Question about wild gardens

Hi.

I'm now convinced that the way we should manage our urban garden is by the least possible maintenance, thus I'm leading towards a wild mediterranean garden. My idea here is to have a open wild garden where people can visit and take whatever they like, just following some easy rules: only take what you are going to eat, take it only ripe, always leave at least two specimens in sight. The gardeners take care of seed propagation, adding compost, mulching, clearing and some pruning. But I need it to be very simple for gardeners too, since we are very inexperienced, dedicate very little time (usually a couple of hours a week) and not many gardeners stay for a long time.
In addition, trying to manage an urban market garden is risky, since the municipality is tempted to take control and manage it its way: assingning very small allotments to people with necessities, which will result in anything but permaculture.

We are not allowed to have farm animals here, only passing wild birds (ducks are considered farm animals), maybe we can convince some bats to stay (yes, a coronavirus reservoir, I know), some rats, street cats and the usual bugs. Our only domestic animal is the red compost worm, although they are semi-wild now, having escaped from the compost bin. Fruit trees will keep producing even if we do nothing, although I think some prunning might be feasible: to make fruit bigger, and to keep fruit trees at a manageable size. Flowers and spice herbs are already growing happily without any effort. We have here stablished carobs, olive trees, fig trees. We have some young other fruit trees: pommegrenates, almonds, lemons, oranges, loquats. And a few more on the way. An ugly blackberry.

Things I want to avoid most are:
Watering. Since we have very little water, and even if we had water, we don't have the discipline to water regularly and in time. But this means four months of not a single drop.
Weeding. It's just such a waste of time and energy. Besides, I'm feeding more on weeds than on our planted crops.
Crops rotation. People come and go, some gardeners only stay for a few months, keeping a record of what, where and when have been planted is too hard for us. Assigning someone to manage it all is not feasible.
Seedling. Ok, we have seeds, we gather our seeds, but when it comes the moment to make these seeds into seedlings we just fail. No water, no sheltered place to grow them, not enough discipline and knowledge. What we need are plants that can propagate themselves with very little aid. Or maybe learn how to use a planting slot in the wet season.

I've recently read Sepp Holzer's Permaculture, and I think this is posible. But I would like to hear you.

PS In case you want to know where it is, type "huerta dignidad malaga". The photo in google maps is very outdated, most features have changed, but you will get the idea of where it is located.

Has hugelkultur been considered?

My experience lies in  traditional community gardens, not wild ones. Just wanted to tell you how people behaved with our public garden that they were supposed to help with. There may be a silver lining in your experience, though, because likeminded people may volunteer to help you and you could become great friends. Please read on...

A guy  advertised his (very noble) idea, which was to start a community garden for people who otherwise couldn't afford fresh produce. His idea was that the people who would benefit from the garden would also work in the garden.  I volunteered to help him get the garden planned and planted. We instantly hit it off and bonded. Together, we decided what and how much to plant. I had done a bit of research about companion planting and he liked that idea, so we carefully arranged the plantings according to that. From previous gardening, I had a whole bunch of heirloom seeds that I donated. He was delighted. Work is seldom so much fun, but we had such an awesome rapport that time just flew by!

We watched as the garden began to grow and flourish. We watched alone. Nobody came to help in any way. It was just us.  When it came time to harvest, people came with their hands out and some even were critical of the "quality" of the produce. We found out from people in other communities that their experiences with public gardens were very similar. The beneficiaries rarely actually help out.

However:

If not for volunteering to help with his vision of helping those less fortunate, I would probably never have met the wonderful young man I began to call my friend. Before the summer was over, a heart condition claimed his young life and he didn't get to see how the rest of his dream turned out. He would be sooo touched if he only knew what happened after his death. He was a very humble person, so it would have brought tears of joy, not feelings of pride, to his eyes.

You see, because of his tragic death, people took notice and...his church family took over the project. They erected a monument beside the garden with his name on it and to this day, every single year there is a community garden. We moved away and I don't get the opportunity to go back home often but when I do, I love to stop by and look at his marker and the garden and remember how much fun I had with my friend.

RIP, dear friend. I'll never forget you.

Has hugelkultur been considered?

Yes. But adapted to non-irrigation mediterranean climate, which is a sunked bed with branch cuts beneath. So far it is working pretty well.

@M James.

Truly a moving story. Thanks.

We already have some volunteers to work in the garden. I suspected that the very people who need more the income were the less likely to come to work. The charitable approach was already tried. We had one person here working to produce some fresh vegetables which were to be donated, but he considered himself the owner of the place; he was a very toxic person to work with. Current staff is much more amicable.
What I'd like to see is some civil neighbours coming to the garden and picking some fresh produce for their homes, maybe helped by the local staff, so they don't ruin everything. Also, enjoying their visit. I don't mind whether they can afford fresh produce. People in distress already have plenty of help programs. This is more about teaching values, teaching people there's more than tomatoes and peppers to eat, showing people what organic fresh vegetables tastes like. I also want the neighborhood good will, since the town hall is on the verge to force us out, and should we protest, I would like to have some support.

If circumstances allow I would suggest some community events.  Maybe based around seasons (harvest, planting, flowering) or food events: bring, harvest, cook and share food. Or people: foraging with children, learn how to weave willow.  That will bring in people and let them feel ownership for the place.

Yes. Thanks. Foraging families is my first idea. I don't know how to weave willow, but I get the idea. That's offering workshops related to the garden.

A seasonal event might be right. That's one programmed event every three months, long enough for us to prepare, frequent enough for people to learn about us. A shared food festival fits nicely with the group here. We've done similar things before, but not as a "Tradition (TM)".

I would imagine partnering with some sort of social service type organization might help you with finding people as well as provide some security for your garden. The way things are now, community organizations might like an outdoor place to meet or hold their activities... could you offer your space to some nonprofit and become their partner (assuming there is some open space)?
I also like the food festival idea. The community gardens where I live seem to only survive if they have backing from the Slow Food chef crowd.

Hola Abraham, I don't know a lot on this kind of garden, but I love your ideas about wild gardens. I want to go that way as much as I can, so I will stay on this thread to see what our permies friends have to say. The ideal set up would be something that gives the feeling of being into the wild