The East Cut leads the way again as they help to transform our neighborhood into one of the most livable districts in the City with the addition of the East Cut Community Garden! The neighborhood project, is located at 29 Essex Street, initially conceived in late 2019 and is supported by the City’s Community Challenge Grant program, as well as funding from the Guy/Lansing Neighbors and The East Cut CBD.

Not familiar with The East Cut Community Garden?  Here is a wonderful background and description of the ambitious project:

It has long been a goal of The East Cut CBD and the residents living within the District for there to be a community garden in the neighborhood; a place where residents have space to socialize and grow their own produce, herbs, and flowers. With few remaining open lots left in The East Cut, the CBD worked with the Office of Community Investment & Infrastructure (OCII) to create a temporary community garden design for Block 11b at Essex and Folsom streets. The intention is for the bulk of the project to be constructed by volunteers, with larger items installed by contractors. The project has been designed to be temporary in nature due to the planned future development of the lot, which may include the touchdown for the future Bay Bridge bike lane.

Once completed, the project will accommodate 20 garden plots – 3 communal and 17 individual – and will provide a common area for East Cut residents and visitors, complete with work tables and string lights for evening events. The garden plots will be installed utilizing a wood planter design, all built by volunteers. Also included in the design is a garden shed to house tools, wood compost bins to provide additional soil and a place to store discarded organic material, and containers for trash and recycling. For planting, a lemon tree will be planted near the northeast corner of the site, along with rosemary and lavender shrubs along the Essex Street fence. For site utilities, water service and a meter will be applied for through the SFPUC and six hose bibs will be installed so that users can water their garden plots. Lastly, the string lighting will be powered by a solar panel situated on the hillside.

For those interested, membership in the garden will be handled in the following manner:

Membership to the community garden and the opportunity to garden is first open to all residents within the boundaries of The East Cut Community Benefit District. If there is insufficient interest to fully allocate the garden plots to residents of The East Cut CBD, the remaining plots will be opened to all residents of San Francisco. To ensure that all interested gardeners receive an equal opportunity to be selected for a garden plot, The East Cut CBD will schedule lotteries for both Below-Market Rate residents and Market Rate residents to allocate garden plots within 60 days of construction completion. The East Cut CBD will conduct outreach to ensure that local organizations and neighbors are aware of the lottery process by posting on garden bulletin boards, informing local neighborhood organizations, and utilizing email lists and social media communications to inform people about garden plot availability. If there is insufficient interest to fully allocate the garden plots, the remaining plots will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis until the garden is fully allocated.

Here is the latest update, from The East Cut’s official site:

Latest Update – January 14, 2022:

In December, work in the garden was largely on hold while materials were procured. The garden shed was delivered on January 5th, and the concrete pad for the shed was constructed this week. The string light poles will be installed next week, and wood will be delivered which will kick off the garden bed volunteer construction. Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox for our first quarterly Parks newsletter (sign up here!) which will provide information on how to sign up to volunteer, as well as sign up to be eligible for a garden plot!

December 2021: String light poles, guy wires, and garden shed were ordered. Garden materials for the volunteer build were sourced.

January 2022: Garden shed delivery, garden shed pad construction, string light pole installation, wood delivery. Volunteer days will be scheduled to build the garden plots and fill with soil.

February 2022: Volunteer days to build garden plots and complete other build items. Water connection from the SFPUC, and final planting by contractor. Garden ribbon cutting at month’s end.

Image credit: The East Cut

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