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Neighborhood Community Garden
15th and Louisiana

From Peter Callaway about the 15th St. Garden Early this spring when Muriel Lederman, SoMa's volunteer office manager, was going through files she found a 2007 offer by Dana and Wally Nixon to lease their lot at the corner of 15th and Lousiana St. for community gardening. (In exchange for keeping it neat and paying for water). Muriel put out the word, and in early April a small group gathered, names were taken, and Peter Callaway and Sarah Smith had volunteered as administrative coordinator (paperwork and SoMa liason) and operations coordinator (everything else!).

logo design by Michael Puckett

'Everything else' includes coordinating the tilling, which happened with almost miraculous speed. Plot holders cut through Bermuda grass where Dana and Wally had gardened years ago, and laid out individual beds and paths. (logo designed by Michael Puckett) A passer-by will notice that most of the 5' x 15' plots are along the 15th St. side. That's where Wally's father had brought in tons of good soil from the family farm, for what today are again productive plots. Tillers were loaned, and pickups to get compost and mulch from recycling. The city provided a large dump truck load of mulch. A plot holder donated fencing.

For each plot (there are about a dozen) the holder (or holders) makes a $25 donation to SoMa to pay for various common expenses, such as water and hoses, and agrees to keep their plots tended, help on common projects like maintaining the sidewalks and mowing the common area grass. Most plots are held by 2 or more individuals, which means that the 15th Street Garden involves probably 25-30 people, including children. SoMa acts as lessee and fiscal agent, and plot holders sign releases to SoMa, as well as a garden agreement among themselves. Examples: "I will keep trash and litter out of the plot, as well as from adjacent pathways and fences." "I will plant tall crops where they will not shade neighboring plots." "I will pick only my own crops unless given permission by another plot user."

You may have noticed that one of the "chairs" from SoMa's 2008 Places, Spaces, Chairs Event has moved from Main Street to 15th Street Garden. A business owner wanted it removed, but since the bus-stop-like seat weighs a ton (well, almost), the question was "How?" A member of Epoch Church, near the SoMa office on Main Street, contacted the Operations Coordinator Sarah Smith about organizing volunteer nights for men and women volunteers from the congregation. She jumped at the chance! So, in addition to alley cleanups, fence building, and tree pruning, the guys loaded the concrete, steel, and wooden 'chair' on a donated pickup, and placed it in the Garden common area, following the advice of a local urban designer.

Some plots are still available. The garden is organic. Call or email SoMa for more information.

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