far eastside visit – feedom freedom

friends were selling with food lab at the jazzin on jefferson festival this weekend.  when i arrived at jazzin it was pretty early in the day, only about 3pm and things hadn’t really got started.

the folks that were around seemed to be having a laid back good time.  i had a long conversation with a guy that came up to me about the benefits of the brooks saddle, which we were both riding on.  i found this especially entertaining as most folks who ride brooks saddles are on touring bikes or racing bikes.  he was riding a vintage schwinn children’s bike with 18 inch wheels, a huge seat post and some serious ape hangers.

friends sales were slow but steady.  i chatted with them a while, tried to drum up some sales, but i think mostly was driving folks away.

round the corner is this mural which i’ve viewed from a far but never bothered to take a look at close up.  the third mural from the left features an image of wayne curtis, my friend and hero and the mural on the far right is a painting he did.  the garden that he and his wife, mytle (another hero of mine) started, feedom freedom is right around the corner.

i had actually seen wayne earlier in the day.  a black suv passed me while i was riding, and then slowed down to a crawl.  i slowed down too, trying not to approach it.  in the past when a driver would do this i usually get insults, and didn’t want to deal with it.  but the driver kept slowing down, and i had to pass, to my surprise it was wayne, with his signature enormous grin.  when i told him i was going to be at jazzin on jefferson, he said i should visit afterwords, and so, when finished starting at this beautiful mural i pedaled on down the street.

feedom freedom is a garden on the far eastside of detroit.  only blocks from the suburb of grosse pointe, but that doesn’t mean that the neighborhood it is in shares any resemblance to the affluent communities near by.  feedom freedom is one of my favorite gardens.  so much is going on in such a small space, and it’s aways alive with activity.  the garden is full of art, flowers, signs, a hoop house, plenty of veggies, a sitting spot in the shade, and compost.  wayne apologies for it not being in great order, but the garden is a shining example of a well maintained garden.

feedom freedom put a lot of work into compost, something i’m especially impressed with, since building your own soil embodies the spirit of self-determination.  so many gardens in the city depend on other sources for compost, looking to purchase or donations of compost.  feedom freedom has dedicated a good portion of their space to compost bins.inside the hoop house a healthy crop of tomatoes is thriving in the warm conditions.  on the other side of the hoop house new  beds were being prepared by james, james, and dre.  james is from la and other james is from north carolina.  both are here to visit because they are interested in what is happening in detroit, interested in the rebirth of the city.  dre has more modest motivations, he is hoping that by working he will be able to earn five bucks for some chilli cheese fries and an icy at jazzin on jefferson.  wayne tries to get him to memorize his definition of power in exchange for the aforementioned cash.  when neither can make good on the bargain, dre unable to recite, and wayne without money, dre demands honey sweetened water with ice, and a spoonful of honey too.

i sit on the back porch listening to them carry on.  i’m impressed by the boldness of this young man.  i certainly wouldn’t be making the demands of my elder the way he does.  wayne seems entertained,  invites dre back, encouraging him to plant pumpkins to sell and make his five dollars.  leave it to an adult to come up solutions that take months of hard to see any pay off.

i talk with james from la about his reason for being in detroit.  he explains he has pretty much sold everything and moved to detroit, because he felt called.  not to save the city in some missionary sort of way, but because the city will change him.  it is his place to discover himself and grow.  i’m kind of taken aback by this young mans story, is he crazy?  or a visionary?  maybe something in-between.

as i pedal off, i feel richer and having grown a little.   you know that a garden is really special when it grows not just vegetables, but people too.

you can read a bit more about feedom freedom here in an article i wrote about them last year.

progress at the birdtown site?

folks may remember this post about the end of the birdtown garden.  i was riding home the other day and randomly rode by and was greeted to this sight.

the birdtown site fully cleared and with the bulldozer sitting there idle.  too perfect not to take a photo, too depressing not to make my heart sink.  it seemed somehow indicative of the loss of innocence i’ve felt lately.

things are changing in detroit.  it feels intense.  state takeover of schools and city government, closure of schools, loss of city services.  the marginalization of people’s power, increased control by non-profits, foundation and corporations to shape the city.  a media narrative that focuses on the young white people moving into detroit and making it better.  worst of all, i’m right in the middle of that mix; part of the problem, and yet trying to do good things.  a young white person, often featured in media, working for a non-profit, taking foundation and corporation money, and working to open a charter school as detroit public schools are shuttered.  it’s a heavy uncomfortable place to sit, not one that i really like, but i suppose better to acknowledge my contradiction than to blindly go forth think myself a simple do gooder.

 

requiem for bird town

the first year i was in detroit, i needed to build up a bike, one that was appropriate for city riding.  ma hadn’t had a bike since she was 14 years old so we needed to get her something to ride too.  a bike shop was pretty much out of the questions, both in terms of finances, and my general hatred for the aesthetics of new bikes (though if anyone wants to get me a new rivendell i wouldn’t be opposed).  we found ourselves drawn to a community bike space called back alley bikes which has since turned into my favorite semi-for profit community bike space, the hub.  while working on my bike i overheard a conversation between paul who was running the space and another gentleman.  “well that’s the guy you want to talk to over there, gardening is what he does.”  next thing i knew i was being distracted from building up a new bike by being introduced to xavier, an older gentleman with a well-groomed beard, and the slow laid back speaking pattern of someone who had spent a good amount of southern california.  i don’t think he had spent anytime in california but most conversations  started with a drawn out “heeeyyy maaaann”.  i’ve run across a lot of folks who want to start gardens, and while i wouldn’t say i’m a skeptic, i do have my doubts about how many of the people i talk with actually start gardens, but i treat everyone the same – assuming that i’m not wasting my time.

i didn’t need to wonder very long though – in spite of what seemed like ambitious plans, xavier was in it to win it.  he would often show up at my place of work and pepper me with questions.  what eventually would develop was a jewel of the lower cass corridor; birdtown gardens.

named after the birdtown pet store that used to sit next door, birdtown quickly developed a local following and i came to know several of the gardeners and make good friends.  birdtown flourished; an example of what a community garden could be, well-organized and maintained.  it was especially popular with photographers, because of its proximity to large buildings, and was even featured in oprah’s magazine o.  i’d like to think because of birdtown others felt like it would be a good location for a business, with canine to five opening next door and the burton theater across the street.

about six months ago i started hearing rumors that canine to five was planning to purchase the lots where birdtown was.  i was surprised, i’d always thought the owner of canine was pretty darn decent person and supportive of the garden.  but birdtown didn’t have any ownership of the land, in fact it was owned by the city.  though a bunch of tough hearings, and some pretty critical reporting, canine to five was awarded ownership of the land.  my friends were crushed, and rather than relocate, they decide to simply dig the perennials out that remained, and have on last party.

i snapped a few last photos of birdtown at night, knowing that this would be the last season for enjoying the garden.

i sat by the fire and caught up with friends i hadn’t seen in a while, toasted to all the good years, and pedaled off into the night.  sad to see another garden gone, and wondering if i would feel differently if i owned a dog.  i don’t think i would, i’m gonna miss that garden – and no amount of taxes for the city is going to change my feelings.

growing joy garden

i saved these gems from the goat milk damaged camera.  just a little swab of rubbing alcohol and the memory card read with no problems.

just in case anyone has any illusions – i am far from the only one growing food in the city.  i’m constantly inspired by so many of the other people who do, have been doing it for far longer than i, and do it for much more altruistic reason than i.

one of those people is edith floyd – who gardens on at least 5 plots on detroit’s eastside, which she calls growing joy garden.  she is tending enough land that it requires a tractor, pushing this garden into urban farm territory.

edith has been slowly acquiring plots around the neighborhood, since losing her job working with detroit public schools.  on a sunny fall afternoon she showed the various plots and what had been growing – as well as spot she hard her eye on.  much is made of the state of disrepair of detroit neighborhoods, often and exaggeration, but on edith’s street only a about a dozen houses are still standing and only half of those are occupied.  the city is set to take down several soon, and she plans to take those spots too and garden on them.

edith doesn’t have any master plans – she sell the food at eastern market, she would like to be self supportive, but in the meantime it helps cover costs and bring in a little extra cash to help support her family.  mostly she just doesn’t want the lots to become garbage strewn, this is her home for over 40 years, and asked if she has any intent to leave – she looks in shock that one would even ask the question.

on this particular afternoon edith had invited me over to check out her new hoophouse.

the house had only been up for a couple of months and it was getting cold so most of the house had not been planted, but a small patch of green brighten up one corner.

mostly mustard greens and spinach with a few odds and ends.  her greenhouse looked great especially for someone who had never build one before.

as i rode back to work, i couldn’t help but be inspired.  edith just goes forth, scraping together funds, and resources wherever she can, not looking back but always forward.

d-town harvest fest

saturday as i rolled home from work, i took the usually route heading toward mt. elliott to go though eastern market and i was faced with thousands of bikes.  seems the tour detroit event was headed in the same direction as i.   i’ve been wanting to ride in this event for years, but it never seemed like i could take the time off work, or if that was the reason i wanted to take the time off work.  so i figured i might as well ride with them, as who knows when i will get another chance.

tour detroit

amazingly enough out of over 3000 riders i bumped into at least 4 folks i knew.

making my way home, i headed out to the d-town harvest festival.

d-town farms

last year i had a great time at harvest fest, getting to see a bunch of my favorite people.  this years fest was a little more subdued, as i think that the weather kept people from coming out.

d-town is the two, soon to be five acre model farm run by the detroit black community food security network.  it’s located in rouge park, and a wonderful spot to feel like you are out in the country.

d-town farms

it’s an all volunteer run operation, which makes it all the more impressive.

in addition to the vegetable crops they also have bee hives

beehives

and one of the only operations in the  city doing mushrooms, specifically in shopping carts.

shopping cart

oyster mushrooms

they also have reshi and i think shitake mushrooms

greenhouse

and a greenhouse – which they built a couple of months ago, and thankfully for this chilly day, they had not yet planted, so we were able to hang out and get a cooking demo, and watched a presentation by andrea king collier on black mens health, and the importance local food movements.  while i think she is funny and a good presenter, i still am concerned about the attitude that black women need to be responsible for black men’s health.  it just seems a little enabling.

i stayed for the closing – left feeling closer to others, contemplative and introspective.  the air was chilly, and the signs of fall were going strong, but i felt warm inside, feeling a deeper sense of community, connection and hope.

garlic harvest

oh, how do i love garlic – perhaps previous posts professing my love of growing other veggies will have you thinking that i profess my love of every vegetable – and in some ways i do, the longer i grow vegetables, the longer my life revolves around the cycles of the growing season the more i realize just how much i love growing, and no other crop really connects me to the cycles like garlic.

garlic planting always takes place in october when i’m the most tired – when i wonder if i should just throw in the towel and quit farming.  when all i really want is some time off and to catch up on some sleep.  but carefully breaking open those heads, selecting each clove, and gently tucking it into the soil and covering it with straw to overwinter – says ” i’m committed to one more year”.  i’m always glad i did plant, when in the middle of the bleak grey days of march i start seeing little bits of green growth from the garlic.  i love watching it’s knife like blades coming up in the spring, and the scape as it’s curls around, and popping sound they make when you snap them off, but he real joy comes this time of year when its time for the harvest.

the harvested garlic laid out

this last year we planted 1500 row feet of garlic – most of which will go to community gardeners for seed garlic so they can grow their own garlic in their garden.  seed garlic costs a lot, and though years of saving this particular variety we figure that we are selecting for the qualities that make it best for our local community.

after digging it we bundle it up in groups of 20, and tie it up.  – since we are trialing several new varieties this year we make sure to tag them, so we can compare them to see if it’s something we want to grow again next year.

 

tagged and bundled

i’m very much looking forward to trying the new varieties and seeing which one we like the best – which ones to keep.  after bundling them up they get hung up to cure for about four weeks.  the garage at work is almost overwhelmed by the smell of garlic for the first few days, it lessons up over the coming weeks – or i just get used to it, and fail to notice anymore.

garlic curing

this about half of the garlic we harvested, about 300 pounds total.  once they are fully cured, it’s just a matter of trimming and cleaning them and then they are ready to store for sales, or to get distributed to community gardeners to grow their own garlic.

mead from the permaculture plot

my big plan to celebrate the permaculture plot over at the local community garden, hope takes root, is with a proper garden party.  no garden party would be complete without some libation, and what better libation than one made with fruits of the garden.  with that in mind i harvested everything that ripened this year.

fruit out of the garden

not too impressive of a haul – less than a quart of red currants, black currants,  gooseberries, and jostaberries.  but i carry on.  washed them off, dropped them in a 2 quart jug and covered them with some partially finished mead to kick-start the fermentation and add flavor.  a year from now we can enjoy this at the garden part.  i hope you will be able to join me.

fruit ripening at hope takes root

an evening stroll to check on the fruit in the hope takes root community orchard.  in addition to all the slow to mature crops such as chestnuts, i also made sure to put in plenty of fruit that would ripen in only the first couple of years.  since it was late in the day the only way to capture these fruit accurately is with a flash which make the fruit look like some shocked animal captured in a photo by trip wire.   but strangely i like the effect.

first up the bush cherries.

bush cherries

these are nanking cherries, only a few fruits this first year but they have a lovely sweet tart flavor and the flowers are absolutely gorgeous.

then the black currants

black currants

perhaps the fruit i am most excited about in the orchard. i’ve been growing red currants for the last few years and really come to love them, but black currants – they have really captured my heart.  they has such a strange flavor so sort of funky, that i find them just a delightful fruit.   ma made a wonderful black currant ice milk last year and thoughts of black currant mead and bread pudding have been dancing in my head.  i am also looking forward to taking cuttings from these and the jostaberries in the fall.

so on to the jostaberries

jostaberries

these guys are a cross between black currants and gooseberries.  right now they look a lot more like gooseberries, but as they ripen up and darken they end up looking more like currants.  they don’t quite taste as funky as currants – but they are bigger and have a bit different flavor.  do i like them better?   no just different.

i have plans to pick all the fruit i can and put it in the freezer and then make a batch of mead infused with all that fruit to be served at a coming out garden party for the polyculture plot next year.

tractors

we used to have two tractors; a massey ferguson 365 and a 6n ford.  i spent more time fixing them than i did using them.  while i was actually pretty fascinated to learn more about tractor maintenance and mechanics, the reality was i just didn’t have the time to be tooling on them, and i’d failed to find anyone that felt like being the farm’s official tractor mechanic.

so when someone approached me about donating the tractors to a farm museum i was a little intrigued, and the deal seemed pretty good.  i donate the tractors to the farm museum where folks can check them out every weekend who care about such things, and then they would keep them maintained and fixed and would bring them down for me to use when i needed.  it was a win win.

this past week some of the guys from the farm museum brought the 365 back down along with another tractor to do some tilling, not only at work but also at the georgia street garden, and my friend will’s place.  did i really need them to till the 4 lots i had them till?  no i could have done it with a rototiller, but it was quick, took one less thing off the list, and they did a great job.  and you should see the glee on their faces, big kids on big toys.

the ferguson on the right

after

the area closet to the greenhouse was nothing but stones – either from a driveway or parking lot.  we tried to pick up the biggest ones, but it was obvious that below the stones – were more stones.  they had asked the apprentices to pick up all the stones so they could run the tiller though it again, and you can see us all picking them up half heartedly in the photo, but i just couldn’t ask folks to pick up all those stones, just too much work, and when would it end?

i’m thinking sheet composting on that area is the way to go, and it can be planted next year.  folks from the field of our dreams mobile market are  planning to use one section to grow produce for their market, the rest will be for more community garden plots.

ocean of tomatoes

or tomato plants to be exact.  the greenhouse is overflowing with gorgeous tomato plants, the best we have ever grown.  what’s the difference?  the only thing i can think is we ran out of commercial compost that we get donated and had to use the stuff we make ourselves.  they go out the door this week, thousand upon thousands of plants to community gardeners all across the city though grp.  it’s a lovely sight isn’t it, an ocean of tomatoes.

little plants growing

in the foreground are eggplants, not especially visible are the watermelons, cantaloupe, and ground cherries that are also going out this week.