Revised Site Plan

Phase 2 Site Plan

If the community garden is a success and we experience a demand for more planting space, here is a Phase 2 plan, showing a possible way to expand the garden. Click on the photo and save to your computer to see a full size version.

PYCG Site Plan - Phase 2

We could double the parking area, and double the fenced space to create a 2/3 acre garden. A 30 ft. by 40 ft. shade pavilion with a solid roof could be built to provide a comfortable, weatherproof gathering place for larger groups. A plumbing system for watering could be constructed, hooked to village water, with 2 spigots in different areas of the garden. The original 1050 gallon water tank from Phase 1 could be recycled into a rain cistern, collecting water from the roof of the shade pavilion. The pavilion could also be partially enclosed to provide a larger storage area for tools and supplies.

A 12 ft. by 40 ft. greenhouse would provide a protected area for growing winter salad crops and starting spring seedlings. The kids garden area could be expanded to include a butterfly garden, a vine-covered tunnel for exploring, and a sunflower forest. The original 8 ft. by 10 ft. tool shed from Phase 1 could be recycled into a kids play house.

A small planting of fruit trees, a second storage area for mulch and compost, and an additional 46 raised beds for members would be added.

Phase 1 Site Plan

Here is the new site plan for the community garden, based on the wishes of our property owner and neighbors, the requirements of the Village, and the ideas of our members. Click on the image and save to your computer to see a full size version.

PYCG Site Plan - Phase 1

The plan includes a 50 ft. by 100 ft. gravel parking area, providing 11 parking spaces. The fenced area of the garden will be 118 ft. square, which encloses approximately 1/3 of an acre for cultivation. There will be an 8 ft. by 250 ft. rain garden planted on the front property boundary, to protect from any irrigation run off and provide habitat for wildlife.

This garden plan provides a total of 66 - 10 ft. by 4 ft. raised beds. 16 of the beds will be reserved for a teaching garden, where we can hold demonstrations and workshops for children and adults. The other 50 beds will be available for the use of our members, including 10 handicapped accessible beds near the front entrance. There will be an 8 ft. by 10 ft. tool shed, and a 1050 gallon water tank in the middle of the garden. The tank will be filled off of the nearby hydrant (not pictured). There is also a 4 ft. by 16 ft. area to store compost and mulch, and a 16 ft. by 24 ft. shade house with 3 picnic tables for seating. A 10 ft. square sand box and alphabet-themed garden would be provided near the rear of the garden for children.

The shade house would be a simple post and beam construction, with a lattice roof. This could support ornamental vines for beauty and fuller shade coverage. There would be enough room underneath for 3 picnic tables.

We could construct this outdoor bulletin board as a sign for the garden, near the main entrance. It would provide a place to welcome visitors, post garden rules, provide a map of the garden layout, and post information and notices for our members.

Site Measurements

Here are some real world measurements of the Pleasant Ave. property. The 49 ft. measurement on the west boundary is the easement maintained by the Village. 

Our next meeting on April 7 will be focused on creating a detailed garden layout to scale.

Gravel Entrance and Parking Lot

Village regulations require us to install a gravel entrance and parking lot for the garden. Mike Morehouse of Mike's Construction has graciously offered to donate his time and labor to install the following:

60 ft. gravel entrance

50 ft. X 100 ft. parking area, which will provide 10-11 regulation parking spaces, and enough room for vehicles to back up and turn around to exit.

 Gravel Entrance and Parking plan

Cost Estimates for Parking Construction:

Excavator work, and labor .............................................  $1,000 (donated)
25-30 loads of gravel to create gravel base layer ............. $3,700
Additional layer of smaller stones (crusher run) .............. $1,200

Total out of pocket cost for full installation  .................... $4,900

Total out of pocket cost for basic installation .............. $3,700


The parking installation will require removing 10-12 inches of topsoil, which will provide a large amount of material we can sift and use to fill our raised beds.

3/17/12 Meeting Recap

We had another lively discussion about the garden development at Saturday's meeting, and enjoyed the participation of 3 new people in our group, including nearby neighbors and a Yates County Cooperative Extension staff member.

Here are some of the highlights:

• After discussing the preliminary site plan with our nearest neighbor, we have decided to locate the garden 85 ft. away from the southern boundary of the property. This will give our neighbor more privacy and reduce the impact of noise and other disturbances.  

Adjustment made to garden location

• There was discussion about the pros and cons of fencing the garden. Those against the fencing felt that fencing a large area would be too expensive, would not keep out deer who can jump very high, and would foster a feeling that we are doing battle against “nuisance animals” rather than working in partnership with nature. It was suggested that members who wanted fence protection could fence their individual plots, and that we should leave the rest of the garden open. Those who were in favor of fencing the perimeter of the garden felt that installing fence around individual plots would make access for weeding and maintenance difficult, and would be visually unattractive unless we could get everyone to use the same type and style of fencing. There was also a feeling that a fence around the perimeter would define the area of the garden, and keep the cultivation together in one place. The group voted and agreed on a 4 ft. high perimeter fence of cattle panels and chicken wire, for a cost of $1800 for 1 acre. This type of fence will be cost effective, easy to install ourselves, and will be easy to reconfigure or change as the garden expands. The cattle panels themselves can also be repurposed for trellises and other uses.

Cattle Panel fence

• The group discussed what to do about providing water to the garden. The advice from Public Works about hooking up to the city water was discussed. Some of our members felt that providing on-site water would be unnecessary, and that we could depend on rain to water the garden, and that each member could haul in their own water supply as needed. Others felt that providing no on-site water would exclude people who had no vehicle to haul water, or would exclude older gardeners and physically disabled people who would not be strong enough to haul water. It was felt that some on-site water would be needed. Hooking the garden to the city water was felt to be too expensive for our budget, so the group agreed to purchase a 500 gallon stock tank and haul in our own water supply to fill it. A couple of our members have trucks, and can haul water purchased at the water treatment facility on West Lake Rd. Other sources of water to fill the tank will also be explored.

• A new 500 gallon stock tank can be purchased for $500-600.

• Master Gardener Kathleen Badger would like to install a perennial rain garden along the lowest point of the property, which will help to soak up any irrigation run-off, protect the drainage ditch from contamination, and provide habitat for butterflies and bees. The rain garden design includes bellflower, black eyed susan, blazing star, buttonbush, culver's root, joe pye, little bluestem, ninebark, red osier dogwood, switchgrass, and sycamore and black alder trees. All plantings will be deep rooted water loving species which will tolerate both drought and wet conditions. A 100 ft. by 8 ft. perennial rain garden could be installed at a cost of $412.08. We can spend the next few months preparing the ground for the plantings, while we raise money for the materials.

Rain Garden Plan

• A cost estimate for the gravel parking area has been provided by Mike Morehouse of Mike's Construction. An excavation of 8-12 inches of topsoil will be needed, which will provide soil to fill our raised beds. 25-30 loads of gravel will be needed to create a gravel base, at a cost of $3,700. Mike is willing to donate his time and labor to do the work, at a value of $1,000. If we want to add a layer of smaller rocks, called a crusher run, this will be an additional cost of $1,200. Total cost of the parking area and entrance comes to $5,900, with our out of pocket expenses at $4,900.

• A bank account has been established for the community garden at Five Star Bank, and a private donation of $1,000 has been deposited. Large purchases over $500 will require approval from the board of directors at Milly's Pantry, who is acting as our sponsor and has financial oversight for the project.

• Our next meeting will be focused on developing a more detailed site plan, and program ideas.

The next meeting will be April 7th at 2:00 pm, Cafe Next Door on Main St. Penn Yan. All are welcome to attend.

3/3/12 Meeting Recap

Thank you once again to everyone who took time out of their weekend to attend our monthly meeting. We had five new participants, including two Master Gardeners, and lots of interesting discussion about the garden plan.

Preliminary sketches were created of the garden location and layout. (Note: these are not to scale, and also don't accurately represent the number of garden plots to be created.)

Proposed location of the garden
on the property. Not to scale.

Proposed layout of the garden. Not to scale, and
not representative of the number of plots to be created.

Here are some of the highlights of our discussion:

• We can address the neighbors' concerns about privacy infringement, problems with noise, and run-off from garden irrigation by planting ornamentals around the garden perimeter to act as a visual screen. Noise from workshops or teaching programs for kids could be mitigated by locating our common areas and demonstration garden near the back perimeter of the garden, away from neighboring homes.

• We can develop ourselves as  a membership organization, and ask for donations instead of charging membership fees. Or we can have different membership levels so that someone who wants a smaller plot will pay less.

• The Rotary club may be interested in donating materials to the garden, rather than funding. We should try to include the youth Rotary group "Rotary Interact" and the Penn Yan Academy H.E.R.O. club.

• The youth group Future Farmers of America, run by John Kriese, has several individual students who are interested in building raised bed frames and other woodworking projects for the garden.

• Klaas Marten may be willing to plow the garden, if we can schedule a time when he is not using the equipment on his own farm.

• We need to speak to the Village Municipal Services Board about accessing the city water main which runs near the garden. We also need to determine what rates we would be charged for water.

• The local volunteer fire department may be interested in donating water to the garden, as is done with the Seneca County Community Garden.

• If we decide to water from a communal reservoir, we can purchase a 1,000 tank for $1,000, or possibly have one donated by a business. If we secured a used tank, we would have to be certain there were no chemical residues in the tank which would affect our water.

• We should set up a rain catchment system on any roofed structures, like tool sheds.

• A decorative rain garden of perennial water-loving plants can be made at the base of the garden, to soak up any excess run-off generated by irrigation.

• Mike Morehouse, of Mike's Construction, may be interested in donating his labor and time to construct a gravel entrance and parking lot for the garden. He will take a look at the site and give us an estimate on material costs.

• The garden should be constructed primarily with 2 sizes of raised beds, small and large, for growing smaller scale crops. A communal in-ground plot for larger crops like melons, squash, and corn can be created in a separate area. 4-5 ft. paths should be created between the beds to allow easy access, and be wide enough for wheelbarrows and carts, and they should be straight paths for ease of mowing. We should also create a second communal area for perennial crops like asparagus, berries, etc.

• We should find out if the Village will allow us to put some of our gravel entrance or parking on their property easement.

• We should meet twice a month so that we can make faster progress on the garden.

The next meeting will be March 17th at 2:00 pm, Cafe Next Door on Main St. Penn Yan. All are welcome to attend.