Next Generation P Patch

Not your grandparent's P-Patch but is still a collective cooperative approach to local farming.

A P-Patch is a parcel of property used for gardening allotments. The term is specific to Seattle, where the Picardo family ran a truck farm in the earlier part of the 1900s in the Wedgwood neighborhood. The farm was acquired by the City of Seattle and became part of the original P-Patch program initiated in 1973. The 'P' was taken to commemorate the Picardo family. Through the decades folk etymology attributes it to be "pea patch" and soon the ‘P’ is expected to stand for “pot” within the city of SeaTac!

State law regarding medical cannabis (RCW: 69.51A) already contain provisions for P-Patch-type gardens for up to 15 marijuana plants per patient, where sick people may grow affordable, high-quality cannabis, free from black market and legal hazards (RCW: 69.51A.085). With the passage of I-502 in November 2012 and the legalization of recreational marijuana use in Washington State, SeaTac residents Bud Green and Mary Jayne have taken the position that the provisions of RCW 69.51A.085 now apply to all citizen’s age 21 and older. Both Green and Jayne have been lobbying the SeaTac City Council for an approval to begin operating a ‘P-Patch’ garden at the vacant Hughes Property located on the southwestern shores of Angle Lake. Backers of this initiative insist that this underutilized public property is a perfect choice for the garden due to abundant availability to water that can be drawn from the lake and naturally heightened security due to visibility from the heavy volume of traffic that travels International Boulevard (State Route 99).

After a year long debate, the City Council had finally reached a determination that supporting this ‘grass’ roots initiative is the right thing to do and have since authorized that a portion of the Hughes Property be allocated for such use.  A plan to prepare the land through a partnership program agreement between the WA State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the City of SeaTac was made through a Press Release announcement on March 21st. The $19,000 project will fund work to rid the property of the invasive English ivy and Himalayan blackberry bushes that occupy much of the space.  A crew for the Puget SoundCorps will work from 7:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Thursday.  The work will start Monday, April 7th and will finish by Thursday, May 1st in time for local and state officials to gather for formal presentation of the ‘keys’ of the garden to Herb Cheeba, President of Peacebloom, the registered organization representing the collective gardener association.

“What a perfect world it will be when our citizens can simply cultivate this fertile land and ask Mother Nature to bestow her favor upon them in the bold sunlight of a more progressive era!” envisions Mary Jayne. 

In anticipation of this ceremonious event, a request by the Peacebloom organization to the Washington State Department of Transportation has been submitted asking that the 5 block span of International Blvd between South 200th Street and the entrance of Angle Lake Park at So 195th Street be recognized and relabeled as “Highway 420” in commemorative recognition of the nation’s first marijuana co-operative ‘P-Patch’.

The deadline for public comment is Sunday, April 20th and may be submitted here.

(Postscript:  This is an April Fools Joke)