Staff Writer

Cathleen Fejedelem’s garden seems a world away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Saco.

Tucked on a side street near Route 1, her backyard begins with a flower garden that gives way to herbs and raised beds with rows of vegetables. Rows of carefully labeled peppers and leafy greens will soon produce a crop large enough to provide dozens of meals for the Fejedelem family.

Fejedelem is one of many Mainers who spend countless hours planting and maintaining gardens to provide fresh produce for their families. Community gardens in several York County communities have been established to provide growing opportunities for people without yards while supplying local food pantries with fresh vegetables.  Sellers of seeds and seedlings have seen brisk sales this spring as more gardeners – many trying it out for the first time – stock their gardens with tomatoes, onions and potatoes. 

Fejedelem, founder and former president of the Saco Bay Gardening Club, said she always wanted a vegetable garden surrounded by flowers. After a few years of trial and error, she created a garden that produces enough vegetables to feed her family throughout the summer and into the winter. 

Her garden includes salad greens, eggplant, strawberries, onions, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, peppers and squash, among other varieties of vegetables.

“Even in Maine in the spring, summer and fall there’s no reason to go to the grocery store to buy salad greens,” Fejedelem said. “I wait all winter to have the first salad from the garden.”

Lettuce and other salad greens – which are shallow-rooted – are easy to grow in a garden or pots, so long as it is in a sunny spot, she said. Fejedelem said gardeners can buy seed packets of individual or mixed varieties, or create their own mix by combining seeds.

Fejedelem began gardening at her Saco home shortly after moving 10 years ago, but it took several years of research and experimenting before she discovered what grows well for her. Using untreated wood, she built 16 raised beds, which keep weeds out and the garden better organized, she said. 

Though she has not had much luck with bell peppers or cabbage, Fejedelem said growing vegetables in Maine is relatively easy, especially if gardeners are patient. New gardeners should choose vegetables they like and will eat. This year, she planted winter squash because it stores well in her cellar and her family eats it frequently throughout the year. She anticipates saving money on groceries because of her decision, she said. 

Fejedelem said she plans ahead when harvesting her vegetables to stretch the bounty well into winter. She stores squash and onions in her cellar, freezes tomato sauce and dries herbs. She also uses fresh basil to make pesto, which she freezes in ice cube trays for later use in sauces or other recipes.

While starting a garden requires an initial financial investment, Fejedelem said it is conceivable people could save money in the long run by growing their own vegetables. Regardless of money, there is nothing better than eating fresh local produce, she said.

“What’s more local than your backyard?” she asked.

For Paul Schlaver, growing his own food is “kind of amazing.” He bought his Saco home in 2003 and, until retiring in May 2008, commuted to Maine by train each weekend from his apartment in Cambridge, Mass. He gardened on weekends, using an irrigation system to keep his plants watered.

Schlaver now spends nearly every day with his hands in the soil, tending to two vegetables gardens and flowers that grow around his home. His interest in gardening stems from his childhood in the Midwest, he said, and he chooses to garden organically. With the help of family and friends, he built 20 raised beds in various sizes for his crops.

Walking through his garden on a sunny morning, Schlaver pointed out  various plants he has arranged in the beds. A bed of herbs includes chives, oregano, marjoram, savory basil, parsley and thyme, which he dries and shares with friends. Nearby, asparagus has sprouted along with beans and peppers. 

In addition to raised beds in his front garden – which is surrounded by flowers to add color – Schlaver has a vegetable garden behind his home to accommodate larger crops of corn, tomatoes and other vegetables. That garden is located in a field owned by a neighbor, who allows him to use the space in return for lawn mowing and the occasional peach pie.

Schlaver plants dozens of types of vegetables, including cabbage, parsnips, turnips, tomatoes, corn, peas, eggplant, cucumbers, leeks, onions, garlic and several varieties of potatoes. He has success with okra and sweet potatoes, which he said many people think don’t grow in this climate. He also grows fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and pears. 

Schlaver said his garden produces far more vegetables than he can eat himself, so he gives vegetables and fruit to friends and family while canning food to eat and sell. He often gives his jams, jellies and pickles as gifts.

Though he said he cannot place a monetary value on his produce, Schlaver said the real benefit is eating fresh, healthy food that he grows without chemicals. He rarely buys vegetables from the grocery store, preferring to “eat with the seasons.” 

Schlaver said he has noticed stores selling out of seeds and seedlings more quickly, which he thinks indicates more people are getting into gardening. 

“It’s absolutely happening that more and more people are doing it,” he said. “I think people are doing more composting, mulching and eating local. It’s a good thing people are opening up to doing stuff like that.”

Business owners in the area say sales of seeds and seedlings have been strong as more people come in looking for advice on how to grow their own vegetables. Dexter Merritt, co-owner of Green Mountain Transplants in Arundel, said vegetable seed sales “are certainly much higher this year than last year.”

Merritt said many customers have told him they want to grow vegetables for their families but have not gardened before. 

“That’s probably where most of the increase is, in new gardeners,” he said. “It looks like a lot of people are planting gardens this year.”

Merritt said sales have been strong for sweet corn and summer squash and he has sold out of some other types of vegetable seedlings. At Moody’s Nursery and Garden Center in Saco, salad vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce seem to be most popular, owner Ginny Moody said.

“We’ve never sold out of seed potato so quickly,” she added.

Moody said she has “very definitely” seen an increase in vegetable seed and seedlings sales, estimating sales are up at least 50 percent. In addition to summer squash, zucchini, eggplants and peppers, gardeners have scooped up fruit trees, she said.

Moody said many of her customers seem to be first-time gardeners who also need to buy compost and loam, and have mentioned why they are interested in growing their own food.

“A fair number of people are concerned about food safety and the economy,” she said.

Andy Cole, owner of Andy’s Agway in Dayton, said sales have been “great” and he expects to sell out of seeds like he did last year. 

“We’re selling everything we can get,” he said.

Many people have come in with questions about how to start gardens and his staff provides as much guidance as possible, Cole said. He said people seem to spend more time at home now and are looking for ways to save money.

“I think most of it is economics with the prices the way they are in the supermarkets,” Cole said.

Ramona Snell, who runs Snell Family Farm in Buxton with her family, said tomatoes seem to be the most popular vegetable for first-time gardeners.

Her staff tries to share expertise with new gardeners, including guidance on when to plant vegetables to create a continuous harvest through the summer. 

Recently, a customer told Snell he set up a cooperative multi-family garden in Buxton to provide produce for four families.

Sharing expertise and vegetables has become the theme of several area community gardens. In Kennebunk, the Kiuna community garden has so far been enjoying a successful first year, said Director RJ Mere. The 29,000 square-foot garden on Holland Road has been divided for use by gardeners and a community patch to grow food for food pantries. 

Mere said a third of the garden has been planted with hundreds of tomato, pepper and bean plants – among other herbs and vegetables – with the goal of providing produce to area social service agencies. 

“The concept we really embraced is that we provide for those people in the community in need of food,” he said. “No one in our community or surrounding communities should go hungry.”

Mere said 42 of about 52 plots have been rented out by gardeners, many who don’t have space at home to garden. The gardeners are of all different levels and seem happy to share advice with each other, he said.

“There are a lot of grins out there. Everybody’s just so pleasant out there. It’s a great place to be,” he said. “It’s more than just raising vegetables and flowers. It’s an opportunity to socialize and meet people. It’s so satisfying.”

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.