RULES AND REGULATIONS

General

1. Approved Gardeners are those individuals who have been assigned a plot by the Resident Board and have signed the license agreement, paid their garden fee in full and abide by the Community Garden Rules and Regulations and the License Agreement.

2. Gardeners must be residents of the Town of Whitehall, Traditions or be associated with Lorewood Grove Elementary School.

3. Gardeners must ensure that their contact information is current. Contact information must include name, address, phone number and email address if available. Garden registration will be sent out by email.

4. During school hours, for safety of the students, the Garden is CLOSED: Monday through Friday, 8:00AM through 4:00PM, August 1 through June 15 annually.

5. Gardeners may not assign or otherwise transfer rights to use a plot or any portion of a plot to others. Gardeners assume responsibility for any person or persons assisting them with any gardening chores.

6. Garden plots are 4’ x 8’. 

7. Community Work Days will be posted at the beginning of the season. Attendance is highly encouraged by Gardeners, but all residents are welcome. Gardeners must attend 2 out of 3 Community Work Days.

8. Please get to know your neighboring gardeners. Let them know if you are temporarily unable to water, weed, or harvest your garden. If you can’t harvest when things are ripe, let a neighboring gardener, friend, or family member know and they may be able to help you by picking your produce and finding a home for it. There is no point in letting good produce go to waste.

9. Please be respectful of your neighboring gardeners and their crops. Never place weeds, rocks, or debris in someone else’s plot.

10. All vegetation must remain inside fences and out of the way of the areas to be mowed. Please keep vining plants from growing into adjacent plots.

11. Gardeners planning to erect tall trellises, fences, or plant supports must consider their neighbors and place those structures so as not to shade adjacent plots. 

12. Plots are rented in “as is” conditions based on how it was left by the previous gardener. Please garden knowing that someone else will inherit that plot.

Planting Retrictions

1. To protect the Town’s water supply and the health of fellow Gardeners the use of any non-organic chemicals including fertilizers, weed killers (herbicides), pesticides, and fungicides is prohibited.

2. Gardeners are encouraged to help remove invasive plant species from the Garden area. A list of invasive plants can be found online here:https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/us/delaware 

3. Dumping or “storing” of any non-Garden related material in or outside the Garden plot is prohibited. 

4. Although the garden is primarily intended for annual fruits and vegetables, perennials may also be planted at your own risk, realizing that individual plots are not owned, but are lent to each Gardener for a finite period of time.

5. Gardeners must supply their own seeds, plants, organic fertilizer, and equipment for proper growing, cultivating, and harvesting of their crops.

Maintenance

1. Gardeners should tend their plantings throughout the season by trimming, thinning, and harvesting as needed to keep the garden productive.

2. Gardeners are required to clear weeds or trees growing within their plot and on their fence, and keep the aisles and paths surrounding their plot free and clean of weeds, trash and other materials to ensure that the common paths are passable by others.

3. Rules for Waste:

   1. Yard waste/plant material: place in compost. 

   2. Trash: carry in - carry out.

4. Gardeners must ensure that the garden area is neatly maintained out of respect for neighbors. Tools and other garden related items (raised beds, compost bins and cages) may be stored within the plot or the communal shed, if they are arranged neatly. At the end of the season, Gardeners must clear their plots of dead plants, decorations and all furnishings. Gardeners must store neatly or cover any weed control fabrics.

5. Diseased plants should be placed in a plastic bag and disposed of properly.

6. Plant material generated from active gardening should only be disposed of at the designated compost sites of the Garden or composting area. Gardeners should not dispose weeds or other plants to the common areas or walkways.

7. Municipal water will be provided and subject to any water restrictions or bans as required by the Town.

8. No unattended watering is permitted.

9. Water in uncovered containers or any standing water, including bird baths, is not permitted for health reasons.

10. Absolutely no dumping of any materials onto adjacent park property.

11. Pets must be leashed in the Garden. 

12. The Board may contract for services as needed.

Structures and Furnishings

1. No permanent fixtures may be installed in a plot, and no indoor-style furnishings (except as approved by the Board).

2. Items NOT permitted in the plots and surrounding paths:

   1. Carpet, impermeable plastics, or other household fabrics as weed control measures.

   2. Asphalt foundations or pavement.

   3. Introduction of rock or gravel materials within plots or walkways.

3. Bee hives will not be permitted inside of the Garden, for safety reasons. 

4. Greenhouse toppers are permitted with approval of the Board.

Plot Assignment, Revocation and Appeals

1. Applications for plot rental are due by Jan 15th and notifications are sent out by Feb 1st. Please see the Annual Schedule.

2. Only one plot will be issued per household. A non-refundable fee is assessed to cover water and maintenance expenses. The annual fee is due 2 weeks after notification, and any plot with an unpaid fee will become available.

3. If a plot becomes available, existing Gardeners in good standing will have the option to switch plots prior to plots being assigned to the general waiting list. If more than one existing gardener would like a plot, a plot will be assigned by lottery.

4. At the start of the season, if there is no clear evidence of active gardening by May 15th, the Gardener will be contacted and given two weeks to respond. If no response is received, the plot will be considered abandoned.

5. All produce should be harvested and all non-plant supplies (such as stakes, fencing, supports, string, row markers, landscaping fabric, etc.) should be removed by Nov 15th.

6. Any items left behind after Nov 15th will be forfeited. Staff time, dumping fees and any other costs associated with cleanup of leftover materials will be billed to each plot renter as applicable.

7. A Gardener will be notified by Email and regular mail of non-compliance with the Garden Rules and Regulations and will be given a two weeks notice to respond to the situation. The Gardener is responsible to contact the governing Resident Board to discuss the violations. If no improvement occurs within 2 weeks of the discussion, then the Board may revoke the garden.

8. If a Garden is revoked for any reason, a Gardener may appeal the determination to the Board. The appeal request must be received by the Resident Board within one week of the revocation. The decision of the Board is final.

9. If a Garden is revoked, the Gardener will have one week to remove any personal items from the plot, after which the items will be removed/discarded.

10. In case of a hardship that may temporarily prevent a Gardener from addressing non-compliance issues, such as an extended vacation, illness or other unplanned emergency, the Gardener must notify the Resident Board and consideration will be given. The maximum accommodation period is one growing season or they forfeit their plot.

11. Gardeners who fail to properly clean up their plot at the end of the season will not be allowed a plot for one calendar year.