Grocery prices are about to go up. Again. So now, more than any other time in my 4+ decades on Earth, we need to stop asking permission to do what’s right, start sharing resources and cultivate community care. While the Trump administration accelerates our descent into this late-capitalist hellworld, gardening with comrades brings us much-needed sustenance and connection.
The Solidarity Garden is a verdant oasis on the edge of the Lane County Fairgrounds’ vast expanses of asphalt. In 2023 a group of comrades, energized by our near-victory in getting the NIMBYs of the Jefferson Westside Neighbors executive board voted out of office, decided to steward an overlooked piece of land owned partly by the City of Eugene and partly by Lane County, transforming it into a woodland that will feed visitors for decades to come.
No, we didn’t get a permit or meet with staff from the city and county. (Years earlier I inquired about whether they would have objections if we planted a garden there and the response was apathy, neither organization willing to cop to the fact that they were responsible for stewarding that neglected land). So when the momentum came around we showed up and got to work. Today we have a garden brimming with fruit trees, berry shrubs, medicinal herbs and veggies for anyone who wants to browse the garden. Most Sunday mornings, we gather to tend the garden and greet passersby. Many of us are hungry for community and ritual on top of homegrown fruits and veggies, and the Solidarity Garden offers a generative space for both.
Foodwise, our focus is growing perennial veggies, trees and shrubs, so we’re not having to spend as much energy on the rigors of tending an annual intensive vegetable garden. (Perennials veggies are much less susceptible to pests and diseases than the annuals we are accustomed to at the grocery store.) This year we’re growing a boatload of perennial and annual veggies including a variety of salad greens, tomatoes, beets, peas, kale, broccoli, chives, French sorrel, bush corn, and basil. Blueberries, gooseberries, figs, strawberries, mulberries, plums, raspberries, and cherries are among the fruits you can harvest in the summertime. And for those interested in herbalism, we have chamomile, calendula, motherwort, yarrow among other hardy medicinal herbs.
Ecological repair has been a keystone of the garden from the start. When we began working this little plot, it was completely overtaken by quackgrass, a noxious weed brought to the PNW by European colonizers. To eradicate it we excavated the top 6 inches of soil and since then we’ve worked intensively to reinvigorate soil health. Sheet mulching and integrating compost have built nutrients and wood chips help retain moisture, transforming what was an uninviting ecological dead zone to a community garden that’s flourishing with worms, pollinators and beneficial fungi, as well as human visitors.
The principles of mutual aid are foundational to what we do at the Solidarity Garden. When we work together on Sundays, we do so understanding that we are there to provide for our community and to greet passersby without any expectation for reciprocation. Regardless of whether you work in the garden, you are welcome to partake in its gifts. We do this because we know that everyone is better off when people have their basic needs met. We don’t ask anything in return but we believe that the goodwill will get paid forward.
You are invited to visit the Solidarity Garden, 24/7/365. Whether you join in for a work party, give us a high five or forage for some fresh produce on your own schedule, we hope you'll enjoy the garden. For more info or to join our signal chat, hit us up at eugenesolidaritygarden@gmail.com.
Right now kale leaves, broccoli and kale raab (flower buds), chives, parsley, and winter pea sprouts are ready for harvest. Take what you need!
I love to saute the kale and broccoli with garlic or onions and serve it over pasta with the chives, parsley, pea sprouts, and parmesan or nutritional yeast as garnishes. Bon appetit!