# Guerrilla Gardening



## Efram (Aug 14, 2014)

I live in the burbs but not to far from my home it turns more rural. There is a lot of unused/unclaimed space nearby. The house I am living in does not have a very large yard and I was thinking about doing a little night gardening in some nearby areas more as an emergency boost supply.

Has anyone else done this? What kind of fruits/veggies work best (unobtrusive and less maintenance). I had considered potatoes but coming back to hill them maybe more hassle than I realize.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Hmmm...never thought about that. You've given us an idea!


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## PalmettoTree (Jun 8, 2013)

You are going to grow a bunch of stuff and someone is going to harvest and eat it for you.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

PalmettoTree said:


> You are going to grow a bunch of stuff and someone is going to harvest and eat it for you.


I suppose the same can be said about any harvest outside of that which is grown beyond the grasp of others.

Better to try and fail than not.


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## PalmettoTree (Jun 8, 2013)

Denton said:


> I suppose the same can be said about any harvest outside of that which is grown beyond the grasp of others.
> 
> Better to try and fail than not.


 I'm just in a bah humbug mood.
Community gardens are all the thing in the UK. Everyone has their little space in random vacant lots.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

PalmettoTree said:


> I'm just in a bah humbug mood.
> Community gardens are all the thing in the UK. Everyone has their little space in random vacant lots.


Oh, heck; I'm not thinking about community. This might sound bad, but my thoughts had nothing to do with sharing.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

I have planted a lot of fruit trees that I picked up at the end of summer before fall rolled in, in earnest when they were for 3.00 bucks instead of 16-20 bucks and planted them. Some didn't make it but some did. I have also done that with spineless Black Berry Brambles as well as its one of my favorite berries and I make wine from the every year if I can get enough berries to make it worth making a batch.


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## Efram (Aug 14, 2014)

Old SF Guy said:


> Unless you border federal/ or state land that is un attended...its dumb. If you do border either of the two...then have at it. To me State and federal both mean available to those residents unless proscribed as not.


Overall that is the kind of land I am talking about. I would not mess with anyone's private land, especially anyone who farms/ranches. I would worry less about going to jail and more about being shot. But there is plenty of land around me that is of somewhat ambiguous ownership. Green spaces, right of ways, trash land, I am sure someone owns it but I am not sure anyone cares about it. But you are right, I don't know that for sure and the risk is probably not worth the reward.

But your point is very valid I definitely don't want to go to jail and, in particular, get shot, it was really just an idea I was wondering if anyone had done. The other consideration I had not thought of was someone else finding/stealing it. If someone did this they would have to consider that a strong possibility.


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## Efram (Aug 14, 2014)

PalmettoTree said:


> You are going to grow a bunch of stuff and someone is going to harvest and eat it for you.


This is definitely something I have not given enough thought about. I don't think it is just bah hambug, it is a valid point.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Old SF Guy said:


> OK..just trying to catch up here....is the topic here really...What can I grow on land I dont own and get away with it? So OK to the original poster.... plant every thing you can...and when it comes to harvest time...kill everyone and anything that would stop you from harvesting what is rightly yours....or...turn your self in for the trespassing, murdering fiend you are....you cant hve one without the other without an agreement... Unless you border federal/ or state land that is un attended...its dumb. If you do border either of the two...then have at it. To me State and federal both mean available to those residents unless proscribed as not.


I live in a town where houses stay on the market for years. One house down the street has been intentionally left on the market for the last thirty years. Some doctor living in Ohio bought it for tax reasons and has it listed for thirty thousand more than it could possibly sell.


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## Efram (Aug 14, 2014)

Like everywhere we have had a bunch of houses go into foreclosure. Some of them are decently maintained but others just go to weeds. The neighbors usually pitch in and take care of that and, in a similar vein, I had thought of making a few tiny improvements over and above just mowing the weeds. If the house gets bought then no harm done as a few extra fruit trees/vegetable patches in the neighborhood never hurt anyone. The mortgage company sure as hell don't know what the people had planted or didn't.


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## Jeep (Aug 5, 2014)

Here ya go Efram, Next door to me is ten acres of land with not evena well on it. The ownes from what I have been told live out of state and have not been here for a decade. I am next year going to plant a large section of Potatoes near my property line. They are short and I am sure will go un noticed, if Not I will deny any potato.


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

why don't you just find out who owns the property and ask if you can use the space for nice looking gardens that will increase the value of the home. This might appeal to someone who is trying to sell but can not afford or take the time to maintain the space themselves. 
I have heard of people going around dumping seeds where ever and then coming back later to harvest what has grown. I would think forest land or some other off the beaten path would be best for this kind of thing.


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## csi-tech (Apr 13, 2013)

I have often thought of using Gorillas to do my gardening for me. The Lowland Gorilla is a fine example of a sturdy, relatively intelligent beast with a gentle disposition that lends itself well to a variety of gardening chores. The Highland Gorilla with his muscular physique, and amazing length of reach cannot be discounted for heavy duties like breaking soil and harvesting tubers and other such fare.

Oh, guerrilla gardening..................That's different....................Never mind.


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## ddj (Aug 18, 2014)

I think if there are no easily visible trespassing signs and its not somebody elses farm land, I'd give it a go. The odds of some random hiker eating all of your berries or stealing your potatoes is pretty slim if its as unused as you say.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

WE grew LOTS of weed to pay for college


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Guerrilla gardening is a great idea, in theory. In the real world it is not other people who will rob you of your garden - the local animals will do that. We had tried that and have found that there are all kinds of animals that you never see that will eat just about anything except garlic. Rabbits eat most any small shoots, Squirrels will eat most roots, Cats dig up the ground while using it for a porta-potty and even deer will come in to feast on anything that might get knee high.

We even had a couple of rabbits eating their fill from our guerrilla garden.


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## PalmettoTree (Jun 8, 2013)

Here is what I know about gardening for food. It is almost impossible to start from a flat footed start. So even if you only 10% of each vegetables you will require you should every year. Unlike hunting there is no tomorrow. A crop failure can do you in. Learn early, normal and late crops you can put in. Learn what crop rotation means; there will be little or no fertilizers. Know which crops respond to a burned out field and which respond to fresh composting. Learn which are so hard on your land that you should consider not planting. Learn what earthworms will do for your compost pile and how to keep them active year round.

Every area even within neighborhoods have their idiosyncrasies due to sunlight, wind protection and ability to hold heat.

I grew up with these but I am not practiced at them anymore. Even for people like me that remember practice can have a deathly learning curve.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

PaulS said:


> Guerrilla gardening is a great idea, in theory. In the real world it is not other people who will rob you of your garden - the local animals will do that. We had tried that and have found that there are all kinds of animals that you never see that will eat just about anything except garlic. Rabbits eat most any small shoots, Squirrels will eat most roots, Cats dig up the ground while using it for a porta-potty and even deer will come in to feast on anything that might get knee high.
> 
> We even had a couple of rabbits eating their fill from our guerrilla garden.


You can eat most of those. Varmint payback.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

Some well meaning folks have tried it under the power lines running through suburban Jacksonville, the vandals nor varmints bothered the garden. The power company destroyed it. Something about a right-of-way.

Like cache, i think growing things like mulberries off the property could be beneficial.


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## Efram (Aug 14, 2014)

CWOLDOJAX said:


> Some well meaning folks have tried it under the power lines running through suburban Jacksonville, the vandals nor varmints bothered the garden. The power company destroyed it. Something about a right-of-way.
> 
> Like cache, i think growing things like mulberries off the property could be beneficial.


Lol, I will mark electrical line right of ways off the list.


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