Garden Project Urban Sustainability

  The idea of a modular unit has been in my thoughts since the beginning. I needed to find something that would grow a large yield on a small number of feet. The issue was that urban gardens often look compelling from a distance, but are “hobby projects” rife with vulnerability to squirrels and other rodent "gatherer" species, and vegetable growers are always at the mercy of so much exposure in city parks. Potential vandalism can occur and there are many further challenges around pests and damage. However, I wondered if a modular unit that was fenced in was a different container all together. I already knew work had been done on container gardens for balcony growers, but at 2 Phin I decided to upcycle and create a model that would move my idea forward. I went to work on a pair of barrel gardens, designed using models I could see online but never afford. Here I begin with a food-graded barrel that I picked up cheap with use of a friend's truck and then cut open to begin it

  The dream that we share is one of urban communities contributing to their own sustainability in a measurable way. Although I did not have the set-up to do a formal study, the potential for gardening was at least flexible at the 2 Phin site, because there were no pre-established garden beds whatsoever. I chose a spot for myself in the very back of the area, where it was the most shaded, with only a partial sunlight compared to other garden plots.  My first challenge was to grow some produce and in that way it was a success. I sometimes wish I had not chosen this garden spot. My second intention was to convince other potential gardeners that I was not in it to have the best spot and the best sun location but to support gardening as an important action. So I chose a slightly shaded location, even though I would have loved full sun. I was pleased to have a few wins with shade gardening, and then I was surprised at how richly basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, kale, and even tomatoes thrive

  The early years at the 2 Phin garden were challenging. Many did not want to participate with a few special exceptions. Finally the family in the town houses across from our building built a trellised structure to grow squash and awesomely, a gardener created a large flower garden area at the back with small windmills. The flower garden made me so happy, and I was so grateful to her for doing it. I created this small flower bed at the same time as a place for flowers that ended up being the spot where several generations of Echinacea and Asters would greet the eye as people looked down our building walkway. The combination of flower beds and vegetable-growing gardens looked attractive and inspired us to push on. 

Welcome! I am person who dwells in social housing who had a dream of a garden. I grew up on a farm in Ontario and our family always gardened to provide food for ourselves, and to sell at Farmers Markets. It made no sense to me that city people did not garden food. In 2017 I broke ground for the garden one night and created three garden plots. No one had given me permission! I decided to go around to the people in my building and chat with them about the idea of gardens at the back. For many years there had been nothing but open lawn. In our building we have had a long-term problem with “guests” who visit to buy and sell drugs. These “guests” have decimated the cedars which used to run along the base of the building, by ripping off the branches to throw up at the windows, demanding to be let in. Inside and outside, they had many loud yelling matches over drugs. Living here is not easy. As a result, most neighbourly chats were about how the latest drug-related drama affected our w