- Water carefully. Please water wisely and only when needed, preferably in the morning or evening. Stick your finger into the soil to determine how much water is needed. Water deeply to encourage deep roots. Dry soil will sometimes require two passes with the hose -- one to break through the dry crust on top and then another pass 5-10 minutes later to penetrate deeply into the soil. This is especially true early in the season when the soil is not shaded.
- Hoses are for adults only. While children are welcome to water using the provided watering cans, only adults are permitted to water using hoses.
- Unattended watering is not permitted.
- Gardeners are encouraged to mulch with the straw provided in the garden. This is especially important early in the season and helps to conserve water, control weeds, and keep our costs down.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult. Exceptions can be made for children ages 10 and up who are renting their own plot, caring for their family’s plot, or caring for school plots.
- Bicycles are not permitted within the fenced garden area.
- Please do not touch plots or plants that do not belong to you or that you are not responsible for maintaining unless you have permission from the gardener who is responsible for that plot. This includes school plots and the perimeter beds -- only those who are maintaining the school plots may work in those plots or harvest from them. Please do not allow your children to touch plants that do not belong to you.
- Please keep the gates closed and locked when you leave the garden. To keep pesky rabbits from entering the garden, please pull the gate closed behind you after entering.
- The use of non-organic fertilizers, herbicides, and/or pesticides is strictly prohibited. For recommendations on organic methods of fertilizing and controlling weeds or pests, please visit the garden’s website, http://foothillsgarden.blogspot.com. After looking to the website for answers about what products are or are not acceptable, please feel free to email the Garden Committee at foothillsgarden@gmail.com with questions. Gardeners who use non-organic fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides forfeit their lease payment and forfeit their gardening privileges for that year. They may request to rejoin the garden the following year by resubmitting their application and deposit as well as a letter stating that they understand this rule and will not violate it in the future.
- Composting is encouraged. Maintenance of compost bins will be the responsibility of the Foothills Elementary School Garden Club. If you wish to add to the compost, please put organic matter (including garden waste) in the bin on the far left. Please do not add animal products (ie: meat or dairy) or greasy food (which may attract bears or other animal) to the bin. You are welcome to use compost from the finished bin (the bin on the far right), but please share with your fellow gardeners.
- Community Gardeners are allowed to manage one plot on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like to lease an additional plot and there is not a waiting list, you may submit a written request for approval to the Garden Committee. This request may submitted by e-mail to the Garden Committee at foothillsgarden@gmail.com.
- Community gardeners will be assigned one 4’x10’ school plot to look after during the summer months. While Foothills School families will be encouraged to volunteer to water and care for the school beds (find a link to the signup on the garden blog), the only way we can ensure that all of the school beds are well looked-after is to assign each community gardener to oversee a school bed throughout the summer. Community gardeners will water, weed, and trellis their assigned schools bed as needed. Community gardeners who are overseeing school plots are encouraged to harvest from their assigned school plots until a few days before school resumes in August. At that point, the garden committee will get in touch with gardeners to let them know what can still be harvested and what needs to stay in the garden for students to harvest.
- Gardens, pathways, and other common areas will be kept tidy and free of weeds. The pathways around your raised garden bed or the beds you are caring for are your responsibility. For community gardeners, failure to keep the weeds controlled in your plot(s) or the surrounding pathways will result in a reminder via phone call or email. If after seven days of the phone call or email there is no action to clean up the weeds then you may forfeit your right to lease or maintain a plot again in the future.
- Community Gardeners’ personal tools may be kept on their plots or the plots they are maintaining at their own risk. You are welcome to borrow the school’s gardening tools from the garden storage boxes, but please return them neatly to the boxes before leaving the garden.
- Community Gardeners are responsible for finding a Garden Sitter during vacations. If you lease a plot and you going on vacation during the summer, please ask a friend or neighbor or one of your fellow gardeners to water your plot while you are gone. If you are gone more than one week, then make sure your Garden Sitter is willing to weed for you! A garden membership list with contact information is kept by the Community Liaison and is available to Community Gardeners via email (foothillsgarden@gmail.com).
- Community Gardeners may transfer their plots to other individuals with written notice submitted to the Garden Committee via email (foothillsgarden@gmail.com). This notice must contain the name, address, email address, and phone number of the new gardener.
- If you see someone in the garden who you think may not belong there, please take the time to visit with them. The person may only be curious, a potential future gardener, or a new gardener. Do not hesitate to ask their name and which plot is the person is caring for. Awareness goes a long way in helping secure the garden.
- Continuously keep your plot clean. When your harvest is done, clean up and dispose of dead plants and garden waste as soon as possible.
- Turning and amending the soil is the responsibility of the gardener.
- By November 30th, remove all stakes, strings, poles, etc. from your plot if you are not planning to use the same plot again the following year.
- Enjoy! Please feel free to linger in the garden, chat with your fellow gardeners, and invite friends to visit the garden with you.
Garden Guidelines
The guidelines for the Foothills Learning Garden are established so that all gardeners will have the opportunity for a safe, successful, consistent, fair, and enjoyable gardening experience. Foothills Elementary School agrees to pay the water bill for the entire garden and maintain the garden structure. In return, the Foothills Learning Garden Committee asks that community garden members and those who are maintaining school beds adhere to the following guidelines for working in the garden.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)