No. That sounds great. I envy you for having the space to plant 25 tomatoes.

I'm already trying to find homes for more than half of the fourteen seedlings I grew.

go for 100. :)

I have sixteen plants in the ground for a family of four. There are also ten extra plants I was planning on tossing because no one local wanted them. Now I'm thinking "Do I need twenty five? Should I plant some of those extra plants?"lol

I on the other hand would not invite other families to join in my family garden. It could be a real blessing but there are also a lot of misunderstandings and hurt feelings that can ensue. I guess my garden is just to close to home for me.

mockturtle,

Get it in writing. Let me say that again: Get it in writing.

How to determine who gets what, i.e., will you log time spent working in the garden, and time spent gets you a share? Will the other members of your "co-op" share in the cost of any expenses (water, amendments, mulch, etc.) What happens if someone borrows your favorite tool and breaks it? Will all produce be divided or will each family have some plants that are exclusive to them? Or will you divide the garden into family plots? Parking? Friends allowed? Hours? (Is zero dark thirty on Sunday morning OK?) I am sure that are many other items that would need to be listed.

If you want to avoid resentments (Family X only spent 3 hours in the garden all summer, then picked every one of the nearly ripe tomatoes, and they wanted 12 zuchinni plants and only took two small squash, etc.) you will make a list of rules, preferably together, to cover every contingency you can think of. That way everyone knows what is expected of them and what they can expect in return. That way you can be friends even after the harvest is done.

Trust me. You want it in writing. It doesn't have to be fancy or legalese, but you do want it in writing.

The voice of experience: Betsy

I'm totally with Betsy. Its the misunderstandings that cause all the problems. If its in writing and everyone knows whats expected of them the chances of a misunderstanding between friends is greatly reduced. I know everybody always thinks they can just work things out as they go along. However it always seams like there is someone who openly or secretly feels like they are getting the short end of the stick. Having everything in writing first can avoid that along with all the hurt feelings and broken friendships.

I have seen two ministers get into serious disagreements even though they totally respected each other. They both thought they were in the right because they both had different expectations. In the end they remained friends but decided that they would always get everything in writing before working together again.

Doing it verbally just does not work. As time goes by you would be surprised at how different one persons recollection can be from another.

Someone ELSE planting in MY garden? NO WAY. A garden is very personal to me. More than a way to grow food, although it is certainly that.

I am sorry, I wrote it wrong. I have one family joining us, The other family has been with us for over a year, and it has been awesome!

There is more than enough, and my biggest problem is not getting everyone to pitch in, it is getting everyone to take what is their's!
We share in expense, but I get more of everything because everything is mine. The land, the tools,the water, everything. It is not really a democracy.
Parking is not an issue. They call before they come. We can't wait to see them, our kids all go to school together, so they help us, then they play or swim, the adults visit and catch up while we work.
In the summer we make pizza with our produce and bake it in the pizza oven we built. The three families also use the oven for a few days after that to bake bread, meat and casseroles in. My friend and I can and preserve together, our husbands do the heavy lifting and repairs.
We don't log hours or tabulate who did what. We all do the best we can, and we review how things are going every couple of months, just to check in and make any adjustments we need to.Never had one single problem, and I stipulate at the beginning that if for some reason it doesn't work for me, I pull the plug, no questions asked, no hard feelings.
I designed the garden to be exactly what it is, a small farm on my property that will produce more than my family can use, it was designed to be shared with others and to also have enough to donate to the local food bank.
But is is MY garden, MY design, and since I am the only one who knows anything about gardening, it works really well.

My garden is my heart and soul, and a reflection of me and everything that I believe in.

Maybe 100 plants.

Know what you mean,100 seed of 10 varieties of tomatoes & peppers. So I planted 30 seeds of each, total of 300 plants for 4 families. When I told two families that the seeds were up & could be planted in a week. I was told they were just going to go to Walmart this year, for larger transplants.
I gave well over 100 plants away & still planted more then I ever have.
Had enough for pickles too.

If for some reason, people drop out, or don't want to do it anymore, there will be more to donate to the food bank.
It's a win win!

Well mockturtle, it sounds like you hit upon a great deal with the other family. You say a third family will be joining you this year? No guarantees that everything will stay as balanced and stable as with just the two families. A third party can change everything. I will add my voice to the above posters; get it in writing!

You should talk to the other family to see how many tomatoes they think they'll use. I know my husband doesn't eat hardly any, and I only eat fresh and don't can or preserve, so we don't need much. I have friends who are excited to get two plants from me.

No, if it doesn't work out, I will just say that.
There are never any gaurantees, and frankly I'm not really looking for any.

I have more than enough and am willing to share. If it doesn't work out, so be it.
I think a basic point here is that I don't really care how much work everyone does, I don't care how much they take.
Everyone contributes whatever they are able to.
My friend just had a baby and was unable to work in the garden for quite a while, so I just delivered her share to her house. Technically, she hadn't earned it.

Off to buy 500 plants, LOL !