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Apartment garden war, (mercy, sweet mercy)

I'll try to make this as brief as possible. Last summer I planted a container garden behind my apartment. This summer I planted another one, same apartment, but increased the container garden's size. The grass behind my spot is dead, so I thought it'd be no big deal, if anything I am covering up dirt with living plants. Today, I was talking with the maintenance guy about the plants (he gardens too) when he mentioned that the property manager had mentioned to him that he thought my garden was "excessive." The maintenance guy thought it was horsecrap, mentioning that they wanted people to plant behind their apartments so why essentially punish me for being successful (my 5 tomato plants are all 6 feet plus). By coincidence, I run into the property manager today who asks me whose plants those are, so I tell him they are mine. He stumbles and says something about how they want people to plant but mine is excessive and too tall, and he wants me to cut the number of containers down to 5. It should be pointed out here, that while the plants weren't as tall as they are now, this garden has been in place since the beginning of April. If I were to cut it down to 5 containers, I'd be out at least $300 in cash spent on plants, ferts, soil, stakes and other miscellaneous stuff. Not to mention the value of the crop yield I would instead be buying at the store, which is compounded by the fact that the initial investment was made on anticipation of the return.

So I drove around today and saw other peoples backyards. While none were as tall or as big as mine, there were plenty that were just tilled right into the ground and made raised beds, and others that had much more than cluttered the space behind their apartments. Of course the lease has the typical lessor language that the tenants can't make permanent use of the grounds in the apartments without their permission, yet for this particular property I am renting the bottom unit and paying more so that I can have some sort of backyard space. I highly doubt anyone has actually called the office to ask if they can leave their grill out back or such, when I was signing the papers three years ago they told me I could use the backyard space and keep a grill out there and put tables and chairs, etc.

Not really sure what I am going to do. I am hoping to call the main office behind that property manager's back and get some sort of permission to finish out the season, and hopefully I'll be out of there and in a house by next Spring.

If anyone has any experience with this or any advice I'd appreciate it. I'm a law school grad but won't be taking the bar until February, so not a whole lot I can do in terms of self representing right now.
 
I should add, when talking to the property manager I said "oh, have there been any complaints?" He says "Um, well (stutters a bit) yeah it's just really tall." So, no, no one has complained about it. In fact, I have received numerous compliments, all from immediate neighbors, aka the ones who see it every day.
 
He's an idiot and a jerk!!!

Just the sorta guy who needs to go hungry for an extended period of time so he'll have a new appreciation for food gardening!!!


~Dig
 
Heres a tip. Find five of the biggest containers you can. Maybe cut a few water tanks in half.
Make that asshole eat his words, what a gimp.
 
I like the using old water tanks as your 5 pots idea.
Maybe go with a couple bath tubs...old toilets...
Have him put an ok for having 5 containers in writing first. :)

I had about 400+ 3gal. (#5)pots out in my garden and the bossman complained so I told him I'd cut my pot # by 1/2.
Switched to 15 gal. containers.
My plants take up the same amount of room but plants are 30 times as big.

Be careful what you wish for Bossman... :)
 
If your "renting" you have no legal right to anything. Unfortunetly if you try and go behind his back they will more likely side with him as he's the one dealing with you. Your best bet is to befriend him with some nice crops as bribes in an effort to get him to look the other way.
 
I like the using old water tanks as your 5 pots idea.
Maybe go with a couple bath tubs...old toilets...
Have him put an ok for having 5 containers in writing first. :)

I had about 400+ 3gal. (#5)pots out in my garden and the bossman complained so I told him I'd cut my pot # by 1/2.
Switched to 15 gal. containers.
My plants take up the same amount of room but plants are 30 times as big.

Be careful what you wish for Bossman... :)

That's how to do it. Tasteful huge pots. Or put wood border in a square around them and call it your raised bed. Note other tenants' beds and point out that you can remove yours at the end of season or when you move.
 
take the guy some tomatos :woohoo:

if he eats some maybe he will shut up


If your "renting" you have no legal right to anything. Unfortunetly if you try and go behind his back they will more likely side with him as he's the one dealing with you. Your best bet is to befriend him with some nice crops as bribes in an effort to get him to look the other way.

+1
Give the guy lots of good stuff and make him a chilihead!
Tell him about some different peppers! You may have more land than ya need before ya know it! :dance:
 
Ignore him and pay your rent early. If he mentions it again, say you'll bring him some tomatoes and chiles - and the growing season will soon be over. As a last resort, say pretty please and beg.
 
it seems that most that have responded have taken the stand "just show him"...

It may be a hard pill to swallow, but you don't have a leg to stand on...

Be humble, talk to him and ask if there is anything you can do...topping the plants to keep them from getting so tall is not always a bad thing...especially in peppers...short, stocky, bushy plants are to be desired and much more sturdy (and healthy IMO) and more productive than tall, lanky plants...

ever heard the saying "you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"?
 
i too live in apartments in alabama what i do is find someone that lived in an apartment there and had no plants and ask them if i could use the area they have to that way you could split it betweent two areas p.s. i live in clanton just south of ya
 
First he says there is too many plants and then he says the problem is that they are too tall. Which is it? If the tomatoes are too tall then you can easily make them grow shorter and bushier. If there is too many plants then the rules have to apply to everyone. If others in your community are told to remove all but 5 plants for no good reason then maybe you can get a lot of neighbors on your side and you can explain to this idiot that gardens are a welcome sight to most.
 
If he didn't cite a specific reason with any certainty then someone has complained and he cannot/does not want to reveal who it is or the nature of the complaint.

The complaint was probably something like "the garden is right near my window and I don't like it, but don't tell him it was me cos I see him everyday", therefore telling you what the compalint really is would reveal who is complaining, so he has made something up that it's too tall. This point matters because you don't know what the real problem is and hence how to fix it with him.

Like everyone said you don't have a leg to stand on and antagonising him in any way won't get you anything good. Your best bet is to try to talk to him in a friendly way and find out what the real problem is with the plants. Say to him what you wrote... that the other gardens around are similar size and surely the plants can't be causing any problem... etc. If you can get the info out of him then you might be able to do something about it.

If you really have to, then only do something to piss him off if you are planning to move soon anyway.
 
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