Guerrilla Growing: Outdoor Cultivation, Urban Art & Politics
June 21, 2023 Der Knospenzwirbler
Weed Wissen
Weed Wissen
Guerilla Growing ist mehr als heimliches Outdoor-Growing: Zwischen Urban Art, politischem Statement und Begrünung von Betonwüsten entsteht eine ganz eigene Form des Anbaus.
Guerrilla growing is often used simply as a synonym for outdoor growing; you'll also come across guerrilla farming or guerrilla gardening, the terms more common in the English-speaking world.
Guerrilla growing emphasises the secretive, faintly illicit side of outdoor growing: sowing little flowers on a traffic island under cover of darkness, greening concrete deserts or creating absurd art installations made of plants.
At heart, guerrilla growing means cultivating outside your own property. In urban settings it's often meant to be seen and to work as an artistic or political statement. Where discovery is not the goal, outdoor growing often takes place in forests away from the trails, or in fields among other plants that hide it. Cornfields are a favourite, since maize grows tall and stands high on the fields for a long time before harvest. As this is private land, it is of course not legal, and whether growing cannabis is permitted at all depends on your country.
Beyond such concrete actions, there are other forms of artistic expression through plants in public space, and they are almost never without a political dimension. That is typical of this art form, precisely because it is nearly always also about creating free spaces for people or nature within an urban environment defined throughout by claims of ownership.
Guerrilla growing emphasises the secretive, faintly illicit side of outdoor growing: sowing little flowers on a traffic island under cover of darkness, greening concrete deserts or creating absurd art installations made of plants.
At heart, guerrilla growing means cultivating outside your own property. In urban settings it's often meant to be seen and to work as an artistic or political statement. Where discovery is not the goal, outdoor growing often takes place in forests away from the trails, or in fields among other plants that hide it. Cornfields are a favourite, since maize grows tall and stands high on the fields for a long time before harvest. As this is private land, it is of course not legal, and whether growing cannabis is permitted at all depends on your country.
Guerrilla growing as (political) urban art
There are various motives for placing, sowing or growing plants in public space. Beyond the obvious reason, the hope of a harvest when you have no garden or balcony of your own, or the longing for green oases in the urban jungle, there is also urban growing with an artistic and/or political ambition. The classic vehicle for a political statement, here the call for legalisation ("No plant is illegal"), is growing or sowing marijuana seeds or hemp plants, with or without any significant THC content. This is meant as a political act intended to win freedom for a criminalised genus of plant.Beyond such concrete actions, there are other forms of artistic expression through plants in public space, and they are almost never without a political dimension. That is typical of this art form, precisely because it is nearly always also about creating free spaces for people or nature within an urban environment defined throughout by claims of ownership.
Guerilla Growing als (politische) Urban Art
Es gibt verschiedene Beweggründe, Pflanzen im öffentlichen Raum zu platzieren, auszusäen oder anzubauen, neben dem naheliegenden Grund, auf eine Ernte zu hoffen, aber keinen eigenen Garten oder Balkon für den Anbau zu haben oder dem Wunsch nach grünen Oasen im Großstadtdschungel gibt es auch Urban Growing mit künstlerischem und/oder politischem Anspruch. Der Klassiker für eine politische Aussage, in diesem Fall der Ruf nach Legalisierung ("Keine Pflanze ist illegal") ist der Anbau oder die Aussaat von Marihuanasamen oder Hanfpflanzen mit und ohne nennenswertem THC-Gehalt. Dies soll als politische Aktion verstanden werden, die einer kriminalisierten Pflanzengattung Freiheit verschaffen soll.Neben so konkreter Aktion gibt es auch noch andere Formen künstlerischen Ausdrucks durch Pflanzen im Öffentlichen Raum, die aber fast nie ohne politische Dimension sind - Dies ist für diese Kunstform schon allein deswegen typisch, weil es fast immer zumindest auch darum geht, Freiräume für Menschen oder Natur im durchgehend von Eigentumsansprüchen bestimmten städtischen Raum, zu schaffen.
Author: Der Knospenzwirbler
‘Der Knospenzwirbler’ has been part of our company for over 20 years and has witnessed several generations of cannabis culture: from the early days right through to today’s developments. His many years of practical experience and his deep understanding of products, materials and trends make his contributions particularly valuable. ‘Der Knospenzwirbler’ is a pseudonym, but behind the name lies a real person with genuine experience. His writing is insightful, easy to understand and always packed with substance rather than empty hype.