Unlikely agriculture
September 13, 2008 at 11:30 am 3 comments
A couple weeks ago, Joe posted the following comment on the blog: FYI: I wanted to point you towards some urban gardening in the most unlikely of places – The Providence 903 at Jefferson Place. If you go down Kinsley towards downtown & just past the main entrance, you’ll notice a pumpkin patch nestled within the standard urban landscape. I have no idea who planted it there, but when running the other day, I noticed the disimilar plantings. Upon further investigation, I noticed a large pumpkin growing beyond. If you’re in the area, check it out.
I finally got over to where Merchants Cold Storage and Silvertop Diner used to be, aka the building urbanists love to hate. Indeed, thar be cucurbits! Pumpkin? Squash? Something was creeping along the sidewalks. Next we need to grow fruit and produce across the street from the 903 where the Providence Fruit & Produce Warehouse used to be.
Over in Fox Point, I sought out the urban agriculture I used to see ca. 2000-02 on Transit Street, between Hope and Brook. One house had squash vines growing out of second-story flower boxes down to the first story. Another backyard was a fava bean farm, tended by a Portuguese old-timer. Unfortunately, there were no squash vines, and the fava farm was totally grown over.
Happily, a thin row of onion plants had survived and some had leapt the chainlink fence and planted themselves in the parking lot. Sometimes humans manage to humanize the urban landscape by growing food and flowers. Other times, we might as well leave the plants in charge.
Entry filed under: food, gardens, guerilla gardening, Providence, urban agriculture, vegetables. Tags: 903, fava beans, Fox Point, guerilla gardening, onions, Providence, pumpkins, squash, urban agriculture.
1. Phil The Gardener | September 13, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I like to see people making an effort at growing plants and vegetables no matter where they are.
2. Street Squash « Greenwalks | September 13, 2008 at 12:39 pm
[...] Zone had this post recently about squash and other veggies growing in a very urban area of Prodidence, RI. It’s [...]
3. J9 | November 10, 2008 at 1:18 pm
This is great – often, food plants are just as pretty as decorative plants. This seems to be happening all over as we rediscover the value in growing our own food.