Yet another community garden has appeared in rapidly-revitalizing North Minneapolis, (NoMi) this one at the intersection of 22nd Ave. N. and Bryant Ave. N.
The vacant lot in question was for sale for quite a while. In fact....
...I called the seller of the lot, some large and impersonal bank, and made inquiries about the price. I seem to recall being quoted a figure of $25,000. To which I responded, "You understand I can buy a decent HOUSE in this neighborhood for around $17,000? Why would I pay $25,000 for a vacant lot?"
They were willing to take my contact info in case the price dropped to my preferred offer of "maybe a couple grand." But some days ago, piles of fresh soil appeared, then this weekend eager tillers of the soil were seen making the lot into a garden. I learned from one of the participants that this effort is not connected to the Hawthorne Neighborhood association, it is an independent effort. I presume somebody actually BOUGHT the lot but, well, who knows?
The sign which advertised the lot is for sale is knocked down, yet still remains. One wonders if the lumber could be made into a decent compost bin?
I think that NoMi, with all these vacant lots, should try to become the location for community gardening in the Minneapolis.
ReplyDeleteNot only is this a great way to meet neighbors, this is also a great way to deter crime. It helps keep "eyes on the street."
I know the folks organizing the garden. I'd be happy to find out details of the lot if you want.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great! You should do a "Northside 'Homes and (Community) Garden' Directory"!!!
ReplyDeleteAriah, yes, please email the details and perhaps some pictures with PEOPLE in them to hoffx106@umn.edu.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great, but ours is going to be better (snark, snark, snark).
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if these could pop up all over the place, but good luck with trying to get any kind of an answer from the City about using their lots. I tried for a couple of months and only got a huge run-around. It's best to find something privately owned.
Hooray for gardens!
ReplyDeletethere's a well-established community garden near 14th & queen, as well.
ReplyDeleteAs to the Garden Directory idea,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to keep track of what I can here:
http://insidenorthside.org/Community+Gardens
It's a wiki site, which means anyone can click the "Edit this Page" button on the top right and add their gardens info.
Here is the official garden directory for the Twin Cities they have a Parade of Community Gardens on August 22nd.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.gardeningmatters.org/Directory/index.htm
Thanks so much for writing about our garden. I organized a few neighbors in my block (15th between Irving and Girard) last year. We took an empty lot, got permission for the landlord and used it for a garden. This year we have that garden going with 9 households from the block.
ReplyDeleteOver the winter a group of neighbors around 2131 Bryant asked if I would help them to do the same. There are currently 7 different households that will be gardening that plot this summer. Urban Homeworks owns the lot, my understanding is that the Bank gave them the lot, seems interesting that they wanted to sell it to you for $25,000. The neighbors are leasing the lot from Urban Homeworks.
I am hoping to have pictures up on my website soon, but you can see what we did last year at http://parakletos.blog.com/
Thanks Tanden
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI would like to let you know we have free wood mulch chips available at our site at 45th and Hiawatha.
They would work great for a community garden or any kind of garden.
It's free, the only thing is you have to come and pick it up.
If interested call Denise at 612-724-6045. We will have this available all summer and fall. Thank you for your time.