For many of us, growing food for ourselves or to share with others is a real joy. From planting those tiny seeds, nurturing fragile seedlings, watering, weeding, repelling pests and finally to harvesting the crop….. but wait, what crop?

Back off my beets!

Those who grow their food in front yard spaces or community garden plots sometimes experience the disappointment of crop theft. Whether it is a few prized items or an entire plot, that carefully tended produce may be pilfered. Apparently theft from community gardens is a fact of life all over the country and beyond. 

To be fair, the term “community garden” can mean different things to different people. Some erroneously believe that it means that the food grown in a community garden is free for the picking. But to be absolutely clear, this is not the case – community or allotment plots are rented annually by individuals or families, who have the sole right to harvest from that plot.  

Collective gardens are a bit different; they are run communally by a group of people, often  producing food for donation. Some welcome volunteers while others are exclusively managed by the staff or clientele of a particular agency.

So what can be done to mitigate theft…..

Get to know your neighbours

Ideally, community garden members are just that, a community. Visit the garden often and introduce yourself to other members. If an unfamiliar face appears and is harvesting from a plot that you know is not their own, speak up if it feels safe to do so. Chatting to your neighbours is also a great way to learn about the variety of foods being grown, growing techniques and new recipes.

Keep things tidy

When it’s clear that you are caring for and respecting your garden by weeding, watering and harvesting ripe produce, potential thieves may be more inclined to respect it as well. Thieves may presume a tangled patch is abandoned and feel that the produce is theirs for the picking.

Make a sign, but not just any sign

Signage is one of the best ways to discourage theft. A community garden will usually have signage at entrances to explain the nature of the space, and how to become a member.

It can also be helpful to make a sign for your own plot. But not just any sign. Aggressive messaging (e.g. don’t steal my melons!) may have the opposite effect to that intended.  A gentler approach, perhaps a sign with your name (e.g. Anna’s Patch) and painted by a child or grandchild, may make stealing less comfortable. Of course, there is a chance that your carefully hand painted sign may itself get stolen!

Crop choices

While it’s important to grow what you like to eat, consider planting less recognizable varieties of your favourite foods. Unusual colours or shapes may deter pilferage. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• tomatoes that are not red when ripe – Persimmon (yellow), Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple (purple-brown) or white currant.
• eggplant – a white variety such as Caspar
• Cauliflower- varieties of green, orange and purple
• purple broccoli or beans
• white carrots
• cucumbers such as round Lemon and white Itachi varieties, or cucamelons for snacking, white salt and pepper cucumbers for pickling
• peppers such as Shishito (small, wrinkled, green when ripe but can be harvested when red)
• less well known vegetables: celeriac, parsnips. kohlrabi, turnip, rutabaga and greens like chard and collards.

The veggies that keep on giving…

Some vegetables provide a harvest over an extended period of time and may be a good choice for your community garden. Lettuce, spinach and other greens can be cut repeatedly over the season… if some is lost to theft, more will reappear.

Likewise, peas and beans can and should be harvested every few days. It’s unlikely that a thief will bother to visit with that kind of regularity.

What not to plant

Think twice before you plant a vegetable that grows all season and sits there like a magnet as it ripens. Do you really want to tempt someone with that gorgeous watermelon or pumpkin? One slice of the vine and the fruit can be snatched and popped into a knapsack.

Embracing random design

How you organize your garden may also help prevent theft. Plant crops you especially value in more difficult to access spaces. Instead of planting in tidy rows, intersperse your plantings so that you have onions or beets planted randomly among other vegetables and flowering plants. Plant diversity in a garden confuses insect pests – it may confuse human pests too. 

Disguising your crops 

One of the best ways to hide a vegetable is to grow underground. Many people can identify crops like carrots, onions and beets, but may not recognize a potato plant or a parsnip. The prize is hidden away until ready for harvest. Ripening above ground fruits can also be disguised. Nylon netting used to encase tomatoes, peppers or eggplant (to prevent squirrel damage) can also confuse human pests. 

Innovative tricks

There are tricks that may keep thieves away by mimicking the look of diseased or damaged fruit. Dust vegetable plants with flour, to recreate the appearance of fungal diseases such as powdery mildew (or pesticides!).

Or channel your inner artist by drawing blemishes on your produce; use a non toxic marker to be safe (unless peeling the produce). Would-be thieves are less likely to want your produce if it looks diseased.

Barriers

Protect vegetables by covering them with a barrier such as floating row cover or poultry netting, making it less convenient to steal. Row cover is a lightweight, reusable polyester fabric that allows moisture to penetrate but keeps out insects, rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels and may deter humans as well.

Finally, many people hate spiders, snakes, rats and mice so if they see one poking out from under your bean plant, they might keep walking. Add a fake garden “pest” or two; Move the creature around to different spots in your garden so you keep would-be thieves on their toes.