Garden+FAQs

=Karen's Garden-FAQs=

Our goal is to grow vegetables that can be used by our kitchen staff in the fall. Students, faculty, and staff benenfit from eating fresh food at lunch from the vegetables grown in Karen's Garden Each growing season, a variety fruits and vegetables are planted in the garden. Tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, squash, onions, peppers, zucchini, potatoes, beans, peas, basil, chives, parsley, lettuce, and more are added to the USM kitchens in August, September, October, and November. [|click here] The garden was named in honor of our longtime food services director, Karen Reimer. Karen was a driving force behind our composting initiative and the garden project. Without her vision and support, there is no way we would've been able to carry out these two projects. We also are naming the garden in Karen's honor to motivate her to come back and work in the garden during her retirement!
 * What kinds of things are you growing in the garden?**
 * Why is the garden called, "Karen's Garden"?**

The garden is located on the east side of USM's transportation barn. The fence is roughly 75' X 30' and we have several raised beds inside of the fence. Two raised beds are 20' X 5' and we have three raised beds that are 12' X 5'. The two large beds contain the tomato and pepper plants, while two of the smaller beds contain additional tomato plants and the third small bed contains the zucchini plants and a few tomatoes. We constructed a small bed using cinder blocks for the bean plants and a few carrots.
 * Where is the garden located and how big is it?**

The garden is maintained by members of the the USM community. During the school year an organization called EAT (Environmental Action Team), and the 7th graders help to keep Karen's Garden operational. Bed prep, composting, planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting is accomplished by these groups. Anyone, however can become involved in the project from the USM community - parents are encouraged to lend a hand with their children to serve as "garden captains" during the summer. Weeding and watering, harvesting and tasting are the key benefits of becoming a garden captain.
 * Who is responsible for maintaining Karen's Garden?**