Edgewater Beach Gardeners Association Membership Application for 2025

Membership is required to garden at EBGA. Membership is also required to apply to our waiting list. It is valid for a calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31). The fee is $10.00 and payable online. Please refrain from submitting membership forms and dues for the 2025 garden year until after Jan. 1, 2025.

Your name will go on the waitlist on the date your application and dues are received. You’ll maintain your existing place if you are already on the waitlist.

Members assigned a garden plot must fill out a liability waiver and pay a $30 plot fee before gardening. Members assigned a rotating garden plot can use them for the current garden season, with the option to renew for a second year. To garden after the second year, members can apply to a permanent plot waitlist or apply to the rotating plot waitlist again. To maintain your place on a waitlist, you must maintain your membership and renew each year.

Members assigned a plot at the garden must participate in workdays or serve on a committee. Committees change year to year but may include garden care, social events, community relations, educational outreach, or more. We ask all members to attend our opening meeting in early spring, at which you can learn more about committees, ask questions, and sign up.

Questions? Contact our board secretary at members@ebga.org.

EBGA Garden Rules (Updated January 2023)

Membership

• Rotating member plots are assigned for a one-year period, with the option to renew for a second year.
• Permanent member plots are assigned on an indefinite basis.
• Members must complete a two-year rotating term before being considered for a permanent plot.
• Members must pay dues in a timely manner and participate in the EBGA organization to remain a member.
• In the event a member cannot maintain a plot, they must contact the EBGA Board. Members cannot pass plots to friends or family, independent of the Board. Only plot assignments made by the Board will be honored.
• Members must agree to these rules before receiving a plot assignment and can lose access or be denied renewal for a rotating or permanent plot if they do not continue to meet EBGA rules outlined in this agreement.

Plot Maintenance

• All garden plots must be worked on or before June 1, and cleaned/put to bed by November 30 of the gardening year. Members must actively garden and maintain their plots. Members must garden — plant, weed, prune, water, harvest, etc. — at least once a week during the growing season. Members who are ill or on vacation are encouraged to ask a friend, relative, or fellow gardener to water and maintain their plot.
• Each Member is responsible for all plant material grown in their assigned plot.
• Do not harvest, weed, destroy, or steal anything from another gardener’s plot.
• Members may only use organic pest controls. We strongly encourage regular harvesting and proper trellising and supports to avoid attracting rodents and pests.
• Members must dispose of plant material properly, in available compost bins, Chicago Park District trash cans, or at home. Please follow composting rules posted on the bins.
• Members whose plots appear neglected will be sent a warning notice and have one week to remedy the situation. If the plot is still not tended after two warnings and two weeks, it will be cleared and reassigned to the next person on the waiting list.

Vandalism and Theft

• All gardens in the Chicago Park District are and will continue to be public property.
• Drought, hail, and pests, minor vandalism and theft are amongst the risks of gardening in the park. The EBGA works to reduce theft, but we cannot eliminate this risk.
• Members may notify the EBGA Board of vandalism or theft.

Plant Materials

• Trees are not permitted in individual garden plots.
• Only permanent members may plant woody shrubs, and only after approval by the EBGA Board.
• Woody shrubs must not exceed 3 feet in height, and their root system must not extend beyond their plot.
• Members must plant tall plants, like sunflowers, where they are least likely to cast shade upon neighboring plots.
• If a member has questions about whether or not a plant is appropriate or permitted, they must ask the EBGA Board for guidance.

Structures, Tools, Watering and Garden Box

• Structures, walls, or assemblage of materials that enclose a plot or intrudes on other plots are not permitted.
• One side of a garden plot may have vertical trellis-like, open, airy structures to support climbing vegetables, vines, or flowers.
• Poles, stakes, cages, and other supports used for plants are allowed. You must remove them at the end of each season.
• Members may use low barriers to deter rabbits and other rodents from eating plants. These fences must meet the following guidelines: Barriers must be less than 18” tall, must be well-maintained and contained entirely within your plot, must not be a safety hazard, and should be removed when plants no longer require them.
• Each member is responsible for bringing the appropriate hand tools needed to maintain their plots. The Chicago Park District may provide tools such as rakes and shovels for projects and Work Days.
• Any tools borrowed from the EBGA must be returned to the storage area when done. Follow the established inventory procedures.
• Members may not store personal tools or other materials in the garden storage box.
• Members may only use water to care for their assigned plot. You may not wash other personal, non-garden related items. Water neighboring plots only if asked by another member.
• Take care not to damage other plots when watering.
• Members must shut off the water spigot and neatly rewind the hose after use.

Pathways

• Members are responsible for weeding and taking care of the pathways bordering your plot.
• Members must keep the paths smooth to walk on, free of plants, debris, and weeds, and cannot be eliminated.
• Plot extensions are not permitted. Members’ plants should not extend onto the walkway.
• Members must be considerate of all who walk past. Prune, tie back, or transplant plants that extend into the pathway, especially if they are thorny.

Unacceptable Activities in the Garden

• Walking through or standing on any garden plot is not permitted.
• Littering, urinating, and defecating are strictly prohibited.
• Amplified sound is not allowed except through headphones.
• As part of the Chicago Park District, all rules and regulations apply.
• Alcohol is not permitted in the Parks or in the EBGA garden.
• Pets are not permitted in the garden.

Workdays

• Member gardeners are required to participate in workdays, where we care for the garden’s common areas.
• Workdays take place throughout the season and are scheduled on evenings and weekends to enable attendance.
• The Board expects members who cannot attend a workday to put in their time, before or after the event, to help.

By submitting this application, I agree that I have read and will abide by the above rules and guidelines. I understand that failure to observe these rules may result in the loss of my garden privileges and my garden plot’s reassignment.