Here in New York City every community garden I have seen is fenced
in. Of course NY has it's unique set of problems that require a
fence, theft definitely being one of them. Even with a tall fence we
loose our peaches every year. The tree is bursting with peaches at
night, next morning the tree is stripped bare of fruit. We have never
discovered the thief who must be a courageous tree climber to get all
the fruit.
In our garden:
- Every plot holder gets a key and we change the locks every few years.
- By agreement with the city we obliged to be open 10 hours a week.
However we keep the garden open at other times additionally, as long
as someone is willing to monitor the garden.
Some ideas:
- A group of three people is effectively an association, have a
meeting to discuss how to have the garden open.
- Check with your municipality and see if a fence is acceptable to
them as it is a public park. There might be factors that will prevent
the construction of a fence.
- If you can't build a fence, consider growing plants that are less
likely to be stolen or accidentally destroyed. Flowers and fruit are
prime picking temptations. Delicate ground plants are prime victims
of errant feet. Tall plants, bushes, raised beds can help prevent
accidental plant damage.
William Hohauser
6th Street & Avenue B Garden
New York, NY
On Oct 24, 2005, at 1:04 PM, Cary Oshins wrote:
Neither of the two gardens (both around 10 plots) that I manage have
fencing, and theft is the #1 problem. They are both situated on
public
parks, and neither has an effective association. My question to
those with
fences: Are they locked? Does every plot-holder get a key? Are there
limited access hours? I'd be interested to hear how these and related
details are worked out.
Cary
Lehigh County, PA
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Call [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2005 10:18 PM
To: eliz
Cc: ACGA listserve
Subject: RE: [cg] Fencing
Elizabeth,
If you cruise ACGA links page (http://www.communitygarden.org/
links.php)
viewing various CG(s), you will notice most have some type of security
fence. At our old location in a high tech research park, we did
not have a
fence. There was very little pedestrian traffic except for an
occasional
runner. We had virtually no vandalism and only a couple of times I
caught
someone illegally harvesting.
When the city moved our garden to an urban environment, I insisted
on having
a 6' high fence to surround it. Presently, we keep the gates
unlocked and
we haven't had a problem. One shed is unlocked and the tool shed's
doors
are completely off. Who would want to steal some hoes, shovels,
and other
gardening tools... especially when it means they would have to do some
physical work to use them?
I wouldn't worry about school kids stealing vegetables and they
will not be
interested in gardening materials as well. Of course, if you put up
scarecrows, that may intice their interest to vandalize them.
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of eliz
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2005 8:06 PM
Cc: ACGA listserve
Subject: [cg] Fencing
Are there any community gardens who have not had to put up a fence for
security? We are building a community garden behind a church in our
predominantly low-income neighborhood. We were hoping to avoid putting
up a fence as many people use the site as a short-cut to school,
library
and businesses. With very little out there so far, we have already
experienced some vandalism. Any suggestions?
Elizabeth
Austin, Texas
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to find
out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one
of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the
ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://
www.communitygarden.org
To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://
secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's
services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out
how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org
To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:
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