Ode to the Anarchist's Hut

Most of the pictures I’ve posted of the Free Farm so far have been wide view shots of large sections of the garden and a couple of narrow shots of people, food, or socks. Today I want to highlight the container garden. There is a whole section up by the Eddy side fence full of plants in containers, as well as potted plants in other areas of the Free Farm. Here are a few pictures.

I’ve been wanting to post about it for a couple of months since someone stole a number of large pots. I told Tree I’d put out an appeal for more. We can use any size from five gallons on up. But I don’t want to limit folks to pots. We can plant in coolers, small barrels, large bowls and any number of other things.

I was reminded I’d been wanting to write about this at a Free Farm meeting the other night when we were discussing encouraging people to grow things in non-standard containers. I have to tell you that Free Farm meetings are just wonderful – both because they are and because this story is heading toward my point. The first one I went to we sat outside on hay bales at the Farm eating a delicious dinner and discussing the business at hand as the sun went down. I remember feeling so lucky to have a job that includes meetings like that. The one the other night was in Tree’s gorgeous back yard, again good food and warm people and discussion you won’t ever hear in any corporate meeting room. How can one not love a conversation that includes the sentence, “I miss the Anarchist’s Hut.” The anarchist’s hut was before my time, but what it was was the area one person set out to cultivate in a way that would lend a little anarchy to the Free Farm. When he stopped maintaining it, it reverted to order. There were plans to plant in a bathtub. He had an actual bed frame planted with a variety of plants and called it – wait for it- his ‘planting bed.’ I would like to stress that I am not calling for masses of discarded bathtubs or old bed frames. I just wanted to give you all an idea of how far outside the box you’re being invited to think on this one. Regular planting pots are welcome, too.

I also wanted to give a quick update on the fate of the Free Farm Stand. There was an outpouring of support from the community and Park and Rec is working with Tree to iron out the details for the Stand to stay put. Hooray for everyone who came out to support the Stand and for the Park and Rec for being willing to reconsider.