Andover Community Garden

Mission

Our mission is to educate our members about organic gardening and to provide opportunities to them so that they can grow and harvest vegetables, herbs and flowers within a welcoming community setting.

Garden plots are open to all residents of Andover and surrounding towns who join our Association. Plots that are turning over are offered yearly to people on the waiting list on a first come, first serve basis. You  can request a plot here. We will start assigning plots to newcomers in March 2024.

Each Association member contributes an annual plot fee to cover maintenance. To be part of our association, you must be willing to agree to our requirements. These are fairly standard rules for community gardens, with requirements such as gardening organically and participating in workdays and cleanups; and we do try to help new folks with this request by giving lessons/ideas for how to garden organically. Once rented, you plant up your plot, harvest and maintain your own plot for your own family’s use during the gardening season. 

Garden Managers

High Plain Garden: Your garden managers are: Yolanda Chico Miller, Lauren Conoscenti, Lisette Pylant, Jane Ward and Viki Vasquez. Viki and Jane are your plant gardening gurus. All other problems (general questions, hoses, water, locks, vacation, etc.) should be raised with your other three managers or the help line: help@andovergarden.com. 

What to know for Opening Day:

• We will be opening both gardens on 4/20 so please report to the garden where your assigned plot is (Main St gardeners can expect to receive communications from Garden Manager Cheryl).

• When you arrive please check in with Cheryl (Main St) or Lisette (High Plain) to ensure we can record your participation and put a face to everyone's names!  We will have nametags and a whiteboard with tasks for gardeners to complete independently and in teams. 

• Last year we had an unexpected frost a few days after opening the garden and lost a number of plants - If it is your first year gardening or you have questions about when to plant seeds or transplants, please feel free to come to Opening Day and ask questions and get advice from other gardeners and garden educators before buying seedlings, we are all happy to help!

What to Bring:

• For seeds, check our Seed Library at Memorial Hall Library. Also Ocean St. Job Lots, Target, Mahoney’s, Market Basket, and Home Depot/Lowe’s all have seeds displayed. Probably only one pack needs to be purchased now for each variety. Organic companies are preferred for seed and plants (if you choose the latter for other crops).

• The only amendments needed for now is blood meal (nitrogent) and organic compost. We suggest purchasing and bringing a bag of blood meal (I usually buy the small 3lb bag of Espoma brand available locally at Mahoney's or Home Depot) with you on opening day if you plan to use it. We will have wheelbarrows available if you would like to retrieve your own compost from the town compost site opposite the garden for free (High Plain) - we suggest adding about 2 inches at the start of the season. You do not need any general fertilizer. Our soil is rich in other nutrients and the pH is good. On opening day you should amend the soil first if you plan to at all. After amending the soil, wait a week or so to plant so that any new additions have a chance to be incorporated.

• You are welcome to bring your own tools to use, but to help prevent the spread of jumping worms, other invasive species, and diseases to the gardens, please take the time to clean any tools you do choose to bring. We will be cleaning some of the shared tools on Opening Day so if you are unsure how to do this you can learn then!

• We try to have a mix of tasks appropriate for all ages and activity levels, but please let us know if you have an accessibility concern or need a modified activity.

We can't wait to get growing!

Warmest regards,

Lisette & ACGA Board

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