Free Food 101- Guerilla Gardening
- Tawanda Jazz
- Dec 31, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 24
“I have witnessed my garden become a tool for the education, the transformation of my neighborhood. To change a community, you need to change the composition of the soil. Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the inner city. I want us all to be ecolutionaries, renegades, gangstas, gangsta gardeners. Get gangsta with your shovel, and let that be your weapon of choice”
Ron Finley, Guerilla Gardening expert, “The Gangsta Gardener
With groceries (and everything else) as expensive as they are, we have all been looking for ways to become more self-sufficient and to save money. However, if you live in a rental, don’t have access to a community garden, or just don’t have the space, growing your own food can seem like an impossible task. What if you could utilize other spaces in your area that could be used for growing food—but are being neglected? What if, at the same time, you can help contribute to the regeneration of soil (bringing life to “dirt”) and also help your community adapt and become more resilient as the weather changes and food prices increase? Enter Guerilla Gardening.
Guerilla Gardening is a term that was first used by an artist and activist, Liz Christy, in New York City in the 70s. Christy created a group of people who would illegally plant gardens in empty lots who called themselves the Green Guerillas, a group which still exists today. A lot of Guerilla gardening groups originally started out just planting flowers to beautify “ugly”, neglected areas, but most have moved on to growing food, with a new mission to make food available to all. The term Guerilla” was first popularized by Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara:
“Guerrilla warfare is a war of the masses, a war of the people. [It is] the capacity of the people to free themselves… from a government that oppresses them” —Che Guevara
In the case of Guerilla Gardening, then, a good definition would be:
A war for sustenance, for the right to eat whatever we can grow; to be unchained from the prison of inflation and price-gouging when it comes to the food that we put in our bodies.
Benefits of creating gardens in neglected areas (or vacant lots that just have grass and dirt)
Regenerating the soil by adding organic matter(such as compost and green manure) and growing vegetables, fruits, and native plants. Soil regeneration is basically returning a barren area to its original condition, increasing the fertility and “aliveness” of the soil and helping the soil to retain moisture.
Feeding the hungry, by creating food gardens in areas with a large homeless population or within walking distance of homeless shelters.
Increasing self-sufficiency in communities where food prices are high and healthy, organic food isn’t an option because of cost.
Becoming healthier and happier by moving more, working with plants and watching them grow, and getting social interaction during group guerilla gardening. Numerous studies in the US, UK, and Japan have shown that just having more green space and looking at plants is linked to lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, and a longer life expectancy.
So how do we get started?
Explore the vacant or unused areas around you. Pay extra attention to those grassy or dirt-filled strips between sidewalks and the street, as they are (according to guerilla gardeners online) easier to access and less people in the neighborhood would complain about beautiful plants and free food growing in that often overlooked space. Also take note of unused, weedy lots that don’t have “for sale” signs on them and have been sitting neglected for a long time.
Depending on the likelihood that you may run into an angry homeowner who lives next to the lot or worse, the police, there are different strategies that you can use based on risk:
Night Crawlers. A lot of guerilla gardeners do the work at night, which can be good in a more remote area. But it a well-lit neighborhood, you are more likely to arouse suspicion being in a vacant lot at night.
Plant donations. Another option is to go to nurseries in town and ask if they have any vegetable, fruit or herb plants that they were going to get rid of or that they would be willing to donate to beautify the neighborhood. Obviously, don’t mention the “illegal” part. 😀 Or you can go to the sale racks at any place that sells plants and buy a few cheap plants starts. Quickly digging holes and putting plants in the ground will answer anyone’s question about what you are doing there, fast.
Seed bombs. These are awesome. These are balls that contain seeds, compost, and a bit of clay powder that you can throw over a fence or anywhere. The seeds are compacted into the ball, so they naturally will start sprouting and break through the bomb’s outer layer, and any rain will help the seeds establish roots.
Photo by Herder3, licensed under the
Before you start guerilla gardening:
You need to make sure that the seeds that you choose aren’t an invasive species in your area! In the US, you can find invasive species in your area by searching for the state and “Invasive species” in a search engine, or you can go to https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/subject/lists to find a map where you can click on your state to see which plants are invasive. Below are invasive plants lists for other places:
The UK- https://www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-protection/invasive-non-native-plants
The rest of Europe- https://www.eppo.int/ACTIVITIES/invasive_alien_plants/iap_lists
The Caribbean: https://caribbeaninvasives.org/index.php/2022/09/23/be-on-the-lookout-invasive-plants/
South Africa: https://invasives.org.za/
Get the soil tested, if you can—a lot of non-profits and local agencies will do free soil testing, and that is really important! If you plant food in polluted soils, you could badly (or lethally) poison yourself or others that come for the food. You can always start out with planting Mustard (Brassica juncea) and Sunflowers, as mustard self-seeds, and Sunflowers and mustard both work to extract toxins from the soil. It is a long process, but You can start off with Mustards and Sunflowers and check the soil next year! Another option is to use or make containers for gardening above-ground.
Remember that Guerilla Gardening is for a good cause, but it’s also illegal in many cases, so keep an eye out and try to see if you can get property owners to agree if you think it might be a sticky situation!
Seed Bomb Recipe:
Here is a recipe from The Wildlife Trust:
Mix 1 cup of seeds, 5 cups of organic compost, and 2-3 cups of clay powder.
Add a bit of water at a time until the mix gets sticky and you can roll compact balls with it.
Roll a bunch of balls, and then go spread the plant love!
All in all, guerilla/gangsta gardening is a way to make our communities healthier, happier, and more beautiful. Want to find guerilla gardens near you? Connect with other Guerilla Gardeners on the Guerilla Gardening subreddit, start a Guerilla Gardening group in your community, or check out the Guerilla Grafters Map. The Guerilla Grafters graft fruit-bearing branches onto non-fruit-bearing ornamental trees in public spaces. There are thousands of Guerilla grafts all over the world!
For more information on how to Guerilla Garden, check out Dream Green’s guides and Guerilla Garden Adventures to start. Ready to join the green revolution? See you out there, gangsta.
