Step 1: Evaluating the space

This is our driveway before we began, located in the city of Portland, Maine.
The area we decided to cut up was only approximately 20 by 20, but we were eager to use what we had to grow food and reintroduce nutrients into the land.
We decided that we were going to use a few different methods of transforming our space, which included: one raised bed, one cold frame, perennial flower gardens, a medicinal herb wheel, sheet mulch, and a bioremediation experimental site.
We spent nights this winter, thinking about what exactly we wanted for the space, and began cutting up the driveway in late March.

Step 2: Cutting up the driveway...

We rented a circular asphalt cutting saw, for the afternoon, and scored the driveway. From the local hardware store, the saw cost $45 to rent for the day, plus a fee for the wear on the blade upon return.



It was a very dusty and loud process. Our neighbors were immediately intrigued about what we were doing. Some seemed excited, and told us long lost stories of gardening with their parents or grandparents, but most felt that the process was too loud and dirty for a small urban garden.

As new home owners, in a neighborhood with primarily low income renters, we were concerned from the beginning about the issues of gentrification and our footprint in the neighborhood. We did not find a simple answer, however, continuous dialogue among ourselves and with our neighbors seemed to be an important component for us in the neighborhood.

Step 3: Pulling up the asphalt

We used a sledgehammer and a shovel to pull up the asphalt. With the suggestion of a neighbor, we took the asphalt to Pike Pavers in Portland, who accept broken up asphalt as a "donation" to reconstitute and make into more asphalt. Our small truck couldn't handle too much in a load, but six loads later, we had disposed of the asphalt.

Step 4: Bringing in soil

We contacted a tree remover and he happily dumped four yards of wood chips in our driveway for no charge. We figured we'd need the chips for paths and around the beds. We also ordered seven yards of aged cow manure from a local farmer to add into our beds and existing soil. The manure cost $20 per yard and $40 for delivery. We split the manure among some friends for each of our gardens.

Step 5: Testing your soil

The most important step in creating an urban garden is to test the soil. In Maine, we send our soil to the Cooperative Extension and they tested it for lead content, other toxins, and nutrients. The test costs $8, and the results are very comprehensive, with detailed instructions as to how to amend the soil you have.

Our soil was only "slightly" contaminated (140 parts per million lead content), and so the Cooperative Extension advised that if we were growing vegetables in the area, that we simply wash the vegetables to protect ourselves from the lead. However, we were extra cautious and we used used burlap sacks (old coffee bags) donated from a local coffee shop, as an impermeable layer between our new soil and the contaminated soil below in the spaces that we were growing vegetables or medicinal herbs. For those with more contaminated soil, it would be important to use garden cloth, which provides more protection between the contaminated area and your vegetables that burlap sacks.

Step 6: Organize a workparty

We are tremendously lucky to live in a community where the concept of mutual aid is valued. We put out the word, made flyers, and sent emails, about a Sunday workshop at our house to teach each other a variety of skills that could be used in both an urban or rural environment, with little cost and mostly used material. Just our luck, it was raining all day long, however, 15 people showed up in their foul weather gear to help and learn.

Before lunch, we sipped on tea and ate delicious apple muffins that one woman brought, and we learned how to build a raised bed and how to sheet mulch. At the potluck lunch, an organizer from the Portland Permaculture group, lead a discussion on the concepts of permaculture design. After lunch, we learned how to build a cold frame.

Step 7: Make a garden bed

Our bed was a 3 by 5 bed made out of 8 inch cedar boards, placed one on top of the other. Though expensive, we chose to use cedar for its long lasting quality and with the plan of sinking our roots. However, any found materials will work: kiddy pools, five gallon buckets, cinder blocks, rocks, bricks, or car/truck tires. When looking for material, just be sure that the material does not have toxins in it or on it, such as pressure treated wood, or creosote, which is often found in railroad ties.

When thinking about the size of a bed, a 3 by 5 or 4 by 6 bed is standard, however, any shape or size will work. The key is to be able to reach the center of the bed. Raised beds can be made to any height, though standard height is between 10-18 inches tall. Greens have shallower roots, and fruiting vegetables set deeper roots. Raised beds can also be made even taller, to accommodate those with back problems or those in a wheelchair.

We put burlap sacks at the base on the bed, and filled the bed with half aged manure and half clean soil, and before planting, we put down a layer of fine top soil.

Step 8: Make a cold frame

There are many ways to build a cold frame.

This was how we built ours, in hopes of growing greens throughout the winter months in Maine.

Step 9: Bioremediation

Though we were not able to address this concept in our workshop, in the area closest to our house, we made a bio-remediation site. Bioremediation means using living things -microbes, plants and fungi- to cleanse and heal soil and water.

We sprinkled large amounts of organic sulfur on the ground first, planted Mammoth Grey Stripped Sunflowers, and inoculated the area with oyster mushrooms.

To briefly explain, fungi excrete enzymes to digest decaying matter and many fungi can break down stable compounds, the sunflowers then set deep roots and pull up the toxins, and the sulfur assists in this process too.

Other plants that are helpful in this process are:
Indian mustard greens, Brakefern, Alpine pennycress

Through the process, we were mentored by our good friend who had spent time working with the Common Ground Collective in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, working tirelessly on many projects there, including repairing the soil while working with residents to create spaces for healthy land, water and food to grow.

(Of course, at the end of the season, we will have to dispose of the sunflowers, as hazardous waste.)

Step 10: Sheet Mulching

Sheet mulching is a layering system, that restores nutrients into the soil, without disturbing the soil itself. Since our soil did not have significant lead content, we felt comfortable using this method, as the soil quality will increase as the sheet mulch breaks down, and we planted our raspberries and rhubarb in it...

Our Sheet Mulching system:
1 Layer Aged Manure
1 Layer Cardboard
1 Layer Seaweed
1 Layer Straw

This was our recipe, but sheet mulching has no exact formula. The basic technique is:
1st layer- heavy nitrogen, such as kitchen scraps, grass clippings, compost...
2nd layer- weed barrier, such as newspaper, or biodegradable products....
3rd layer- water retention and potassium layer
4th layer- something to keep the layering system moist and also the final layer to complete the system; can be pine needles, sawdust, etc.

Most people sheet mulch in the fall and plant in it in the spring, however, one can sheet mulch in the spring and plant in it, just as we did, or even sheet mulch around existing perennials such as fruit trees or shrubs.

Step 11: Make an herb wheel

An herb wheel, or herb spiral, is an ideal way to grow herbs in a small space.

In our wheel, we have echinecea, valerian, poppies, lemon balm, lavender, motherwort, yarrow, comfrey, marshmallow, violet, and hyssop. All of these plants can be used for medicine.

Thanks to our close friend and herbalist who was moving from Maine to Vermont, we were able to take some of her plants and move them into the city, into our herb wheel.

Step 12: Enjoy your garden

We are enjoying the fruits of our garden and appreciate all of the hands that went into building it. We look forward to sharing what we grow and enjoying the space with our neighbors as time goes on.
We have built a root cellar and plan to build a rain collection system.
We hope to make blogs for those projects, too.