HOULTON, Maine — Land that was once fertile soil for an area potato farmer generations ago is once again producing crops.
The Houlton Regional Hospital unveiled its community garden Friday, Aug. 19, marking the culmination of nearly a year’s worth of planning.
In the winter of 2021, Shawn Anderson, CEO at Houlton Regional Hospital and Meg York, incoming president of the Houlton Rotary club, met to discuss ways to promote a healthier community in Houlton.
“Part of Houlton Regional Hospital’s strategic plan is to further integrate itself into the greater Houlton community through healthier community efforts,” Anderson said. “The concept of establishing a Houlton Regional Hospital Community Garden was hatched.”
HOULTON, Maine — August 22, 2022 — Nancy Putnam, left, and Heleana Nickerson check the progress on some of the veggies growing in the Houlton Regional Hospital community garden Friday morning. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
All of the land that Houlton Regional Hospital sits on was once fields of potato farmland owned by Fred Putnam. That land was donated many years ago to allow for the creation of Houlton’s first hospital.
Two local groups — The Houlton Rotary Club and the Northern Maine Agricultural Foundation — took an interest in the project, donating a combined $4,500 to see it to fruition.
The 100-square-foot plot was divided into smaller areas, with the intention that local businesses would “adopt” a plot and have their employees handle all of the gardening in that plot. The hope was to find 10 local businesses, so each company would only have to deal with a 10-square foot area.
In its first year, three area businesses – FA Peabody Company, Bangor Savings Bank and Katahdin Trust – volunteered their services to plant, tend and harvest a plot in the garden, which meant much larger plots were required to fill out the land.
“We had people come to our very first meeting saying they didn’t even know what a garden was,” explained Nancy Putnam, Community Garden coordinator. “My first idea was to have individuals come and take on responsibility for a plot, but Shawn (Anderson) felt it was more appropriate to do it with businesses.”
Any lack of gardening knowledge certainly had no impact on the produce, however, as the garden overflowed with fresh vegetables in its first year. An abundance of fresh garlic, onions, green beans, parsnips, beets, carrots, peppers, cabbage and summer squash were among the items grown this first season.
Because the community garden is on land owned by the hospital, no pesticides were allowed to be used to control pests.
HOULTON, Maine — August 22, 2022 — A bee collects nectar from a sunflower at the Houlton Regional Hospital community garden plot. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
“We tried to grow crops that would harvest later in the year, mainly for ease of distribution,” Putnam said. “We also tried to grow crops that did not require a great deal of care.”
The hospital also planted several rows of sunflowers — which grew to roughly 10 feet tall — and zinnias to provide scenic beauty and an opportunity for bees to pollinate.
A large group of volunteers helped prepare the ground last fall, which included digging up the existing lawn, tiling the soil to make it garden-ready, and covering the area with a black tarp to avoid any weeds from growing.
At harvest, all of the vegetables will be dispersed to local organizations for free distribution to those in need in the greater Houlton region. A large tent area will also be erected in the hospital parking lot, providing the vegetables at no cost.
HOULTON, Maine — August 22, 2022 — Summer squash is ready to be picked at the Houlton Regional Hospital’s community garden. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been updated to correct the workplace of the individuals in the group photo.
