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

Welcome to The Garden!

The Winter Squash Bed Becomes the Garlic Bed

The Winter Squash Bed Becomes the Garlic Bed

Winter squash harvest day comes before the first frost or after the squash have stopped maturing in each day's reduced sunlight and warmth. Gardeners harvested the squashes for sorting and distribution then pulled up the vines, which went onto the garden waste...

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What else is growing at the garden?

1st Work Party: Parsnip Harvest and More

1st Work Party: Parsnip Harvest and More

It was a day in the dirt. Several gardeners were at the Climate March here and Montpelier and in Washington, D.C., while some of us worked for the earth right here at the Garden at 485 Elm.

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Pre-Work Party gardening with the Garden Teams

Pre-Work Party gardening with the Garden Teams

Registered gardeners at the Garden at 485 Elm are welcome to simply show up, check the task board, and get gardening. But gardeners who want to help plan and organize the garden participate in one or more teams:  Soil Health, Compost, and Garden Planning &...

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Early days in the garden season

Early days in the garden season

The Garden at 485 Elm will hold our first work parties at the end of April. The new garden leadership teams are assessing the needs and planning the big planting days to come.

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Our Garden’s Compostville in UVM Ext. Master Gardener News

Our Garden’s Compostville in UVM Ext. Master Gardener News

Press release from the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener program: COMMUNITY GARDEN PROJECT TURNS FOOD SCRAPS INTO BLACK GOLD Montpelier--When gardeners return to The Garden at 485 Elm in Montpelier next spring, they'll have a ready supply of "black gold"...

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The garden all snug in its bed — asleep, but never dead

The garden all snug in its bed — asleep, but never dead

This is the quiet period between the end of the 2016 season, officially on Dec. 31, and the beginning of the 2017 season, on Jan. 1. We've pulled out spent crops, spread cover-crop seed, raked leaves over the beds, and turned the compost. But the garden is merely...

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River Discovery Walk Discoveries

River Discovery Walk Discoveries

On a beautiful late summer Saturday morning, naturalist and gardener at 485 Elm, Ned Swanberg, introduced us to flora, fauna, and the river itself. We heard bird calls, identified native, exotic, and invasive plants, and found connections between our watershed and the...

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Feeding the community

Feeding the community

According to Hunger Free Vermont: One in five Vermont children experiences hunger or food hardship. To help increase food security, Montpelier offers free community meals every day of the week. Every growing season, the Garden at 485 Elm contributes food to Central...

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