Tomatoes grow lush in raised beds at the new location where Ed Thornton is gardening in southeast Cedar Rapids. Thornton was forced to abandon his garden last year on vacant city-owned property. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
By Cindy Hadish/Homegrown Iowan
CEDAR RAPIDS – Just one year ago, Ed Thornton was resolving a battle brought on by the city that forced him out of the vacant land he had gardened for four years.
Thornton has since relocated his gardening efforts, but hasn’t completely dropped the idea that would allow residents to garden on vacant city-owned land.
City officials threatened Thornton last summer with legal action, saying he had to remove his garden because the priority for the land, next to his home at Sixth Street and First Avenue SW, was infill housing to replace homes lost in the 2008 flood.
Since then, the land has remained vacant.
Crabgrass has replaced the lettuce, carrots, beets and more that Thornton grew at the site and freely gave away to neighbors and visitors to the garden.
Squash and other vines climb one of the trellises at the new location where Ed Thornton gardens in Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
On Saturday, Aug. 8, Thornton and friends gathered at the Oakhill Community Garden, where he now focuses his efforts, far removed from the home where he still resides in southwest Cedar Rapids. The new location, at 1007 Sixth St. SE, is on land owned by Lynette and Michael Richards.
Cucumbers dangle through wire fencing; tomatoes grow lush in raised garden beds and beans climb trellises that Thornton hand-constructed.
“We don’t sell any of it,” he said of the bountiful harvest. “We give it away.”
All of the produce is grown without chemicals, while maximizing space. Thornton estimated the new site at 7,000-square-feet, compared to about 1,500-square-feet that he gardened last year on the vacant city lot.
While Thornton can’t make it to the garden every day, as he did when he lived next door, he often can be found tending the site after a day at work.
“This isn’t a hobby,” Thornton said. “This is a religion for me. It keeps me sane.”
Read related stories here and see more images from Ed Thornton’s garden party, below:
Cedar Rapids gardener not giving up battle
Gardening could lead to trespassing charge
Ed Thornton stands under one of the trellises he constructed at the Oakhill Community Garden in southeast Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Plastic flamingos pay homage to the Green Bay Packers in the “corner of kitsch” where Ed Thornton now gardens. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Cucumbers drop to grow through fencing where Ed Thornton now gardens. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Friends share a laugh at Ed Thornton’s garden party on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015, in southeast Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Striped heirloom tomatoes ripen on the vine at the Oakhill Community Garden in southeast Cedar Rapids. Produce grown there is given away. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Corn grows at the site of the Oakhill Community Garden in southeast Cedar Rapids. Ed Thornton was forced to remove his previous garden on vacant city-owned land. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Vines climb one of the many trellises Ed Thornton has constructed at a new garden site in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Ed Thornton grows his produce without chemicals, including these peppers, shown on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Brussels sprouts are among the multitude of vegetables thriving in the Oakhill Community Garden, where Ed Thornton now gardens in southeast Cedar Rapids. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
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