The kids have been hard at work this year growing squash and melons in our local elementary's curriculum garden. But we are having a real problem with the weekend visitors, some of which feel it is their right/priviledge to help themselves to the produce. So I've been given the job of creating a sign that will discourage these visitors from pilfering! I was thinking that a poem or something with a touch of humor would be the best thing but to say that I'm poetically & rythmically challenged is really a compliment. :p Can anyone help me come up with something short and sweet but is quite direct as well? Pleeeeeaaaaaassssseeeeeeee......
Please help the Poetically Challenged
A poem to get the message is a nice idea, but you need to consider word usage and audience. One of our garden members put up a sign asking visitors to "not be a turkey.....look but don't pick". OK, so it's not a poem, but it had a pretty cartoon turkey on it and was trying to be polite. The draw back has been that the sign only works for visitors with strong american english skills. We had several garden members who don't understand the phrase "don't be a turkey" and asked about it. That means the general public likely has the same comprehension issue.
Perhaps the poetry part can be about how the children have worked hard on their garden, followed by a direct request to "not steal food from our children" might help?
If I think of anything that rhymes, I'll post it.
Much hard work has been done
By our industrious young
Please spare a thought
Would hate you to get caught
We cut down on theft by having a row of tomatoes at the end of each plot by the main path and also beds that we label 'free picking, please help yourself'. Plots 'owned' by gardeners are named and called 'private garden for -------' Seemed to work quite well except for the pumpkins. Had to pick all pumpkins quite early and put them in a garage till Halloween.
We also put lots of sticks in the peas and beans so they were not picked too much. I think people didn't know what cukes looked like. They were not picked at all.
inanda
Tresspassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.
Oh yeah is there a fence around the garden? Wow those people are rude. Stealing from the kiddies garden.
That reminds me of the pregnant woman who was picking and eating the loquats off my tree as I drove into the garage one morning after taking the kids to school. I came out and asked her if I could help her and she replied "The lady who lives here said I could have some of these here plums". I said that I was the lady who lived there and "them there plums" were loquats and she just continued to eat. I figured if she was that desperate, let her have at it and went on inside. Besides, she might not have understood something - don't know what....
Ann
Too funny, Sparisi. Yes, we have a fence around the garden but the gates aren't locked because a lot of the kids like to go on there with their folks after school and at the weekend. I too was surprised that adults would steal from a kids garden but I guess there are some people that could care less.
Unfortunately because it's a kids garden we have to be a little more diplomatic although I would like to put up a sign that says "P@$s Off and leave our gardens alone". I've come up with something fairly simple: Red Circle with a diagonal line through it, over a picture of a hand picking a flower, and the words "No Picking, School Science Project in Progress". We have some small planters that we'll be planting "free for all" crops in and I like the idea of labelling each garden.
It's hard to walk through a garden and not sample the beautiful veggies. Maybe a little more explanation will keep visitors from helping themselves:
This garden was created to enhance academic achievement, a healthy lifestyle, and environmental stewardship. The students and their families work hard to keep this garden flourishing; not only is this garden educational endeavor, but the families rely on the food growing here to help them make healthier food choices. We would love to share with every person who visits this garden, but we are not able to do so. Please refrain from picking vegetables and flowers unless you have permission to do so.
When you have extra veggies or flowers you can put out a bucket with a sign letting visitors know they are free for the taking.