Garden Rules (Jan. 2025)

Gardeners and member-volunteers must follow the garden rules, the garden contract, and the bylaws to remain members.

Download these Rules.

View Previous Rules.

Festival Beach Community Garden Rules (Jan. 2025)

In the event of a conflict between the garden contract and these rules, the garden contract controls.

A. Rules for Gardeners Renting Individual Plots 

  1. Gardeners are responsible for keeping their plots actively worked and free of invasive weeds. 
  2. Gardeners are responsible for keeping the pathways around their garden maintained. Gardeners must keep the pathways clear for easy, safe walking and maneuvering of wheelbarrows. Plant materials, rocks, or tools must be kept out of pathways. Personal items must remain within the bounds of the plot, not in pathways. Hoses should be neatly coiled and placed on the side of the pathways. Mulch is often readily available onsite and can be used to keep the pathways clear.
  3. Gardeners are responsible for maintaining the communal areas of the garden, as directed by garden leadership. These areas include: native plant (perennial) beds, communal herb bed, orchard, grapes and berries, tool sheds, communal gathering spaces, entrance area, wildlife habitat areas, pond, swale (aka rain garden), mushroom bed, and compost area. Other communal areas may be created as the garden develops.
  4. Gardeners will notify garden leadership at orientation@festivalbeachgarden.org if they will be gone for an extended amount of time or experience a period of limited ability that interferes with their responsibilities as a plot-renter. During periods of absence or limited gardening ability, the gardener will identify an interim gardener as soon as possible to care for their plot and pathways. If not already a FBCG member, the interim gardener must attend an orientation with the orientation team and fill out and sign both the Garden Contract and APF Waiver Forms. If it is not possible to find an interim gardener, the gardener will plant a cover crop or cover their plot and make arrangements to ensure the weeds are managed. Examples of cover crops include: peas, clover, vetch, and rye. Gardeners understand that they will be subject to monthly missed hours fees unless either: (1) someone provides the work hour requirements on their behalf; or (2) they request and receive a waiver from the Steering Council based on extenuating circumstances.  

B. Communal Work Commitment  for Gardeners Renting Individual Plots

  1. Each gardener is required to contribute at least two (2) hours of communal work (“work hours”) each month to care for common areas. These required work hours are a way for all gardeners to participate in the up-keep and smooth operation of the community garden. Everyone is encouraged to meet their work hour commitment by participating in community work days. Every gardener is required to document their work in the work hours notebook located in the green tool shed. If garden partners or interim gardeners fulfill the monthly work hour requirements for a gardener’s plot, this should be noted in the notebook as well. 
  2. Community work days take place every second Saturday of the month, in the morning. The main focus of the community work day is to maintain the common areas of the garden.
  3. If a gardener is unable to attend the community work day, they must fulfill and document the two hour requirement before the end of the month. A list of tasks left unfinished from the work day is typically posted on the chalkboards and whiteboards on the shed. Additional tasks may be posted on Discord. Hours spent contributing to a gardener’s stewardship team qualify as work hours. 
  4. Gardeners who are unable to meet their monthly work hour commitment will be charged $10 per missed work hour (“missed work hours fee”). Gardeners agree to either: (1) work the required hours each month; or (2) pay the missed hours fee, without prompting, by the end of the corresponding month (e.g., September fees are due by September 30th). Missed work hours fees may be paid through this link: https://austinparks.org/support-festival-beach-community-garden/. If a gardener fails to contribute the required work hours for six or more months during the year, the gardener’s plot  will be forfeited unless the gardener requests and receives a waiver from the Steering Council based on extenuating circumstances.

C. Enforcement of Garden Rules

  1. Steering Council members will monitor plots to ensure proper maintenance, and the Work Hours Monitor may send a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) to any gardener who does not meet any of their commitments to the garden, including having:
    1. A plot that is overgrown with weeds, including Bermuda grass;
    2. A plot that is not actively gardened;
    3. Unmaintained pathways; or 
    4. Missing work hours and unpaid work hour fees (see Item 4 in Section B, “Communal Work Requirements”).
  2. The gardener will then have two weeks from the date of the Notice of Violation to correct the violation. It is the gardener’s responsibility to make arrangements with the Steering Council if the gardener is unable to resolve the violation by the end of this two-week period.
  3. If sufficient improvement has not occurred by the end of the two-week compliance period, a Notice of Plot Forfeiture (“NPF”) will be sent to the gardener, giving the gardener one final week to either remedy the violation or collect their personal items. The orientation@festivalbeachgarden.org account will be cc’d on the notice.
    1. If the gardener wishes to retain their plot, they must give written notice of this intention to both the Steering Council (orientation@festivalbeachgarden.org) and the Work Hours Monitor (workhours@festivalbeachgarden.org) as well as correct the violation within one week of the date of the Notice of Plot Forfeiture. If such a written intention is received and the violation is remedied by the deadline, the gardener may retain their plot on a probationary status. The probationary period extends for six months from the date of the Notice of Plot Forfeiture. If the same violation recurs within this probationary period, forfeiture of the plot is automatic.
    2.  If no such written response is received or if the violation remains unresolved within one week of the date of the Notice of Plot Forfeiture, the gardener’s plot will be forfeited. 

D. Garden Security

  1. Gardeners understand and respect that the security of the community garden is very important.
  2. Gardeners and member volunteers agree to not share the gate code with non-members, including volunteers, friends, family, members of the Food Forest or the general public.
  3. Everyone entering and exiting the garden agrees to shut the gate firmly behind them so as to ensure no person may enter the community garden besides those who have permission. Do not allow entry to people you do not know; all members will have the gate code already. The only exception is during the hours of work days or volunteer days (like IMPD). 
  4. Non-members visiting the garden must be supervised by a garden member.
  5. All new members must complete orientation before they are given the code.