Potatoes on a Borrowed Lot
March/April 1972
Jack Roland Coggins
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We don't own this once weed-filled lot, but the owner is happy to let us use it without charge because growing potatoes the organic way both keeps the weeds under control and helps build the fertility of the property's soil. The idea saves us many food dollars, too!
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For many years, nothing but weeds grew on a vacant lot near our home, so we finally called the owner of the property and asked permission to garden there in return for our care of the land. It wasn't as hard to persuade him as we had thought it might be, which left us with the problem of deciding what to plant.
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We soon settled on a good food crop that would give our family of six a maximum return on a minimum investment of time, money and energy, and that free land now provides us with big, creamy, delicious potatoes which—properly stored—last almost year-round.
Here's how we did it:
GETTING THE LAND
The free use of land is readily available for natural gardening in and around almost every village, town and city in this country. All you have to do is ask. Property owners are usually quite pleased to find someone willing to relieve them of the costly burden of controlling weeds on their vacant lots and many appreciate the contribution that organic culture can make to the soil. Once you point out that your activities will be building, not depleting or polluting, the land and actually increasing the lot's value, you're usually home free.
I now garden on several "borrowed" lots and I never enter into a formal agreement for the privilege. I find it sufficient to simply check with the property owners each spring before I plant. At season's end, I inform my "landlords" that I'm through with the plot for the year but that I'm interested in using it again the following spring. Once you've shown the property owners that you really do care for a lot, you're almost automatically assured free use of that piece of land year after year.
Do not agree to "sharecrop" or share a portion of the produce. It's not necessary and only sets the stage for potential squabbles later when the harvest is divided. It is a good idea, however, to take small amounts of fresh produce to the land owner periodically as it ripens. Explain that the vegetables taste better and are more healthful to eat because they were grown on the lot without the use of chemical fertilizers or insecticides. This is only sensible public relations and helps promote the concept of natural gardening.
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