I may be a bit late in chiming in on this, but here goes... I've been a participant in two community gardens in two different cities, and I agree that people are more willing to participate if it's split into sections for each participant to care for their own plants, and grow what will work for them. Point blank, why would I want to put my time and effort into a garden that produces a) things I won't eat, b) things I won't GET to eat because they are delicious, and others get to them first, perhaps because I have a tight schedule and can't get there in time? Signing up for 2 hours a week per person may be too broad a spectrum for people to adhere to, especially for a garden. There are so many fluctuations throughout a season, various tasks that may need more or less than two hours, and so many different schedules for each member for this style of gardening to truly work, IMO. Regarding caring for the garden as a whole, both gardens I've attended have had scheduled quarterly "garden clean up days," and the manager of these gardens has made sure that each participant puts in the required amount of time for the year. If you don't, you may be kicked out. Beyond that, it's the responsibility of each member to maintain their plot, and the immediate surrounding area throughout the year. A few things to note: The first community garden I was a member of had people who volunteered to do things they enjoyed: caring for the compost heap that all contributed to; setting up traps for gophers, and giving lessons during the scheduled volunteer hours for others to set up/maintain their own traps. Scheduled volunteer hours can be/are: 1.. A time for everyone to come together and clean up the areas that aren't a part of the individually allotted spaces. 2. A great opportunity for members to meet their gardening neighbors who have different schedules. 3. Discuss any issues that are occurring in the garden. These may range from pest problems to negative things like stealing (my current community garden is very large and this has been an ongoing problem). 4. A great opportunity for members to share their experiences with others. I personally think, if the style of garden is changed to an "individual space within the whole," it will work much better in the end, and be truly successful. I love being a part of my community garden, and having a space where I get to grow what my family eats. Sorry if I've rambled, but I'm passionate about getting back to the basics of growing my own, and a community garden is the ONLY way I get at this point in my life to experience and participate in what I feel is a dying art... I really hope you are able to work out the issues you're finding in your new community garden to make it work in the long run!

Mary, My intention in telling you this, I hope you can see his side a little better, because I think I might just get it. I just got my degree (political science with CJA as an addtional major) after 23 years of attending a university! Yea! Hurray! Finally. Needless to say, I am not interested in being a police officer any more at the ripe old age of 40-ahem, er something. I am too old. And yes, you need to be a young spry kind of person to wrangle bad guys. So I keep thinking to myself, what can I do with this freakin' degree? You know what you can do with a CJ? Parole officer, probation officer, police officer, or a corrections officer. That's it. So with his blown knee, he can't do the most lucrative and interesting one, police officer. I can see he'd have no interest in doing the others as he'd be dealing day-in-day-out with those society has found too hard to handle. Not just kicking them into a jail. Or maybe he hadn't thought about the others. I am still trying to brainstorm for myself, so maybe he is too (aside--I wish I could be a detective without being a beat officer. That would be interesting!!!). So basically, he's lost everything he's worked for, for the past few years. And has to start from scratch.

Watching this to see if anyone comes up with a good trick. Don't think I have any answers. I almost always finish a project once I have started, but the getting started sometimes doesn't happen. When we moved into our new home, I chose the room with the view looking out on the water for my sewing room. Thought this will make me want to sit here and sew all the time. Admit when I sew, love sitting there in front of the windows looking out. Haven't opened my sewing machine since last November. If someone comes up with a secret , please pass it on. There is one little tool that I use. Love to look at J Crew, Ann Taylor and Anthropology, to get ideas of things I like. Few months back I saw a gray blouse in J Crew that was 89.00. Already had a pattern, and I copied it very close and had less than 15.00 invested. My daughter gets all of these magazines and passes them on to me, just in case I see an idea that I could use. So that is one little idea that gets me motivated. Have a 50th college reunion coming up very soon, so I have been looking around thinking about what to wear for the formal event. May end up using something that I already have in my closet. As I have aged, have figured out that I can manage with less clothes. A few good pieces of clothing that can be worn together seems to work best for me. Now that I have rambled all over the place, have not answered your question. Thanks for posting such a great question.

I think I would listen to what Shaugn said as he is a contractor and is speaking from experience. I think the fact that you are even thinking about this is a very nice reflection on you- and I also think that anything you do will be appreciated because it is above and beyond any "obligation". With that said, my inclination would be a gift card to a nice restaurant(if there is a nice local one or even sometimes the AMEX gift card?) as suggested above, or something like that. I wouldn't try to match what the bill would be dollar for dollarfor his work, but just a nice gracious acknowledgment. Just my 2 cents.