Veggies and camaraderie will grow in Branford this year, thanks to a group of volunteers who are sponsoring the town’s first community gardens.
The new initiative will provide garden plots for people who don’t have their own space, and will enable volunteers to grow vegetables for the needy. In addition, the multi-plot gardens will allow experienced gardeners and novices to work side by side.
“With the economic situation, there is a need to pull people from all different backgrounds to do something that can benefit the community,” said Connie Drysdale, one of the organizers of the Branford Community Gardens committee.
“There are people who don’t have the space or the sunshine or the skills for a garden,” she said. “This is something meant to reach across cultural and economic backgrounds.”
Aspiring farmers have until April 15 to submit applications for a 20- by 20-foot plot. There is a $25 leasing fee per plot for the growing season. Click here for an application and additional information. If there are more applicants than available plots, then a lottery will be held.
The group will also sell some seedlings at a minimal cost — tomatoes, peppers and eggplant — while supplies last. The plots will be plowed by volunteers, and there will be a supply of manure and compost.
The plan received a boost when the Branford school board agreed at its March 19 meeting to provide land behind the old Pine Orchard School for the garden project. A survey will be conducted to determine how much space is available and how many plots can be created. The committee is also looking for additional sites around town.
The community gardens will be open to Branford families, individuals or groups — regardless of gardening experience. “We want ranges of ages, we want experienced gardeners and novices,” Drysdale said. “We want the experts to be able to pass along their knowledge.” In the future, organizers envision a program for students to teach them how to plant and to harvest crops.
The overall cost of the project has not been determined at this point. Most of the materials, including a tractor, have been donated. Drysdale said many in town wanted to volunteer, including town leaders and members of the Branford Garden Club.“I think Branford is unique,” she said. “Of all the places I have lived, I haven’t felt the community spirit that is here in Branford.”
It isn’t just the economy that’s driving the need for the garden project, Drysdale said, there’s also a back-to-nature trend for people who want locally-grown foods.
Indeed, First Lady Michelle Obama has announced is planting a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House this spring — the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden during World War II.
If the Branford gardens grow as quickly as the plans have, then it should prove to be a fertile season. The Branford Community Gardens committee formed in recent weeks when a group of enthusiastic volunteers got together at Drysdale’s home.
They include Frank Carrano, the chair of the Branford Board of Education, Eunice LaSala, the president of the Branford Community Foundation, Alex Palluzzi, the head of the town’s parks and recreation department, Steve DuHamel, a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission and Maryanne Hall, a writer and town volunteer.
Anyone wishing to volunteer or make donations may contact the committee by email at [email protected].
Although there are a number of community gardens in Connecticut, there aren’t any in Branford.
“It’s a very appealing idea,” Drysdale said. She doesn’t take credit for the plan, stating that several people have discussed community gardens over the years. “It was a situation waiting for someone to call a meeting. … I’m not the only person who thought about it, I’m just the person who called a meeting.”
Drysdale, who considers herself a gardener of average experience, loves to plant a small vegetable garden each year. “I’ve been dreaming about tomatoes,” she said wistfully.
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does anybody mind if I follow the "Obama model?"
It works like this. I sit home all summer with the fan and air conditioning on while you all toil in the garden, tilling soil, weeding, watering, fertilizing. Then, when the veggies come, I'm entitled to some. You know, for the greater good and all.