Perhaps there's something toxic about the soil?? I had a community garden plot, but they told us we couldn't grow vegetables because something had leeched into the soil.

In theory, homeowner associations should encourage people to have vegetable/sustainable gardens.

So a homeowner's association bans vegetable gardening and you are talking about alternatives! What about fighting such a ban. Going to the association and seeing what is behind such a ridiculous thing and changing it. I often find myself asking myself "what country do I live in?"

just a thought (though I think the ban is rather silly) - perhaps they are concerned about rodents? or the appearance of the common grounds? Often times HOAs mandate the building exteriors and grounds be kept in a certain style and perhaps a vegetable patch doesn't fit with their vision (lame, I know, but again - just a thought).

My mom lives in a condo and her HOA is so strict. She has to get approval for everything. They almost made her remove some rose bushes she planted outside her window bc it was not approved first; all residents must vote before even the slightest alteration is made (seriously, it took months for everyone to agree on a tree height for the ones out front). Sometimes it seems like nothing more then a power struggle and it makes me never want to live in a place under a HOA.

Good point Lisa. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of homeowners have potentially toxic soil and don't know it. We have been pretty awful to earth, she may not let us use her any more.

If this is just another example of living under an HOA, then it's just another example of why I don't and would never live under one. I want to be able to paint my house purple, like I am currently doing (actually it's Sherwin Williams Wall Street and it's going to look fantastic). Your home is the one place you can be totally you, I couldn't pay money to live where that is not allowed.

It's not that there's toxic soil - The builder would have had to do remediation to get permission to build if that was the case.

It's a bunch of NIMBY busybodies who need to be educated and battled - There are lots of ways to plant beautiful gardens that produce something more useful than lawn trimmings and dead leaves.

What about turning to our tried and tested small space solutions? How about a potted garden on the back porch?

Doesn't surprise me at all. HOAs seem to bring out the worst control freakiness in people.

Lots of green things are banned by HOAs - solar panels, outdoor clotheslines, vegetable gardens, non-grass drought resistant ground covers.

The satellite TV industry got rules put in that no one (not even historic districts) can ban satellite dishes, green should get the same rules.

wait...so HOAs have control of what you do in your back yard too?

wait... so HOAs have control of what you do in your back yard too?

So, it's OK at the White House, but not here? Who would choose to live this way?

So, it's OK at the White House, but not here? WHO would choose to live this way?

mntngr...HOAs can have control over any aspect of your home or property...landscaping, colors, mailboxes, etc.

As much as HOAs bother me, I'm in the midst of house shopping in the 'burbs and after some of the crazy things I saw in neighborhoods I can afford without HOAs...car on blocks with weeds growing up through the hood, a huge sign on a portch that read "if you can read this, you're in range" etc.....that $20 a month fee isn't looking so bad!

porch*

Homeowner's associations have been known to ban outdoor clotheslines because it makes you look poor, or whatever, I'm guessing it's the same reasoning. They also enforce grass in places where it doesn't make sense. It would be nice to see them get with the green program.

As a board member of an HOA, I felt like I need to respond.

Yes, HOAs can control many aspects of the exterior portions of a home/townhome/condo complex. The HOA's goal is to maintain the value, integrity and a consistent look to the property. Our goal is to protect everyone's investment in the property.

I know many HOAs have invested heavily in plantings, as well as maintaining them. The majority of the owners bought into the property for this look - and a professional to maintain the grounds. Thus, I'm pretty sure this is why an owner is not allowed to put in their own plants.

As an alternative, the owner may want to look at container plantings on a patio/balcony - if there is one. If the owner wants to look at alternatives, please work with the HOA - and suggest alternatives - but don't come into the HOA meeting fighting - which we've dealt with before!

Also, keep in mind that anyone who buys a property in an HOA can and SHOULD read every bylaw before purchasing. If gardening is not allowed, and you're an avid gardener, you most likely shouldn't buy in the community. Likewise, if BBQs are not allowed (due to units being close together) and your'e an avid griller - don't buy into the complex.

The last thing I want to deal with is a homeowner who 'didn't read the bylaws because they were too difficult to understand' and then railroads over the bylaws - angering the majority of those owners who bought into the complex who support the policies in place.

I'm very particular about how things look and it personally drives me crazy to see balconies with coolers, bicycles, and old furniture stored on them. Our HOA does not allow this - nor does it allow TV dishes. One of the reasons I'm in an HOA.

Buying into (or renting) in any HOA requires that you do your homework before you buy or rent. I've also been tempted to jokingly tell some owners that living in an HOA you give up some rights - and you do - such as painting your front door purple, or putting an experimental sculptural piece in the front yard.

If the home is in San Francisco, chances are pretty good there's lead in the soil, and you don't want to be eating that!

Ssshhh! Don't get my husband started on this. We were first-time surburban home owners and didn't know the extent of a HOA in our neighbourhood. We cannot have a garden shed and a vegetable garden amongst other things. They say it's because they want to preserve the look and vibe of the neighbourhood and if someone decides to choose a garish shed, or let their vegetable garden go unattended, then it will ruin the standard in the neighbourhood.

They tried to instill the no satellite dish rule till they were informed that they cannot legally do that.

We're wiser now and will not live under the rule and dictatorship of a HOA in the future.

Enamorada, you set up a false dichotomy between a home in the slums and one under HOA rule. Certainly you can find a nice home not in either?

And dewey333, you make great points. People should always read the bylaws before purchasing. But, can't the HOA (with or without a vote, depending on those bylaws) change the rules at any time?

I will never live with an HOA. Never. As if gardening is a dirty secret that needs banned. Wow.

Is anyone else watching Hung on HBO?

There's a nosy HOA tyrant who keeps making trouble for the main character. It's hilarious and spot on.

Apparently (at least in HBO's Michigan) you can't sleep in a tent on your own lawn... Sheesh!

And people wonder why we've become a nation of fat, sedentary children and adults whose idea of a vegetable is the pickle on top of their Big Mac.

Who would even WANT to live in a place that bans basketball goals and gardens? Sam is right. It's not as though the only alternative to a planned "community" is a slum.

It's not as simple as a "tasteful" garden. You get people who think gardening is a tomato plant or two, and then you get people who put up overhead trellises and grow gourds and cucumbers that take over an entire yard. Most HOA's just don't want to be accused of discrimination, so they say no gardens, period.

If your HOA has a common area, perhaps lobby for a small plot put aside as a "community garden" that could be fenced and enjoyed by all?

Having seen neighborhoods with houses painted pepto bismol pink, purple with safety yellow trim, ratty falling down fences, etc. I'll take a HOA any day.

The things I love about my neighborhood are precisely the things HOAs like to outlaw. Stamping out originality in order to preserve the neighborhood "vibe" strikes me as antithetical. Or maybe the resulting blandness is just a gross misuse of the word "vibe".

We had a sort of ban like this in my neighborhood. No vegetable gardens, no clothes out on the line, and your barn/shed had to match your house, which was able to be any color you wanted, as long as it was one of the pre-selected colors.

But we said heck with it. Sure our house is the right color, but our vegetables aren't hurting anyone, in fact, I share them with the neighbors. So down with HOA, and up with individualism.

If I found a house in a neighbourhood with a HOA, I wouldn't buy it. How can someone decide to control how you live in your house when it's YOUR HOUSE?!

This is ridiculous. All these sacrifices for the aesthetic. Boo to that.

Wow, reason # 19,405 that I will NEVER live in a HOA, what a bunch of NIMBY drones.

Not all HOAs are bad. My HOA is really laid-back. There are no strict rules about who does the gardening. We all have some of our own outdoor space (mine is cultured, my adjacent backyard neighbor's is a bit of a jungle) and everyone minds their own business. As for the public space, we all just take turns doing whatever we feel like. :)

For every Martha Stewart- like perfectly tended garden there is an overgrown neglected weed patch.

Many people choose to live in condos or communities with HOAs for uniformity in appearance and upkeep just to name a few reasons. Some are very strict while others like the one I once lived in was more relaxed and communal.

If it is worth it to you and fellow neighbors, bring it to your association meeting and keep the ball rolling. You'd be surprised what a well researched and united front ca achieve.

My friend lived in Georgia in a neighborhood that had
a HOA which did not want veggie gardens , his neighbor ignored it only to find deer grazing in his backyard.
From a distance they may be cute..but a few feet away
they could be dangerous.

GhostFish88: Deer are not dangerous! They are kind and gentle animals. The only way they can endanger humans is if you have a run-in between a deer and your car.

My parents live in a neighborhood with an HOA that bans vegetable gardens, so they hide their vegetables among their flowers in the back yard. So far, they haven't been caught.

Most wild animals prefer to avoid humans and won't attack unless threatened. Deer are more dangerous to gardens than people.

Jooly, your poor parents. That sounds so bizarre and wrong. Pretty but useless flowers are OK with their HOA, but not food? I would never willingly live under this sort of an organization. There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around that rely on old-fashioned communal shaming to keep people in line.

Perhaps it is a ban on merly gardening in the front yard. Most associations really only regulate the outside of the house wanting there to be x amount of feet of grass and only x number of trees excetera.

I suggest the person interested in growing the veggies try to get a few neighbors in on it and nicely make their case at their next HOA meeting.

Failing that, I suggest the person tuck a few fancy greens (or some other inexpensive test crop) in innocuous places and see if anyone notices. Some HOAs are gestapo and others are fairly toothless.

I wonder if any HOA has ever had a problem with defining a vegetable. People grow ornamental chard and kale in commercial landscaping all the time here.

I live in a great neighborhood with some people who have beautiful gardens, vegetables in the front and back. It seems to me, people who are serious about gardening for food do more to maintain and neaten their property that the casual homeowner with a lawn. To garden for food, you can not have weeds in your patches, you need to have the planting organized, and the plants and landscape are well-tended to eliminate bugs and disease. I would rather have vegetable gardening that the messy, untended shrubs and lawns that have seen at other homes.

That being said, I would do as others have mentioned and grow the plants as "ornamentals". Perennial herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano work great as permanent plantings (mint should be in a pot). Bush-type tomatoes like Roma can be grown in nice 16-20 inch pots; vines like peas and beans can be grown up a decorative trellis. Tomatoes can be mixed in plantings with marigolds and basil (marigolds have edible petals as long as you don't spray them with something toxic and attract beneficial insects). You can also make a nice mixed planting with nasturtiums and chives. Sunset magazine has some great ideas for mixing in vegetable plants with ornamentals or making your vegetable patch look beautiful.

Good luck!

I'm living the nightmare. Inherited my parents' house in a lovely little neighborhood, and have to live there until the economy rebounds. It's surprising to go even a week without getting some vaguely worded letter from our HOA threatening me with fines for having the wrong sort of flowering plant in my driveway planters -- although when challenged they can't identify the name or nature of any of the plants in question, only that they don't like people growing vegetables. (I'm tempted to point out that tomatoes are not a vegetable, even if the tiny three-foot-tall plant in a tasteful planter bears tiny red fruits.)

I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they discover my tiny hidden micro-garden on the side of my house, hiding behind a hedgerow, which is watered from the roof downspout and provides me with squash and zucchini and tomatoes in a time when my family sorely needs an extra food source. I'd gladly live with in a neighborhood with less Epcot-y lawns in return for my basic constitutional rights, but that's just not an option for me right now. The irony is that I imagine some of the fascist board members are Tea Party sympathists who enjoy touting anti-government "don't tread on me" warnings...