Welcome Gardeners !

Gardens express creativity of both individuals and nature. Most resident gardeners do their own independent things, yet coordination is in a cooperative helps us to work together rather than cross purposes.  Many residents enjoy the quite cool summer shade and beauty that results from the volunteer tending efforts of others. We also enjoy that we aren't losing money to a professional yard maintenance crew with huge noisy equipment.

Talk to your House Coordinator, to be involved in gardening.

Residents have gardened around Main House for decades, yet current attempts to map, inventory, and intentionally design a garden system only began in 2010. Chaos continues, yet we are defining structures and characterizing conditions that improve the success of garden projects.

MSC at times reimburses purchases of perennial native and/or edible plants to enrich the enduring habitat around our homes. Over time it is clear that everything enduring must be zero to low maintenance. Vegetable gardens are the one exception, but these are tended by resident gardeners at no cost to MSC other than water (discussed at the end).  Gardening is a free privilege here (see below), but that would be re-evaluated if gardeners were not conscientious.

Permaculture may best describe the sustainable system vision for MSC gardens, but so far what we have simply evolves from independent actions.

Some native woodland plants: jack-in-pulpit, trillium, Jewel-weed, wild ginger, various violets, Solomon's seal...

Some edible fruits: gooseberries, mulberries, black currants, acorns (after soaking), strawberries (June, Alpine, ever-bearing, pink flowered), raspberries (red, black, and ever-bearing), Am.Hazelnuts (no fruits yet), apricot (no fruit yet), apple (no fruit yet), blueberry (fruited one year before manic lawn mower decimated the planting. One plant survives to 2016), grapes (no fruit yet), Persimmon (not planted yet), Service Berry (not yet planted).

Other edible perennials: Stinging Nettles, walking onions, Chives, Chinese Leeks, Sorrel, and Lovage.

How Gardening works here

As of 2016 we have not charged gardeners for garden plots, but it is an honor system. Gardens are not to waste our water, so gardeners mulch, gardeners plant vegetables in slight depressions with deeply excavated soil rich in compost with a higher capacity to hold water than surrounding lawn, and gardeners even collect rain water in barrels which they must tend to prevent mosquitoes.  Gardeners find innovative no cost ways to garden. Most garden tools and seeds are simply donated. As of 2016 there has not been a formal Garden Committee, just posted calls for meetings that eventually happen as conversations of up to 3 people at a time.

Generally gardeners acquire their own plants. Gardening is a resident community thing that we try to keep out of MSC business. MSC's goal remains to minimize yard expenses, so the only recognized business interests are shade trees that cool houses, minimal mowing to suppress weeds and pests, weeding to protect investments and whatever the City requires.

No surprise that we generate more rich compost than we use. Since residents eating from our land prefer organic vegetables, we discourage use of chemicals and restrict what we allow in our compost here (eggs are ok, buried in a compost pile, but meats are kept out of compost used for vegetables and even paper potentially has stuff we don't want in a pile we don't flip frequently or water).

A random hole in the lawn planted with Annuals, need someone committed to restore the lawn afterward. Currently volunteers must be very strategic to suppress noxious weeds in our extensive yards so that we do not spread problems to neighbors, or need to repair damage to buildings that some trees and vines cause. In short we cannot afford not to plan. <-- Sustainability Committee also discusses this topic.