June/July 1983 RAIN Page 9 Wild plants, by definition, require less constant care than domesticated strains. What they do require is a careful stewardship of the land. This conservation ethic may necessitate political action. the hardpand and slowing erosion. The wild plants stabilized the land and made it available for gardening. Some of the crops being grown at Wild Grove are from seeds obtained in unusual ways. The hubbard squash plants are from seeds trashpicked from a local grocery store's bountiful dumpster. Several species of melon and herbs are "heirloom plants" that derive from grandmothers' and aunts' gardens. Many crops, such as tomatoes, 'volunteer' to return on their own year after year by reseeding themselves or recycling through compost piles. The net effect is an astounding variety of cultivated crops. The variety of wild crops in the garden is great. Andrews and Hill Craddock, an art student and botany enthusiast, conducted an inventory of wild plants at Wild Grove and catalogued over 100 edible varieties. Fifty were found to be "significantly useful," having important nutritive or medicinal properties. These included rosehips, hollyhock, and, of course, garlic. The wild plants have other value. They serve to heal, protect, and bring fertility back to eroded or bulldozed soils. Vetch and wild sweet clover fix nitrogen and put organic material deep into the clay layer. Lambsquar- ters, another deep-rooted weed, can help to bring moisture to the soil during droughts by opening up channels. No-till gardening is popular at Wild Grove, and for good reason. Several people who insisted on rototilling their gardens found that certain hardy weeds rapidly germinated and overtook their vegetable crops in the disturbed soil. Several gardeners said they'd eventually like to become completely dependent upon wild plant stock, since it is more disease and insect resistant. "These plants are so hardy, they represent an improvement over cultivated varieties. I hope that people learn to be a lot more sensitive to the links between the wild plants around them and the plants they're actively cultivating," mused Andrews. Wild plants, by definition, require less constant care than domesticated strains. What they do require is a careful stewardship of the land. This conservation ethic may necessitate political action. Although many gardeners reaped a bountiful harvest after the first summer, political and legal problems still plagued them. The weeds, and the construction of a tipi in the middle of the garden, became a sore spot. The weeds bothered a nearby lumberyard, afraid of a fire hazard and rodent infestation. They also bothered the city, which has an ordinance requiring all weeds taller than one foot to be cut down, and the University, which wanted its land kept neat. Bloomington Cooperative Services, tired of receiving complaints about the garden, went to the University to wash its hands of the matter. The University agreed to not hold BCS responsible, and from then on, an ad-hoc group of devoted natural gardeners took over responsibility for the garden. When the University announced plans to sell the land as "surplus" property, in response to complaints about the garden after Wild Grove's first year, the gardeners responded with lobbying visits and letters to University administrators and trustees. Several gardeners compiled a book with photos, drawings, poems, and essays about the garden, which was used as a public education and lobbying tool. The University reportedly did not want to renew its lease for the site because the mowing clause and other provisions had not been fulfilled. Wild Grove's status was still uncertain by March, 1982, but the gardeners sowed their seeds anyway. Finally, well into the spring planting season, the University granted permission to garden for another year. By the fall of 1982, the tall weeds had become too much for the city and University. Tractor mowers came out to the garden unannounced and mowed about 75 percent of the fall crops. The devastation prompted gardeners to change the local weed ordinance. The gardeners persuaded City Council member Pam Service to sponsor an amendment to the weed control ordinance that would redefine "weed" as a "non-useful plant." The amendment, which was passed by the City Council in November, gives a reprieve to any wild plants deemed "useful" by the gardeners. For the committed natural gardeners. Wild Grove's members are proposing long-term dedication of the tract to natural gardening. Says Andrews, "Communications are beginning to straighten out after two years. That was our biggest problem—people didn't understand what we were trying to do—or that weeds don't bite." Perhaps a national community gardening movement could evolve into a kind of "Garden Party" network of people developing the political skills necessary for gaining access to gardening space. That way, politics wilt become more closely tied with livelihood, and wherever people move they'll have access to garden space and wild perennials. They'll reap a harvest of cooperative self-reliance. □□
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