Access policy

[squarenuts]

This is a thread to discuss options and nuances of the forthcoming (and required) access policy for the Garden Area.

Policy will affect the terms of access to rental beds and plots, but insofar as rentals are contractually stipulated will NOT the topic of this thread.

This conversation is intended as a convenience for the Garden Committee. It will not be the place of final decision on any proposed policy. The Garden Committee alone will decide on any resulting policy proposals in formal Committee before submission to the Board. Please reference the Calendar for meeting times.

Until such time as policy has been formalized, decisions regarding access shall fall upon the Area Lead @SeanSandefur or, in the need for arbitration, to the board.

Topics for discussion include but are not limited to:
*What constitutes a committee member with full privileges/responsibilities? And what are said privileges/responsibilities? (who can pick, plant, weed, engage in pest control, etc)
*What constitutes access privilege(pick, weed, compost, etc), and how is it conferred (class/other)?
*Water access (locks, excessive use, etc)

Non committee comment on these matters is welcomed.

[squarenuts]

@SeanSandefur @Noahjwc @bradcozine @SarahDenton @Sherry @GCaine @Ethan.Doak

[SeanSandefur]

Thanks for starting this thread, Aaron. Here are some of my thoughts.

What constitutes a committee member with full privileges/responsibilities? And what are said privileges/responsibilities? (who can pick, plant, weed, engage in pest control, etc)

In order to become a committee member, one must attend at least two Sunday work days prior to any access to the garden. After this initial requirement, one must commit to at least one meeting a month and log one trip to the garden each week for volunteer work. This can be, but is not limited to, watering, weed control, planting, pruning, mowing, cleaning and organizing. The work done each week will need to be journaled in some way–such as a log book or maybe a thread on the forum. All active committee members will have access to the communal areas of the garden, along with the fruits, vegetables and herbs that are grown within them. All committee members must ask for permission prior to planting in communal beds or constructing anything within the garden. Maintaining the compost pile is the responsibility of the area lead. All MakeICT members are encouraged to contribute to this compost pile (must follow guidelines posted near the compost pile and also on the Wiki), however the actual care and maintenance will be handled by the area lead.

*What constitutes access privilege(pick, weed, compost, etc), and how is it conferred (class/other)?

I think this is pretty much covered above.

*Water access (locks, excessive use, etc)

Access to the water faucet and tool shed is only granted to active committee members and tenants of the community garden rental plots. A combination lock will be placed on the door of the shed and the code will be provided to those who have access.

[URUKim]

@SeanSandefur Question: Are there other faucets outside? In case someone needs access for non-garden purposes?

[SeanSandefur]

There is not. What kinds of purposes were you thinking? For security for MakeICT, I think the faucet should be locked up. If a member needed access for something specific, such as an event that was taking place, this could be arranged on a case-by-case basis. We could add that into the access policy.

[Sherry]

I like @SeanSandefur’s proposed requirements to be considered a committee member.

1. I think we need to find a way to encourage more weeding of the communal areas. The weeds are out of control right now and this little garden gnome is not able to keep up despite spending on average 9 hours a week at the task. I would suggest that weeding time be a component of the access policy, or we will have a lot of once weekly trips to water something and no one weeding.

2. Is the volunteer log on Google Docs an effective way to log volunteer hours for garden purposes?

3. From whom do we request permission for planting in communal areas? Area lead, committee at the meeting, or other?

4. I would love to see an ongoing garden plan/log for current and future purposes (such as remembering where perennials were planted and considering garden rotations). What options could we consider?

5. Do we have/are we creating a watering schedule? The rainfall has been crazy but I’m sure it will end soon. I’ve noticed some folks are still watering their plots despite the rain and others are not. I suspect we’ll either drown the salvia or dehydrate any number of other plants without a plan.

The garden is really looking nice from everyone’s hard work!

[SeanSandefur]

When you mention weeding, what specifically are you referring to? In the beds? Or on the ground?

For the beds, I’m going to visit today and finish clearing out the unused parts of the communal beds and plant whatever I can get my hands on. And yes, we’ll need to keep an eye out for weeds and keep them tidy.

If you mean along the ground, I would not to worry too much about weeding the communal area. I want gardening to be a mostly pleasant experience and getting on my hands and knees and ripping out bindweed and crabgrass each week is about as unpleasant of a task as I can possibly imagine. Weeds are a constant. It’s a losing, sisyphean task. Especially in an open field that is being bombarded with a million types of seeds and pollen from every direction. I’m leery of mandating weeding within the actual walking portions of the garden because I myself don’t have the time nor patience to fully weed these areas. That being said, as part of our agreement to cut our portion of the grass, we’ll need to go out there with a weed whacker and blower to cut back weeds and tidy up as necessary so it doesn’t become a nuisance and eyesore. This should definitely be part of a volunteer checklist, along with watering.

There are areas of the communal garden that I’d like to use for in-ground planting, but I just haven’t had a chance to start. When I finally do (hopefully sometime this week), I can clear out specific areas and use weed control strategies such as cardboard or burlap sacks. We will also be putting down plastic in the coming days in the area in front of the raised beds to solarize and destroy anything growing in order to prep for additional rental plots next year.

As far as the unused in-ground plots, Aaron and I are brainstorming what to do with these. We are getting sweet potato slips from the Extension Office and I think we could use these areas for planting those. I think we’ll scalp them with a tractor to get it back down to dirt, plant the slips and we’ll need to come up with a weed prevention strategy for those areas.

I’ve created a maintenance calendar via Google. The link is below. I think I could use this similarly to putting out a work schedule each week. I won’t necessarily assign people tasks, but essentially at the beginning of each month, we’ll need to have volunteer slots filled. I’d recommend twice weekly watering and twice weekly mowing/weeding/tidying up. Committee members can go in and claim these slots by adding their names to the comments or something.

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=N2Q1b2VjdnRjc3AwcXB1Zm5iNThrMHU5MjhAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ

Other things you mentioned:

I’d like all planting permissions to go through me (or whoever is Area Lead in the future). Just shoot me a PM on here or bring it up at a Sunday garden meeting.

Love the idea of a living garden plan. I’ve already have a map created in Google Docs that can be used. Here’s the link: MakeICT Garden Map 2022 - Google Sheets

[squarenuts]

I’m 100% FOR weeding the comunal area. And 100% against the idea it’s not a worthwhile aim. The grass and bindweed we’re battling is established, not from seed. It can, with vigilance be brought under control and when it’s done it will have been well worth it. Of course weeding will have to continue, but that doesn’t mean it’s all in vain. Also, some people get satisfaction from weeding, even a few of our members.

[SeanSandefur]

Yeah, we’ll just have to disagree on those points. Everything is from seed. Our garden area is not a vacuum. There are millions of plants all around going to seed at all times. We could rip out every last root of bindweed and grass and within a few weeks, the surrounding area will have inundated us with millions of seeds and the task will begin again. There’s no endgame in which we’re in the clear. There’s no “when it’s done.” The in-ground plots are a perfect example. Those were completely cleared out and barren by the end of last season, the roots having been cooked under plastic. It wasn’t even May before they were completely taken over again.

I have no desire myself to keep the walking areas of our garden completely weed free, nor do I care to force or police a team of 3-4 volunteers to do that task. I’ve never been to a community garden where the goal was to keep walking areas pristine and weed free. I’m not trying to create a botanical garden. Blight can easily be managed with weed whacking. However, if people want to use their volunteer time hand pulling weeds from mulch, that’s fine with me.

Of course, none of this means I’m against weeding in general. All growing areas should be kept weed free–that’s essential to growing.

[MAtherton]

I may have missed some things just in general.

Is the courtyard an official area where an access policy will have to be made/approved by board?

Who gets to decide who can access the only faucet outside if access is controlled? What should expected turnaround time for access to it be? I think this may be an issue in the case of a fire in the patio or grill area possibly going out of control.

Just devils advocate

[Sherry]

I’m glad you agree that the growing areas should be kept weed free. I’m assuming you do not mean that the very large “communal” marked area in between the communal beds and the archway (grey area on the map) is a huge square walkway - it sounds like you intend that to be planted. Without weeding like I’ve been doing, anything planted there would be choked out in short order.

Regrowth in this area is obviously MUCH less now that much of the root biomass, where the Bermuda and bindweed store energy, has been removed. This simplifies work later in the season when the weather is ridiculously hot and miserable. The new weeds that grow are barely noticeable and have extremely short roots - those are the ones from seed and they’re SO MUCH easier to control.

Unfortunately, the walkways will remain a ready source of regrowth unless they are either weeded to remove the biomass, or a solid barrier is inserted below the soil line at least 18". This is why the walkways are worth removing the bulk of the roots. Once again, I’m not worried about all the billion little tiny weeds starting from seeds. It’s super easy to tell the difference when you yank on them

That reminds me, the bindweed is positioning itself to smother the berries along the fenceline soon.

I would suggest cardboard mulch after planting the remainder of the in ground plots for the easiest weed control.

I think I’ve got the calendar added to my Google calendar but (as I’m not very familiar with Google calendars), am I supposed to be seeing anything for the garden yet? I’m hoping you just haven’t added details yet, otherwise I might need some help and my resident tech expert at home moved out for college.

We need the flower beds added to the Garden Map and we could really use a way to record the plants that aren’t planted in squares (such as the flower bed at the NE corner by the herb planter. Perennials are particularly important.

WRT @MAtherton 's concern about fires and the patio - is use of the grill something we want to create a reservation system for? And/or approval to allow access to the water?

[MAtherton]

If we are going to treat the courtyard/garden as an official area it is within the voted in leads duty to make authorization policies for it in line with standing rules, -but- the courtyard is really an area that should be for membership general use and enjoyment like the lounge. Its a trickey spot. Limiting access to certain facilities, in my humble opinion, might detract from general memberships ability to enjoy the space on whim.

[squarenuts]

Yes, we are an area and required to have an access policy. When becoming an area we forged new ground where the area lead is to be directed by the committee, so while the lead will present the access policy to the Board, it will be yhe duty of the committee to draft said policy. “Access” in the manner I interpret it is not to hinder peoples movement within the courtyard or garden area (save for through rented plots, and through raised beds in genersl) but to inform mrmbers who would like to participate in the garden how to do so. By making things clear we can hopefully circumvent over-watering, weeding/mowing of pupose grown plants, use of unwanted chemicals, addition of inappropriate compost, etc. etc.

I want anyone who’d like to enjoy the garden area in full.

I will write on this in greater length as time allows.

[rustin.atkeisson]

That is the only working exterior spigot. The one on the east side of the building was shut off at an interior valve since something more than replacing the guts of the spigot needed to be done (I don’t remember the details on that).

Keep in mind that membership dues in general are paying the water bill and the garden rentals are partially being used to pay the increased water usage.

Filling up a dog bowl or small kiddie pool isn’t going to make as much of a dent in the water bill as compared to someone trying to run a car wash fund raiser. I probably run up a higher water bill with how often I have to fill up the CNC plasma table.

It might be better to strike out the section about the spigot usage.

[SeanSandefur]

I think I’ve dug myself a hole by not being clear, and for that I apologize. Yes, my goal is to have much of the mulched area in the communal garden be for in-ground planting. And this of course would need to be weeded when and if that time comes this year. I wanted to have rows of trellised tomatoes, but life has gotten in the way thus far. I still want to get this accomplished and I hope to this week. My point was not that we don’t need to weed at all, but rather that need to be realistic about what can and should be done. I’m not going to assign weed pulling as a volunteer activity and hope that we have enough manpower to actually accomplish this. I can tell you that we don’t. We have a core group of about 3-4 volunteers and 5,000 square feet of garden. We solarized a massive area last year that wiped out the bindweed and grass that was there. It has come back with a vengeance. I understand your points about biomass and getting roots out of the ground, but even in areas where this has been done in the past and 18 inches of mulch was added, the bindweed and crabgrass is back. I’m personally not going to spend my time worrying about pulling weeds from the walking areas of our garden. A weed whacker will suffice in keeping them from becoming blighted and taking over other areas.

With all that being said, the biggest issue we have right now is that we don’t have a garden master plan. We need defined spaces within the communal area and I’d like for these to be marked using stones, bricks, or whatever else. I also want the in-ground rental plots to be marked permanently using either wood or stone to give some order and organization to our garden, too. That will allow us to have an idea of what should be properly maintained in the first place.

Right now we have a giant area of messy mulch covering about 1,000 square feet and not much of a plan of what to do with it. This mulch is a foot thick in most places, so it’s going to be hard to plant anything there as-is without digging into the ground and adding new soil. We’ll need to come together as an area and committee and work on a plan.

[squarenuts]

It was last year’s board that first suggested locking it. Also, I there would obviously need to be access to members outside of the garden.

[SeanSandefur]

@rustin.atkeisson

I’d like to speak to the finance committee or perhaps the board about this idea that the garden area will need to offset the costs of water bills. Correct me if I’m wrong, but does this rule apply to any other area regarding utility usage? As an outdoor area that uses little to no electricity and obviously is not drawing on gas bills, why are we being singled out? Water is the cheapest utility. I don’t think other areas would like to go down the rabbit hole of monitoring utility usage and making areas pay extra to offset their costs. A single day of air conditioning inside likely equals a months worth of the garden’s added water usage.

[Sherry]

We have the same goals and we’ll get there.

The mulch is decomposing quickly and is more plantable than you’d think, though what the nutrient status is in it I can’t say. The decomposing mulch is going to add a lot of valuable organic matter to the soil. A repeat soil test next spring would be wise. That would also be a good time to start hashing out a master plan. I’d like to put a plug in for a small rose garden somewhere…

Also, Bermuda LOVES to grow in mulch. The mulch doesn’t slow it down at all. It’s rooting into the actual wood pieces, though the original root systems are clear down in the clay and rock soil. You really have to admire it as a survivor.

I promise my efforts to remove the roots will pay off more than you think

@rustin.atkeisson that’s an EXCELLENT idea about a kiddy pool

[rustin.atkeisson]

I misspoke on the ‘are’, that should be ‘if need be’.

The main movement during the last board meeting was to start using the a/c funds to cover the electric bill once the bill goes over a certain price. The idea to have other areas chip into bills was considered and having the garden committee offset the costs of water usage was brought up as a quick example. Nothing was voted on. You are welcome to look at the minutes to see what all was discussed: Board Meeting 2022-05-19 - MakeICT Wiki

The next area lead meeting is Monday, June 13th at 6pm (probably the best meeting to bring this topic up in)
The next board meeting is Thursday, June 16th at 7pm
The next finance committee meeting is Monday June 20th at 6:30pm

[Noahjwc]

Someone mentioned signs to designate what’s communal and what’s not, that’s sounding more and more important.

And assuming we’re clear on leadership and how to contact them everything sounds great so far. I just encourage leadership to be open to some outside influences. I believe Gaye and Jay started really bringing the place together and that was done organically.

Weeding is definitely important tho. A lot of what we have loves to survive and the more love we put into our dirt, the more it will thrive. That and weeding is so cathartic. It’s like ripping out your enemies spine in mortal combat.

Anywho,

It sounds like we have a realistic idea of how much (inch by inch and row by row) our garden can grow, which signals a solid foundation.

Oh! By lock, did we still plan on using a combination lock?

I am excite!