Yardsharing
April 12, 2017 11:01 AM Subscribe
Matching gardeners to neighbors with access to space. Right now it mostly works in Boston, but I remember when ChipDrop (which connects gardeners with mega-piles of arborists' unwanted woodchip mulch) was this small, and it basically spread like wildfire.
What a fantastic idea. There aren't any listings in Oakland at this point, unfortunately. I hope this catches on!
posted by Lexica at 11:15 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Lexica at 11:15 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
I dunno if this is a derail but cities that put ordinances in place to prevent this type of 'victory' garden type thing are pretty deeply embedded in my list of titled 'The Worst'. That is all.
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:38 AM on April 12, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by RolandOfEld at 11:38 AM on April 12, 2017 [3 favorites]
My wife and I have been on the waiting list for a community garden plot in Cambridge for about 5 years now. Turns out there are a bunch of people all around me who have land and are looking for gardeners. This is great!
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 11:44 AM on April 12, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 11:44 AM on April 12, 2017 [2 favorites]
This is great! I have all the garden I want or need, but this is such an awesome idea.
Man, RolandOfEld, let me tell you about the weird intersection of class and agriculture. I live in a city that recently updated its agricultural accessory use ordinances to allow small amounts of livestock (chickens, goats and bees, primarily) to be kept on smallish, city-sized lots. There was much rejoicing etc... I'm hooked in with the chicken-keeping community for the greater region (county, surrounding couple of other counties) and it is legit way way harder to have (legal) small scale agriculture on your property in the suburbs and exurbs than it is in the city. In those communities you have to have acres and acres of property before they will let you keep a single chicken or rabbit. People who live out there and start looking into getting a small degree of personal agriculture going are routinely posting shocked posts to the Facebook group because they'd assumed that living in the country means you get to do country things. Not so! Because, you see, only the wrong sort of person keeps livestock for personal use. And if those suburban and exburban townships know how to do one thing, it's keeping the wrong sort of people out. It's bonkers.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:48 AM on April 12, 2017 [7 favorites]
Man, RolandOfEld, let me tell you about the weird intersection of class and agriculture. I live in a city that recently updated its agricultural accessory use ordinances to allow small amounts of livestock (chickens, goats and bees, primarily) to be kept on smallish, city-sized lots. There was much rejoicing etc... I'm hooked in with the chicken-keeping community for the greater region (county, surrounding couple of other counties) and it is legit way way harder to have (legal) small scale agriculture on your property in the suburbs and exurbs than it is in the city. In those communities you have to have acres and acres of property before they will let you keep a single chicken or rabbit. People who live out there and start looking into getting a small degree of personal agriculture going are routinely posting shocked posts to the Facebook group because they'd assumed that living in the country means you get to do country things. Not so! Because, you see, only the wrong sort of person keeps livestock for personal use. And if those suburban and exburban townships know how to do one thing, it's keeping the wrong sort of people out. It's bonkers.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:48 AM on April 12, 2017 [7 favorites]
See also: bans on hanging laundry out to dry
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:58 AM on April 12, 2017 [7 favorites]
This strikes me as a functionality that would make a great add-on to Nextdoor, much like the "who's going to be offering Halloween candy" mapping. I wonder if the creators would be interested in working with them?
posted by trackofalljades at 12:20 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by trackofalljades at 12:20 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
I totally see your point, but ugh, nextdoor.
posted by aniola at 12:23 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by aniola at 12:23 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
soren_lorensen - oh man, do I hear you! Several years back a small group of us (we called ourselves "chickenistas" in my town lobbied (successfully, I might add) for hen ownership inside city limits. You would have thought we were proposing large-scale ag in the city!
The old-timers regaled us of stories of living next to a chicken farm and the stench, and the noise and and and.
I think there around 15 licensed owners of chickens in the city - and there have been virtually no complaints. We don't have to have permission for bees or bunnies, but no goats, pigs, or ducks are allowed (yet).
It goes back to a time right after WWII, when small cities wanted to be seen as "sophisticated" and "sanitary", so they outlawed "livestock" in the city limits - because, after all, it's only hicks that to that, right?
posted by dbmcd at 2:41 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
The old-timers regaled us of stories of living next to a chicken farm and the stench, and the noise and and and.
I think there around 15 licensed owners of chickens in the city - and there have been virtually no complaints. We don't have to have permission for bees or bunnies, but no goats, pigs, or ducks are allowed (yet).
It goes back to a time right after WWII, when small cities wanted to be seen as "sophisticated" and "sanitary", so they outlawed "livestock" in the city limits - because, after all, it's only hicks that to that, right?
posted by dbmcd at 2:41 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Wow, terrific program! In my area, there are several churches and one public park that offer plots, but the big problem is the lack of access to water. People can get there and work, but hauling gallons and gallons of water is a real challenge.
Years ago, I was lucky enough to have a neighbor (and Master Gardener) who needed someone to take over her plot, as it require too much of her. It's how I fell in love with gardening, this plot. For three or four years, I spent months toting my wheelbarrow down the street and around the corner--toddler in tow--so I could experiment with tomatoes. Which led to canning, which led to my current ag madness. My neighbor got all of the pleasure of seeing things grow and none of the work; I got an education and lots of red sauce. It was a terrific trade.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:53 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
Years ago, I was lucky enough to have a neighbor (and Master Gardener) who needed someone to take over her plot, as it require too much of her. It's how I fell in love with gardening, this plot. For three or four years, I spent months toting my wheelbarrow down the street and around the corner--toddler in tow--so I could experiment with tomatoes. Which led to canning, which led to my current ag madness. My neighbor got all of the pleasure of seeing things grow and none of the work; I got an education and lots of red sauce. It was a terrific trade.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:53 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]
showbiz_liz: "See also: bans on hanging laundry out to dry"
A few years back my Province made such ordinances, HOA rules, and deed restrictions unenforcable. You'd think they were requiring virgin sacrifices or something from some of the angry letters to the editor.
posted by Mitheral at 10:45 PM on April 13, 2017
A few years back my Province made such ordinances, HOA rules, and deed restrictions unenforcable. You'd think they were requiring virgin sacrifices or something from some of the angry letters to the editor.
posted by Mitheral at 10:45 PM on April 13, 2017
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I'm a lifelong citydweller with a small back yard and no real idea of what to do with it and don't want to really spend the time week after week gardening, but would totally be willing to let people garden in it. My husband and I have been jokingly offering some space to another friend of mine who has v. green thumbs, but she already has a small farm's worth of raised beds.
Here's hoping this gets to the twin cities soon.
posted by dinty_moore at 11:07 AM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]