Meeting The Neighbors

Grapes and a Blackberry Bush Dug Up From My Yard

Being another sunny spring day, I got out again to go work a little on my community garden plot, "Las Vegan Ranch" on Detroit Street in Lansing, MI. First, I dug up some grape vines and a blackberry bush from my yard. I planted them last year, but my yard was so shady, they did not get very big; however, there is new growth on the blackberry after the winter and buds on the grape vines, so I decided to replant them on my rented plot in a sunny spot.

Tomatoes, Peppers, Succulents

Before I left, I took my indoor seedlings out in the sunshine for a little natural sunlight. I started these on April. 1st, and I need to wait until the last frost, after May 15th here in Michigan, to put them in the ground. In the meantime, I try to take them outside when it is nice and sunny. I have an artificial light indoors for my seedlings, but I can see visible growth after I take them out in the sun.

Blackberry

Grapes

Above, you can see the blackberry bush and grapevines replanted. The grape vines are adjacent to a huge, old stump, and I hope they grow up and cover the stump. After the summer, I will have to dig up the blackberry and find a home for it in the winter, because it is in the middle of the field and will get plowed up when they till the land in the spring. I will probably overwinter it in a well-mulched pot, or in my back yard.

While I was out there planting, 2 friendly ladies from the neighborhood came over to introduce themselves to me and tell me about the neighborhood. According to local gossip, a few years ago, there was a house where my plot of land is and there was a bust that uncovered a vicious dog-fighting ring based there, with many dead and abused dogs. They rescued the ones they could and razed the house. I have been finding a lot of bones there, and according to one of the women, the dead dogs were buried out in the yard. This is so sad, but it made me happy that the vile house was gone and the abusers in prison.

I also found out that the house next door to my lot is vacant and that the Land Bank apparently bought that as well, and will most likely raze it. It is very old and dilapidated, with trees and vines growing out of the rear of the structure. If the house is razed, most likely, it will become a garden plot like mine, but there is a lot of work to do.

Overall, the neighbors were super friendly. They promised to watch my garden for any vandals, although they said they can't do anything about the deer and rabbits- I am sure to lose some crops to critters. One of the ladies has 9 cats, so I dug up a huge, fresh catnip plant for her from my plot and gave it to her to bring home and pot in a sunny location. As soon as she crossed the street to go back home, I saw a gray tabby come running to investigate the plant!

The neighbors, both of whom had lived on that street for years, both expressed gratitude that the eyesore dog-fighting house was gone and that the land bank was renting out vacant lots for gardening and beautification. Additionally, both women hoped the house next door would be torn down for another garden. They gave me some extra empty milk jugs for hauling water, which I thought was very neighborly.

This is a picture of another community garden project in Lansing on Elizabeth Street. This one is a very large garden with multiple volunteers who help out. Today, they are collecting bags of yard waste to turn into compost for the garden, which is located behind the bags of leaves. You cannot see much growing, because all of their crops are covered with plastic tenting.

Finally, I added a picture of a house on my street that is being restored. I saw a Lansing Land Bank vehicle parked there the other day, so I am pretty sure it is being renovated by the Land Bank, the same organization that I am renting my garden plot from. The orange and green tags in the window are put in houses that have been foreclosed on or condemned. You see them quite often here, which is a shame, but the Land Bank purchases some and restores them to rent or resell. I was browsing some of the homes while I was at there office in Old Town and they were all selling for between 40 thousand and 80 thousand dollars, which I thought was quite reasonable. I would consider buying one if I were in a better financial position.