By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Tending a community garden requires more than planting, weeding, harvesting.

This week, members of the Barton P-Patch community gathered to talk about problems and solutions.

The meeting was mediated by neighborhood district coordinator Kerry Wade of the city Department of Neighborhoods, which runs the P-Patch Community Garden Program and worked with local gardeners to turn this site from dream to reality four-plus years ago. It’s full of special touches, not the least of which is its community pizza oven, which has been at the heart of neighborhood events.

But in winter’s fallow time, this is the time to plant seeds for solutions to challenges from safety to sanitation. About 20 people gathered at the Southwest Library for the meeting and, when asked what challenges they faced, they listed trash, vandalism, crop theft, sketchy-seeming people loitering, and people using the garden as an open-air toilet.

Taking on the challenges one by one: Much of the trash trouble was suspected to be related to the two nearby convenience stores. The 7-11 store’s manager, Wade said, would be open to talking with the gardeners about using the store’s dumpster, so some of the participants volunteered to pick up that conversation.

Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer O’Neil talked about what police can and can’t do with a P-Patch. The rules aren’t the same as city parks, for example, though the city is hoping to make some changes soon. The new “mobile precinct” will be in the area during the summer months, he added, and he’s hoping to change his schedule to include some nighttime presence, acknowledging that while increased police visibility can help, they can’t be in any one place all the time. He also advised the gardeners not to confront people who they might find in the P-Patch after dark; nonetheless, some of them agreed, they could keep closer watch on who comes and goes in the area.

Some lighting could help boost security and safety at the garden, it was agreed. It could be added to a pole in the alley between the garden and the 7-11, but it would come with a rental cost to be paid to Seattle City Light, including an installation fee of almost $300, and a fee of about $100 a year. Once the fee is paid and an agreement signed, the light could be installed within two weeks.

Should the garden be fenced? General sentiment was, no, reinforced by Neighborhoods staffers noting that accessibility is usually key to P-Patches and fences are not usually a feature. Gardeners wanted the P-Patch to remain open to walkthroughs. Should the P-Patch’s shed be moved? Picnic table removed? Is a restroom needed?

This was just intended to tee off the discussion about concerns at the garden (which, if you’ve never been there, is at 34th and Barton in Westwood), not to reach solutions for all of them, and followup conversations are planned.