Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District is moving forward with its second annual gardening project in Gorham. Courtesy photo
GORHAM — The coronavirus is unlikely to uproot a popular village vegetable planting program this year.
Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District is organizing its second Gorham Grown Community Agriculture Program. Business owners in the village will grow vegetables in wooden planters outside their shops, and local food forests planted last year will be maintained.
Damon Yakovleff, environmental planner for the conservation district, said he’s confident the program will continue this year but it might get tweaked. Passersby were invited to pick ripe produce from the village plants last year, but Yakovleff said picking might not be encouraged this time because of the pandemic.
“It’s a pilot. We’re learning as we go,” Yakovleff said.
The primary goals of the program are emphasizing public health while promoting Gorham’s farming heritage, which began in 1736 when the first settler arrived.
The conservation district received a $14,000 grant this year from the Quimby Family Foundation to continue the project. The funding will cover supplies and staff time, including educational components that are moving online.
An online “Introduction to Edible Landscapes” class is set for 5:30 p.m. May 11. For information see the project’s Facebook page, Gorham Food Forest, or email Yakovleff at dyakovleff@cumberlandswcd.org or call 892-4700.
Organizers hope to double the number of planters. Last year, a high school senior constructed 24 wooden boxes at 12 locations for the program and “they got scooped up quickly,” Yakovleff said.
He’s hoping to have 48 boxes in place this year, and local Girl Scouts are stepping up to help.
“I have two girls from Troop 2300 who are working on their Girl Scout Silver Award making the boxes and putting plants in for the Edible Main Street in Gorham,” said troop leader Pam Irish.
Yakovleff said Joshua Haais of the Gorham Conservation Commission and Kathy Garrard of the Gorham Village Alliance have also been helpful in moving the project forward. Success in Gorham has also led Yakovleff to consider expanding the program to Portland, he said.
Garrard said Edible Main Street was well received last year. “The planters were attractive and added visual interest to the village,” Garrard said. “I visited several planters over the course of the summer and picked tomatoes and herbs, including a lot of basil.”
Peter Mason at Pogo Realty hopes to grow produce through the program again this season.
“I thought it was a great program,” Mason said. “I hope the pandemic doesn’t squash (no pun intended) the program.”
Last year’s food forests will continue at Phinney Park and Little Falls Activity Center. They contain lower ground cover plants such as strawberry vines and chives; herbaceous plants like anise or flowers, including bee balm; blueberry and juneberry shrubs; climbing plants such as grapes and hearty kiwi; and dwarf cherry and peach trees. Each site includes a sign explaining the plantings.
“The idea is to mimic the natural forest layer structure, but with plants that are more useful to humans,” Yakovleff said.
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