What Do You Want?

In a couple of my previous posts I talked about the plans we have for 59 Java St. For instance I said we want to remediate the soil using sunflowers and poplar trees. I mentioned that we wanted to try composting in the garden. We certainly have some ideas and if at all possible we are going to give them a try.

Building a little fort is an option.

Having said that, this is a community garden. The land is owned by the city and should be used in a manner which benefits everyone. Also, we need to avoid causing problems for the neighbors. For example, done improperly composting can smell bad and attract pests. Surely the neighbors would not like that!

So what do you want?

Just to be very clear, you do not have to be a member of the Java Street Garden Collaborative to have a say in what happens to 59 Java. We would love it if you wanted to help make the garden happen but we want to hear from the community in general. Especially from people who live nearby, and most of all from the folks right next door!

Our composting project is a great example of how feedback can be useful. If we want to compost then we need to get our hands on something to compost. At our meetings two suggestions have been made. We could accept clippings from the neighbors. We could also have a compostables-only trash bin. Would either of these services be useful to you?

There are some problems with both of these suggestions as well. If those clippings came from plants growing in polluted soil then we would be adding toxins right back to the site even as we removed them. Obviously a garbage bin has odor and pest-attracting issues as well. Does this concern you?

Community gardens are never open 24-7. We will open the garden during specific hours which will depend on the number of volunteers we have. If you live in the area, do you feel that there particular times when the garden really should or really should not be open?

We want to plant at least one tree in the garden. For those of you who live adjacent to the garden, are you concerned about losing sunlight during the Winter months? Or are you in favor of a tree to block the Sun during the Summer months? Perhaps we should plant an evergreen instead and decorate it for Christmas?

As always you can contact us at javastgarden@gmail.com. We also normally meet on Tuesday evenings but during the holiday season we will not be meeting as regularly.