A quick update on my experience, for those who might be googling and are unsure about starting a plot... In general, I don't think this has been a good year for gardening in the midwest. Lots of rain early on! My summer squash are doing well, as are my tomatillos, but other than that everything is quite slow. I've gotten a few cucumbers and peppers, and my corn seems to be doing well. I think my tomatoes have blight, and I've noticed tons and tons of cucumber beetles. One of our plot neighbors says that in the evenings, the deer come out of the surrounding woods, wait until there aren't any more people left, and then just swarm! They have definitely gotten the best of my broccoli. There are quite a few plots that have been given up on, so there are lots of weeds everywhere. BUT, even though it's been more difficult than just gardening in containers on my porch, I do think I've learned a lot. I started out trying to do it with minimal fertilizers and insecticides, but learned quickly that it's worth a few bucks to invest in that stuff. I think I'll try to figure out a good mulch to use a bit earlier next year. I might also go for two plots instead of just one (20x20), as I think the rewards might be a bit greater with more plants and more space per plant. My favorite thing is to walk around and check out everyone else's gardens and see what is working for them! It also helps me not to get too frustrated, as it seems that no one is having a good tomato year.

patsweetpat, I assume that you mean organic in a very loose manner, otherwise the irrigation issues are mild compared to the 'certified organic' issues. If you have to measure the water usage for payment or similar formal purpose then you will need a meter but this can be rented from the water authority in your area. If it is for record purposes only and does not have to be accurate, then if you measure the water flow (gallons per minute) and keep a record of the times when the water is used then you can calculate a close approximation to the actual use. PVC pipe irrigation is one of the very few things I learned quickly; and if I can, anyone can. Check out a Vocational Education school near you and pay for one of your group to attend a 'sprinkler basics' class. It will be well worth the time and cost. There are some hardware stores which will help you design and install your system but you will have to undertake to buy all the supplies from them. That is a useful alternative but make sure that the people with whom you are dealing are knowledgeable (great help is hard to find). I wish to stress that a great deal of sucess will depend upon a good design. The major manufacturers of sprinkler equipment provide worksheets for designing a system and listing the materials needed. I remember fondly my most satisfying sale. This customer wanted to install 6 automatic waterers for a dog run. She knew absolutely nothing about putting it together but she measured and I helped her with the list of materials. She put that project together and the only things that were 'left over' were PVC pipe, cement and cleaner and teflon tape - those items which were sold in fixed quantities. Your group appears to be motivated to do what it takes to bring home a worthwhile endeavour. I can only wish you good luck because you will need a little of that also.

One way to handle shirkers is to track hours worked, and divide the crops proportionally. EXAMPLE: If total hours worked that week was 50, and someone worked 3 hours, they get 6% of the harvest (by weight). No work, no veggies!

When I was a student there was always a need to find a spot to hang out that was free and open minded. It seems that you could attract more students to the garden if you promoted it as a place for students to gather. Perhaps there is enough space to hold a Friday night drum circle (fliers at the local record store) or a Saturday night poetry reading (ask English professors to announce in class). Would the local college be willing to write a story about the garden in their school newspaper? Would they allow you to post fliers around campus? One of the things that I truly liked about starting a community garden is the idea of the garden as place. ItÂs somewhere that people can go that does not involve purchasing anything. There is no advertising. ItÂs just a scrap of ground where you will see green things growing and perhaps stop and chat with one of your neighbors. With all this other activity going on perhaps students will take an interest in making pretty and delicious things grow. You've created a lovely website.