Vacant Lot Rennovation

March 12, 2008 6:56 AM

Winter Guerrilla Gardening: need help planting in a temperate environment in the winter/early spring.

So I leave for a week, and the house next door that has been vacant for years is bulldozed, I assume by the city. Nothing suggests that anything will be built there in the near future. It's now just a dirt lot. I'm in northern Indiana, and it's winter-ish, daily highs generally in the 30s. What can I plant either now or in the near future that will provide some good ground cover? My biggest concern is not letting the lot become an ugly weed bed, but if there's something that could produce either vegetables, herbs, or flowers, that would be good too

posted by craven_morhead to home & garden (9 comments total)

Seed it with white dwarf clover: it's hardy, pretty, doesn't grow high enough to get you in trouble with the city, and pretty competitive with other plant species. Smells nice, too. This would obviously have to happen after a thaw.

I'm a big fan of dandelions, and use them to make wine, salads, and jelly. But the city might get on your case if you try to encourage dandelion growth.
posted by Shepherd at 7:05 AM on March 12

I'd be tempted to sow oats. You can just strew them by hand, or rent a crank broadcaster to get a more even distribution. Sow them right before the next rain or snow, so they get pushed down into the ground and hidden from the birds a bit. Sow thickly to help choke out weeds. A field of oats is decorative and produces cover and feed for birds.
posted by bricoleur at 8:26 AM on March 12

You're probably in Zone 5, which will help you figure out what to grow.

I like to turn to your local cooperative extension for this. Here's a page with contacts from Perdue's Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture if you want to email someone there.

Purdue also has publications that will help you figure out what to plant when. Here's a winter garden calendar (PDF!) And Spring: PDF! All publications about horticulture here.

(BTW, try not to plant something like English Ivy or other invasive species!)

For future reference or more browsing, here's the Purdue Cooperative Extension main site.
posted by Stewriffic at 9:10 AM on March 12

I wouldn't grow food in any soil that hasn't been tested as free of toxins, especially on a demolition site. A common technique among urban gardeners is to buy clean topsoil and build up planting beds. Of course, this isn't your property and you might find that your beds get torn down as soon as you put them up. Can you find out who the landowner is and get their permission? Or offer a little rent money?

Many municipalities will fine land owners if they let "weeds" grow too high, but unfortunately they usually don't have a firm grasp on what is a weed and what is a useful, attractive plant. The owner or the municipality may send someone over for occasional mowing. Here in Chicago this sometimes happens to people's gardens without warning. If you're just growing grasses it wouldn't be such a big deal, they'll grow back.

You could try contacting Seeds of Change and ask them for recommendations for native, hardy, low-growing plants.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:10 AM on March 12

Some helpful stuff here, I'm going to try and get in touch with the good people over at Purdue and see if they have any suggestions. I'll try to stay away from invasive species. Any thoughts on thyme? I feel like I read another askmefi thread that suggested thyme as ground cover. Oh, and the lot is a pretty even mix of sun and shade; I suppose I should have mentioned that earlier.

How fast does wheat grow? I'll be subletting my place for the summer, so something that is fragrant/pretty in May and/or August would be good too.
posted by craven_morhead at 9:21 AM on March 12

depending on how you feel about attracting birds: millet grows quickly, and I've spoken to a man who plants it for ground cover/retaining soil after construction jobs. It will send up green shoots after the next rain.

seconding what was said about avoiding growing food in untested soil.
posted by dubold at 9:41 AM on March 12

Good call on the soil testing before planting.

Thyme would indeed be a beautiful ground cover. Specifically, a creeping thyme variety. It'll probably take a looooooong time to become established, though. See, that's kind of what I was thinking about when I mentioned avoiding invasives. They're quick. But you really don't want anything kudzu-like, I promise.
posted by Stewriffic at 10:06 AM on March 12

Nothing suggests that anything will be built there in the near future.

Things can change quickly. You went away for a week and the house next door vanished. It's pretty amazing what can happen when the awesome power of a construction crew is turned loose on a lot. Which is to say, you really should try to find out what the property-owner's plans are before investing too much effort in sowing domesticated oats. It'd suck to be excitedly watching the stately progress of nature and have it cut down overnight. Also, if it was the city condemning and tearing down the vacant house, they may send a team of groundskeepers around every month or so. Not that they'd beautify it, just mow it to a short height like a stretch of highway median. That'd put the kibosh on your amber waves of grain.

Also, nthing the advice not to grow stuff you intend to eat in untested demolition soil, and to avoid planting invasive species. Instead of a wheat or oat crop that you'll be reluctant to eat, why not consult the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society's site and broadcast-sow native prairie grass and wildflower seeds? Here are some sources. It'll be healthier than any monoculture you might plant, and, being indigenous, will have the best chance of being suited to the environment.
posted by mumkin at 11:08 AM on March 12

Poppies! You can sow the seeds on top of the snow.
posted by electroboy at 12:58 PM on March 12