This summer, Master Gardener volunteers at the Morris Farm in Wiscasset have harvested and donated over 600 pounds of fresh, organically-grown produce. Since early June, all of it has been delivered to food pantries in Boothbay and Wiscasset as part of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Maine Harvest for Hunger program. Volunteers are in their fifth year growing in raised bed gardens and hope to match or exceed their annual goal of 1,000 pounds. The gardens demonstrate how anyone can produce a great amount of food in a small space while helping their community.

Thanks to a grant from the Maine Master Gardener Development Fund, seeds, seedlings and soil amendments were purchased from local vendors and/or donated by the volunteers. With intense succession planting in seven raised beds and two small in-ground gardens, volunteers spend a half-day each week from May through October planting, weeding, seeding, watering and harvesting. Empty beds are now being planted with lettuce, spinach and other cool weather crops.

Jane Lunt, a member of the Boothbay Region Food Pantry Board, wrote: “We thank you so much for helping to provide fresh, locally grown vegetables for our neighbors in need.”

The public is invited to visit the demonstration gardens at any time and assistance is always welcome. Master Gardener Volunteers are usually working on Wednesday mornings. The Morris Farm Trust is a “Forever Farm” – both a working farm and an educational resource for the communities of mid-coast Maine. The address is 156 Gardiner Road (Route 27) in Wiscasset.