We started to notice that the nightshade growing on the left side of the garden were beginning to really take over - forming a bit of a monoculture which was limiting other plant species from growing and establishing. As part of the communal working day we decided to make some choices with the nightshade, removing some of them to open up the bed, and enable the opportunity for others to grow with less competition.
To begin we started with a rubbish collection moment, finding a multitude of things - a mattress, water hose end, beer cans, pokemon card, even Santa! Again we kept some of the pieces that we could re-use in the future or just took our fancy for whatever reason, though others we relocated to the nearby bin. It's interesting to see each time what objects have moved into this section of the park, it seems to be a huge range, and we question each time what things we decide to remove, what to keep, and in both circumstances why? It's been clear that the private and secretive corner of this garden could easily be used as a sleeping spot, or a hangout point for beers, this leafy green space offering a supportive cocoon to those that seek it. When we remove these pieces of residue, we also remove traces of the ability to use the garden in these ways, but what ways can we try to allow room for them to exist alongside other activities in there, such as a space for adventures for children for example. These are questions we are pondering, for now we removed the cans and sharp objects, the microplastic that are not so nice to leave for the soil, the cigarette butts too. And the mattress that is tossed barely in the garden is moved too, but perhaps it will come back if it was eagerly enjoyed. Let's see.
But back to the nightshades... once our rubbish moving was done we drew our attention to these plants -
Black nightshade - Zwarte nachtschade - solanum nigrum
In the nightshade family, so related to tomatoes, potatoes and aubergines, all parts of the plant except for fully ripe berries are toxic. Native to Europe, it is now defined as a weed in other countries such as Australia due to its prolific growing habits. An annual or sometimes short lived perennial, it can reach up to 120cm tall, with a 60cm width, growing often with large flat leaves that form heart or toothed edges, their flowers are generally white with a yellow center surrounded by five petals, and they form berries that change to black when ripe (one cultivar in India produces red berries). Ingesting the raw leaves or unriped fruit has been known to result in solanine poisoning (which causes gastrointestinal and neurological reactions), though many varieties exist that have been used as food sources and medicinally for people all over the world.
For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_nigrum
As we did not know specifically what cultivar of black nightshade it was, we were careful when handling it just in case. But it would be great to work out if this type is edible at all.
We tried our best to disturb the soil and surrounding species as little as possible, lifting the plants up with trowels. We decided to only remove what we felt was necessary to provide more room for the other plant species to have more opportunity to establish and flourish, keeping a more balanced diversity in the garden. It was difficult to decide exactly when to stop, when there was enough room, and enough nightshade to also let this species flourish. Through talking and checking in with each other we eventually came to a decision on when to put tools down! The plant species in this section of the garden are mostly plants that have germinated by themselves - seeds sprouting that were already in the soil previously, perhaps blew in somehow, or was sown by someone, human or otherwise. There are also a small amount of plants there that were planted by Rotterdam Gemeente, such as English Ivy.
We are curious to see how the plants now grow alongside each other with this extra room, particularly as the weather begins to shift from Summer towards Autumn, bringing more rain, stormy conditions and a cooler temperature.
We placed the plant material into the already existing takkenrillen around the garden before then tucking into a nice lunch in the shade! :)
Here are some photos of the day, from Kate and Silvia >>>
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| a thistle in amongst the nightshades |
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| but first we need to remove a mattress! |
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| found Santa... |
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| now a spiders home |
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| critters of the garden |
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| finding ways to as carefully and considerately pull up some of the nightshade - with a trowel we wiggled each plant out, trying to limit the impact to the soil and surrounding plants |
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| we encountered lots of worms along the way! |
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| Silvia was cutting the uprooted plants into smaller pieces ready for adding them into our takkenrillen |
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| lots and lots of fruits from the nightshades on the ground afterwards...lots of seeds! |
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| making space for other species to establish |
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