Agreement when growing on someone else’s land?

Unfortunately I am in a rental with a yard I have outgrown.
I have found someone local willing to let me to grow some crops on her land for my own use.
I posted an ad and she responded, she is not someone I know.
She wants me to pay for fencing (they will install)  to keep her chickens and dogs out of the patch, and we/she will grow the same crops for herself in the patch as well.
Do you have any advice, or links to an online agreement we should sign? She is very laid back and informal, but I would like to cover my bases before putting out money for seed and a fence.

From experience, it is definitely best to get something in writing. This makes it much more clear when you run into problems that might arise while you are there. We have spent a few years renting land for growing a small market garden and raising meat birds. There are always hidden costs and unexpected repairs or access issues etc. that come up so it is nice to have an agreement that lays out exactly what each person is responsible for.

It is really nice to have a breakdown of costs accounting for what your rent is actually paying for. For example, it sounds like you will be sharing growing space potentially so some sort of breakdown that shows what percentage of the growing space that you are using would be good. Also, make sure to take into account any shared equipment, tool storage, irrigation etc. that may be required.

Our last land owner that we worked with was wonderful and we worked well together with a clear agreement and good communication. Our first partnership experience was a fairly loose arrangement with minimal infrastructure. Long story short, we learned learned a lot from that experience. Unfortunately I don't have a template of an agreement to share with you at the moment.

Good luck with your search for more growing space! Land rental is a great option that can definitely work if your values are aligned with the land owner

Did she give you a cost estimate on the fence? I wouldn't agree to pay much, as she gets to keep and continue to benefit from the fence. My bamboo stakes and chicken wire keep the dogs and chickens out of my veggies for very little expense and effort. Just a thought. If she wants a permanent and nice-looking fence, she should put it up herself. Not sure how big an area you are talking about, so if very large, a real fence may be the only option, I suppose.

I would also want language addressing what happens if she decides to break the lease prior to harvest. I would want to be reimbursed not only any rent I'd paid to that point, but also what I value the harvest at, which is very hard to estimate and agree on ahead of time. Maybe it can be the seed cost multiplied by ? so that it can be determined ahead of time and put clearly in writing.

Is water included in the rent? And a hose or some other means of watering?

You know, in hindsight, I realize what I'm saying in theory is not how I really work in practice. Realistically, I am a very casual person, fine with verbal agreements - as long as the possible loss is a risk I'm willing to take. I do like to talk about exit plans, so that we both know how to proceed if the arrangement isn't working out. I am interested in fairness and really wouldn't agree to buy someone else a fence that I may use for one growing season, unless the expense seems like fair exchange to use the land (and there isn't any additional rent). So I guess, if I felt comfortable with the person, and if the rent and start-up costs were something I could walk away from if needed, then I wouldn't need a formal lease and all that. But I would ask a lot of questions, check out the site, meet other people I might need to interact with (if she doesn't live alone), and make sure I felt good about the entire arrangement before going forward with it. I trust my gut more than a piece of paper.

Angel, you might look into Curtis Stone, he built a farm business by renting people’s yards.

This agreement is for a community garden though the information would be an easy change for an individual arrangement.

Here are some of the highlights that I feel would be helpful:

include a ‘hold harmless’ clause

{quote]Your lease agreement should contain a timeline. A minimum period of 3-years is preferable

include any other arrangements that have been made regarding the site, such as upkeep of the adjacent property, water usage policies, liability insurance arrangements and start-up and shut-down dates.

https://extension.sdstate.edu/community-gardens-lease-agreements

This one is an actual template for a Farm Lease Agreement:

https://landforgood.org/wp-content/uploads/cash-lease-template-CA-Farm-Link.pdf

This would be easy to change to fit your situation.

Best wishes for your upcoming garden.

If the area is in town, you will probably need a permit for the fence and there is a fee and inspection associated with that. It's a $50 one time charge where I live.

I am leery about the fence proposal. Were I to garden on someone else's property I would want a locked fence; unless the property was somewhat isolated. But she wants access to your garden. But then the way I read this she wants you to install her a fence which makes me think your use will be very limited and she will have a fenced garden with soil that you improved.

I recently sent my neighbor a request to garden on his vacant acre lot. I didn't offer to pay anything except that I agreed to keep it "somewhat mowed". We've already largely been doing that. I did agree that were he to sell the property the garden was non existent. I was planing to grow aliums in that garden. Garlic, onions etc. There was a large portion of the property where garlic had gone feral. He ignored my request but I wound up happy because the property was sold the following December which would have made my first garlic crop largely unseen.

As mentioned, I would want to be very clear on what "pay for fencing" means.  Here, I could rent an acre of farmland for a year for less than the cost of good fencing.  If I did that and sold some of the produce at the farmer's market, I would come out ahead, and make enough to pay for the rental of the acre of land for the next year.  Suppose you pay for the fence and after the first year, they decide it isn't working out?  Will you be reimbursed for some, or all, of the fence?

At minimum, I would want to know a) how much the fence would cost, b) how much land was mine to grow on, and c) what happens if either party decides that this arrangement just isn't working.

We had a verbal agreement with neighbors that we would buy corn for their hog in exchange for half at butchering time.  When butchering time rolled around they called and expected us to pay an additional $100 for our half, which wasn't what we agreed on.  I know this has nothing to do with gardening and fences, but make sure your agreement is in writing!

While this person may be honest, the fact that she expects you to pay for the fence, yet expects you to let her garden in the area as well raises a flag with me.  I could see her asking you to pay for half of the fence if she intends to share the space with you, but still I'd be concerned.  Actually if I were renting or allowing someone to grow on my land, I'd consider it my responsibility to keep my animals contained.  Are you expected to pay rent or lease the land, or is the fencing considered as payment for use?  You may want to ask around and gather the opinions of others on the trustworthiness of this person.  It may turn out to be a beautiful arrangement and beneficial to you both, but please don't proceed if you have any doubts.

Something else to think about is what would happen in the event this person would suddenly pass away?  Would your agreement still be considered valid?  Would you be forced to leave?

Michelle Heath wrote:We had a verbal agreement with neighbors that we would buy corn for their hog in exchange for half at butchering time.  When butchering time rolled around they called and expected us to pay an additional $100 for our half, which wasn't what we agreed on.  I know this has nothing to do with gardening and fences, but make sure your agreement is in writing!

While this person may be honest, the fact that she expects you to pay for the fence, yet expects you to let her garden in the area as well raises a flag with me.  I could see her asking you to pay for half of the fence if she intends to share the space with you, but still I'd be concerned.  

Ditto, IMO.

States differ on whether 'oral contracts' include real property in certain situations, but in any case writing is always best when it comes to protecting yourself.

If it's a situation where you are not planning on spending a lot of money on the fencing or start-up garden, and think of it as something you'd not have a hard time with if you lost it all, then you can be more lax on what you expect her to agree to. But if it will be time/labor intensive, cost you money, and disturb you should she not be honorable, then certain protections are a good idea. I think any reasonable person would think so---for instance, if her animals got out and ruined *her* crops and she claimed your fence was why, and she wanted you to pay her for them. Or her doggo got caught on your ill built fence....or in a storm it flew up and hit her awesome house and done ruined it. Lol. Unfortunately people can really surprise you with what they can come up with to do to others, so thinking about what you can deal with before you're hit with it is a good idea.

I'd say that you should use a form, they have them on a site called 'getfreelegalforms' and several others, for the fence and the use of the land. You can 'tweak' it to both of your liking. If she balks at this I would take pause. A 'Fence Line Agreement' and 'crop share lease' would probably be best, although some of the ins and outs are not so necessary with such a small operation, but still a good idea.

If you ever had to go to court (hopefully not), they will interpret the contract against the drafter of it, so drafting it together is a good idea and will give you an idea of how amenable she is and how well you work together.

When I put up fencing for gardening or for my orchard I use a 5 foot high wire fence and metal posts from the big box store. I was there the other day. The posts are $7+ and the fencing is $89 for a 50 foot roll. That's $2 per foot for  the fencing and the posts.

My grandparents did cotton sharecropping in the 1920's in Louisiana and West Texas. The usual payment was 1/2 the crop. They moved 3 times in 3 years so things weren't too stable; I don't know why. He owned 40 acres in East Texas but was sharecropping to learn the business. Grandma cooked lunch on a wood kitchen range in a horse pulled wagon. She baked the best baked chicken and some delicious pies. Their kids picked cotton when it was time.

If I had to give up half my garden crop; I'd drop the idea. Especially if the land owner came and took his half up front. I grow a lot of heirloom tomatoes which I leave on the vine till ripe. So my half would wind up being the culls.

edited out growing cotton in West Texas

Put it in writing?  Writing, Schmiting!

In this case, I don't think a contract will protect you.  Instead, I think you need to determine if the landowner is a nice person or not, and go from there.

Suppose yinz agree to grow organic.  When visiting the garden one day, you see open packs of evil fertilizer in the garden.  You say 'Heyyy!  We have a contract!  Organic!  It's in writing!'   'Yeah, but the plants don't look healthy, they needed a boost.'  What are you going to do, sue her?

From an example above:  Say the agreement says yinz agree to split the tomato crop 50/50.  You arrive and notice a bunch of fruit has already been picked.  'Hey!  Did you harvest all these tomatoes without me?'  'Nope.'  Now what will you do?

Another above example:  You have a contract that says you get 50% of the butchered hog.  The landowner says 'I need an additional $100 or you only get 25%'.  'Hey!  We have a written agreement!'  You gonna take them to court?  

You have in writing that the landowner will water the plants during the week, you water on the weekend.  Saturday morning, the wilted plants are starving for water, some have died.  'Hey!  You're supposed to water during the week!'  'But I did!'  Now what?

Conversely, if I'm the landowner, and you want me to sign something that goes into such detail as shared equipment and tool storage, I'd tell you to go pound sand!  Too many rules!  And I'm a nice guy!

Bottom line:  Contract or not, if the landowner is nice, you'll be fine.  If she's planning to take advantage, trying to get some free fencing, she'll be a pain, knowing you're not gonna take her to court over some stolen tomatoes.  Or, good luck proving evil fertilizer was sprinkled around your carrot crop.

Gary Numan wrote:
Bottom line:  Contract or not, if the landowner is nice, you'll be fine.  If she's planning to take advantage, trying to get some free fencing, she'll be a pain, knowing you're not gonna take her to court over some stolen tomatoes.  Or, good luck proving evil fertilizer was sprinkled around your carrot crop.

I agree with what you're saying here. For me, the point of putting an agreement like this in writing - a low-stakes agreement but with a lot of unanswered questions - is so that both parties gain clarity on what the agreement actually is, by being able to refer to that writing but primarily through the process of developing that written agreement. It's a way of hashing out "how's this going to work?" and "what are my responsibilities and what are yours?" and "what if one of us wants out?" It doesn't have to be done on paper, but that can be a very helpful exercise.

Would love to hear from the OP again! :)

Part of the point of having something in writing is to cover your own butt.  Imagine if for some reason the landowner were to try to have you arrested for trespassing.  Having a signed and possibly notarized ( which is a good idea) agreement would hopefully prove why you are on the property and save you from a fine or arrest.  A similar situation might incur if the person were to pass away.

Did we take the neighbors to court over the above-mentioned hog incident?  No, but we have been quick to warn others about them and even discovered that we aren't the first ones to get burned by them.  Had we inquired a bit more, we could have saved ourselves the hassle.  

Also hoping the OP updates us!

Depends on how bad the shtf, or if it does.

If nothing too bad ever happens, it's fine.

If something extremely bad happened, protection is always good. IMO nice people don't mind people protecting themselves, nor do I mind them protecting themselves as well. Especially when you don't know them, nor do they know you. It's reasonable, the same as having a lock on your door or a seatbelt or opting to have neither, that is each and every person's choice. Some people will get quite riled up about seatbelts....OK, don't wear one, that's only going to affect you, lol, not I. I'm all for personal freedom. Contracts are good because yes, some things are serious enough to protect the partie(s) at play. Some things aren't ever going to be dangerous or expensive enough for one to matter. Depends on what it is.

I would keep looking if possible. Find a nice community to put up an announcement in. In the past before I had land I asked at churches and Jewish temples if anyone would let me garden in exchange for produce. Garden groups for your area are another good place. Not everyone at those kinds of places is necessarily honest or kind, but many are. You know your area best. It is still nice to get it in writing.


Also, one factor is aesthetics. I quickly learned that wild looking gardening was not going to go over well with most people, as they're not used to it and have a different set of values for now. Raised bed boxes are a good option, or at least a nice, neatly done lasagna bed with rows of consistent looking plantings.