How to Make a Garden in Berkeley for FREE Part I: Steps 1 & 2
We may be heading towards September, but there is still time to plant a fall crop (consult a Planting Schedule), and if you follow these steps, you can do it for absolutely FREE!
The awesome scrap metal TOOL sign at the Tool Lending Library
I lived in Berkeley for 6 years, but it was the 6th year which solidified my love for that hippie town. It all started when I moved into a Victorian with a huge, untamed backyard and I decided I wanted a vegetable garden. In my efforts to create one at minimum cost, I realized how singularly unique, strange, and utopic is the city and how frustratingly rare are its opportunities. So take advantage of them! I will present how I managed this garden, which ended up being FREE, in 4 steps, beginning this week with steps 1 and 2. Stay tuned for next week’s follow up: How to Make a Garden in Berkeley for FREE Part II: Steps 3 & 4.
Awesome Tool Lending Library poster
Step 1. Preparing the land: The FREE Tool-Lending Library
The dudes that work there are extremely helpful and hilarious- they insisted I borrow safety goggles when I rented the electric rototiller (that shit was aaaawesome).
After spending several stupid days breaking up the shitty soil in my backyard with a broken shovel, I remembered I lived near The Mecca of Tools. No, I don’t mean frat row'”I mean the Tool Lending Library!
shovels, rakes, spades, oh my!
The South Branch of the Berkeley Public Library houses the Tool Lending Library (the greatest thing ever). All you need is your library card and you can check out nearly any tool for FREE (click here for a full list of tools, lending times, & late fees and here for rules and restrictions). No more hand-tilling for me!
The Berkeley Tool Lending Library
1901 Russel St. @ MLK Way
Tues 10am-5:30pm
Wed & Thurs 12pm-7:30pm
Fri 1pm-5:30pm
Sat 10am-5:30pm
Closed Sun and Mon
If you are an Oakland resident, fear not, for they have their own Temescal Tool Lending Library.
Step 2. Acquiring good soil: The Berkeley Marina FREE Compost Giveaway
compost image via chiotsrun.com
A couple years ago, the Berkeley’s Department of Public Works dropped off little green composting bins at every single house in the city. You just dump the compost bin’s contents into your larger green waste bin and it gets picked up weekly. You can compost nearly anything: food, food-soiled paper, food containers, egg cartons, waxed cardboard, and more! Then, on the last Friday of every month, the City’s Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Department offers free compost (made from all that residential green waste) to Berkeley residents. And what could be better on a Friday morning than a huge, smelly, steaming mountain of compost? It’s self-serve, so bring shovels, containers, and maybe a bandana if you’ve got a sensitive smeller.
FREE Compost
Berkeley Marina Maintenance Yard
201 University Ave.
Last Friday of the month (weather permitting)
February through October 31st
8:45am-2:45pm (or until the compost is gone)
