About the Garden

Our garden is located on the grounds of the University of Vermont Health Network Porter Medical Center. We seek to provide a place to cultivate for folks of all abilities who don’t have a convenient space to do so at home. Our goal is to foster a sense of community, sustainability, and wellness within the Middlebury area.

The garden consists of 13 garden beds for community members to rent as well as a Pollinator Garden planted with native plants, Megan’s Meadow.  For more information about Megan’s Meadow, contact Holly Fulton at hollypearsall@hotmail.com

The cost is $30/plot for a year, and $20 for gardeners returning from the previous year.

What’s Included?

• 4 foot x 20 foot garden plot (or equivalent area)
• Simple garden tools
• Composting bin for weeds
• Water and hoses
• Small shed space for storing tools during growing season

What’s Growing

Most of the garden plots have already been put to bed for the winter, but a few are still producing vegetables and flowers!

Guidelines

Please practice safe, organic gardening only. Organic gardening involves 3 main principles:

1) Feeding the soil by using compost or cover crops to add organic matter and nutrients (Chemical lawn fertilizers such as 5-10-5 are not used in organic gardening).

2) Applying natural mulches to suppress weeds, reduce water loss, and add organic matter to the soil.

3) Using natural, botanical and biological insect controls to avoid harming beneficial organisms and pollinators (Don’t use synthetic pesticides, as they can have unwelcome side effects to plants, wildlife, and people).
Please look for the word “Organic” on packaging and ask someone if you are not sure that the product you are using adheres to Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) standards.

To conserve our resources, please water in the morning or evening, and apply water at the base of plants where possible. Use mulch to reduce evaporation. Sprinklers and unattended watering are not allowed. Please use water wisely, and remember to shut off the hose at the cistern when done.

Pick up after yourself. Return tools to the garden shed after use.

To respect the grounds crew at Porter Hospital, keep the lawn free of rocks so as not to cause damage to the lawnmower or create a tripping hazard. Take your trash home with you. MACG has no means to dispose of trash or debris at the garden site.

Our on-site compost system is to be used with organic matter from the garden only.

Be considerate of your neighbors and respect boundaries. If you are growing vining plants, please keep them within the boundaries of your plot.

Please maintain a weed-free plot and maintain the paths south and east of your plot, including removing all weeds during the growing season and again at the end of the season.

Plots are to be cleaned up and prepped for winter by October 31^st.  If you would like to garden later into the fall, or perhaps grow perennials or overwinter crops, like garlic, contact the MACG Board.

These guidelines are intended for the health and safety of all. If you have any questions, suggestions, or are experiencing a problem, please contact the Board.

Thanks for your help and have a great season gardening!

Contact

Contact us!

Board of Directors: Marlena Evans, Holly Fulton, Patrick Lawrence, and Shari Johnson. If you’re interested in joining the Board or joining the Garden, or have questions about the Middlebury Area Community Gardens or gardening, send the board a note.

Feel free to come by the garden to chat or to take a look at what’s growing. Your presence and input are always welcome.