New Garden on Franklin, Between Sterling Park

tsarina wrote: yES THE COMPOST WOULD BE especially good to amend the soil which is alarming full of metals. Architect friend has a great set up maybe whynot and I can copy.

Full of actual scrap metal or full of heavy metals? High lead soil content is a big problem with gardening on abandonded lots (if you plant edible crops, at least). You can mail a soil sample off to Cornell for lead testing for about $15.

Yeah, much of our community garden is in raised beds. Just a basic frame built of 2x10 (or is it 2x12?) doug fir. Cedar would be far superior, but also far more expensive. Takes a lot of soil and compost to fill a frame though.

stacey wrote: Whynot - I still have lots of wood from our reno that you can have. I think its 2 sheets of plywood, quite a few pieces of 2x4, some of those treated 4x4, etc.

I think I will refer you to Tsarina. ...she hoards the stuff.

Subject: How do I get to help in the Garden

How and When can I head down to do some gardening?

Either that or a time in life when all that searching Craigslist for a motorized conveyor belt could finally pay off.

Pay a neighbor $50 a month to run a hose from thier supply. If they have no outdoor supply, pay a plumber $300 to create one plus $50 a month to neighbor. $600 the first yr
$300 each yr afterward

arches wrote: [quote=MHA]There probably should be some effort made to test the dirt for toxins. The top layer often sparkles with a glasphalt-like luster. Does anyone know where one can procure free woodchips? Will the NY Parks Department provide if a call is made?

NYC Parks might provide woodchips...our garden got a delivery a few weeks ago, but it was for a project with street trees...so maybe thats where they draw the line.

You can also try contacting a tree care company...they generally have lots of chips and I believe they have to pay to dispose of them...so it may be in their interest to give them to you. We did this one year...the only caveat is that they deliver by the truckload, so we got about 30+ cubic yards worth. Its a lot of work to deal with that.

If you have a car/pickup you can go down to Greenwood Cemetery and load up on free chips - just call ahead to make sure they have availability.

Maybe with all the branches being broken off the trees in the neighborhood by Steve they can be gathered up and brought to the lot. I have seen some wood chopping machines on local blocks and asked them how much for them to come to a specific area. They said to call the Parks Department to arrange it .

MHA wrote: So there is an apparent quandry at the lot. No water. The folks involved don't have easy access to water, and apparently what hope there was of gaining access to a nearby fire hydrant, well, went up in smoke. The Fire Department of New York isn't going to allow that to occur. Without a dependable water source plans to buy grass or grass seed are on hold.

Any ideas? Anyone have pull with the fire department?

No pull with the fire department and just reading this thread now, so behind the times. But have you thought of trying the woodchips or gravel for paths, instead of grass, and maybe trying to plant some things that will tolerate drought or dry conditions because there is no water beyond what falls from the sky? Maybe you could get some donations from people in the neighborhood dividing their stock?

I am going to check out your lot soon. Good luck. One last tip: for mugwort...really fork down and try to get as much of the gnarly roots out as you can to give yourself a head start in the battle.

http://www.gardeners.com/Drought-Tolerant-Perennials/5498,default,pg.html

Water collection is viable, but you'd need a very large tank system (and collection system) to keep the whole lot well irrigated. Very large = very expensive. There's sometimes grant money available for such things, but i doubt this lot would qualify (given that it could be reclaimed by its owner at any point).

MHA, what specifically did the fire dept say about the hydrant situation? Our garden files some paperwork once a year for permission to hook up to the hydrant.