Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Focus on the Front Yard--a Trailer Park Homestead update

With the hulabaloo (sounds nicer than "nonsensical misdemeanor", doesn't it) about Julie Bass's front yard vegetable garden in Oak Park, MI, I thought it would be suitable (wait, if the Oak Park city officials are using an "obsolete" definition of "suitable", does that mean that the city officials of Oak Park are obsolete and need to go, either by being fired or voted out, depending on their positions?)  to explore what I have growing in my front yard.  Not the herbs and flowers that I'm growing for food or medicinal purposes, since I doubt Oak Park city pricks, er, I mean city officials, would have a problem with those, just the fruits and vegetables.  Since this is just a tiny trailer park lot and not a full on yard, the "front yard" is defined (by me) as the area from the road up to the front door of the trailer.  As you can see from the view from my front door, looking out toward the street:
That yellowness is my 6 year old looking for carrots for a snack
And from the street, looking up toward the house:
this is not a large area!  Yet, in that area, I am growing the following:
cucumbers (in 3 different locations in the front yard),
watermelon,
zucchini,
cantaloupe,
green peppers (3 plants, spread out over 2 different areas),
carrots,
tomatoes (about a dozen plants, spread out over several areas),
several raspberry bushes, a blackberry bush,
3 blueberry bushes,
broccoli (in 2 different places in the front yard, about 8 plants total),

rutabaga (so tiny because they are part of the fall planting),
pumpkin,
snap peas (although they are looking pretty awful.  I'll probably pull these this week to make room for more fall plantings of...something),
lettuce,
ground cherries,
and a few strawberries.
So, as you can see, front yard gardening isn't strange, weird, or "unsuitable" as plant material...and you can grow a lot in a little space if you get creative about it.  I hope I didn't take too big of a risk showing you this, since, as Julie Bass pointed out to me on her blog the other day, "i hope the oak park code enforcers don’t drive out to webberville to ticket you- after all, we know they are comfortable exceeding their authority ;-)".

4 comments:

  1. Looks really good. I don't see how people can complain about some veggies out front. Your beds look nice and organized.

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  2. Thanks! I don't get it either, but apparently, some people do, and have even been persecuted and/or prosecuted for it!

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  3. Awesome planting!!! I too live in a mobile home park (a trailer is something ya hook behind your car) and my back yard has 4 raised bed gardens. I've been waiting for a letter from management telling me I can't have my gardens - such letter has not arrived yet

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  4. Looks great! I've been following the front yard edible movement for a while and glad to see it's growing, as it were.

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