The Garden at 485 Elm
People growing together:
A collaborative community garden in Montpelier, Vermont

Welcome to The Garden!

Planting Potatoes in Trenches and Elsewhere

Planting Potatoes in Trenches and Elsewhere

The timing was perfect. The night before potato planting, a gardener found the last of 2023's blanched-and-frozen potatoes at the bottom of the chest freezer and made a delicious treat: Slice the potatoes thinly, brush with avocado oil, sprinkle with seasonings—in...

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What else is growing at the garden?

Time to Conduct a Potato Experiment

Time to Conduct a Potato Experiment

What better time to try new things when absolutely everything seems like an entirely new thing? Years ago, the garden grew potatoes in one of the fenced garden’s plot. It was labor-intensive and not greatly beloved. The results were delicious, but local potatoes are...

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Safe Community Gardening in the Time of COVID-19

Safe Community Gardening in the Time of COVID-19

Gardening here this season means adhering to the COVID-19 rules. Our new garden health and safety team devised them to support three groups we identified: Gardeners taking recommended precautions while still visiting public spacesGardeners in high-risk households who...

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Safe Gardening Has Begun

Safe Gardening Has Begun

Gardeners are long accustomed to change being the only constant. Every season is different, but this year has redefined the word "different" for everyone on earth. Gardening means access to food, along with promoting mental and physical well-being. And so we grow....

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Garage Garden Work Party

Garage Garden Work Party

February 29 saw a small garden get-together in the garage. We cleaned and oiled hinged tools and shared homemade coconut milk chai. Camaraderie and inspiration began germinating among returning and new gardeners. At this time of year, the question often arises: do we...

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The winter garden arrived this morning.

The winter garden arrived this morning.

Here once lay winter squash and herbs. Kale is still happening, and Brussels sprouts are only getting better. Before last night's hard frost, the first of the season, gardeners gleaned the chard (formerly between the two kale rows in the foreground) and donated it to...

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Our 2020 Garlic Crop Is Planted

Our 2020 Garlic Crop Is Planted

On the beautiful first Saturday afternoon in November 2019, we planted our 2020 garlic crop. But it all began in 2018. Back on a snowy day in November 2018, we planted a garlic crop, which we harvested it in August 2019, shown here. Half the crop went home with...

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Community Garden Seeks Food Scraps & a Compost Team

Community Garden Seeks Food Scraps & a Compost Team

We have built it. Will they come? Compostville at the Garden at 485 Elm was built in 2018 and 2019 with help from a NEGEF grant and grant partners including the Vermont Community Garden Network, the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District, and the Composting...

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Fall Gardening for Real

Fall Gardening for Real

These are the very last cherry tomatoes of the season. Frost-sensitive plants are done. No more tomatoes, eggplants, hot peppers, basil, beans, or peas. Where tomatoes once grew, we're putting garden beds to bed. The harvesting board is sparse and getting sparser....

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Healthy Garden Boundaries

Healthy Garden Boundaries

Hopefully reducing the likelihood of being an attractive nuisance. This is a hospitable garden. Neighbors, friends, family, and clients of the onsite business are welcome here. Anyone can ask to visit or discuss joining as a gardener. There are limits. A few weeks ago...

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