A presentation on converting residential Urban land into crop spaces which contribute to stronger food security, food justice and connectivity within the community. Provides basic steps and tips for building organic bedding areas for growing healthy food. Based on a phased project implementation in the City of Tacoma.

1. How to Get Out of Mowing the Lawn
and Grow a Garden Instead
An Urban Permaculture Story
Tahoma Urban Agriculture
Guild

2. Welcome!
This slide show tells a story about turning the usual
time commitment for yardwork into a much more
useful endeavor. It's written for folks interested in
creating space for growing secure food supplies on
unproductive, urban land.

3. What's Inside?
The story tells how unproductive land in an urban,
residential area was turned into Home and Foodbank
Gardens with the help of family, friends and local
volunteers.
We share the steps taken and describe some of the
Permaculture methods used in the formation of
these gardens.

4. What's Inside?
The story tells how unproductive land in an urban,
residential area was turned into Home and Foodbank
Gardens with the help of family, friends and local
volunteers.
We share the steps taken and describe some of the
Permaculture methods used in the formation of
these gardens.

5. What Can I Do in My Yard Today?
This was a question we often
asked shortly after buying a
property in Tacoma, WA.
Gather food for dinner - No
Cut some flowers for the vase – No
Harvest some fresh herbs for the
kitchen – No
Find a quiet space to read a book
– No
Squirrel & Birdwatching –
Decidedly No
Mow the lawn & remove
noxious weeds - Yes

6. The Next Question
What's the first step for
creating the time and space
for what we value doing
in our yard?
Answer:
Get rid of some of
the lawn and put in
some garden space.

7. The Home Garden, First Edition
1) We chose to begin with a
sunny spot we hated mowing
the most, over the crest
of a bank.
2) Dark rock was used for
building raised beds to increase
the daytime soil temperature.

8. The Home Garden, First Edition
4) Once the beds were done
they were mulched with straw
to wait for planting in the spring.
3) Each area was filled with
a mixture of fresh potting soil
and some home compost.

9. View of the Home Garden
from Above
Here's what it looked like from the balcony.
The original garden area was about 300 square feet.

10. The Following Summer
There were more things to do in the yard
that we valued and LESS lawn to mow:
we had food & herbs for the kitchen, cut flowers for the
home and more time to enjoy in the yard.

11. The Rewards of 300 Square
Feet of Garden
A quiet space in the yard
to read a book.
More food for the household than
we could consume.
And all the Urban Wildlife one could wish for,
including honey bees, butterflies, squirrels and songbirds.

12. The Surplus
By June there was far more food gathered from
the garden than the family could eat. And the freezer
was getting full.
We started boxing up the extra harvest and delivered
it to various Foodbanks nearby. By August the deliveries
went from once to twice a week.

13. Taking Another Look at the Parking Strip
By Fall the Parking Strip was starting to look
more like a gift than just a piece of land we had
to mow.
We decided to check with the City to find out
about converting it to garden space.
Sure enough, it just required a permit.
And the process did not require a fee.

14. Getting Connected
The next step was to find an organization that was interested
in working
with us to establish a foodbank garden on the Parking Strip.
After checking around on-line, we found The Making a
Difference Foundation (TheMADF.org). The Foundation
operates Eloise's Cooking Pot Foodbank in Tacoma and they
were delighted with the idea.
Volunteers from
Eloise's Cooking Pot Foodbank

15. Putting a Plan on
Paper & Submitting
to the City:
the Checklist
1) Go to the City website
and write down the rules for
putting a “Garden Strip” in.
2) Draw out a site plan
based on the rules.
3) Fill out the permit
application and submit
it along with the plan to the City.

16. In the Meantime
While waiting on the City to process the permit we decided to
move forward with getting the most important
materials started.
With some advice from folks at the Foodbank on what to
grow, we put on a Seed Starting Workshop.
We didn't know when the
permit process would be
done so we stuck to things
that could winter over well.
Such as:
Herbs
Root vegetables
Greens
Cabbage

17. Once the Garden Strip is Approved
the Project Begins
By drawing a Site Plan to scale
it can later be used to calculate
the amount of materials
needed for the project. A suitable
scale for most garden spaces is
1/2 inch = 5 feet.
Here's the basic checklist of materials
we used:
● Garden Mix
● Potting Soil
● Cardboard
● Pro-grade Landscape cloth
● Dark Basalt rock
● Fencing posts
● Wire Fencing Mesh
● Straw bales

18. No-till Installation:
The Urban Advantages to Raised Beds
1.) Less Work to Install:
a 3 inch Cardboard Sheet
mulch prevents existing
weeds from invading the
new bedding area. Eliminating
the need for tilling or sod
removal.
2) Reduced risk for toxic substances: A long list of toxins
got
dumped on Urban soils last century. Raised beds, Sheet
mulching
& fresh planting mix eliminates the risk of serious toxins
getting
into the home food supply from existing soils.

19. No-till Installation:
The Urban Advantages to Raised Beds
4) Scientific studies reveal that grassy areas contain some of
the highest numbers of worms per acre. By not tilling and using
a cardboard sheet mulch, the existing soil system will spread up
into the new bedding area.
3) Reduced Maintenance:
Laying a pro-
grade landscape cloth edging
below border
materials slows future weed
invasion &
reduces or eliminates need for
herbicide.

20. 1) Whenever possible, stage
rockwork materials uphill from
the installation.
Working with Rock:
Rules of Engagement
2) Make sure the rock has been
evenly loaded before transport.

21. 3) When funds for heavy
equipment aren't
available be sure to have
a level (not canted) and
sturdy surface for
transport.
Rules of Engagement

22. 4) When a raised bed is intended for
root vegetables or deep-rooted types
like tomatoes, build the rock border
(and garden mix) a minimum of 8
inches high.
Rules of Engagement

23. Project Phasing: What To Do When
Some things happen in
their own time, like:
obtaining permits,
funding or volunteer
schedules. Here are a few tips
for getting projects
to completion
despite the
unknowns.
1 )Break up the task
into
doable chunks based
on
your resources.
3) As much as possible, have all materials, tools &
equipment at the site before starting the project.
4) Find tasks that can be done ahead and adapt them
if needed for the season as in the case of plant materials.
2) Avoid heavy work
or
planting during the
heat
of mid-summer

24. The Eloise's Cooking Pot
Foodbank Garden
With the efforts of friends, family and Eloise's
Cooking Pot Garden
Volunteers, we established some wonderful
community connections
and a place to grow healthy food that goes where it
is needed most.
The total growing space including garden pathway is
720 square feet

25. Home Garden Additions That Create More
Growing
Space on the Same Area of Land
Arches were made of ¾ inch pvc pipe &
wire mesh. This created vertical growing
space for climbing types like peas and beans,
part sun conditions inside for greens etc.
A constructed
berm or existing
bank can be used
to maximize space
both vertically and
horizontally. In
this example a
terrace was built
using a layered
method of organic
materials (aka
Hugelkultur).

26. Home Garden Additions
A second terrace was added
below the Vertical Garden
for sprawling vegetables like
squash & melons.
Circular beds known as
“Tortugas” for
creating specialized
growing conditions.

27. Some Lessons We Learned
1) In addition to food, gardens can grow stronger,
more connected communities.
2) Collaboration can move mountains (of dirt and rock) in a
short time.
3) Shrinking an ecological footprint through re-use or
recycled materials also shrinks project expenditures.
4) Members of youth groups may be inclined to eat
the worms in a compost pile.

28. Garden Resources
Seed used for these gardens are Non-GMO and Heirloom or Open
Pollinated varieties. Our sources include: Seed Savers Exchange,
Nichols Garden Nursery & Pinetree Garden Seeds.
Hugelkutur is German for “Mound Culture”, the method originated in Eastern Europ
It can be adapted for use in trenches, terraces or raised beds. Advantages include
lower irrigation needs & long-term soil nutrition feedstock.
More on Cardboard Sheet Mulching can be found at
http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/cardboard-or-sheet-mulching/
For questions or comments about this presentation go to
Tahoma Urban Agriculture Guild
https://tahomaurbanagriculture.squarespace.com/

29. Closing & Credits
We wish to thank the local organizations and businesses
that volunteered or provided support for Eloise's Cooking Pot
Garden .
Central Church Youth Group's participation in the Seed Starting Workshop
Tagro for donating and delivering the potting soil.
Folks at our local Grocery Outlet for donating the cardboard.
The Making a Difference Foundation, (TheMADF.org)
for providing some of the funding for Eloise's Cooking Pot Garden.
Finally, thank you for your interest and we wish you a
great harvest in all your endeavors.
Tahoma Urban Agriculture Guild
https://tahomaurbanagriculture.squarespace.com/