I would like to suggest implementing a parking-meter style garden bed rental for Community Gardens. The idea is that if you paid the meter, nobody else can touch the crops. If the meter runs out, it reverts back to free for all.
I know some will say that a rental garden is against the community spirit of such places, but I disagree. To me, crop swipers are a much bigger threat to that positive vibe we all want in those spots. Every single time I go to grow (I have a house but use the community gardens for growing herbs) people try to swipe crops right out from under my feet. Today, two different people were successful. Before you say it, I gather and bring guano and I babysit the plots, too. Today, I was cooking and couldn't cancel out of the tool screen to rescue them... I could only watch my hard work get stolen right at the moment of harvest! It's one of the only experiences in Glitch that has happened to me often and always makes me want to log out for a few weeks. I'd love to find a solution to this that keeps the community spirit alive but doesn't reward people for sneaky behaviour. (And for the record, I keep a pretty big real life garden in a community garden and it's very much against etiquette to take anything from another plot without asking first. It's still a lovely community.)
Are there other things we could do instead, if this idea won't work? I have my fingers crossed that herb gardens might be an add-on when we get to custom houses, but in the meantime... How would you deal with this?