Front tine tillers will give any able-bodied person a real workout in tough soil conditions. Even in loose soil it takes a fair bit of muscle to control it because they are light in weight compared to a rear tine and whatever weight they do have is concentrated on the spinning tines. Therefore, you have to put a lot of body input into a front-tine unit and I wouldn't recommend one of those for your operation. There are a few mid-tine tillers around. Honda makes a great mid-tine unit but that too takes a certain amount of muscle to control it. The beauty of the rear-tine models is the power driven tractor wheels and the multi-speed transmission. The tiller is pretty much balanced over the wheels, therefore you don't have to fight with the tiller to move it from location to location. I'm not going to tell you that any one of these tillers can be handled by some 90 pound woman or someone who is frail. Just so you know, I'll be 65 shortly and I have no problem running and controlling my rear-tine Honda tiller. I've owned front tine and mid-tine models and I would never go back to either of them, especially the front-tine. If some of the plot owners are incapable of handling a rear-tine tiller, then they're incapable of handling ANY tiller. Therefore, they're going to have to depend on the generosity of fellow gardeners to supply the needed labour to till their plot. A tiller is essential no matter what the soil conditions are. A gardener who is not adding compost or other organic matter to their garden every year is making a huge mistake. You cannot keep pulling nutrient from the earth year after year and not put nutrient back in. Sheep, cow, horse, pig, duck, chicken manures, dead leaves, grass clippings, shredded newsprint, straw, old hay etc are all items that can be added whenever the current crop has been harvested. Any of these items can be laid down two inches thick and then thoroughly tilled in before repeating the process with any of the other ammendments. The fact that you live in an area where year-round gardening is possible is all the more reason to have a tiller because unlike northern gardens, your garden never gets a rest nor does it see snow that can add nitrogen to the soil. BCS makes several sizes of tillers. You need to go and talk to a dealer and get his advice as to which model would best suit the size of plots. There is a bit of a learning curve to using any piece of outdoor power equipment and tillers are no exception. Most people have no problem mastering tiller use but everyone needs to be TRAINED in advance on how to use the tiller safely. IMHO, the rear tine models are the safest to use because they have the powered wheels. If you haven't been exposed to one, then find a dealer and get a demonstration.

Well, don't everybody jump in all at once! I haven't had experience with a memorial garden, but it is a lovely idea. Start with the Parks Department in your city: The city could dedicate space within a park, & provide several assets: they already have maintenance programs in place, they have land available that you don't have to lease or buy, & they know what will be acceptable/desireable/insurable (liability). And they might be eager to have a new feature, at no or little cost to the city, to beautify & to attract attendance to the park. One of my friends was involved with a garden memorializing military veterans; Her project involved several groups: city, Eagle Scouts, church groups, etc, a real coalition. She was deeply moved & gratified by the experience. Go for it!

I'm new to community gardening; this is the first year for me renting a plot. My garden provides water via 2 spigots and hoses that run through the center of the garden. Gardeners can then connect their own hoses at various points along the central lines to water their plots. I was just curious how you all water your plants? Do you use soaker / drip systems, sprinklers, etc? I like the idea of having water available, but I don't look forward to connecting/disconnecting hoses every time I want to water my plot. I've also heard that the pressure may be too low to run a sprinkler. The sprinkler would be a waste anyway. For those without water lines, do you stockpile water in buckets, then water using a watering can? Just trying to get some perspective.

Jim, If you are considering the scarecrows, make it simple. I built the T frames from 2 by 4s. Next, we have a simple face template that is screwed on the top. At the end of the season (late fall), we take off all the clothes, hats, etc and repaint the frames (gray). The kids from 3 different schools make their creations each spring from these "reformatted" frames. They supply all the materials. We have 2 Middle Schools (12, 13 and 14 year olds) involved as well as one private high school. On our offical "Plant Day", we not only plant our vegetables, we also "plant" our new scarecrows. These kids are encouraged to participate. This project helps make us a true "community" garden. Good luck with your garden, Jim