New Website!

Oh yeah! I ALMOST FORGOT!! Fertile Underground has a shiny new website for your internet perusing pleasure! It is just in Beta for now, but you can join to post comments, just like on a forum, and it will be getting added to and updated regularly with news on all of Fertile Underground's exciting collective endeavors, such as: the garden, the worker co-operative, the natural food store and cafe, the Fishbowl, the Food Truck, and all the sweet community events that go on around here!

Check it out at
fertileunderground.com

Firehouse 13 Show, Peppers

Hi Everyone, Sorry This hasn't been updated in so long.
It has been a good summer, a crazy summer. So much has happened.

We reached our Kickstarter goal and have been working, with the help of so many community supporters, new members, the WBNA, and awesome help from the Universe, to open a cooperatively worker-run, Natural Foods Grocery and Cafe at 1577 Westminster St.

Our Garden on Pearl St. has been bountiful and continues into the fall season yielding many greens, flowers, raspberries, tomatoes, hot peppers, eggplants, broccoli, potatoes, green beans, basil and other herbs. If you haven't been by lately, you should! The open hours, during which a garden steward can show you around, are posted on the fence by the gate. There is someone there almost everyday.

At the end of this month, we will bid a fond farewell to our Pearl St. garden as we return it to our landlord for his own future garden endeavors, having fulfilled our mission to beautify and renew a previously neglected lot. We turn our sights towards other areas of the city which are in need of transformation from wasteland to farmland. If there is a lot in your neighborhood that you would like to see built into a vibrant community space of healthy, organic homegrown food and lush vegetation, let us know!

Also, THURSDAY OCTOBER 13th at FIREHOUSE 13! We are hosting a concert and potluck harvest party! YOU SHOULD COME!! BIRNG YOUR FRIENDS AND SOMETHING TO SHARE!! More info will be posted about times and bands pretty soon.

Important News!

Our Kickstarter has two days left and $1000 to go! What drama! What excitement! Will your donation be the three-point shot at the buzzer?? Do it! Wooo! the Crowd goes wild! Veggies and organic granola everywhere!

Special thanks to the Providence Friends Meeting and their amazing outpouring of support. Commemoration on our mural is surely in order.

Tonight we meet with the WBNA and share our financial plan and packet for investors. Wish us luck!

Kickstarter and Garden Clean-Up Day!

It's snowing! Hopefully it clears off and warms up a little in time for us to have our next scheduled Garden Clean-up and Opener Day. !!!

The weather is iffy, and chill, SO DRESS WARM, and come down, garden open
SATURDAY FROM 1 TO 4. but if it is really unpleasant weather, we will rain date to SUNDAY FROM 12 TO 4.We have a mission to clear up the North Fence, and do some more planting and planning, and maybe FIRE!

Also, we are still looking for a few more new members, so this weekend is a great chance to come by and sign up and get your veggie vouchers!

Also, very exiciting, our Kickstarter page is finally up! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/funderground/fertile-underground-grocery

HAPPY SPRING! WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS!

Hello everybody! If you are new to the Fertile Underground, welcome! This blog is where you can share photos, stories, lessons, ideas and observations about our communal garden. Anything you would like to see up here, just send to andrea@fertileunderground.com.

Today is the Spring Equinox, and it was a gorgeous sunny, breezy day in Providence, RI. New and old members came together to spruce up the garden and get it ready for planting. It is looking neat and tidy after everyone's hard work. The walkways and open spaces were raked. The beds were weeded, cleared of old plantings, stakes and markers, and turned under. Our newest members are already showing themselves to be hardworking, enthusiastic, wonderful additions to our garden family, and it was fun to start envisioning our shared wealth of agricultural possibilities for the season.

We even got some seeds planted -- if you go into our greenhouse, aka the Sheman Faktory, you will find hundreds of tiny seedlings sprouting in the sunsoaked earthen planting shelf to your right -- mostly herbs, peas, and hardy lettuces. To your right you will see several trays which have just been planted with varities of dyer's corepsis and sweet marjoram.
We also planted a bed of "Over the Rainbow" carrots -- a mix of different colored carrots that should be ready to eat in June, and some peas and "Jacob's Cattle" beans, which are a delicious and beautiful dry bean that are white with brown speckles.

Come back again soon, I will be posting about some exciting new projects that Fertile Underground is working on in addition to the Garden at Pearl St. You can read about these exciting things at fertileunderground.com

2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY!!!

On Thursday, January 6th, on the 2011th Epiphany, we gathered by the fire pit to celebrate the Fertile Underground's 2 year anniversary as a group. Bearing gifts of beverages, Christmas lights on the greenhouse, Christmas tree from the sidewalk, rosemary and incense, junior mints and orange juice, and lots of comeraderie and love, the Wise People from the East side of Providence and the West side and south and north and wherever we are all from, came to brighten and warm the cold garden with our presence, and bask in the glow of the firelight. The spinach in the Greenhouse is growing happily, sweet and tender as you please, and many exciting possibilities for new projects are in the near future. We'll keep you up-to-date as these projects get going.

Pictures of the Flood

A bunch of photos of our garden, some flood mayhem, and the progress on the greenhouse, courtesy of Trev Hedge.
Fence. Interesting view of the front of Fertile Underground

Cobbles. Donation from neighbor: on Pine St., ; dormant/rubbish for about 3 yrs.; will be using in our Serpentine bed, in front of Garden


Beds. Seen from the front of the Garden, Pearl St. Side.


Beds. Greenhouse can be seen in the background.


Beds. local lovers claim their space in the pastoral garden.


Hotboxes. Dauna spent a bunch of time making sure that our Greens are going to go a few months into the cold of winter, protected by some of the donations that membrs have given us, like these storm windows.


Serp Bed Green. Even a light freezing doesn't deter some of the plants.The Rosemary plant, with Lamb's Ear, and another well-growing herb from the Back Serpentine Bed.



Spaulding Firebrick. Spaulding brick donated a load of industrial brick to us for use in the Greenhouse project. Some of this load of "rejects" is actually firebrick. It seems logical that those firebricks should all be used at our Rumford Stove Fireplace. Hopefully, we'll be able to throw a grill across the bottom bricks and have a cook-out across some nice Cherry tree wood.



Mike. Some guy named d'Spazio working in the Greenhouse (a.k.a. Sunhaus). I think he's one of our itinerant workers from the South [Side of Providence], trying to earn his day's ration. It looks like he's earned about the Tide's worth of credit for this job. Well Done!



Sheman Faktory. Our itinerant worker d'Spazio, seen through the blessing of the vestal saints, Ancient Bottle, and Rev.Bullsh*t wine; finishing his chores to collect that Tide, so that he may redeem it at the Fertile Underground Grocery, for a coveted jar of pecan butter.



Flood1-4. Not much to say, just overall shots of the effects of the Gremlins.

Recent News

This comes from Mike:
STORM REPORT******
NEWS FAKTORY******
NEXT MEETING*******


Hey Gang,
I took the chance in todays thaw to go down to the garden. Walking in, I saw some funny sights, results from yesterday' storm.
The two beds in front, to the left, were both moved a couple feet from where they'd been. Huh'; And there was a bunch of recycling trash scattered about. The trash can was knocked over. A lot of leaves everywhere.
All the cold frame glass was intact, which surprised me, seeing as how much chaos was else everywhere. Greenhouse was in tip-top shape. I noticed some strange claw marks on one styrofoam piece. Looked like some wild gremlin scratches, bigger than a dog like Cate. Maybe that hawk, but-
Then, as I walk back toward the garden, I saw that the giant pine beam from in front of the greenhouse, bed the squash were in this year-- that giant beam was moved about fifteen feet right up next to yarrow's steps!! WHAT!? And another of those beams was moved a foot or so.
At this point I could think of nothing else than some giant strong gremlin was playing havoc in our garden. I calld Dauna.
She said we musta got hit by one of them twisters!!! There was a bunch of them back in the fifties in that neighborhood, just some microclimate because wer'e at the mouth of the bay. ( We were in that last night here on George M Cohan Boulevard. Our house was swaying. up here on the third floor it was notable, like being on a boat. especially with all that water splashing onthe windows. )
Soon after, I saw Yarrow, and he said it been flooding. They got some in their shop too, (remember that giant puddle that forms between yarrows and gerrys???) and we started seeing the watermark left all over the garden. On the back wall it was about ten inches!!! The line was up to the edge of all the beds, I guess water filling in the channels. The marks on the greenhouse are high! They go about 15 inches up the side right next to the door. Right up to the top brick on our new wall. Water came in the channel a lot, from what I can see. It is hard to even believe!! Well, everything is really fine, some tools may have got soaked but everything was amazing tranquil!! Nothing really distrubed.
Many of the new beds were moved around, all the ones on the serpentine. We should switch those around anyway, and get 'em off the rocks.

----- Fertile Weatherground, Illuminated Press Freely, Providence. 12/13/10 D'Spacio et al.

I got the front bed inside the greenhouse all filled in with compost. Beautiful day, all warm and amicable. The soil moved nice, unlike the other day when the ground was frozen. I learned that the large front window is perfectly sized to fit Gerry wide wheelbarrow! So I was just pouring it in through the front.
That bed is ready to plant. We've potted up about 40 plant-folks who are currently living in there, and they should go in. Also I have some seeds of winter-hardy varieties of lettuce, watercress, spinach, & chard. I can definitely use help planting the greenhouse, and generally organizing and preparing to tend a new group of plants.
I don't know when I will have a chance to get back over, but if there is a good day for you, maybe we could do it then. After Wednesday. And speaking of Wednesday,

We'll be meeting at Brower's this Wednesday after 7:30.

Why Communal? BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME. Here's why.

This is copied from Mike Giroux's blog at http://carpentersforchrist.wordpress.com/communal-gardening/. We've been talking a lot about this at our meetings lately, as we navigate the transition from last year into this year with new people and new ideas.

What Communal Garden? Why Communal Garden? When Who How?

A Communal Garden operates on the principle that all participants share in the work, and all share in the harvest. When we pool our resources, skills, and energy, the Whole is certainly greater than the sum of its parts. This is a way for individuals of all skill-sets, time commitments, and physical aptitudes to play on our strengths and form a common fabric of support to cultivate a successful and beautiful garden.

Farming has gradually receded from modern life, and more recently, quality has receded from the produce we are supplied. All of us know the frustration of slicing through a tomato only to find the middle icy and white. All the more disappointing considering we pay more than ever for this below-average food. It is this simple consideration which opens up many people to the concept of growing their own. And the fact remains, it’s impossible to buy Food You Grew Yourself.

Most of us have memories and ideas about Grandma’s Garden, or a friend who grew up with chickens, or even had the experience of growing up on a farm themselves. But the specific tasks, timing, and logistics may remain mysterious. Farming is an art which may take generations to master; but every journey begins with one step!

We aspire to re-think urban life, this time including neighborhood gardens that supply the predominant majority of the residents food. Land is now becoming available for this vision, and it is up to us to effectively use the space to grow delicious and healthy food! We choose Communal Gardening as the best option, and this letter is meant to explain why.

“So, the nice thing about having the whole garden be communal is that you can plant much more efficiently, keep track of crop rotations, and actually practice AGRICULTURE as opposed to Growing vegetables as a HOBBY. Like, we were on our way to making it sort of like a communal FARM, which would be a unique thing in Providence…” – Andrea Starr, Fertile Underground.

There are many reasons for gardening this way; we may even call it “Family Style” Gardening. There are a variety of chores on a farm, and as you know, a variety of skills available to different people, some more than others! But truly, there is something for everyone when it comes to the work of a farm. Much of it is simple meditative tasks, like watering plants and weeding. Other jobs come up which require the physical construction of the space, building beds, toolsheds, compost, and on. Designing water catchment and compost systems are other jobs for the thinkers and doers. And the enormous information on plant care: feeding, planting in companionship and proper soil conditions, timing of planting, transplanting, harvest. There is something for everyone, and the beauty of “family” gardening is that no one has to know everything! We are a full body, with working parts.

Gardeners usually enjoy sharing knowledge about plants while in the company of such plants and open ears. In our ideal Communal Garden, a resident ‘expert’ is there attending the crops and discovering their needs for the day. Willing members may listen to these needs and be shown the process of carrying out the work. Some may be slow at first, but there is plenty of practice to be had!

When we all work together, we all share the responsibility. This is virtually essential in the life-style we have. It is much simpler to attend to a garden that is next to your home; the necessities of making special trips to the garden every day from elsewhere in the city may become trying. When we share the work, we may visit less frequently, and then carry out a larger amount of work on the full space.

In farming there is an “economy of scale” when you may view crops in larger amounts than is available to the standard 4×8’ bed. As with so many things, once a rhythm is established, the working goes easier. Because of this, it is not much harder to care for a long row of plants as opposed to a short one. It takes more time, yes, but not much more thinking! As a group we can grow a large amount of food and there will be plenty for all.

Tending the garden as a whole gives us greater options and freedom as gardeners.

“…by communally gardening the whole site rather than individual beds, we are able to take advantage of the various micro-climates of the site, manage crop rotations, etc. Things that affect the bountifulness of the harvest. We got a LOT of food out that garden last year because we were able to plant relatively huge amounts of each crop we had, as opposed to just a few of each, which would have been the case if we tried to do “personal” or “individual” bed -style urban gardening. And I learned a lot about how we could improve on what we did produce, as I’m hoping others of you did as well.” – Andrea Starr

This letter was written by Michael Giroux on April 5th, 2010.
If you would like to join our group, the Fertile Underground, please contact Dauna Noble at (401) 480-6782. You may also sign up for our email list, sustainableri@freelists.org for more information. We are located on Pearl Street in Providence, Rhode Island. Our open meetings and work-days are regularly Thursdays from 330-dusk, and Saturday from 1-4. Any day may find members there, between Pine and Broad Street. Feel free to visit, and consider to join!

ecoRI article about Mike and our greenhouse.

This glowing article does a wonderful job of communicating many of our group's goals and purposes. Thanks for being a great spokesperson, Mike!
http://www.ecori.org/group-finds-fertile-ground/

NEW GREENHOUSE!!!

Check out mike's blog, where he has posted amazing pictures of our sweet, sweet greenhouse. Accolades praise and love everyone who worked on it and also to the mayor, who is being awesome about supporting Providence's burgeoning urban agriculture community. http://carpentersforchrist.wordpress.com/

Harvest Party Extravaganza!

Where: Pearl St. Garden!
When: Sunday, Sept. 26, 5 pm- 9pm
What: Live Music! Pick-your-own Peppers! Shish-kebabs! A bonfire! Delicious Vegan Baked goods! Art for Sale! Swings! And SO MUCH MORE!!
Who: The Fertile Underground and All our Amazing Friends and Neighbors. THAT MEANS YOU!

How much: Donation of $5. This will go towards building more beds, a greenhouse, a shed, and cold frames.

Also: We are currently seeking members for 2010! Membership is $10/month, which pays for the rent of the lot, and we ask that members join for a year. Each member is asked to do 1-2 hours of work per week, such as weeding, watering, planting, clean-up etc., and for this you get full unlimited access to the garden and we each have been able to harvest about 10 lbs of produce/wk, or about a shopping bag full, from May until September. We hope to increase the yield next year with more beds and improved planting plans.

Pictures!

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this link will take you to a whole bunch of photographs by Steve that quite eloquently narrate the Pearl st. lot's transformation. We planted a ton of stuff on Sunday and have been filling beds with all of our BEAUTIFUL soil and compost. We made a watering schedule so that our little plants will not go thirsty, and it is as follows:
Andrea tues pm and thurs pm
Steve mon pm
Suzi tues am
Hannah fri am and sunday am
Jen mon am and fri pm
Kayla wed pm
Dauna ??sat am


that leaves
wed am
thurs am
sat am and pm up for grabs...

Lippit St. site shaping up nicely!

This weekend we got a lot done on the Lippit St. site --
Violet got us dirt, Andre and other folks built and filled beds with dirt, Laura and Andrea planted a ton of little seedlings: red cabbage, kale, spinach, beets, more kale, onions, red peppers, broccoli, and Andrea seeded some carrots and radishes.
Our garden mates Pam and Julie have been cranking away at their portion of the site as well and have so many different veggies sprouting in their compost-rich beds.
Kayla and John and Andrea scored a trellis whilst dumpster diving in the generously wasteful aftermath of graduation.
We now need some more soil and a decent amount of compost to mulch everything with to keep the moisture in. There have been tentative discussions about building a water catchment system.
Over on Pearl st. , we have dirt and compost and are working on lining the beds according to recommendations from SSCLT and should be ready to plant a ton of stuff in the next week.

Digging Our New Site!

Yesterday a whole bunch of folks showed up to work, which was great to see! And we got so much done! I arrived a little after 1 pm with Andre, and the garden site was full of people raking and shovelling chunks of rubble and random junk out of the ground and leveling it out, and over the course of the day some of the more interesting items ended up as decorations on the fence. Brower was artfully assembling a sine-curve shaped urban version of a New England stone wall near the back of the site, made out of all the debris being dislodged from the dirt -- mostly rocks, various concrete fragments, and rusted metal objects. There were already some railroad ties and GIANT mill beams piled up. It took about three or four people to move just one of those beams. We managed to lift, pull, roll, flop, drag, and shove them around to form a 6'x16' bed about 14 inches deep. The railroad ties were much easier to lift and we had enough to build one bed 2 ties deep. We needed many more, so a small caravan of vehicles left to fetch more from our well-stocked local derelict railroad. We were able to gather about 6 or 8 ties onto Brower's truck, and a ton more onto Gerry's truck, along with some other lumber. I got to ride in Steve's bumble-bee colored SUV on the way back, and we got to experience some adrenaline as he played in the off-road terrain. Steve took a lot of pictures throughout the day which I hope to post here eventually. We stopped at Wholefoods on the way back to pick up some free buckets they saved for us, and when we got back to the site there were even more people than before and things were cleaning up nicely. We unloaded and built a few more beds.
Dauna had membership certificates to sign and keys to hand out, which helped me to feel like it's really ours now.
Yarrow, the man from whom we are leasing the land, was right there with us in the sweat and dirt, helping enthusiastically. He also owns a legal grafitti supply and car customizing shop adjacent to our site, and there is some really amazing art happening there. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him, and to thank everyone else, who came out to work yesterday. Good Job!
The Lippitt St. lot needed some more bed building materials too, so 6 of us went to make one last scavenging trip in our friend's truck. We got 10 decent ties and were heading back home when the two people in the truck got pulled over by the police. I was in my car with the 3 others and pulled over as well to see what the deal was, and the policeman came over to talk to us. After a stressful few minutes of him making us feel like we'd done something wrong, he called the railroad company and they informed him that no, they didn't mind us taking the railroad ties for our project. "It's your lucky day," he said.
Thank you, Providence Worcester Railroad Co.! Rest assured that your half-decomposed, decade-old ties are being put to good use!

welcome to the fertile underground

We are here to cultivate community, guerrilla gardening, art and urban agriculture. We coalesced as an intentional community back in January, and have been holding meetings once a week to plan and discuss our goals for this season. We have very little money but a lot of talent, energy, knowledge, vision, creativity, and ridiculous scavenging skills. Our goal is to transform derelict, abandoned, or neglected urban spaces into food and art gardens, and inspire others to join us.
So far, we have two sites to work on for the 2009 growing season: one larger site that we are leasing down on Pearl St., and a smaller site down off of Hope St. where we are guerilla gardening with some neighbors.
We are building our raised beds out of old railroad ties that we've gathered from down by the river, and we're getting our compost from the East Providence Public Works.
Tomorrow is our first Fertile Underground Work Day, over at the lot on Pearl St. We'll be building beds, filling them with compost, and sowing some of our seeds and seedlings. Come check it out!