Rant: That flyer for a 'free' community garden plot in Riverside Park was a total trap

I saw this bright green flyer on the board outside the library last month. It said 'Free garden plot, tools provided, just bring your plants!' and had a cute little drawing of a tomato. Sounded perfect, right? I went down to Riverside Park the next Saturday, all ready to get my hands dirty. Turns out 'free' meant you had to commit to 10 hours a week of weeding the *entire* communal area, not just your patch. The coordinator literally said, 'The soil is the fee.' I spent one backbreaking afternoon clearing thistles for some stranger's zucchini and noped out. Now I'm super suspicious of any bulletin board offer that seems too good. Has anyone else fallen for a 'free' thing that came with a ton of hidden work?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_knight1mo ago

Did they even have any actual garden plots ready, or was it just a field of weeds they wanted cleared?

evayoung1mo ago

Oh man, that's brutal. "The soil is the fee" sounds like a cult motto, lmao. I'd have left too after figuring out my free tomato came with a part-time job weeding a whole farm.