October 16, 2010: The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods runs our local p-patch program, and in 2010, they offered tours of various neighborhood p-patches.
Cob tool shed at Maple Leaf P-Patch
Roosevelt P-Patch, coffee sack ground cover.
Sometimes NO fences make good neighbors! Open plots next to Roosevelt P-Patch help build community.
Ravenna P-Patch is on city right-of-way, and has public foot traffic, so...
..."No Nibbling" signs necessary.
At Ravenna, I got to meet Pam, a Twitter pal, who gave us the presentation on the site.
Later, when I tweeted this pic, she noted the garden gets its share of kitties. I asked if they're a help (catching vermin) or nuisance (seeing garden as big litterbox) and she replied "In the spring when I plant peas, I have to put chicken wire over the area to prevent cat bathroom issues." (But she noted, she likes having them there!)
Last stop was Picardo. The "P" in P-Patch stands for Picardo, the first Seattle community garden. It's huge! And they have a very tidy tool shed.
Picardo has a compostable toilet & "Humanure Census." "Thank you for your input" works on two levels.
From the P-Patch website: "The gardens also provide a way to give back to the community: gardeners contributed over 18,500 hours in 2009 (equivalent to 9 full time workers) and show their concern for the value of organic vegetables and community by supplying fresh produce to Seattle food banks and feeding programs. In 2009 alone, P-Patch gardeners donated 12.4 tons (25,000 pounds) of food."
Note - the next photo is of a naked woman garden art sculpture, kinda NSFW-ish.
Picardo's fertility goddess sculpture.
The tour wrapped up with cider and cake made for us by one of the Dept of Neighborhood staffers.
For more information on the P-Patch program, click here.