Shay and I pulled into the Eastpointe Community Garden at 10:00 this morning, which felt early right up until we realized we were the late ones. Janee and Cola, two of Urban Seed’s new board members, were already hard at work. Another volunteer had been out there since before 9, clearing beds and getting the property ready for winter.

Today was close-out day. The season is done, the Giving Garden has given what it can for the year, and the beds needed tucking in before Michigan does what Michigan does. By the end of the day, 11 of us had come through. The sky was ridiculous, we had music going, and we got a lot done. We also met our new next-door neighbors, but I’m saving that for later because it was my favorite part of the day.

A Cart With a Backstory

A few weeks back, one of our wheelbarrows broke. We put out a call to the community, and Pam answered it. She bought us a brand-new wheelbarrow, plus a Gorilla cart to go with it.

Pam has supported our efforts since ECG was a baby garden. When we ask for help, historically she’s one of the first people to show up (sometimes before we’ve finished asking). That cart got a real workout today. Janee and Cola loaded it with Gaylord boxes (if you don’t know what a Gaylord box is, it’s essentially an industrial cardboard box) and hauled them to the back of the property, where the Giving Garden sits. That was stop one on what turned into a pretty efficient assembly line.

The Cardboard Assembly Line

Those boxes came from Michael Sharp, another longtime supporter, who dropped off an entire pallet of them. The plan was to cover every raised bed in the Giving Garden with cardboard to protect them through the winter.

Covering a garden bed with cardboard sounds simple until you’re staring at a row of beds and a pile of boxes that are all the wrong size. So we worked together to build an assembly line  of sorts. Shay made a template off one of the Giving Garden beds. Lulu, traced that template onto the boxes. I cut them out with a multi-tool (finally, a garden job where my lack of plant knowledge didn’t matter). Then Cola took each piece and fit it to its bed.

While we were cutting and laying it all down, I asked the obvious question: why cardboard? I’m not the gardener in this operation (gardening is not my special interest. Food security is). Shay and Sara explained it like this. The point is to protect the soil from wind and the rest of what winter throws at it. A lot of gardeners do that with cover crops, which are plants whose roots grow and interconnect underground until they act like a blanket for the soil. We didn’t plant cover crops this year, so the cardboard is doing that same job from the top down. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but that’s enough of an answer for me.

Last week, we pulled most of the plants out of the Giving Garden, but we left some flowers standing for the pollinators. They still have work to do. So we cut notches into the cardboard to fit around them. The bees get to finish their season, and the beds still get covered. The whole operation reminded me of Tetris.

Cleanup and Shutting Off the Water

Sara, a regular at both the Eastpointe and South Warren gardens, stopped by to lend a hand. She walked the property looking for anything that could trip someone up, picked up trash, and left the place looking cared for heading into the off-season. Sara’s always down to do the less exciting jobs, like pulling bindweed, or picking up trash.

Then Sara, Shay and I tackled the watering system. We disconnected the timers, put away the hoses, emptied out the water barrels, and asked the city to turn off our water for the season.

New Neighbors Over the Fence

Three women wandered in today to check out the garden for the very first time. They just bought the house that shares a property line with us, and they wanted to see what their new neighbor was all about.

Turns out they’re avid gardeners themselves. What got them most excited was the Giving Garden, the idea that people in this community come together to grow food for the neighbors who need it most. That’s the whole point of this place, and it was pretty great to watch someone get it within a few minutes of walking through the gate.

I’m looking forward to seeing them out here regularly next season. We even joked about putting in a gate on their back fence line so they can walk over whenever they want.

A Couple of Setbacks

Not everything this month has been sunshine. Last week, someone stole the scales we use to weigh our produce, so we weren’t able to weigh anything we harvested. If you’ve followed our donation numbers over the years, you know how much those weigh-ins matter to us.

This week, we found that someone had put tape over every reference to Urban Seed and our website on the garden’s signs.

For what it’s worth, this is rare. We started this garden in 2012, and in all the years since, we’ve had very little vandalism. The garden is open to everyone, and almost everyone treats it with respect. We’ll get the signs cleaned up and figure out the scales. If you happen to have a working produce scale collecting dust and want to save us $50, reach out through the website because we would love to take it off your hands.

Tucked In for Winter

By the time we packed up, the Giving Garden was covered, the water was off, and the property was ready for whatever winter throws at it. One new cart, a pallet’s worth of cardboard, 11 people, and a set of brand-new neighbors. That’s a good way to close out a season.

Well, almost ready. The Giving Garden is done, but the rental beds and the U-Pick garden still need the same treatment. So next Saturday, which happens to be Halloween, we’ll be back out at 16425 Nine Mile Road from 10 AM to 2 PM to finish the job.

If you’re reading this, consider it your open invitation to come help us put the garden to bed. No experience required, and costumes are optional (but encouraged, obviously). Bring yourself. We’ve got the tools, the cardboard, and a very good cart.

As always, thank you to everyone who donates their time, energy, and resources to keep this program going. Follow Eastpointe Community Garden on Facebook for updates, and we’ll see you on the 31st. Questions about the work day? Reach out from our contact form.