Gardening, Guerilla Style
Posted on April 20, 2009 by
Recently I was introduced via the Stuff You Should Know podcast (check it out; it’s awesome) to the idea of guerilla gardening, which I think is really interesting. Basically, guerilla gardening is the practice of taking a tiny bit of control over the environment by planting seeds in places that don’t belong to you, introducing plant life to abandoned lots, random piles of dirt, and the like. (Not to be confused with gorilla gardening, which I suppose is the art of growing gorillas. Or having gorillas do your gardening for you. But that’s an entirely different post.)
As with all forms of social protest, people take guerilla gardening to varying degrees. There are the people who dress all in black and sneak around at night planting seeds, kind of like a ninja Johnny Appleseed. There are the people who boldly walk around in broad daylight, dropping seeds around them. And then there are the people who have taken guerilla gardening to a scientific level by inventing seed balls.
One could argue that seed balls are the most effective way to practice guerilla gardening, since the idea behind them is that they can be thrown into abandoned places instead of simply dropped. There is even a standardized process for creating the best seed ball: First, pick seeds that are native to the area and that can withstand drought. Then, mix the seeds together with some mulch and then knead the mixture into terra cotta clay, rolling it into a ball. (You should use red terra cotta clay because it has fewer chemicals that can interfere with growth than other forms of terra cotta.) Then, after the balls are dry, distribute them as you see fit. The mulch and terra cotta protect the seeds from being eaten by critters, and after a few rains, the balls break down and the seeds are allowed to germinate.
To be honest, I think guerilla gardening may be the least controversial form of social protest I’ve ever heard. Since the seeds are thrown into abandoned places, I can’t think of a single legitimate reason why anyone would be opposed to this. I’m sure there is someone out there whose blood boils at the thought of someone altering land that doesn’t belong to them, but honestly, these are native plants. Where’s the harm?
What do you think? Would you ever practice guerilla gardening? Can you think of a reason why people would be upset over this?
I dig this idea, but I guess maybe some people only like ugly, bleak concrete? I can’t think of why this would be controversial.
I love this idea and have done it myself. I can’t imagine anyone would be bothered by it so long as you’re not throwing seeds into gardens that are obviously carefully cultivated. It’s no different than what the birds and the winds do, really.
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Of course, we at Allie’s Answers don’t endorse any type of guerilla activities. :p So, if you get arrested for throwing seed balls around, you can’t blame us. It’s on you.
We do however, fall off our chairs laughing at the idea of a gorilla in overalls and gardening clogs planting tomatoes. (And, by we, I mean me) Although, if you fall off your chair laughing and get hurt, again, it’s on you.
Also – “kind of like a ninja Johnny Appleseed.” Courtney, you are awesome.
I do this. I plant native wildflowers in the empty lots on either side of us for the bees & butterflies (I also cut down all the sapplings so that the flowers thrive).
In a way, it’s a more primative form of community gardening.
I think the rub can be that if you are improving a piece of land and you manage to maintain it for a certain amout of time without the interference of the actual landowner (I think in some states the law says ten years), you can actually claim it as your own.
Or something like that.
Wow – really? I wonder if The Crap Garden now counts as my neighbor’s property? Who defines improving?
I’d love to do this, but I think I’d get too attached to the space I planted and go apeshyte when the city mowed all my lovely plants down. Am I alone in this?
[...] with all forms of social protest, people take guerilla gardening to varying degrees. There are the people who dress all in black and sneak around at night planting seeds, kind of like [...]
i’d like to take guerilla gardening one step further and plant things that would turn edible! it could involve more tending, but some plants may be hardy enough to make it on their own. this way, people in that area could…take the food…for FREE! i see this as a non-confrontational sort of way to demonstrate use for abandoned places that may lead to the city or whoever to actually keep them that way. More community gardens! More food control! Better food for more people!
[...] with all forms of social protest, people take guerilla gardening to varying degrees. There are the people who dress all in black and sneak around at night planting seeds, kind of like [...]