Hello All,
I hope everyone's garden is doing well and you're enjoying this beautiful summer. The weather this year is way better than last year, for sure. It's definitely cooler.
I have to share some sad garden news. It happened this past week at my community garden. Mrs. 38th Street and I were going to tidy up the plot in preparation of a tour of the green spaces in the Mapleton Fall Creek area of the city. It was put on by IndyTilth and sponsored by Sun King Brewery (thanks for the free beer!) and Nicey Treet (thanks for the free Thai Coffee ice cream bar!).
Last Wednesday, we arrived at the garden after work. I told Mrs. 38th Street that our Corn was getting close to ripe, so we need to check it. We also had some Tomatoes and Peppers that were close to turning, plus some Cucumbers that were ready to pick now. As we walked up to the garden, I noticed something looked different. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that some of the corn was gone. Then I looked closer and noticed about 8 or so ears of Corn were pick and they broke 3 Corn stalks in the process. I also saw that they picked a portion of Tomatoes AND walked through the middle of the Tomato plants, breaking 3 of them! The Cucumbers that were ready were gone. They pulled up a third of the onions and just left them laying on the ground! Some of the jalapenos were gone, too.
The garden was raided. I don't know by who, but it had happened sometime during the previous two day. All this was very disheartening. I was felt deflated. Mrs. 38th Street told me this might happen. I didn't want to think about that so I hoped for the best. Unfortunately, she was right. I was hoping the people in the neighborhood would be cool and let all the gardens be, but they proved that wasn't the case.
I was feeling this combination of defeat, sadness, and anger all at the same time. We had put so much time and money into this labor of love, then to see it robbed by someone in the neighborhood. I didn't know what to do as I stood there with my head down.
Mrs. 38th Street came over, gave me a hug and gave me some encouraging words to try to cheer me up. She said she was going to take me out to dinner. Pick any place I want and she'd pay. So we went to the Aristocrat. I love my wife. She was there to pick me up when I was down and she again showed me how much she loves me. A little dinner, a couple beers; it did help.
We garden because we want fresh, organic, healthy food. We want to be as self sufficient as possible and have less chemicals in our bodies. We did the community garden because of our housing situation. We didn't put all of our time, money and sweat into the garden just to have people rummage through, destroy and ruin it because of WHATEVER reason they had. I don't mind giving away some of the harvest. I don't. I even told Mrs. 38th Street that one day, I wanted to have a garden big enough I can donate some of the harvest to food kitchens to help feed the less fortunate. I don't want to do it like this, though. This was wrong. It was inconsiderate and not a neighborly thing to do. Didn't their Mom's teach them the Golden Rule?
Mrs. 38th Street did have a good point though. She commented that maybe some of the people in the neighborhood are misunderstanding the name of the garden. The spot is called the "Broadway Community Garden." She says they may be thinking that this belongs to the "Community" and it's for the "Community" to harvest and take what they want. This could be true. I can see people not knowing what the community garden is all about.
So when I get home from work today, I will be putting a sign in the garden that says, "PLEASE DON'T PICK MY VEGETABLES." I hope that's easy to understand. We want to enjoy some of the harvest from this year.
I really try to see the good in people. I will give you respect until you show me you're not worthy of respect. I want people to treat people like they want to be treated. It's a simple thing to do. If people lived life this way, communities would be a little nicer in general. It's not hard. I do hope everyone learns this at some point in their lives. Karma's a bitch. That sh*t comes back around in one form or another.
Alright, I've said my two cents about all this garden raiding. I'm done. I hope everyone had a good weekend. I'm ready to go grill something, myself, with a beer.
38th Street Gardener is outta here!
Sorry to hear buddy, I know you work hard and care alot abou your garden. Karma is a bitch, but hey maybe you unknowingly fed somebody's kids. The good news is your a master gardener and can grow another awesome garden next year (wherever that may be ; )
ReplyDeleteAfter a few years of working in my neighborhood community garden, I eventually realized that there is never a good enough explanation as to why someone stole or destroyed someone else's prized vegetables. Whether it be necessity or plain old bad intentions...it doesn't matter. It is always disheartening and maddening. But (no matter happens) you can be proud of the fact that you are setting a good example for everyone else by growing your own garden. By caring for it and tending to it. Undoubtedly, your efforts will inspire someone else to the same. That is how attitudes change about the importance of where our food comes from and that it be fresh, pesticide free. Community gardening is more than just growing our own food...its sharing the joys (and frustrations) of gardening with the whole neighborhood. For better or for worse. Don't let this one incident get you down...just remember that you are an inspiration to others.
ReplyDeleteThank you two for the kind words. I appreciate it. Sarah - You should be a publicist. That was a well worded comment!
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