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Garden Gate:  Heartbroken & Furious  |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4739 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4739 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 12:59:03 PM
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This was my first year with a community garden. I have worked since May on my 15x19 vegetable patch. Digging it by hand, planting organic non-gmo heirloom seeds, watering and weeding my heart out all summer long. I have been getting a meal or two's worth of produce each time I go there for the past 8 weeks or so. I had a big crop of corn that was going to be ready this weekend for picking along with my larger tomatoes. I stopped over there this afternoon to pick my corn and discovered someone had beaten me to it. The ears were picked very neatly off the stalks. The several remaining ones that weren't quite ripe were pulled open at the top by someone who saw they weren't ready & left them behind. About 20 large heirloom tomatoes were swiped very cleanly off the tomato vines. This was no raccoon or any other 4 legged critter that did this! My patch is on a corner lot next to a gravel road. I have kept the weeds down to a bare minimum and it was easy for anyone driving by to see these veggies were ready to be picked. We have a carnival in town this weekend & all the equipment for it was parked at the community garden lot. It could be a coincidence that the operators were there the day before when I'm guessing my stuff was taken, who knows?
I'm so angry and sad about this. Sorry for the big vent, but I was really excited how well everything was doing and the 2 crops I have been waiting & waiting to be ready vanished! Boo-hiss to the low down thief that robbed me!
I hope everyone else's gardens are safe!
Dawn in IL |
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doll58maker
True Blue Farmgirl
2259 Posts
G
TX
USA
2259 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 2:40:32 PM
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Dawn,
That is outrageous ! Years ago I had a backyard garden and someone was reaching over the fence at night and taking everything they could reach. Long story but I found out it was the sweet little old lady, Alice, who lived next door!
Both my husband and I have had our wedding rings stolen recently. He took his ring off to wash his hands in Home Depot and failed to put it back on. Before he could race back to the restroom and retrieve it, someone had already stolen it. We called for the next two days to see if anyone had turned it in, but no luck.
I share your sense of outrage and disappointment in some of our fellow human beings.
GG
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
6939 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
6939 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 2:43:55 PM
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Dawn, I understand completely your hurt and anger. So much time, energy, and hard work you put into your garden plot. Pease don't like this deter you from doing it again next year. Never let someone else still your peace & joy.
Sara
Walk in Peace - Live with Joy
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014 |
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auntjenny
True Blue Farmgirl
277 Posts
Jenny
San Luis Obispo
CA
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 3:16:47 PM
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I couldnt say it better than Sara did. That stinks,
Inside me there is a skinny girl crying to get out, but I can usually shut her up with cookies. |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 3:42:12 PM
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I would put up a sign that reads, I don't mind sharing a little, but please don't take so much that my family goes hungery, I'm sorry that some stnkin creep did that to you...several years ago, my tomatos (a large variety of differant kinds that I can for differant recipes) were disapearing about a day before I picked them, for several days in a row, so I sat, hidden watching 1 early morn, knowing I would catch the thief red handed, and I did, my german shepard, "Shadow Maker", he was jumping the fence, inspecting every tomato plant, and picking all the ripe ones, and having a tomato feast, needless to say, after I caught him red pawed, and lectured him for 15 minutes, he never did it again, but would beg for the damaged ones...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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gramadinah
True Blue Farmgirl
3557 Posts
Diana
Orofino
ID
USA
3557 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 5:10:30 PM
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Dawn I would at the least report it to the Police. It is awful and I am so sorry. The community garden people need to know that the gardens need more security. I know this is lame but I hope that who ever took it really needed it not that they were just to LAZY to grow their own or go to the store.
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4739 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4739 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 7:19:16 PM
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Thank you everyone for your support and understanding. While my loss of corn and tomatoes can't compare to the loss of a wedding ring it does helps me put things into perspective. I did leave a voicemail message about this on the park district police phone. The whole community garden experience has been a disappointment for me. The two beds that border mine are full of weeds. The weeds in one of them are taller than me and are flopping over into my stuff. The other bed is loaded with ripe tomatoes, but the weeds are overwhelming them. My bed seems to be the only one in my area that is well weeded & I think that is why my stuff was swiped. It was easy to see & get too!
I'm afraid Sara that my first experience with a community garden plot will be my last! Bad neighbors and produce thieves have left me defeated. Tina, I hope you were able to cure your dog from eating tomatoes! GG, I am very sorry about your husband's wedding ring. Did the little old lady next door ever explain why she was swiping your vegetables? I am sure you would have been happy to share if she had just asked. I know I would gladly have shared my produce with anyone who had asked for it too.
I hope everyone has a bountiful season. As for me, I plan to read up on container gardening for vegetables this winter!
Dawn in IL
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cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 7:35:03 PM
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Dawn, I feel angry with you and for you. Sara said it well...don't let someone steal your joy. I think you will be very successful with container gardening.
If you can find a source for free milk crates, you can line them with weed fabric and fill them with garden soil and plant away. The weed fabric keeps the soil in and retains moisture while also allowing drainage. I've seen pictures of large plots, like hundreds of them lined up. In one of the pics, there was an empty crate on the bottom with the filled one on top. That way it made it tall and easy to reach instead of bending down.
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
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laurzgot
True Blue Farmgirl
1682 Posts
Laurie
Alvin
Texas
USA
1682 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 7:48:44 PM
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Dawn, so sorry for that to happen and all your hard work. Container gardening can work. Just do some research. Sara did say some well words and true.
"Smile and be yourself everyday"
Country girl at heart
Laurie
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LadyInRed
True Blue Farmgirl
6740 Posts
PeggyAnn
Vancouver
WA
USA
6740 Posts |
Posted - Aug 30 2014 : 9:27:19 PM
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Dawn...I have always wondered if that would be a big problem in community gardens...it just seemed too easy for
others to help themselves. I know how much work goes into a well maintained garden...and then to have others just
help themselves is really disheartening. I plant container gardening at our Apartments and always expected
some people would think they could help themselves but never have had a problem. I am so sorry Friend that you
had this bad experience. One way you could look at it is...maybe someone was genuinely in need of food. There are
a lot of homeless people these days due to our bad economy. Does it make it right? NO! But It would make me
personally feel better thinking that perhaps a real down and out person or family needed that food more than I did.
Blessings To You,
Peggy
Farmgirl #1326
http://ladyinredsite.blogspot.com
Life is too short to knit with ugly yarn!
Leave Your Cares Behind...Join Us On The Porch |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4190 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4190 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2014 : 03:15:37 AM
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sorry to hear this Dawn.
just a girl farming in WI
Michele |
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kysheeplady
True Blue Farmgirl
1291 Posts
Teri
KY
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2014 : 04:29:48 AM
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This is so sad, that you worked that hard and someone else has felt the need to take.
I had read a few years back,that this was a major problem in the urban community gardens.
That the gardens were there for others to just do "their food shopping". And your right you were robbed by thieves!
I'm so sorry that this has happened to you. It is a lot of work to care for a garden, and then to have someone just walk up and take it is just terrible!
Teri
"There are black sheep in every flock"
www.whitesheepfarm.com
https://www.etsy.com/shop/whitesheepprimitive |
Edited by - kysheeplady on Aug 31 2014 11:32:40 AM |
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YellowRose
True Blue Farmgirl
6939 Posts
Sara
Paris
TX
USA
6939 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2014 : 05:18:57 AM
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Dawn, I applaud your spirit. If you can't do it one way you will find another way to follow your dream of gardening.
I do mostly container gardening, but few vegetables these days. Too much shade here and herbs take up all space on sunny deck. Before moving here I did grow Swiss chard in containers. Had it from planting time until the snow killed it.
One of my favorite books is 'The Kitchen Garden' by Sylvia Thompson.
She includes container gardening throughout her book.
One of the things I learned in her book was to grow garlic to be used green. Last year I bought 6 blubs of garlic from grocery store for $3 & planted 48 cloves. I planted in late Sept. in a 2" X 3" flower bed and by winter the green tops were growing.
I trimmed the green tops like I would green onions and used in cooking. When the bulbs got a little bigger I pulled them for cooking. By mid-spring I had used them all and only the last few had started to divide into cloves. Planning on doing it again this year.
Garlic grown to be used green should do well in containers.
Sara
Walk in Peace - Live with Joy
FarmGirl Sister #6034 Aug 25, 2014 |
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sjmjgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
566 Posts
Stephanie
Mt. Vernon
Iowa
USA
566 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2014 : 10:44:15 AM
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Oh Dawn! So sad to hear that happened! All your hard work! Can't believe the nerve of some people, you know? Hopefully like PeggyAnn said, they were in need. I'm glad to hear that you let the people in charge know what happened. I know at least one community garden where they post signs and even take turns checking on the garden every night. Maybe think about container gardening next year or if you have a friend who would let you plant some things in exchange for a portion of the crop?
Farmgirl Sister # 3810
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
- Dalai Lama
April is Autism Awareness month. Autism affects 1 in 88 children (1 in 54 boys, including my son). Go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/ to learn more and help Light It Up Blue on April 2nd!
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notathreatinsight
True Blue Farmgirl
626 Posts
Erin
Monroeville
IN
USA
626 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2014 : 1:45:04 PM
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Dawn that is too sad. I'm so sorry that happened to you! I don't blame you for not wanting to do it again. That's so much work for someone to just take it! I hope the container gardening is successful.
On a side note... I used to live in Naperville IL, and my dad was the Naperville postmaster a few years ago. Small world :)
Erin
Farmgirl #3762
May my heart be kind, my mind fierce and my spirit brave. - Kate
Forsyth
http://www.etsy.com/shop/femmepostale/
http://www.pinterest.com/femmepostale/ |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4739 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4739 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2014 : 6:14:14 PM
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Thank you to everyone for your understanding and support. Only true gardeners know the anger and loss I feel. I worked hours & hours on my vegetable patch and to have someone just waltz in and swipe all my corn and my large ripe tomatoes left me speechless. I had noticed on Thursday several of the guys moving the carnival equipment to our downtown area walking around looking at the vegetable patches. I am near the demonstration gardens & I didn't think anything about it. I could be wrong & maybe someone besides them took my produce, but since this was the first time it happened, I have a feeling it was one of them. Naperville is a very nice community and they do have a very well supported food pantry. Anyone from the area knows they can go there for help.
Erin, small world indeed! Stephanie-I live in a townhouse so I'll try container gardening. It is heavily wooded here but the trees were trimmed & the sun is shining through now. So it might work for me! Sara-thank you for the book suggestion & the garlic idea. I am seriously considering trying that this year. Thanks for your support, Michele, Teri, and Peggy Ann. It has helped me calm down considerably.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day off tomorrow!
Dawn in IL |
Edited by - ddmashayekhi on Aug 31 2014 6:41:33 PM |
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mrssarahhall
True Blue Farmgirl
1272 Posts
Sarah
Longmont
Colorado
USA
1272 Posts |
Posted - Sep 04 2014 : 10:35:30 AM
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Dawn, I am so sorry, your post just made me feel so sad for you, I probably would have been very upset had that happened to me, so I imagine the disappointment you must be feeling.
When someone is unkind toward me, I sometimes make up a story about why they may have acted in such a way. Maybe they were very hungry or maybe they have chronic pain and they can't help their bad attitude... it probably isn't true, but in a strange way it makes me feel a little bit better and have some faith in people.
That being said, I agree with the disappointment of the community garden! Such a bummer when you put so much work into it and those around you not only seem to not care about theirs, but then take from yours.
I have an friend who is living in a very small apartment now, with VERY LITTLE space outside that isn't shared with others who would take things from her. She had always been a gardener prior to moving there and a solution she found was small light fixtures that clamped onto the plant pots that she put grow lights in. She has been able to grow herbs in her kitchen and several different varieties of flowers inside the house, safe from others, bugs and animals. Not sure if this is anything you would be interested in, but I did think it was a clever idea and it seems to be going well for her.
So sorry you were robbed!! :(
Sarah
Farmgirl # 5223
"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." - Audrey Hepburn
All good things are wild and free- Henry David Thoreau
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Sep 05 2014 : 8:38:58 PM
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| People can be pigs -- which is an insult to pigs. I used to have a sweet rose garden beside my office in the historic section of our small town. The roses were a town treasure. Sometimes, though,, I would come in to work on a Monday morning to find someone had cleanly scissored off the blossoms for themselves. I used to put up little signs, to no avail. I think it was tourists. Made me sick. I doubt a sign in your garden will ever be seen by your thieves -- they're probably long-gone by now. Do you think it could have been some carnys? Most of those people are real hard-working folks and very honest, but let's face it, they do have some bad elements. Might help to report it to the cops. It's possible other people's gardens were hit, and getting reports on the thefts helps them to establish a pattern that can help them nab the crooks. |
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Madelena
True Blue Farmgirl
1919 Posts
Mary
Central
TX
USA
1919 Posts |
Posted - Sep 06 2014 : 1:56:35 PM
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Dawn, so sorry. It seems they always take the good stuff. Never had my spinach stolen...
Lots of community gardens work well.. guess someone took the mi casa, su casa too seriously.
If you have any room for containers or even those aluminum tubs.. they make fine garden. I love raised beds. And our extension agency has raised "table" for shallow beds for some of those little veggies. I think a salad garden in an old wheel barrow is awesome !!
I hope you have better luck if you choose to participate another year. Personally.. I would look for a different location/ preferably fenced and perhaps different people to grow with.
"There is no unbelief: Whoever plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see it push away the clod, he trusts in God." (Kate Douglas Wiggin) |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4739 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4739 Posts |
Posted - Sep 06 2014 : 4:56:48 PM
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Again, thank you everyone for your kind words, suggestions and support. I was weeding and watering my garden a few days ago when a park district car with 3 employees in it drove by. I waved them over and had a chat about the theft and my disappointment with the park districts allowing people to let their beds go to weeds. They were sympathetic and said they were checking on the gardens now to see how things were going to make it better next year. I told them first thing they need to do is show up before September! Anyway, it was good to tell them face to face what happened and I am trying to put the loss of my produce behind me. I'm still getting green peppers, tomatoes, and squash so the watering, weeding and picking will continue. I am still very sad my non-GMO organic corn is gone for good. The big crop of large tomatoes that I had planned to make sauce with is missed, but there are others slowly ripening to pick. I just won't have a big crop of them again.
I did post a sign to the thief, but agree, that person is long gone. I will never know who definitely took it, but I remember the workers wandering around by the display garden by me that day. It could have been a coincidence which is what I told the park district people. Anyway, lesson learn. I have told several other gardeners my experience. They all shake their heads sadly. Some have heard of produce being swiped in the past and said that is why so many people there no longer grow corn. I guess that is the favorite crop to take.
Anyway I look forward to planning on container gardening next year at my townhouse. I won't have as much produce as the vegetable patch, but hopefully I won't have the problems either!
Dawn in IL |
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texdane
Farmgirl Legend Chapter Leader Chapter Guru
4658 Posts
Nicole
Sandy Hook
CT
USA
4658 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2014 : 12:39:59 PM
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I'm just seeing this thread. I am so sorry to hear this happened to you.
I have a very good friend who had some last, late season raspberries on her property, ripening and about ready to pick. Some lady pulled up in her car, climbed over the fence, and proceeded to pick my friend's berries right from her yard while they were all waiting for the school bus! My friend said, "Hey what are you doing? I've been waiting for those to ripen!" The lady drove off. A bit later, she came back and helped herself to the rest. But that's not all. Later on, my friend recognized this woman at a local farmer's stand...you guessed it...selling her "organic berries". Some gumption!
It makes me sad.
Hopefully, Dawn, the person who took your veggies really needed them, and wasn't just taking them because they looked so good.
Farmgirl Hugs,
Nicole
Farmgirl Sister #1155
KNITTER, JAM-MAKER AND MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE
Chapter Leader, Connecticut Simpler Life Sisters
Farmgirl of the Month, January 2013
Suburban Farmgirl Blogger
http://sfgblog.maryjanesfarm.org/ |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Sep 20 2014 : 10:35:02 AM
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Dawn - I feel so bad for you! This has happened to us every summer. We take a weekend to go visit my family and come back to a garden that has been gleaned clean. "Upsetting" doesn't even begin to describe how it feels coming home to that. I really, really feel for you. This year we took a real vacation - two weeks. I was so upset about leaving my garden, so we waited until the beginning of September for the trip. I canned, dehydrated and froze just about everything I could pick before we left. We did tell a couple of friends and neighbors to help themselves to tomatoes and green beans, but when we got home it was pretty bare. Our loved ones had been confused because they had come, but there was very little in the garden for them to pick! When they got around to coming over, not much was there at all. I assure you, when we left, the garden was BURGEONING with good things! Someone figured out we had left, sneaked in and plowed through like greedy locusts! They cut out my baby cabbages, took out all our peppers, harvested almost all of our tomatoes and beans, ripped up the remaining onions, and took out every last baby eggplant that was hanging on the vine. I was just so... so... so.... Well, you know. We had figured if our neighbors were picking what they needed, nobody would mess with the rest of the garden, thinking we were still home. Nope. It was almost all gone when we got home. Thankfully, though, the plants are still producing a little bit, and it doesn't look as if the thieves knew to dig up our potatoes. (Phew. That would've REALLY upset me! Imagine being so brazen as to dig, too!) I'm sure we can still get a few weeks worth of what remains. But dang, it sure makes you want to booby trap your garden and set out cameras, doesn't it? People can be real poopers. How dare ANYONE enter our property, let alone steal! I guess we should just be very grateful that nobody broke into our home while we were gone. That would've been absolutely devastating. Well, I supposed I should be very grateful for what we DID get. Not many people in our area had successful gardens at all. Ours was the miraculous exception. And there are a lot of people here who have little means. I pray that whomever took it really needed it more than we did and shared with others who needed it, too. I have plenty of good things, no matter what. After all, the Lord always provides, right? :) I pray He will bless you abundantly in every way you need for what you have lost. You're such a sweetie. You really didn't deserve this. Hugs and love - Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4739 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4739 Posts |
Posted - Sep 20 2014 : 11:45:26 AM
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Nicole and Nini, I'm really amazed and disappointed about how rotten some folks can be. To have no respect whatsoever for someone else's labor just boggles my mind. I would have been really furious if I caught the person who swiped my produce, I guess it was good them that I didn't catch them at it! But at least that happened in a public community garden, for people to trespass into private yards and steal is really rotten as it gets! I have to say Nini, I would have warned my friends & family that I had sprayed all the produce with pepper spray before going on vacation!
None of us, or anyone else for that matter, deserves to be robbed of anything. We all know the labor and care that goes into growing produce or flowers for that matter. I feel everyone's heartbreak and disappointment who's been ripped off like this. My vegetables are slowly producing still, but the corn is gone for good. I'm letting the corn stalks die off before picking it for fall decorating around my townhouse. That is providing no one swipes it before I get it here! My potatoes didn't get dig up either. I think it takes too long for someone who is stealing to take time out to dig them up. That is if they know what potato plants look like!
I'm chalking all of this up as lessons learned. I'm a lot less naive about what others will stoop too. The people from our community garden give their surplus produce to the local food pantry. It is good to know we have a lot of good in our community and I am trying to focus on that & not the bad apples who pass through.
I hope everyone can have a pleasant autumn and hopefully continue to reap the bounty of our hard work and efforts of growing our own food!
Dawn in IL |
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Garden Gate: Heartbroken & Furious |
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Heartbroken & Furious
