The frost is on the pumpkin, so to speak, for the Montville Community Garden this year, and by all accounts, the first year of the project was very successful.
Kathie Doherty-Peck says that all 16 beds were worked, and that the Montville Food Bank for more than 30 pounds of fresh produce from the project, even though it didn’t really start until mid-summer.
Ellen Hillman, town councilor, was one of the forces behind the garden, which is spread out on the lawn behind the Montville Senior Center on Maple Avenue.
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David Fairman of The New London Group donated the lumber for six raised beds, and dozens of plants to put in them. The compost came from the town's transfer station. The New London Group donated cisterns, and the Montville Department of Public Works worked on the gutters on town hall so that they fed rain into the cisterns, for watering the gardens.
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Doherty-Peck says that it’s not too early to sign up now for a bed for next summer. They are $10 each, and the only requirement is that a quarter of the harvest goes to the Montville Food Bank.
Hillman says that one in five children in Connecticut go hungry every day.
“Think of the hundreds that are at our schools and they are hungry. This is one way to allow them healthy food that is organically grown and loaded with the things they need to grow strong.”
Hillman says that if you don’t want to do the actual gardening, you can still get involved.
A donation of $40 will pay for an additional bed to be constructed; $20 will buy a half a bed. If you donated $10, the Senior Garden Club will plant and grow the bed for you.
The project finished the summer with 16 beds, and Doherty-Peck says she expects as many as 40 more beds next summer.
Even though the gardens are pretty much done, the area is lovely and quiet, and Doherty-Peck is looking into getting some benches for the area. It’s a nice place to sit and contemplate.
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