It drains well, but you don't want to dig into it because of the rubble. Soil tests showed no excessive amounts of dangerous metals. Usually, raised beds fill the bill, and gardeners at Norris Square have used joist boards from the old houses for siding, said Maureen O'Hara, a garden advisor in the Urban Gardening Program. The people enriched the soil with manure from the city's recycling center, which makes compost of manure from zoo animals and horses. Out of concern for potential contamination, O'Hara said she recommends wastewater sludge only for ornamentals.
Water comes to the gardens in various ways.
You can't just tap the fire hydrants because they've been capped to prevent misuse, although you can obtain a permit and buy a special wrench and adapter to gain access. At one garden, a direct line from the water main under the street feeds the garden. In other cases, gardeners must hook up hundreds of feet of hose to outlets in remote gardens, with lines crossing the street and getting run over, O'Hara said. At her demonstration garden, barrels collect rain from the roof of a pavilion. And where there's water there's a way.