ITHACA COMMUNITY GARDENS RULES AND POLICIES

As an entirely volunteer-run organization, our well-being depends on our ability to maintain a welcoming and supportive atmosphere in the Gardens. We are located on public lands and are charged with operating the Gardens as a public resource for the community. As such, our membership reflects the full diversity of Ithaca’s population. We ask that members treat each other well, avoid potentially divisive conversation topics, and leave your differences outside our gates.

Annual Membership & Plot Use Period
Annual membership and plot use period begins with registration each year and ends, if not renewed, the first week of the following March. Plots are usually 16.5’ by 17’ and average about 280 sq. ft., with half-plots also available. Returning gardeners in good standing can sometimes apply for a limited number of second plots on a temporary basis, depending on the demand for first plots by new gardeners.

Fees & Second Plot Policy
The yearly membership fee is $20 and a plot use fee is charged for each plot worked by the same person or household: full plot fee of $45, half plot fee of $25. If there are vacant plots after May 31st, it may be possible to obtain use of a 2nd plot or half plot on a seasonal basis (non-renewable). To be eligible, a gardener must be current on their work contribution and their first plot must be fully planted and well managed. Persons on the New Gardener Wait List are given priority access to available plots so that the Gardens remain accessible to as many households in the Ithaca community as possible.

Work Contribution
Members work at least 8 hours per season per assigned plot for the upkeep of the Ithaca Community Gardens or pay $10 per hour not worked, and attend at least one member meeting, board meeting, social gathering or educational event per season. The Gardens only exist because we all work together to make them what they are! Click here for more details. Members are encouraged to attend:

• The annual meeting/election in the fall (date and time to be announced)
• Board meetings to present concerns, project proposals, or learn more about the Gardens
• Special gardens events or workshops of interest

Plantings
Plots may be used for ordinary flower and vegetable gardening. Perennial crops such as asparagus, raspberries, and strawberries are permitted, but no trees or tall shrubs may be planted.

Plot Maintenance
Keep it clean and green! You must begin turning over the soil in your plot by May 1. You are responsible for preparing the soil and keeping it healthy. The Gardens provides some manure-compost mix and wood-bark mulch each year. You can bring more on your own. You are expected to keep your plot neat and free of weeds and debris. Arrange for a friend to care for your plot if you go on vacation. Plots that are untended by May 31, or are overgrown with weeds later, may be mowed or given to another gardener.

Path Maintenance
Do not pile rocks, weeds or other debris in the paths, or raise or lower the soil level right next to the path. Keep it clear so the mowers can do their job! Also be sure that your gardening activities are not shrinking the paths adjacent to your plot—they must be wide enough for the mower to pass by. And do not toss things over the fence, we mow and maintain that area carefully to keep woodchucks away.

Water
Please use water wisely as it is one of our biggest expenses and rates increase each year. Report (or fix) leakages right away: notify ronliso@ithacacommunitygardens.org, or call a board member (if you don’t know a board member’s personal phone, ask around, or leave a message at 607-216-8770). Containers, watering cans, and a water push-cart are provided for hand-watering. To conserve water:

• add organic matter to the soil to increase water holding capacity
• mulch well with leaves, woodchips, hay etc.
• water the roots rather than the top of the plants
• water in the evening or morning to reduce evaporation
• check the weather report before watering – don’t water if rain is predicted.

Stakes, Trellises, Raised Beds
Interior plot trellises are allowed, but they must not shade neighbor’s plantings or block access to the paths or main fence around the gardens. Keep trellises at least 1 foot inside plot. Please keep your stakes at least 6″ inside plot. Do not remove any of the corner boundary stakes, and please notify icg.reg.asst@gmail.com if any of the boundary stakes are missing. Installation of raised beds is allowed, as long as they are at least 6″ inside the plot, and as long as they are not built with treated lumber. If leaving the Gardens, please remove trellises, tomato cages, your stakes, and other foreign materials. With the new garden fence installed in 2022, fences around individual plots are no longer needed or allowed.

Tools/Wheelbarrows
Tools belonging to the Gardens are marked “Community Gardens,” or “ICG.” Never remove them from the garden site—they are all we have! Clean and replace tools and wheelbarrows back into the sheds. Lock the shed before you go. Don’t assume other gardeners are using the tool shed—always ask before leaving it open!

USE TOOLS CORRECTLY to reduce wear and damage. Digging in rocky or heavy clay soil is easier on both the tool and the user when the soil is moist. The correct tool for removing rocks is a pick-axe for smaller rocks, or a pry bar for larger rocks. Some common tool mistakes:

• Prying rocks out with a garden fork. This bends the tines or breaks the handle.
• Chipping away at rocky soil or prying out larger rocks with a round point shovel. This wears out or bends the point and can break the handle.
• Hooking out roots or rocks with the end of a garden rake. This bends tines and breaks the connection to the handle.
  

Visitors 
Friends & family members are welcome to the garden site; please monitor your children’s behavior and whereabouts at all times. Please keep dogs from disturbing other people or their plots, with a leash if necessary, and please dispose of dog waste off the gardens property (see trash note next).

Trash
Take out any trash you generate at the garden. We have no trash service on-site.

Plant Debris, Garden-Generated Compost, and Manure-Compost Mix
Place all excess plant materials in the compost piles. Shake dirt off plant roots. Only material generated at the Gardens may go into the compost. Large woody materials are collected separately and taken to Tompkins County Recycling, and rocks go into designated rock piles. The abundant supply of mature compost in the bins is for use by all gardeners, please take as much as you want for use in your plot. The supply of manure-compost mix from Cornell is limited, however; please don’t take more than your share (3 wheelbarrow loads per plot).

Plastic and Mulch
Plastic mulch is not allowed, as it adds plastic fragments to the soil. You may use floating row covers if you remove them at the end of the growing season. The Gardens provides wood chip mulch. You can provide your own mulch as well.

Fertilizer and Pesticides
The Gardens are organic, so do not use “chemical” fertilizers, sewage sludge or non-organic pesticides. If in doubt, ask if you can use a particular item on your plot.

Email, Email List (Riseup.net), Mailings and Bulletin Boards
Keep informed about garden news and events: read messages on our email list, mailings and the bulletin board on each tool shed. Watch them for garden news and important dates. All new gardeners with email addresses are automatically signed up to the email list. Feel free to post appropriate gardening announcements. Paper mailings are expensive and kept to a minimum!

Liability
Please report any potentially dangerous conditions to one of the Gardens leaders. You agree to not hold the Gardens or the City of Ithaca liable for injuries to you or your guests while on Community Gardens property.

Other Plots
Please be considerate of your gardening neighbors. Do not take plants or produce from their plots, and don’t allow your weeds or plants to invade their space.

Illegal Activities
Do not engage in illegal activities while on Community Gardens property. Failure to comply with this and other Gardens policies may result in the loss of your plot.

Membership & Plot Renewals
We will send you membership renewal instructions every February, with a deadline in early March. If you want to keep your plot next year, it’s your responsibility to get the form back to us on time.