Briefing: Nature in the City

“Healthy cities exist in a state of flux. Change is necessary and good: people come and go, are born and die; industries are carefully harnessed, but almost never become permanent fixtures. A city that never changes is probably not a city at all.”

— Samuel Stein, Capital City: Gentrification and The Real Estate State

“For the heart, life is simple: it beats as long as it can. Then it stops.”

— Karl Ove Knausgaard, My Struggle, Book One

Briefing: Nature in the City, is an introduction to urban forestry and Our City Forest’s planting philosophy and projects in San Jose, CA. It is a living document, updated in real time, using embedded GIS maps indicating planting progress. It can be a point of reference in a time of social distance. 

The nature of planting projects is informed by the material conditions of our environment. Briefing, then, also begins a dialogue on the spatial character of the city.

San Jose, City Scale | Permeable / Impermeable Surfaces

The city: an inexorably shifting system of systems. From the first cultural horizon in the history of the land’s early stewards, the Tamyen group of the Ohlone people, to Spanish colonialism, to agricultural eminence, to a global technological center, San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley’s arc of development dictates shifting needs for its populous. 

The area’s exponential rise in population and its simultaneously swift development— beginning in earnest as the 50’s turned 60’s—might be gleaned from the page of Kerouac’s Big Sur (1962): “Soon we’re set straight and pointed head on down beautiful fourlane Bayshore Highway to that lovely Santa Clara Valley—But I’m amazed that after only a few years the damn thing no longer has prune fields and vast beet fields like at Lawrence when I was a breakman on the Southern Pacific and even after, it’s one long row of houses right down the line 50 miles to San Jose like a great monstrous Los Angeles beginning to grow south of Frisco.”

Cities are simultaneously the present future (pandemic conditions notwithstanding): of continued inhabitance, of economic opportunity, of the environmental zeitgeist. As our cities go, so too, will our planet. They are alive, and as such, changing. And yet? Development is not deterministic: we can improve the urban condition. Our City Forest works to do so—through canopy, conservation, and stewardship. 

This is a primer: Click here to read Briefing: Nature in the City. 

San Martin Community Planting, 2020.

Land as Community as Section

Gardening in Small Spaces

With shelter-in-place orders in effect, many parks and open space preserves are closed. Many of us are missing our green spaces and want to start our own at home. Some are feeling more distant from friends and family, and find solace in nurturing plants. Others may find self-sufficiency in growing plants for food. In normal times you could look outside the home: volunteer with Our City Forest, join a community garden, help out a friend with their yard, or try covert guerrilla gardening. With social distancing, however, those may be less appealing options.

Regardless of why you may want to start growing plants or a garden, you will need space to do it but maybe you don’t have a yard. Maybe you are renting a room or an apartment. You just might think you don’t have enough space. Well, no worries. There are options for you. It turns out that even in a small space you can grow a successful garden. Even a window or a balcony is sufficient for a start. Some people can make it work with just grow lights.

For a successful small space garden, be sure to choose plants that will do well in your environment. Consider the plants’ environment -- sunlight, humidity, wind, and temperatures.  Most likely, you will have plants in pots or boxes and the size of the container also influences the type of plants you can grow most successfully. Your capacity for plant maintenance is an important consideration as well. If you tend to move often, you will want to think about plants that can move more easily with you. I have a hardy aloe that moved with me half a dozen times! The last couple of times were harder as it had been transplanted to a much larger pot. Whatever plants you decide to get, research the best ways to grow them. 

I once tried to grow air plants in my bathroom, with the naive belief that the humidity from my shower alone would suffice for them to flourish. They did not, however, fare well. And showering more often didn’t help. The room simply did not stay humid enough long enough for them. They did much better after I read about air plant care and started giving them weekly soaks. 

Did you know that you can propagate basil by taking a stem leftover from the kitchen and place it in a jar of water?  Days later, you will see roots sprouting from the basil and, after 2 weeks, you can plant it in a small pot of soil. Eco friendly tip: reuse a plastic yogurt container, or one of those delivery/take-out food containers. Clear containers can be okay, but some plants don’t like sunlight on their roots. Personally, I like to see the root structure through a clear container. Use the appropriate compost mixture for best results. You may scoop some soil from outside, but it comes with risks -- it may not be as rich with nutrients, may contain competing weed seeds, may come with hungry bugs, or contain plant pathogens.

One year, I ran with this basil-growing plan. Every week, I pinched off a branch of basil and started propagating it and eventually I had a small forest of them growing on shelves by the window. At the end of the season, I froze the basil and used it throughout the next year. A plant stand or shelf can help expand your plant capacity within an area.

Introducing new plants into an indoor garden can come with risks. If bugs sneak in with the new plant, they may spread rapidly over your plants since their natural predators are outside. This is where plant social distancing comes into play. You can designate another space to quarantine your new plants for some time until you feel confident they aren’t harboring bugs or disease. This is something I learned the hard way after white flies and aphids wrecked my plants. Sometimes it is unavoidable if the bugs enter through an open window. Beware open windows!

Even potentially large plants can be grown in a small space. I started growing some loquat trees from seed after a friend gave me some of their fruit to try -- they’re tasty and grow well in the Bay Area. Keep in mind not all fruit trees grow true to seed or germinate readily in all weather. I kept the loquat trees outside growing on my apartment balcony. They grew well despite the heat and windy weather. On the other hand, an avocado tree I started could not tolerate the wind exposure and suffered. Over time the loquats stayed small as I kept them in small pots. Years later when I got some yard space, I finally planted them. They have since shaken their bonsai form and are flourishing.

Starting an Easy Pollinator Garden

A pollinator is any of the wonderful creatures that we rely on for our food, our flowers, and an abundance of other resources necessary for our welfare. Pollinators work by depositing pollen among flowers of the same species, which fertilizes the blossoms. This in turn catalyzes the formation of fruit, which contains the seeds that the plant needs in order to reproduce. Pollinators are the foundation of this natural cycle, and can come in the form of bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, and more! Because we depend on these creatures for our livelihood, it’s important that we make an effort to help them, especially since the bee population is in a state of decline.  

In the midst of a pandemic, you might be looking for a source of entertainment that can easily be incorporated into your daily routine and home. One activity that both helps pollinators and occupies you is planting a pollinator garden! Although gardening may seem like a daunting and dirty task, it is quite relaxing, with the added benefit of helping our natural world.

Some common, easy to grow pollinator flowers are calendula, oregano, and zinnia. These plants complement each other well, as they bloom during different seasons. This allows pollinators to have a steady supply of food throughout the year.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• Seed potting soil 

• Three pots (typically plastic with drainage holes at the bottom)

  • I used larger pots for the zinnia and alyssum because they do grow quite a bit

• Seeds for your flowers

The Process

1. Label your pots

   1. Makes it easier to keep  track of the plants

2. Put your soil in your pots

   1. Fill it up to where the line is (located near the top of the pot)

3. Sprinkle your seeds in the dirt, making sure that they are evenly spread out across the surface

4. Gently sprinkle some potting soil on top of the seeds until they are about a ¼ inch to ½ inch deep 

   1. Make sure not to put too much, as seeds are dependent on the sun to germinate

      1. This is especially important for the zinnias

Each plant has its own unique set of requirements needed to grow, such as the amount of sun and water, so I’ve made a chart for the beginning gardeners.

*If it is extremely hot or you notice the soil is very dry, feel free to mist them with water, making sure that the soil is made damp again

**During hot weather, make sure your oregano doesn’t dry out by putting it in the shade after about 4-5 hours of full sunlight

***Try to keep the soil damp for young plants

Some Guidelines:

• When watering, soil should be made damp, not soaking

• Try to water in the morning so the plants have time to dry off before nightfall

• Drainage: If the soil does not drain well, this could negatively impact your seedlings

  • Try to use pots with holes for draining

• Deadheading: Removing the dead flowers from their stems helps make way for increased flowering and longer blooms

• Avoid inorganic pesticides or herbicides

• Water at the base of the plant, so as to prevent any fungus from growing on the foliage

Your plants should have sprouted and grown a bit after three to four weeks. Here’s how mine look:

Zinnias

Oregano

Alyssum

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Websites used: 

Zinnias https://www.almanac.com/plant/zinnias

Oregano http://herbgardening.com/growingoregano.htm

Alyssum https://www.gardendesign.com/annuals/alyssum.html

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/index.shtml

https://diygardening.co.uk/help-bee-population/