Most community groups set up rules for their interaction with each other. In the case of an NGC, I think the only rule that is needed is the Golden Rule. If we all take responsibility for helping as much as we want to be helped, there will be little grumbling about "so and so not doing their share". However, whenever an incident occurs that makes anyone uncomfortable, it should be dealt with respectfully face to face and at once by the parties involved. Only if a problem persists should the group consider making a rule to avoid it.
What would we do for each other?
Here is a suggested schedule of chores that could be shared. Your group may have others based on your own gardening.
Spring
clearing and shredding winter debris, removing winter mulch, uncovering roses, tilling and raking new gardens, helping build raised beds
Summer
building trellises for flowers or vining veggies, mulching beds, communal weeding, "slug hunts"**, digging a water feature, harvest sharing (could include help with canning or freezing), vacation help
Summer Social
Pick a time in summer when the veggies are producing well and most members are in town to have a social event. A backyard cookout featuring produce grown by members of your NGC with decorations by those whose specialty is flowers is a good event to bring everyone together. Learning more about each other deepens the sense of community that is one goal of having an NGC.
Fall
raking, shredding, bagging leaves, building compost bins, winterizing roses, containers, and evergreens, planting bulbs
Winter
mulching, pruning (leave the ladder work for professionals with the proper safety equipment and training), and snow removal from evergreens after especially wet heavy snows
Winter Social
This will obviously be an indoor event. Winter is a good time to get together for a meal and to evaluate how the Co-op worked in the past season. Plans and projections for the coming season can be worked out too.
**Do you remember the summer night "snipe hunts" when you were a kid? The uninitiated were taken out and left to hold the bag while the "experienced" hunters went to drive the snipes into the bag but instead sneaked off to gloat over the gullible newbie. Well "slug hunts" aren't like that. Only the chicken-hearted sneak off into the gloom. A "slug hunt" can be a hilarious activity for a group of adults who will agree that they can hunt slugs. Don't listen to folks who say they can't do it - slugs don't run very fast, after all. Consider it a neighborhood version of Fear Factor. The day before the hunt, the member whose garden needs de-slugging lays short boards or pads of newspaper (folded to the shape of a board and dampened) around plants that have been slug targets. The day of the hunt, meet in the target garden at dusk (after you've eaten your evening meal!). Each hunter gets an empty container (soup can, margarine tub etc.) containing about an inch of soapy water. We spread out to see who can catch the most slugs in the alloted time (agreed to in advance). Look under the boards or paper pads where slugs are likely to have holed up at the end of the night before. Pick off the slugs and pop them into the soapy water in your container. The squeamish can wear rubber gloves. The most competitive among us move on to checking the stems and undersides of leaves that might produce more slugs for our total. The fun part is listening to each other dealing with the slimy critters. It's a real hoot listening to us give voice to our disgust in squeals, memorable quotes and nervous laughter.
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