Gardener Rules & Etiquette

How to be a “Community” Garden...

There are many opinions about what this section should be called: rules? regulations? expectations? guidelines? common etiquette? The bottom line is this: each gardener is part of a community of gardeners and needs to work with others in relative harmony in order to make a positive gardening experience for everyone.

Therefore, choose your own term for what you want to call them, but this is how the Beaverton Community Gardens will operate in 2008. Please read this section carefully. The most important sections are highlighted with a big exclamation point!

Gardening courtesy and communication:

One of the main goals in community gardening is to work together or next to each other in relative harmony. Please be courteous in all interactions, and work to resolve any disagreements.

Contact the City Garden Program at (503) 526-2665 or gardenmail@ci.beaverton.or.us for guideline clarifications or plot delineation. City garden staff and/or garden managers will check plots regularly to encourage productive use by participants.
Definition of a “working garden”:

A garden plot must be maintained, planted or mulched, and stay within its boundaries. Plots must not be consistently weedy, untended or filled with debris. During the growing season, gardeners are expected to spend at least two hours per week (on average) tending the plot.
Gardening Hours:

Gardening hours are from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The use of power equipment is restricted to the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
What is appropriate to grow:

Vegetables, herbs, flowers and small fruit plants for home consumption and donation are appropriate. No large structures, trees, or large collection of non-plant items are allowed. Crops must be legal and for personal use or donation.
Gardening Season:

Gardeners are responsible for keeping the plot gardened, cover-cropped or mulched. For most gardeners, the growing season will be from April or May until August or September. Some gardeners, however, will put in early spring crops as early as February, and others may have crops growing late in the fall.

No matter what crops you decide to plant, you are responsible for basic plot maintenance. Weedy plots are subject to warning and cancellation of your registration. Perennial crops and some annual hardy winter crops may be over-wintered, but should be maintained.
Water Availability:

Water in the gardens is turned on by April 1 and shut-off by October 31.
Spring Preparation & Planting:

By May 15 your garden should be in the “getting started” stage. This deadline exists to motivate our gardeners to show that they are going to use the garden plot, and not waste it. Some garden plots are reserved with the best of intentions, but end up not being planted. If you haven’t started preparations by this date, there is probably someone on the waiting list who would be willing to take over your plot. The minimum requirements of “getting started” include:
- Weeding and planting; edging weeds along borders
- Working the soil in preparation for planting
- Harvesting of crops, if appropriate
- Pathway clean-up
Summer Planting and Growing:

PLANTING: By June 1, there should be substantial progress towards a productive garden, which includes:
- At least half of the plot(s) worked and planted
- Removal of remaining weeds
- Establishing and caring for plants
- Continued pathway maintenance
By June 15, there should be gardening activity, and weeding throughout the entire plot.

If these deadlines are not met, your plot will be offered to the next person(s) on the waiting list and your registration fee will be forfeited.
Fall Harvest and Clean-up:

Annual crops should be harvested and the plants cleaned up and composted. Garden plots should be cover-cropped, and/or mulched around perennial plants by October 31—except at the Kennedy Garden location which will permanently close effective September 30, 2008—and therefore must be cleaned up by that earlier date.
No Garbage Service:

There is no garbage service at the Community Gardens. Please keep trash and litter cleared from your plot and take it home for disposal.
Garden Debris:

Garden debris roll-carts will be available for your use from mid-spring until harvest time in the fall. Please use these carts ONLY for garden/yard-debris waste (no garbage or plastic) and ONLY for materials from the Community gardens – not from your home. Most of the season there will be a few carts to cover basic needs, with a greater number of carts in the spring and fall for preparation and clean-up.
“The Creek at the Kennedy Gardens”:

Several years ago it was a common practice of some Kennedy Gardeners to put garden debris over the bank of the creek bed that runs at the back side of the garden. St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church (who owns the Kennedy Garden site and leases it to the City) and Clean Water Services (which manages our area water supply) have both requested that this practice be stopped. Kennedy Gardeners need to follow the same practice as our other two garden locations and either dispose of your garden waste by composting it in your own plot or take it home in bags (or use the garden debris carts).
Dogs in Gardens:

Dogs should be leashed and not allowed to run through the garden or go into other garden plots. Please be mindful that your pet is not crushing other gardener’s plants or urinating on their produce.
Plot Registration Required Annually:

Plots are not transferable without the permission of the City of Beaverton. Gardeners are responsible for keeping addresses and phone numbers current with the office. If, for any reason, you need to relinquish your space, call the City at (503) 526-2665 or email gardenmail@ci.beaverton.or.us.
No refunds:

The garden registration fee you pay only partially covers the costs of operating Beaverton’s Community Garden Program. If you give up your garden plot after you have registered or if you fail to maintain your plot and it is transferred to another gardener, your plot fee will not be refunded.
Pathways:

The City does not mow or provide regular upkeep to the pathways or other common areas at the Community Gardens. Rather, each gardener is responsible for keeping the surrounding pathways weeded and well tended. Your garden space may stop at the edge of your plot—but your responsibility includes the pathways surrounding your garden.

Everything you plant must remain within the perimeters of the designated plots, allowing adequate space for growth and keeping pathways clear. Allow for access within your own plot.
Vegetable Theft:

Any gardener reported for taking vegetables, flowers or supplies from another’s plot may have their garden privileges revoked. Gardeners are encouraged to harvest your crop regularly to reduce the temptation of theft by others.
Natural Gardening Encouraged:

Use of herbicides and/or weed killers is prohibited. Use of chemicals or propellants banned by the federal, state, or local government, shall be grounds for forfeiture of the privilege to use the Community Garden. Gardeners are encouraged to use natural gardening techniques. Free brochures are available with suggestions for natural gardening techniques (contact Community Gardens).
Children in the Gardens:

Children are encouraged to garden with their parents, but they must stay on the paths of their assigned garden without going through the plots of other gardeners.
Rodents, Other Animals and Fences:

Because rodents and other wild animals may be prevalent in the undeveloped area surrounding the various garden sites, it will be the responsibility of the individual gardener to control these pests within their own garden space. Non-permanent fencing is allowed, but may not cross garden pathways.
Composting:

On-site composting is encouraged, but must be limited to compostable materials produced at the community garden site or your personal residence. Compost materials from businesses is not allowed.
Newspaper Mulching:

Newspaper is not allowed as a mulching agent/weed barrier. Although this may be an acceptable practice in home-gardens, the City has received many complaints from other gardeners and from area residents, about newspapers blowing around the area because they were not adequately covered up and maintained.
No Tilling Service Provided:

The City encourages gardeners with tilling equipment to consider helping neighboring plots in need of tilling.

For the past few years, the City arranged for a private contractor to provide tilling services to gardeners upon request. Due to the cost of this program and the inability to provide the individualized notification and level of service that some gardeners expected, the tilling experiment has been ended.

In 2007, the gardeners requesting tilling paid a $10 fee, but the least expensive qualified contractor charged the City $30 per plot. Also, many gardeners were frustrated with the quality and/or timing of tilling services, all of which lead to a decision to encourage gardners to find alternative tilling options.
How many plots can a gardener have?

First-year gardeners may be assigned a maximum of one plot. After a successful first year, gardeners may be assigned one additional plot, for a maximum of two plots, with two exceptions: (1) returning gardeners with multiple plots in previous years, may continue to reserve those plots; and (2) if there are unassigned plots after June 1, a returning gardener can register for additional plots for the current season ONLY (the additional plots will return to the “new gardener” pool the following year).