Convert a cleared Detroit lot into a neighborhood growing space

Detroit's east side has more cleared lots than fresh-food outlets, and the city's deep urban-farming tradition shows exactly what a lot can become. Converting one cleared, host-stewarded lot into raised growing beds turns maintenance burden into food. Standard: Keep Growing Detroit urban garden practice + MSU Extension guidance; SDG 2 Zero Hunger. Proof: Photos of built beds with clean-soil fill documented Method (Keep Growing Detroit urban garden practice + MSU Extension guidance; SDG 2 Zero Hunger.): 1. Confirm the lot's steward invitation or land-bank side-lot ownership before building. 2. Lay out three to four raised beds with paths wide enough for wheelbarrows. 3. Build the bed frames from untreated lumber and line the bases with cardboard. 4. Fill the beds with delivered clean topsoil-and-compost mix — never the lot's own soil. 5. Mulch the paths between beds with wood chips. 6. Photograph the finished garden layout with GPS and date on and record bed count and dimensions. Done when: Photos of built beds with clean-soil fill documented

Where

Steward-invited cleared lot, Gratiot Avenue corridor, Detroit, MI 48213

Pay

$105 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

Photos of built beds with clean-soil fill documented

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

intermediate

Open until

2026-09-01

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 60–120 minutes. Method of record: USDA/SARE sustainable vegetable production + Cooperative Extension Master Gardener practices; People's Garden bed establishment. Hand-tool, DIY-safe food growing on tested/known-clean soil or raised beds.

Bring

• GPS-capable phone
• camera
• garden fork/broadfork + hand trowel
• finished compost + rake
• seeds or transplants (labeled)
• mulch (straw/leaf)
• watering can or hose

Steps

1. 1. Confirm the bed location inside the posting radius; record the GPS waypoint and photograph the bed before work.
2. 2. Clear weeds and debris; loosen the top 8-12 inches with a fork/broadfork without inverting the soil profile.
3. 3. Spread 1-2 inches of finished compost and rake the bed level.
4. 4. Sow seeds to the depth/spacing on the packet, or set transplants at their correct depth, in labeled rows.
5. 5. Water in gently to settle the soil around seeds/roots.
6. 6. Apply a light straw/leaf mulch between rows to hold moisture, keeping it off seedling stems.
7. 7. Record the crop plan, spacing, and a watering/harvest cadence for the next visit.
8. 8. Enter crop list, GPS, before/after photos, and the care cadence into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Soil is untested near a pre-1978 structure, old orchard, or roadway (possible lead/contaminant) -> do not plant edibles in-ground; use a raised bed with clean imported soil and flag for a soil test.
• Out-of-season crop or a hard frost in the forecast -> adjust the crop choice or protect with cover; do not sow into a predictable loss.
• Signs of active pest/disease on transplants -> reject the affected stock and note it; never introduce a known infestation to the bed.

What counts as done

• GPS waypoint recorded inside the posting radius
• Before and after photos of the planted bed
• Crops sown/transplanted at packet-correct depth and spacing, in labeled rows
• Bed watered in and mulched, with a watering/harvest cadence recorded

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.