Gardening Guidelines and Procedures

PCG Gardening Guidelines and Procedures

These guidelines and procedures cover gardening practices in the Putney Community Garden.  They have been developed by the Garden Community over a period of years.

Since these are very public gardens, every effort is made to have the plots all look attractive and neat. The owners of the land request that no sheds, furniture, tool boxes, baskets, pots, buckets, bags, or trash be left on the property. Any permanent structures, i.e. poles, trellises, or arches, need to be attractive.

Garden Stewards oversee compliance with Guidelines and Procedures. The Stewards advise gardeners and respond to questions and concerns.

Guidelines

Organic Principles

• Organic Gardening is our practice because it builds the soil and keeps both the environment and our bodies healthy. Therefore, we ask that gardeners;

• Use only non-GMO seeds and sets;

• Use only organic fertilizers, soil amendments and compost, and apply only natural or plant-based pest controls;

• Control pests by hand-picking or by removing affected plants altogether. All pest-ridden or diseased plants are to be bagged and removed from the Garden so as to minimize the spread of pests and disease;

• Notify a garden Steward about pests, disease, invasive weeds, or other issues that may affect the larger community.

Good Neighbor Ethic

Please show respect for your fellow gardeners and the entire garden by observing the following guidelines:

• Enter, harvest, or work in another’s plot only by invitation or with task-specific permission;

• Sow seeds and plant sets, keeping in mind their mature size and growth habit so that the paths will remain clear as the season progresses;

• Plant considerately so that tall plants and trellises will not shade a neighboring garden plot;

• Keep paths around plots clear of weeds, gardening tools, and trash.

The Garden’s Tools and Materials 

Tools, carts, and buckets are supplied for your shared use. The small carts are useful as weeding receptacles, and for transporting manure, compost, etc. Please return the empty carts, tools, and buckets to their proper places near the hoop house or compost bins when you have finished.

Wood chips are the prime path-building material. Manure is available to all gardeners as a soil amendment.

Watering Your Plot

The PCG water system is precious. It is usually available from approximately June 1st to November 1st. The Coop allows us to access its water, and the PCG pays annually for water for all the plots in the Garden.

Please help us save water by:

• Promptly reporting any leaks, broken hoses or wands, or other problems in the water system to a Steward;

• Handling the hoses and wands with care. They are fragile and should be stored out of the path;

• Mulching your garden and watering during the cooler times of the day. This will help your plants stay cool and save water;

• Spraying hot water from sun-heated hoses into a bucket to cool, and save for later use;

• Watering plants at their roots near ground level, allows for deeper watering than spraying from above the plants;

• Ensuring that running hoses are not left unattended in your plot or while filling buckets.

Weeding and Mulching Your Plot*

Weeding and weed deterrence are essential, both in the plots and the garden paths. Please consider the following throughout the gardening season:

• Weeds can be discouraged by applying mulch, and cultivating around the base of plants. Acceptable mulches are seed-free straw and mulch hay, black plastic, seaweed, newspaper, leaf mulch, and non-printed cardboard with plastic tape removed;

• Weeds are to be removed before they go to seed to keep them from spreading to neighboring plots;

• Most weeds can go into the compost bins, however knotweed and grass need to be discarded in a designated area. Please look for a designating sign or ask a Coordinator where to put them. 

 * See also The Water System on the last page

The Garden Season

The traditional season begins on Memorial Day and ends on Columbus Day, and even though the growing season may be extended, we encourage gardeners to make their plots ready for winter before cold weather arrives. Please be mindful that:

• In the spring, gardeners can begin preparing their plots and planting as soon as the soil is workable;

• Gardeners should begin tending, weeding and/or maintaining their plot(s) by June 1st;

• In order to keep weeds under control and conserve water, mulching is suggested whenever a section of a plot is unplanted;

• To prevent disease, please pull up all annual plants as they die back;

• At the end of the gardening season (and before snow cover or a hard freeze), please compost all dead plants and remove from the Garden all non-plant materials (trellises, fencing, and other plant supports; string, wire, wood, metal, plastic, row covers, etc.). Please compost dead plants;

• All gardeners are either to plant a winter cover crop or rake the plot(s) flat at the end of the season. Mulches such as chopped leaves or straw/hay are suggested for winter protection;

• Plants such as kale may be left if they continue to be harvestable, but must be cut to ground level when they are no longer productive.

Procedures

Biomass from your plot(s)

We now have two areas where you can put biomass from your plot. On the south side of the garden are two large areas for woody and non-woody plant matter. You’ll see signs designating each. Please make sure to put woody material into its designated area because it takes much longer to break down.

Raspberry canes

If you have raspberry canes in your plot, please either dispose of them off-site, or if there is a burn pile, put them there. Please do not put the canes in the biomass areas as pathogens can survive composting.

 The Water System

As a general rule, only two people are able to water simultaneously, otherwise there will be inadequate water pressure. Please either limit watering time or communicate with fellow gardeners when more than two nozzles are to be used at the same time.

Please help us care for the watering system by:

Placing delicate wands out of the path where they won’t be trampled;

Remembering to drain your hose after each use so it won’t burst in the hot sun. This is done by first turning off the supply leading to your wand at the nearest “Y” and then releasing the pressure from the hose end by turning the wand back on and, once drained, turning both wand valves (one at the hose, and one on the wand) to the “off” position;

Checking if you are the last one watering in the garden at day’s end and shutting both the gate valve (the ground-level, green lever on the fixture located at the Garden’s northeast corner) and the wall valve at the Coop’s main faucet on the west wall.  Ensuring the entire water system has been turned off at the end of each day will prevent costly water leaks.