Chef Paul -- who has been gardening at the location for 15 years and been one of its strongest community advocates -- missed a calendar deadline that the Garden's governing board says he missed.

Community Garden Acting President/Board member Carol Meyer told LBREPORT.com that the Garden's Board considered Chef Paul's appeal but voted not to waive its rule on the matter. We asked for the Board vote tally; Ms. Meyer declined to provide it on grounds it was a closed meeting. Ms. Meyer told LBREPORT.com that 300 other Community Garden members had complied with the rule and said the Garden has a waiting list for that plot and others.

Chef Paul's wife, Dana Buchanan, tells LBREPORT.com that a precedent had been previously set in which Chef Paul, who is an expert at pruning fruit trees, was allowed to complete the required four hours of community garden work by working in the garden's orchard, which he reguarly did in June. Ms. Buchanan says this practice was followed until this year...when she says the rule was changed in a low visibility manner to require completion of work by June 1 in order to renew memebrship by July 1. "I even have it in my calendar last year for June which is when we did the work and it was accepted as fine," Ms. Buchanan said, audibly annoyed at applying the new rule in a way that created a forfeiture for her and potentially for others, including those with language barriers, who she said might be caught unaware.

"The Board told us, go ahead and schedule your work in the orchard, which we did, turn in your paperwork and your check, which we did, then come in front of the Board, which Paul did. So why would they have us do all that if there really wasn't a chance for us to renew?" Ms. Buchanan asked. "Does that sound like something a "community" garden would do to a 15 year veteran gardener?"

Ms. Meyer, told LBREPORT.com that Chef Paul was welcome to reapply for a new Garden plot in a year. Chef Paul says there's nothing that can be done now...since the former plot with his crops is now cleared.

Word spread quickly after Chef Paul described the turn of events on Facebook, noting that it was very saddening to uproot food not yet ready for harvest.

Chef Paul's Primal Alchemy catering service [website text] "promotes using fresh food, in season, grown locally, whenever possible. In many cases the best foods we can eat are extremely fresh, simply seasoned, and prepared in the most straightforward manner as possible." He hopes some of the green tomatoes can be ripened.

Sugar beets

Sugar beets and carrots

Carrots in their original purple and white colors and more modern orange

Chef Paul made his opinions clear on Facebook:

[Chef Paul Buchanan Facebook text, LBREPORT.com photos] After 15 years of gardening at the Long Beach Community Garden in El Dorado Park I will leave this week after being KICKED OUT by the Board of Directors. Membership runs July 1st - June 30th and gardeners are required to complete their community work hours before renewing. My renewal application was received on time and completed but my community work hours were completed on June 23rd apparently after the June 1st cut off.

I was following the mailed renewal process sent to me in the mail that said you must have your hours completed before renewal (which I did) . I now know that there has been a policy change and the Community work hours are required to be done by June 1st, I understand that now.

I pleaded my case to the Board to ask them to allow me to renew, I acknowledged that I now understood the rule, in the past I had always worked in the Orchard for my Community work hours and not at formalized work parties. I told them that I had been a gardener in good standing for 15 years and that many of the vegetables I grow are used to educate children in the city on healthy eating habits, Days of Taste program for Fremont Elementary, Let's Move Long Beach, and other Healthy active Long Beach organizations.

NO, YOUR [you're] KICKED OUT!...

I guess I would understand if there was a huge waiting list for plots but there wasn't, If I was a bad gardener, but I am not. But I did break one of the new rules and completed my work hours within the membership period. I AM SAD TO LOSE MY GARDEN, but sadder yet that I feel this Garden has NO sense of Community!

Chef Paul's enthusiasm for Community Gardening remains undimmed. He said he may relocate to another Long Beach area Community Garden and if so, he'll let the public know about it.

Meanwhile, it's on to ripening those green tomatoes and preparing other tasty, fresh and healthy delights.