Land!!!

LAND!

a landless farmer is a sad thing. so far Raw Detroit has been able to do some field production due to the extreme generosity of our neighbors but we could be growing sooo much more.

Many urban farmers and rural farmers for that matter are limited by time not space. So many have to sustain off farm employment thus limiting their time and energy for growing. Currently I do not have that problem. I have all the time in the world to devote to farming but am being stalled by a lack of land to farm. Due to this, the land we have been working is all prepped, planted, and weeded and now I've got a little too much time on my hands.

You may wonder, "why I thought there were 30,000 vacant lots in the city of Detroit, how could you be limited on land?". well it isn't quite that simple. Yes, there is quite a lot of vacant land in my neighborhood which is why many of us are here. the two main issues are security and water access. If you are not farming on land that is adjacent to your property or to a neighbor you have a relationship with than both issues become tricky. In the city you can't currently hook up a water meter on a vacant lot so you have to have access to a house near by or a fire hydrant. The security issue is tough too because again if you aren't farming next to your house or if you don't own it at all then putting up a fence and keeping an eye on your vegetables isn't so easy.

we are looking at a house and adjacent lots near our house but that property is a shining example of the extremely messed up system that we live with. the whole history reeks of scam and at this point we have figured out the owner of the house and the tax payer for the house and surprisingly they aren't the same person/entity! The house was empty until a couple weeks ago and now there are folks coming in and out even though there is no water on or electric meters.

Feeling a little sketchy, I went or to the house and starting taking some soil samples a couple lots away. I got some curious looks but that was it. so we'll see if the land is worth getting anyway. Cause of course we don't want the house without the land and vis versa.

We are also going to look into land that our neighbors own to see if those would be possibilities for us to lease for additional land.

Its honestly pretty damn complicated.