Friday, May 15, 2009
Urban Farming Urban Farming, Chapter 8: The Great (Unrealized) Wall of Corn
Posted by Carrington Fox on Fri, May 15, 2009 at 6:32 AM
While recently reminding me to thin my arugula sprouts to about three inches on center, Personal Farmer Peter Anderson segued into something that had been eating at him: I had wussed out on the plan to sow a cornfield in the sunny planting strip between the street and sidewalk in front of my house.
When he and I first spoke about my desire to transform my urban property into a farm, this so-called Great Wall of Corn was a centerpiece of my campaign. But no sooner did Peter draft a plan to make it happen than I chickened out.
I still think it would be an elegant earthwork of Christo-esque proportion, which would poke fun at the modern convention of banishing agriculture beyond the urban core. Plus, it would look cool, and my neighbors could share in the harvest as they strolled past and picked a few ears. Peter even nicknamed it The Robber Garden for that reason.
But while there is no one who supports the Great Wall of Corn/Robber Garden more than I do, there is no one who opposes it more than my husband, and since I'm conserving my spousal capital for the inevitable battle over raising chickens behind the garage, I've decided to roll over on this issue.
Meanwhile, Peter and Marcus are ready to roll forward with the GWC/RG plan, so I want to help them find an adventurous urban farmer whom they can shepherd through the process. If you know anyone who's ready to make this lush and verdant gesture of urban farming, please send them this way.
Comments (5)
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In many cases the land between the sidewalk and roadway is public right of way. That means Metro could chop down anything planted there at their whim.
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I saw lots of urban gardens last year in Seattle. Stuff grows so well there that you could just pick what you want from the sidewalk without fear. Several of the yards had corn growing in a landscaped fashion, which I thought was really cool. Grow food and a privacy fence at the same time!
But yeah, if I did that on my property, the hag up the street would call Codes on me and have it chopped down. The right of way in my yard extends 15 feet in from the street. Probably the same for most property.
If Metro chops down cornfields with the same frequency it picks up brush piles, then there should be plenty of time to grow a crop.
Will Peter & Marcus help finance the GWC/RG? I've got an area of my tiny front yard that I'd like to terrace and do some edible snackscaping to at some point in the future when the funds flow more freely. For now, I just keep dreaming of corn in the front yard.
