Year Three

The UMF Campus and Community Garden's successful third year began in the winter of 2022, when temperatures were chilly and snow still covered the ground. Intrepid students in Gretchen Legler's ENG 100 Dig It! Gardening for Social change course ordered seeds and started seedlings, using both the winter sowing method and the traditional trays-in-the-window method. A shout out to Ashley Montgomery and Mary Dindorf in the UMF Teaching and Learning Collaborative, who tolerated our seedlings in their south-facing windows!

The hard work of the Dig It! students yielded tiny peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, flowers, cabbage, broccoli, kale and other crops that were planted in May and June by three amazing summer student garden workers--Olivia, Kiera and Reese--under the guideance of Prof. Misty Beck.

The result? A flourishing greenhouse and abundant raised beds that have yielded fresh organic vegetables for foodbanks in Farmington and Bethel, Maine, nourishment for veggie-hungry students, beauty for the whole community to enjoy, and food for pollinators, which are buzzing their way through our beautiful perennial beds.

New this year in the garden are: strawberries, fava beans, ground cherries and garlic.

Repeats include: cabbage, eggplant, broccoli, kale, peas, herbs, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and corn (in a "Three Sisters" bed with green beans and squash).

Student-initiated garden projects this year include: rain water collection barrels and a drip irrigation system; themed plantings such as a "tea bed," and a "salsa bed"; an interactive GIS map of the garden; and a system of garden signs and information that will welcome and educate folks who cruise among the flowers and veggies.

Additional activites this year included a Garden Open House hosted by students in Dig It! Gardening for Social Change, held during Earthweek, in collaboration with the UMF Sustainable Campus Coalition.

For the first time ever, the UMF Garden was part of the annual Farmington Fiddlehead Festival. The greenhouse doors were open and garden tours were led by Dig It! students.

Many many thanks to the terrific Anna Flannagan, the student garden goddess for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. Not only did she have a green thumb, but an open heart and a great creative spirit!