that when he grew up he denounced others for the same thing.
You know, kind of like Republicans and pot.
-- Mal
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"That is theft, isn't it?"
I s'pose one might even argue that removing a dandelion from a corner stoop is theft. Thankfully, I don't know anyone quite that absurdly dogmatic enough to argue as such...
calimary
(80,700 posts)CarrieLynne
(497 posts)wasnt much more than a few squash plants at that time but certainly room for alot more....i am excited about it and I might have to go volunteer there.....
pokerfan
(27,677 posts)until you've plucked one right off the tree and popped it in your mouth!
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)bkanderson76
(266 posts)brett_jv
(1,245 posts)What's to stop the trees being cleaned out the first day the fruits ripen by people who just want to turn round and sell it all at Farmers Market (or even just to hoard it for themselves)?
With all my heart I hope such fears are totally misplaced, and it turns out to be a beautiful 'community thing' where everyone will take only what they need.
That would make for a very nice 'lesson' to certain people in the world who need to learn certain things about humankind, as a matter of fact.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)As I stated below, a church in my area has a front garden that is edible. It invites those passing by to take one item to eat. I don't think they have had a problem with theft although they are on a busy corner.
CrispyQ
(36,235 posts)This summer, a church in our town had a garden of pumpkins. I don't know if they were going to sell them or just give them to the kids in their congregation, but one night, about two weeks before Halloween, someone smashed all the pumpkins. There's always gonna be some asshole to fuck things up.
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)just anyone can show up and sell. Mostly you need some kind of farm first.
This kind of open garden has been done many times before in blighted neighborhoods. Seems to have gone well:
Not sure why many want to claim to be "the first" to do something but Washington will be far from the first. Urban agriculture is red hot right now.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)Excellent idea !!!
rustydog
(9,186 posts)grapes, what have you...veggies?
steve2470
(37,457 posts)I think Seattle gets below freezing. Otherwise it's a wonderful idea.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Sanity Claws
(21,822 posts)I know --- I had one in my yard when I lived there.
Other things that I remember doing well in Seattle: herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives;
vegetables: zucchini, small tomatoes (not enough sun for Beefsteak tomatoes), pumpkin, butternut squash
fruit: cherries, plums
Coyotl
(15,262 posts)But, we do have some of the best fruit in the nation, especially the apples, pears, cherries, peaches, and more. Kiwis do well and grapes thrive.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)passers-by to pick one thing to eat. I think it is a wonderful idea. What a great park for Seattle.
mountain grammy
(26,573 posts)Colorado needs to follow suit..
niyad
(112,440 posts)similar. we do have some community gardens, but that is not the same thing at all.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)do this. We should plant trees all over the place to freshen the air and purify the water. And loads of fruit trees for locally grown produce. for Local neighborhoods and for homeless people. Also it might help the bees if they keep down the pesticides.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)It undermines free enterprise.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)But the cynic in me says the injury lawyers are salivating
packman
(16,296 posts)Some Yoyo will climb a tree, branch will break, person injured, park/city sued, program discontinued, park bulldozed. Litigation evolution.
Nevertheless, great idea and hope it works. Loved to climb my grandmother's sweet cherry tree back in Pennsylvania to pick those dark , ruby red sweet cherries. Still can remember the taste and the adventure of climbing that tree. Still can remember the internal distress the following day from eating all those cherries also.
Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Maybe if they charge $1 then it covers it under normal business practices.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
B Calm
(28,762 posts)If they don't spray, the fruit will be wormy.
packman
(16,296 posts)Adopt-A-Tree program. Donate money for the upkeep-spraying, trimming, pruning, etc. - of a tree. Bet they'd be quite a bit of support for this.
Jamastiene
(38,187 posts)It is an amazing idea.
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)Wonderful idea!!
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)the cold cynic in me says:
1. The city is begging for a lawsuit the moment some kid eats something rotten
2. Since the local Philistines go batshit insane over deeds for the common good, I could see some mob storming the park in the middle of the night; beating any homeless to death and poisoning all the gardens
3. Since the local Philistines believe anything "socialist" means the Bolsheviks are officially taking over, it will take 30 seconds for the "AH DONT WAHNT MAH TAX DOLLAHS PAYIN FOR _____" -crowd to make it an issue in local/city elections
4. Because the "Church of Capitalism" believers live to show us all how big of a bunch of dicks they can all be, I can see them hiring the homeless at a buck an hour to harvest all the crops to sell roadside at a markup...
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Seattle recently elected a socialist, not a 'Socialist' but an actual socialist, to the City Council. 'Church of Capitalism' impresses no one. It has no protections to allow it to hire the homeless for a dollar and set up business with impunity.
Where DO you live? I know it is not out West.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Home of Pat Robertson, the anti-tax loons long before they started calling themselves the 'tea party', and the rugged, "no free lunch" individualists...
niyad
(112,440 posts)of the businesses and residents, plant edibles--trees, fruits, all sorts of things. there are MAPS to tell you who is growing what--and it is all free for the picking!! what a novel idea. todmorden:
Incredible Edible Todmorden project
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Incredible Edible Todmorden project is an urban gardening project started in 2008 by Pamela Warhurst, Mary Clear and a group of like minded people in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England.[1][2] The project aims bring people together and through actions around local food, help change behaviour toward the environment and build a kinder and more resilient world.
Since its conception, the Incredible Edible ethos has been taken up by communities all over the world where local people are coming together in their own time to turn unloved pieces of land into community gardens growing food to share, and there are now more than twenty other 'Incredible Edible' towns following the lead of Yorkshire's Todmorden.[1]
"At first, we had trouble getting people to help themselves, because we're from a country where people say, 'Get off my land', so we had to tell people it was OK .... nearly 50% said it had had a positive impact on their income." [3] -- Mary Clear
In 2009, Prince Charles visited the Incredible Edible Todmorden project in support.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incredible_Edible_Todmorden_project
years ago, a friend and I started talking about trying to have that sort of thing here in our community--everybody growing different edibles (not wasting water on grass) so that the whole neighborhood is one gigantic garden.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)Dark n Stormy Knight
(9,760 posts)I can't help but worry. What's to prevent that?
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)most agricultural states (like CA, HI) have them. Since WA grows apples and some wine grapes, I'm sure it does, too.
Dark n Stormy Knight
(9,760 posts)I can't always keep a glimmer of hope.
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)There will be no funds for enforcement, no one to watch out for wholesale crop stealing and no one wanting to bother with prosecution.
Those laws are for punishing people who steal from CORPORATIONS, not from WE THE PEOPLE.
canoeist52
(2,282 posts)A HERETIC I AM
(24,321 posts)Urban food;
Chef Eric
(1,024 posts)wildbilln864
(13,382 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)on a street corner.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Of course, when has breaking the law stopped them?
questionseverything
(9,631 posts)even if your city will not try this you can start planting here and there yourself
20 years ago I started planting asparagus, apple trees, blueberries, raspberries, all come back stuff in my yard and along my back alley.....couple neighbors did the same and now we have quite a bit of edible stuff growing
it is fun to "catch" the new neighborhood kids "snitching" an apple...we just laugh and say...you don't have to hide ,that is what it's there for
the only trouble we have had is teaching the kids to let the berries fully ripen
MFM008
(19,782 posts)innovation!
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)especially in Central Valley cities like Sacramento and Fresno.
Not so much in drought years like this one, though.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)blackspade
(10,056 posts)But, I bet some teabagger will vandalize it though.
We can't be feeding the homeless and the poor for free.
They need to be punished for their poverty, don't ya know....
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)I can't think of a better way to invite a peaceful public place for everyone
Jeebus
maybe this practice will finally take off.
Chico Man
(3,001 posts)First food forest?
I wonder what used to grow there.
Could cause animal problems..
Seems very artificial and superficial.
Bugs.. Fertilizer.. Compost.. Pesticides.. Have they really thought this through?
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)to potato chips
Got the Munchies? Grab an Apple From Your Tree!