Garden vandals

The plants have finally gone in the ground at our school garden. One parent, a volunteer and many teachers spent all day last Friday planting with the kids in each of the classes. There were many spindly little seedlings, some over-grown and weedy-looking plants, a few healthy specimens and lots and lots of very proud children.

The school garden before planting

But I went over to the school on Saturday to check out their handiwork and discovered that vandals had been at work over night. There were pepper and tomato plants popped right out of the ground, many of them still lying like fallen soldiers on the tarmac.

I was reminded of Gayla Trail of You Grow Girl fame and the wickedly brilliant sign she made a few years ago when someone stole her plants (I’ve posted about it before but a sentiment this bang-on deserves repeating):

Image from yougrowgirl.com

Of course, this is an elementary school, so talk about punching kittens could easily set off a mass crying jag that wouldn’t end before the school year does. Anyway, it doesn’t look like they wanted to steal the plants, just rip them from the ground (and stomp on little children’s dreams).

The truth is, we’ve been expecting it (though admittedly not on the first day they plants went in…). The schoolyard is in a secluded spot where weekend partiers often gather. I once went back there on a Saturday and discovered a flashmob of trick cyclists with massive plywood boards (for ramps) and lots of beer. The caretakers spend Monday mornings picking up glass and other garbage.

Still, we’ve been trying to remain hopeful about the garden’s prospects this summer. We’re going to put up a sign and enlist the neighbours and local dog walkers in watching over the veggie patch. I was also inspired by this Rodale Institute article about vandals who were brought on board with a little compassion.

In the end, I was able to rescue about half of the plants that had been pulled out (the other half were destroyed or disappeared). Their roots were still intact and they seem to be okay after a few days back in the soil. I’ve got my fingers crossed (and my voodoo doll at the ready).

What do you do to encourage people to protect your community garden? I’d love to hear advice from anyone with experience.

Plant thieves

The other day our new(ish) neighbours (and fellow Garden Master accolytes) tore up their weed and rock-filled front yard and planted two enormous hostas, a bit of grass (for their tiny new puppy) and two small but robust bushes up against the house. It wasn’t a veggie patch, but it looked nice, and they were proud and excited about it.

That night, thieves popped the whole lot of it (minus the grass) out of the ground. Our neighbour was furious and sad and disillusioned with the world. Inspired by Gayla Trail of You Grow Girl, (who offers a free printable download on her site) they put up this sign directed at the misanthropes:

image courtesy You Grow Girl

I’m pretty sure it made them feel better—there was certainly lots of laughter and commiserating in the neighbourhood and a few passing photographers took snaps. I definitely know how they feel: the same thing happened to us when we lived in another house in another part of town. I lost a ceramic pot of pansies and an entire euonymus bush one night.

This year, our veggie patch is more accessible to the sidewalk and GM has warned us that we’ll be losing cucumbers to passing pedestrians if we’re not careful. Part of me wants to build a nuclear bunker to keep my precious cukes safe from wandering hands, but the more rational part figures I’ll share it anyway so desperate people who can’t resist my veggies, well, they can have one or two. Okay, one. Let’s see how rational I feel at harvest time when my luscious heirloom tomatoes get pinched…

Gayla Trail’s new book Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces is a must-have for the urban gardener. Check it out here.