If you didn’t know what exactly she was talking about, you might think that Stephanie Butow’s longwinding rants and sharp criticisms have something to do with wage theft, gender inequity, Trayvon Martin, or any number of supercharged hot topics.

But she’s not talking about any of those things. Rather, P-Patches are on her mind. The popular Seattle community garden program with a waiting list of well over 1,000.

The higher-ups at the Department of Neighborhoods have decided that they are going to limit the maximum size of gardeners’ P-Patch plots in order to make room for more people.

The plot sizing guideline will result in 70 additional plots for families beginning in 2014, while taking space away from gardeners who have amassed bigger plot sizes over the years. The new policy will cause 45 gardeners in 14 P-Patches to relinquish up to two-thirds of their plot in December. In 2014, more than 60 gardeners in Southeast Seattle -- which includes immigrant populations -- will be targeted. No one will be grandfathered. Currently, there are upwards of 3,000 gardeners.

Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch Supervisor Richard MacDonald said that the new guidelines are meant to make the dividing of space more fair and equitable.

Butow, a P-Patch gardener of over 15 years who takes care of one of the city’s largest plots (2,000 sq. ft.) at Picardo P-Patch in Wedgwood is flustered, to say the least. Butow said she has donated about 2,000 lbs. over the past ten years to food banks, but after the downsizing -- her garden will be cut down to 800 sq. ft. -- she said she and others won’t be able to make such a significant contribution.

“If they take away my garden space then I’m not going to have enough area to continue that kind of donation. And that’s not just me, that’s everyone,” she said. “By giving these tiny plots, they’re not going to be able to grow enough for food security, let alone donate.”

However, MacDonald said that donating to food banks isn't necessarily the primary goal of P-Patches. He also noted that just because some of the bigger gardeners such as Butow won't be able to donate quite as much, it doesn't mean smaller gardeners won't donate either.

"It's an unfair argument to set yourself up against other people and set presumptions about what they will or will not donate," MacDonald said.

At the Ballard P-Patch, considered a medium-sized garden, one gardener is taking a hit. She has stated that she is fine with the loss. At the Greenwood P-Patch, a few are a bit more up-in-arms. Gardener Debby Norman expressed frustration in a Change.org petition that the Department of Neighborhoods won’t stick to their guns and kick out people who don’t take care of their plots, as per their rules.

“I don't want the 13 years of love and labor I put into my plot taken away from me because P-Patch won't enforce its own rules,” she wrote.

While Change.org petitions are a dime a dozen these days, the petition against the plot downsizing has amassed a considerable number of signatures: 1,557 as of press time. Some are from longtime P-Patch gardeners while others are from sympathetic friends. A few
seem confused as to what is actually happening, thinking that Neighborhoods is downsizing whole gardens rather than downsizing gardeners’ plots to make room for other plots.

One message resounds in the comments left on the petition: P-Patches foster community, the gardeners are a part of that community and at the very least they should be included in any decision making that affects them.

“My wife and I have gardened at the same plot for about thirty years. We have built/amended the soil, raised the beds, repaired the water system and hoses, taught fellow gardeners what we could, led work parties, managed compost, weeded, watered and developed common areas, shared our bounty with fellow gardeners, food banks and neighbors, etc. We are invested in our neighborhood and gardening community, and look
forward to the next thirty years."

While some gardeners feel they were neglected in the decision making process, MacDonald said it was a decision that resides more with the program staff.

"Gardeners were not involved in this decision because it is not a decision that gardeners should be making," he said plainly, while noting that, of course, P-Patch wouldn't survive without its gardeners.

Whatever you do or however you feel, don’t tell Butow that this isn’t anything big or, God forbid, that “It’s just a garden,” as one person tried to say during a meeting.

“To us it’s like a work of art, or sacred ground ... It’s more than just a garden,” Butow said.

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