В садоводческом сообществе Литл-Фоллс разобрались: урожай на грядках не является бесплатным

LITTLE FALLS — There appears to be some confusion over what the word “community” means when it comes to a community garden. It doesn’t mean the vegetables are free for the taking. Following a recent Morrison County Record story about Donna Waldvogel and the community garden, people have reportedly been coming to the garden and helping themselves to produce grown there. The garden provides residents, including those who may not have space for a garden at home, an opportunity to grow their own vegetables. Gardeners pay a fee to rent an individual plot, where they plant, tend and eventually harvest their crops. The produce grown in those plots belongs to the people who planted it. While it is called a community garden because it provides gardening space for members of the community, it is not a public garden where anyone is welcome to pick vegetables. Visitors are welcome to appreciate the garden, but they should leave the produce where it is unless they have permission from the person renting the plot. Taking vegetables or other produce from someone else’s garden plot without permission is no different than taking them from a garden in someone’s backyard. The produce belongs to the gardener who grew it, and taking it without permission constitutes theft.