The East Garden facilitates members wishing to grow their own produce, while creating and nurturing healthy soil, and in a manner respectful of the natural environment.
To have a plot in the Wasatch Commons’ east garden, a gardener must
- be a resident of Wasatch Commons;
- be current on community obligations such as payments and participation; and
- adhere to the garden responsibilities outlined herein.
Exceptions require annual approval from the community or its designees.
Gardeners may be granted an existing plot when available, or may prepare a new plot. By accepting or preparing a plot, a gardener agrees to the terms of this policy.
The plot holder is responsible for labor and materials to prepare or construct a new plot. Plots in any common area are subject to community land-usage agreements and to community approval. Ask the Garden Manager to stake the outline for a plot.
Healthy productive soil benefits the community. Soil nurturance is a labor-intensive multiyear process with a delayed payoff. To encourage this effort, plot holders may keep the same plot(s) every year, subject to continuing to qualify but not to annual reapproval.
If a plot holder has not used a plot for more than a year, the East Garden Club may reassign it.
Each spring, it is determined which existing plots may be available for adoption. Unoccupied plots are reassigned by agreement of the East Garden Club to gardeners who desire one.
Gardeners with limited experience time, physical ability, or space needs are encouraged to share or divide a plot with another gardener.
For purposes of granting plots, gardeners in the same household count as a single gardener.
If more gardeners desire a plot than are available, existing plots will be granted in reverse order of the number of plots a gardener or his/her household has or shares. That is, gardeners without a plot get first priority; next, gardeners with a half plot, a single plot, etc. Gardeners with the same number of plots are prioritized by the date they requested a(nother) plot. Nonresidents have last priority.
Plots are not associated with particular units. New residents do not inherit the plot(s) occupied by the unit’s previous resident.
A plot holder who will not use their plot(s) a particular year is encouraged to make the plot(s) available for the year to another gardener of his/her choice. The temporary plot holder will be responsible for garden responsibilities including weeding during the period of use.
When a plot holder no longer wishes to have a plot, no longer meets requirements, or has not used the plot for more than a year, the plot reverts to the community for reassignment by the East Garden Club.
The plot holder maintains and repairs plot infrastructure such as boxes or boundary markers, trellises, etc.; provides her/his own plants, seeds, and supplies; and provides and maintains tools and equipment (hereafter "tools").
Put tools away after use. Privately owned tools may be stored in an approved common area, currently the garage. Tools so stored may be used by other residents. Tools not marked with an owner’s name may be claimed for community property. Tools repaired by the community become community property.
The community, its residents, and other gardeners take no responsibility if damage to plants or soil compaction occurs in the absence of plot boundary markers and/or hose guides.
Gardeners are responsible to be mindful of their own and other gardeners’ safety.
When not in use, lay a tool with point or cupped surface towards the ground, to avoid impaling feet on tines or flipping up handles. Keep low-visibility trip hazards such as tomato cages out of paths. Recess hoses into the ground where they cross paths, or coil up and hang from a support when not in use. Use caution handling soil, in case of broken glass, metal, or other debris.
Garden paths are shared among all gardeners. Keep paths passable for pedestrians and for garden-appropriate vehicles such as wheelbarrows. Do not block paths with tools, equipment, structures, or plantings. Encourage plants to stay within the plot rather than leaning into the path.
A plot holder is responsible to weed all paths surrounding their plot; to prevent weeds in the plot from going to seed; and to discourage garden plants from spreading or seeding into other plots.
When a plot is unused, the plot holder is nonetheless responsible to control weeds.
Select a watering method that minimizes water loss. Promptly fix leaking connections or hoses. Don’t flood the paths.
If water is flooding or leaking badly, first attempt to find the plot holder to let them fix it. You may turn it off, but you must inform the plot holder at the earliest opportunity that you have done so.
In fall, remove hoses from spigots. Clear paths. Put away all tools and plant supports, or place them in such a way that they are not in a path and cannot fall, roll, or blow into a path. Clear dead plant material from the plot, or dig it in, to stop overwintering of pathogens or pests.
Natural, environmentally friendly cultivation methods and weed and pest control are encouraged. All chemicals, including aerosol drift, must be kept well away from other gardeners’ plots.
Do not walk across other gardeners’ plots or drag hoses across them. Keep companion animals under control; don’t allow digging or defecation in the garden.
Preserve other plots’ sun exposure when situating plots, tall plants, or plant supports.
While intended for production rather than display, the east garden is visible from the driveway and is often shown off to visitors. Keep things tidy.
Be thrifty with water. Improve and maintain soil health.
Follow city ordinances and state and federal laws.
Plot holders select what to grow and how to dispose of produce. Money-making or commercial ventures using community resources such as land or water must be preapproved by the community.
The community maintains the permanent watering system, from the water main up to and including the faucets on the hose bibs. The community pays for water. The community may at its discretion provide plants, seeds, supplies, tools, or equipment for use by gardeners.
The garden manager’s duties are to
A. Close all water faucets and open the stop-and-waste valves at the beginning of the growing season, and shut the valves and open the faucets to drain the watering system at the end of the season.
B. Maintain a waiting list of gardeners who wish to be granted an existing plot rather than build one.
C. Upon request, stake new plot outlines in an approved location, aligned with others and preserving path accessibility.
D. Educate gardeners about garden policies.
East Garden. An area of the community designated to be a garden, bounded on the south by the east driveway, on the west by the wild area, and on the east and north by the property lines. The north property line is unmarked.
East Garden Club. All plot holders in the east garden. The East Garden Club formulates usage policies for the east garden within the guidelines of the Landscaping Master Plan. It is separate from the Landscape Committee and from the North Field Club.
Garden Manager. A person designated by the East Garden Club to perform certain duties.
Gardener. A person, household, or group making use of the east garden.
Path. A space common to all gardeners, designated for walking rather than for growing plants.
Plot or bed. A space or structure in the garden, designated for growing plants.
Plot holder. The gardener who occupies or uses a particular plot.
Garden plant. A plant which was seeded or planted intentionally in its current location.
Weed. A plant growing without or despite the gardener’s intention.
Clay soil. Soil consisting primarily of very fine mineral particles.
Compaction. Crushing all the air pockets out of soil.
Compost. Organic material sufficiently decayed that its origin is no longer recognizable. Also, the break down of organic materials by soil organisms, or the process of encouraging such breakdown.
Hose guide. An upright object, such as a piece of pipe, at the corner of a plot to keep hoses out of the plot when moved.
Humus. Well-decomposed fine organic material incorporated into the soil.
Loam. A soil with plentiful humus, a range of mineral particle sizes from clay to coarse sand, and lots of soil organisms. Regarded as optimal for most plants.
Manure. Herbivorous animal feces or urine.
Mulch. Anything nonliving that covers the soil. Mulch is defined by its function, not its source, and is not necessarily organic material.
Organic. Two separate meanings, depending on context. 1) Consisting primarily of carbon and hydrogen, and often derived from living matter. 2) Naturally sourced or environmentally friendly.
Organic material or organics. Dead plant matter such as humus, compost, manure, vegetable scraps, paper, dryer lint, leaves, grass clippings, straw, coffee grounds, bark, or wood chips. Soil organisms break organics into humus and finally into molecules, principally carbon dioxide. Organics deplete over time and must be renewed in the soil.
Soil. A mixture of mineral particles, organics, and soil organisms.
Soil amendment. Anything added to soil to improve qualities such as nutrition, pH, structure, or water infiltration or retention.
Soil organism. Things that live in soil, such as bacteria, fungus, arthropods, or earthworms.
Soil structure. The underground arrangement of particles and air pockets.
Water infiltration. Water soaking into soil. Water moves into and through soil along particle surfaces and through the voids between them. Smaller particles have more surface area per volume and smaller voids and therefore slower infiltration and drainage.
Water retention. Keeping water in the plants’ root zone.
These practices are suggested to assist gardeners in their responsibilities, but are not required.
Maintain tight connections on irrigation equipment. Use drip irrigation and timers, or water by hand. To reduce water loss to evaporation, water in early morning or late evening; apply water slowly and as close to the soil as possible; and keep soil loose so water infiltrates rapidly. Replace hose washers annually and use teflon tape on hose threads.
To deter leaks in hoses, when finished watering, turn off water at the faucet rather than at a hose-end watering attachment. Drain hoses and put them under cover for the winter.
See also “Mulch” and “Soil Improvement”.
Mulch soil to control evaporation, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds. At the end of the growing season, dig plant-based mulches into the soil.
Cardboard or newspaper covered with mulch will suppress weed and facilitate their removal from paths, and offers a non-muddy walking surface. Natural-fiber carpet may also be used; synthetic carpet leaves plastic debris when it degrades.
Covering unused plots is recommended.
Our soil is fine-grained heavy clay, with poor drainage, little humus, and few organisms.
A small addition of sand will improve water infiltration. Too much hinders retention. To protect soil structure, do not disturb soil when it is saturated. Loosen and amend soil to below the level of the paths beside the plot, to help water stay in the bed instead of draining sideways into the path.
Most soil problems are ameliorated by organic matter. Humus provides plant nutrients. Coarser organics improve water infiltration and water-holding capacity by absorbing water and releasing it gradually. They improve soil structure. They buffer pH. They increase the number and diversity of soil organisms, which in turn decompose organics, assist plants' uptake of nutrients, and mix soil layers.
To check organic content, mix a cup of soil into a quart of water in a glass jar. Let it sit until it separates. What settles to the bottom is mineral particles. What floats is organic material.
Well-composted organics may be added directly before planting. Mix well. Add coarse or fresh organics in fall or compost them. Large amounts of uncomposted “brown” organics deplete nitrogen.
Thoroughly compost manure before using, to avoid plant burn. Monitor soil salt levels. Do not use carnivorous animal wastes or compost from water treatment facilities for edible plants.
Align plots on a north-south axis so that both sides receive sunlight either morning or afternoon, and to maintain sun exposure for neighboring plots.
To protect plantings, reduce soil compaction in plots, and reduce friction between gardeners, define plots with clearly visible year-round boundary markers. While a permanent frame is not required, it is the best defense against accidental trampling, and it slows encroachment of weeds into the plot and of garden plants into the path.
Install a hose guide at each plot corner, to prevent hoses from accidentally garroting plants as a gardener tugs on the hose to stretch an extra foot or two.
Raised plots reduce how much stooping is required to care for the garden but are not well-suited to our climate, as they dry out faster. The local native people used raised paths and sunken plots.
It is suggested that each plot have signage identifying the plot holder. Gardeners are encouraged to report problems directly to the plot holder involved.
Plot holders are encouraged to make produce they won’t use available to the community, friends, family, or a foodbank.
page updated May 19, 2019
formatting 5/29/2019