Veggie Garden

Policies for the Coho Veggie Garden (Spring 1999)

1. Plants and produce in the garden are for everyone's use and enjoyment — there are no "private" plots. In addition to vegetables, people may want to plant flowers and herbs for the community's use. Cooks should consider whether they can use veggies from our garden for community meals.

2. It is intended that it will be an organic garden, using natural soil supplements and avoiding use of chemicals. Except for a few perennials, we will try to rotate corps, taking into account facts such as the amount of sun required for the particular crop.

3. To make the garden user-friendly, a plot plan of the garden showing the permanent pathways and raised beds we'll be posted and updated from time to time, and the beds Will be labeled. We will seek to pave permanent paths, as funds become available.

4. Any cohousing may choose to be stewards for one or more types of plants and one or more beds by signing up on the posted plot plan stewards will also be asked to keep the plot plan up-to-date. One bed will be set aside for a children's garden if there is a steward for such a project.

5. Stewards will take overall responsibility for seen that planting is done in a timely manner, that the beds are kept weeded and that, where necessary, plants are thinned or given support and pruned to a reasonable size. Stewards should be prepared to spend enough time to keep their bed or beds in reasonable order; hopefully this steward will seek and get help from several people who help with weeding, staking, etc.

6. People who want to participate in gardening but don't feel able to become stewards, should contact any of the stewards and offer whatever help they can, or participate in workdays which will be announced from time to time, or just turn up when the gardeners are working and offer to help or just ask questions. Weeding and watering need to be done regularly and don't need a lot of know-how!

7. Every effort will be made to provide labels on the beds so that interested people can identify the plants, watch them grow, and find harvest-ready crops.

8. Stewards will be asked to list on the common house daily noticeboard which items are available for picking we're which should not be picked (for instance, if a particular vegetable is to be saved and used for a common meal), etc. Anyone who is uncertain how or when to pick something should feel free to contact a Steward. It is hoped that people will pick the veggies as needed rather than having stewards pic and leave them in the common house.

Here's a plan showing the beds in the veggie garden, as of spring 2012. (Thanks for Jacob for creating this!)