TOTW: Gardens

the bloom lives in the bloom

“Spring is right around the corner. Don't be a nihilist."
-John Zerzan on their radio show

Here in this part of the world, spring has almost arrived. Outside today the sun is shining, the air is the warmest it has been since the fall, with the overcast gloomy skies of winter breaking. This week, we’re taking a look into practical anarchy and asking how does your garden grow?

What are you planting and growing this year? Have you planted things in past years that are close to or just coming around to providing their fruits? Do you have foraging stories or other DIY gardening experiments to share? What are some of your favorite anarchist projects related to the topic of horticulture? Do you relate your anarchist ideas to the practice of growing things? What annoys you most about this topic?

There are 34 Comments

Huh. Nice misquote. Not surprised.

It was: Spring is right around the corner. Don't be a nihilist.

Everybody knows this.

Gardens are civ. Primal anarchists ain't got time for it. The seeds of anarchy are what Primal Anarchists plant. You would realize this if you questioned your technological mediations between yourselves and the Primal World.

Oops, thank you for the correction. I tried finding the audio before writing the quote out, but couldn't so was going from memory.

The quote has been changed in TOTW to reflect your comment, thanks.
-thecollective_1.8

What is JZ's problem with nihilism? A radical centrist nihilist tendency is more likely to dismantle and deconstruct civilization more amiably than his extreme neo-Luddite negative methodology!
Its not the machine at fault but the powers that organize the production, distribution the misuse of technology.

assertion alert!

Zerzan is an old grump (like me) who never managed to engage with many serious critiques that were leveled at him but I think perhaps he felt, as I do, that nihilism the legitimate critique and nihilism the self indulgent spectre of paralysis and despair became muddled in many people's minds, especially the younger folks who might otherwise have tried for things, in their foolish earnestness lol

the whole thing was very fashionable for a time, everyone performatively trying to out not-give-a-fuck each other. now the kids think caring is cool again, bunch of little dorks, I tells ya!

j/k kids, best of luck with the endless plague variants and the burnt crisp of a world and all that stuff! ....you mad? should probably be madder. Greta needs to be firing a machine gun in to the air at the end of all the "how dare you"s!

I don't think he was confused, he had already judged nihilism and sentenced it to the dustbin of philosophical history. That may have stemmed from his period of cerebral extravagance within the halls of academia? Nihilists can be caring and try things which are creative, sustainable, and build better relationships with people and the environment.

preaching to the choir! anyway, nihilism and anarchism are practically siblings and have been chucked in the bin and rediscovered by the next batch of angry hobos many times throughout history. rising from the smelly ashes like a pair of dumpster phoenix!

phoenixi? phoenixes? pluralism strikes again...

True, and the noble hobo/hitchhiker, rites of passage for the common anarcho-nihilist. Nature's highway kerb gardener.

Another commenter here, JZ's opinion that traditional nihilism leads to chaos, destruction and the Abyss had credence, 150 years ago, however the centrist nihilist, from their  pessimistic views about human nature, takes time to consider an holistically balanced void cleansed of the  hate and rage it formerly wielded against flawed human constructs, yet does not presume perfection either. The radical centrist nihilist can transcend their basic impulses and prejudices. Evolutionary sciences suggest that humans are genetically wired to navigate only small communities/tribes, and that they are parochial, biased, prone to violence, status competition, and nearly inescapably tribal institutions and superstitions/spooks. 0The stone age brain does not slot well into the modern post-industrial society, just watch the 7 oclock news to verify this. The centrist nihilist controls and overcomes the weaknesses of herd consciousness, yet can live peacefully amongst the herd, like a guiding example of bold and original creativity, sets an example which others will observe and mimic, eventually converting those that cross the genderless, status-less, lawless, race-less, wage-less, debt-less example set. Nothing got smashed, burned, overturned, spat on, punched, raged at, screamed and abused at, doused in gas and ignited, blown up, napalmed, nuked in oblivion.
Yes, the radical centrist nihilist is possibly the most underrated example of uncivilized decency, uncorruptible justice and a source of irrevocable humor.

A pox on thecollective for leaving 13:33's literal turd of a comment published! A thousand cuts upon your damn eyes!

I'm 13:33 and I don't see what all the drama is since we are all balancing cosmically on the edge of the Abyss, though the centrist nihilists like me have taken one step away from the edge.

is similar to yet different from political centrism: political centrists, for that brief period of time that they are, basically side with the safer sentiments in "the debate". They're very relaxing to talk to yet the insights are never particularly impressive, just interesting, whereas nihilist centrism is just content not to really know what the truth is...they'll go ahead and plant a garden.

You can claim that words mean anything you want them to mean. This does not necessarily make it so.

The addition of "centrism" to this abortion of a term is referent to political centrism and is useless without this being the context. What you are feebly attempting to describe is simply... nihilism. Further, the nihilist is not "content not to really know what the truth is" because the nihilist recognizes no truth.

SEisms will only make you dumber. Best to avoid.

You can take JZ out of the psychedelic drug and hippy scene in San Francisco, but you can't take the psychedelic drug and hippy scene in San Francisco out of JZ.

Let's grow food together
To make the world better
Show what we can do
When it's up to me and you
Plant the seeds we need to be freed
From corporate greed
We can live in gardening ecovillage communities
Free for everybody
The more we know
The more we grow
So sow the seeds in the garden rows
That you made with a maddix and hoe
There's more to plant- let's go!
Seedlings transplanting from the greenhouse
This is what sustainability is about
We have to live a different way
Or it is the Earth that will pay
Grow food in free land
For the tribe of humans
Grow fruit on the trees
In the gardens there are tomatoes and potatoes I see
Lettuce, peppers, kale, and broccoli
Eggplant, okra, beans, shared for everybody
Basil, turnip the beets, kohlrabi
Radical radishes and cool carrots
Radical when we share it
cuccumbers
A good number
Of squash, asparagus, brussel sprouts
This is what this is about
Seminole pumpkins
Grapes and watermelons
Apples, peaches, persimmon, pears
Enough strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries for all to share
Oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, cilantro
And we got the seeds we need to grow
And free land for free people to go
Guardians of the Garden
Get the plant power
And share the land as all ours'
Push the wheelbarow
To get manure for the garden rows
The garden grows
Planting party
Get it done fast with the help of everybody
Once there was people who realized we don't need so much money
If we let people garden and live there freely
In a community
They can grow food on land shared freely
So people had time to grow food
And share the land in gratitude
Harvest, preserve, ferment, cook, and eat
Seed, weed, feed what we need
To give us the energy to succeed
At our goals
And feed our souls
Harvest the radical radishes
And manifest our radical wishes
Spiral herb garden portal of possibilities
To a community
Make our meals
Feel what's real
Allow ourselves to heal
Connect with the Earth
Commune with the universe
In tune with the moon
Like the radical raccoons
Use our garden tools
And garden together- it will be cool
Everything is fine
When you see the beans and tomatoes climbing cines
Grow food together
Build shelter to weather the weather
Keep warm
In the storm
When it rains
To water the gardens again
Plant in spring and in summer maintain
In fall harvest to sustain
Ourselves and the Earth
Sustainably as we work
We can come to your land and help grow food in harmony with the Earth
In a Permaculture Mutual Aid Network
For offgrid ecovillage communities
To share resources, land, and energy
Help each other in unity
With our common humanity
And make it happen
What this radical raccoon is rappin'

Let's grow food together
To make the world better
Share land and live in an ecovillage together
And do permaculture
Come to the land
Where we share land
For free humans
Grow together in the gardens
We don't have to participate in a system of money and greed
If you plant the seeds we need to be freed
Find the Earth flower
Plant the seeds with the planet power
Wait for the seeds you sow
And they will grow
And so will we when we share what we know
And share land
And grow more food with more tribes of humans
Grow it and we don't need the store
To buy more and more
For the profit
Sharing land and growing food is a way to stop it
When we share food that we grow
We don't need the food from Monsanto
We don't need the toxic pesticides
Which creates ecocides
Where many animals and ecosystems have died
And food isn't good when made for the wealthy to get more health
And it's not healthy and not helping our health
So let's do something else
And grow food for ourselves
We can use permaculture
Not the monoculture
Of agriculture
And this money-centered culture
So we can feel good eating the fruits of our labor
And live in a tribal community with our neighbors
Permaculture is growing food with nature

I like it, as a rap, but even as a mellow folky type song. One line I found disturbing-
"For the tribe of humans"
This concept is offensive to individualists!

Gardens are just civ.
Eat my entire asshole,
You nihilist fucks!

yeah, don't waste any. use every part of the asshole or it's disrespectful

Grinding stones are prim,
Teeth worn down and shitting corn,
Hemorrhoids taste bad.

i grow what i eat most. peppers, onions, garlic, spinach, zucchini, kale, broccoli, potatoes, oregano, basil, chamomile, mint, hops, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. and ganja.

anyone wanna come community garden? but rural, like?

i grow lots of berries and mint and in a few weeks will be planting a nut tree. some of my berries grow such that passersby can take them as they please. i share my bounty with my friends and neighbors as i get way too much to eat on my own. being able to grow a protein source with the nuts is crucial imo and more people should do that.

Obviously I am growing tomatoes, bell peppers, poblano peppers, zucchini, and basil and roses.

Obviously what?

Obviously now you have to show some vidya of your garden on the next episode or nobody will believe you.

yes Dandy, dox your own garden like the FBI here is telling you to

i will be doing some of my first gardening this year and am planning to do mainly culinary herbs. i also am doing houseplants for the first time right now and they are doing well. happy! i am enjoying the opportunity to make my home how i really want it to be. after many years in punk houses, it feels good to get to start something fresh, that reflects how i want to live and what i want to come home to.

This year I'm working on getting the long bean harvest up since it hasn't been much lately compared to some past years. I live in a warm area so I grow bananas, taro, sweet potato, dozens of different food-producing trees including citrus, breadfruit, jackfruit, sapote, avocado, sugar cane, different varieties of leafy greens, papaya, spicy and sweet peppers, tomato, dragonfruit, pineapple, and many more.

I enjoy having a more direct relationship to some of the food that I eat even if it's far from meeting all of my own food requirements. It's nice to be able to forage on plants that I've helped to establish and grow instead of going to town all the time and buying commodity produce. It's also easy to be generous and make friends if you're growing food yourself or helping with harvests because when plants are producing food, they will probably make far more than you could personally eat and so it's easy to give it away before it goes bad. It's also less work to give food away than to worry so much about preserving it.

I built a free box out along the road for giving excess garden produce away before it goes bad and I have enjoyed how this has become a bidirectional affair, with other neighbors sharing their own produce, cuttings, or starts in turn but not because anyone is keeping score.

I enjoy the complex arrangements that plants have with each other and with animals and how much I learn by observing and trying new techniques. I've gotten good at building huge trellises for cheap and building fences out of free pallets from town to keep the feral pigs out of the gardens. And having a big garden reduces the urgency of needing a functioning vehicle or getting a ride to buy food from town.

I also enjoy having so many excuses for experimentation and DIY projects in keeping a very big garden. There are always new ideas to try, new ways to use trash and waste in interesting ways, there is an ebb and flow of different dynamics like different pests, weather conditions, different parts of the gardens change over time. Weeds stop being weeds as soon as you find a use for them. I would rather live in a way where I can be useful to myself, doing things how I want and being interested and involved in what I need to live, instead of having everything provided through the world of commodities and work.

hey, i'd love to bring my gardening skills to where you are. being in an environment where i could grow fruit (other than cold-weather berries and some crab apples), bananas, avocados, mangoes, ... would be a dream come true.

This is Path B. Are you up for joining and hosting a slightly damaged wingnut thruple? We don't require a lot of space and have huge balls and like to fuck. Where are you located? Have you read Camatte?

What happened to all the indigenous folk who used to live on this fertile block of land you have so vigorously transformed into an enclosed paradise garden capable of feeding 50 or more comfortable people, just wondering? :)

What makes you think our gardener here isn't indigenous, just wondering? Indigenous folk know how to garden and use the internet too you racist fuck. :)

I just KNOW that the poster IS NOT indigenous because indigenous folk don't put surplus food out for anyone to take, like white neo-colonialists, white supremi ists, yuppie capitlist liberals etc, they distribute their surplus food amongst their impoverished and displaced extended family, something akin to the potlatch custom.
Also the grammatical style of the poster, with all due respect, doesn't equate to an indigenous style, unless they are taking the non-genetic based definition of indigenous, that it is a state of consciousness, but then, that again leads back to the values being focused 9n kinship and the extended family, not any stranger driving along the road infront of the "block of land" which by the way introduces another aspect, indigenous folk DO NOT put fences around land, mmmkay ;)

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