Photo: Reddit / I-Am-Doggo
Here’s a very productive and fun way to protest and, at the same time, make sure you get the attention of competent authorities: fed-up residents from Toronto have turned a large, abandoned pothole into a tomato garden.
And they can hardly wait for harvest time, which should be in a few weeks.
The pothole appeared on Poplar Plains Road many months ago, from nearby construction work. Authorities repeatedly failed to have it fixed, so at some point, a prankster threw a handful of seeds into it. As a joke.
The seeds have grown into what is today the “community garden.” Sure, it might be in the middle of a public road, but it’s a garden nonetheless, resident Bryan Link tells CBS Radio’s As It Happens. And they all take turns tending to it.
“Had to do a bit of a double-take because what I thought were probably weeds turned out to be tomatoes,” Link explains. “They're doing extremely well. I think it's the perfect spot.”
He believes whoever planted the seeds did it as a prank, but the truth is, no one cares who did it. They’re all happy with the outcome: they take turns tending to the garden and are waiting for harvest time, which they believe won’t be long. In fact, Link hopes the city won’t start considering fixing the pothole now, when it’s finally of use.
Unfortunately, because the little tomato garden got so much media attention, Toroto’s mayor himself, John Torry, has taken a stand on the issue. Yes, the pothole will be fixed ASAP, he says. As for the tomatoes, they will be relocated.
“We have successfully begun the process of transferring the tomatoes to a community garden so they will survive,” he says in a statement. “And the pothole will be fixed.”
Here’s to hoping the garden’s original owners will get the tomatoes when they’re ripe.
The pothole appeared on Poplar Plains Road many months ago, from nearby construction work. Authorities repeatedly failed to have it fixed, so at some point, a prankster threw a handful of seeds into it. As a joke.
The seeds have grown into what is today the “community garden.” Sure, it might be in the middle of a public road, but it’s a garden nonetheless, resident Bryan Link tells CBS Radio’s As It Happens. And they all take turns tending to it.
“Had to do a bit of a double-take because what I thought were probably weeds turned out to be tomatoes,” Link explains. “They're doing extremely well. I think it's the perfect spot.”
He believes whoever planted the seeds did it as a prank, but the truth is, no one cares who did it. They’re all happy with the outcome: they take turns tending to the garden and are waiting for harvest time, which they believe won’t be long. In fact, Link hopes the city won’t start considering fixing the pothole now, when it’s finally of use.
Unfortunately, because the little tomato garden got so much media attention, Toroto’s mayor himself, John Torry, has taken a stand on the issue. Yes, the pothole will be fixed ASAP, he says. As for the tomatoes, they will be relocated.
“We have successfully begun the process of transferring the tomatoes to a community garden so they will survive,” he says in a statement. “And the pothole will be fixed.”
Here’s to hoping the garden’s original owners will get the tomatoes when they’re ripe.
No this isn’t a community garden! Some fed up residents in the Summerhill area planted tomatoes in this sinkhole as they wait for the city to fix it. One woman tells me that the crater has been on Poplar Plains Cres. for months now. @CityNews pic.twitter.com/bXiVMhGdrF
— Brandon Rowe (@CityNewsBrandon) August 16, 2018
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