WATERBORO — Brenda Pinette was out working in her vegetable garden Wednesday, tending to the plants, and with the help of her grandson, dumping wheelbarrow loads of wood chips beside the raised bed, to keep the weeds down. She’ll harvest kale soon and then plant a fall crop. She’ll make kale chips for the family ”“ a nutritious, tasty snack that she says she likes because it is healthier than the alternative.

Pinette has an herb garden at home, but there’s little sun there, so she ”“ and several others ”“ plant raised beds at Waterboro Community Garden, located behind the parking lot adjacent to town hall.

“We help each other,” said Pinette of the gardeners who drop by to tend their crops.

Others agree. The gardeners exchange tips about what works for them, and more. There is a camaraderie here, whether the conversation is about gardening or other topics, they point out.

“The support is there. You’re not alone,” said Selectman Jon Gale, bending to weed his 100-square-foot plot Wednesday afternoon.

Gale is also the selectmen’s liaison to the Waterboro Community Garden Committee and is an enthusiastic supporter.

“I have small gardens at home, but the woodchucks do me in,” he said.

“I like the social part of it,” said Melissa Brandt, a gardener and one of the organizers.

Brandt and her husband, Lenny Daigneault, live just across the road and have a garden there, but they enjoy the community garden, too.

“How’s your eggplant?” Daigneault asked Gale Wednesday.

“Slow,” Gale replied. “Last year, they were killer.”

Brandt’s sister, Amy Lucarelli, also one of the community garden organizers, pointed out purchasing loam or other garden materials is cheaper when bought in quantity.

“And it’s nice. There are other people to talk to,” said Lucarelli, as she harvested a large bulb of softneck garlic. Folks help each other out ”“ offering to water and weed for fellow gardeners who may be unable to do so for a while.

Donna Berardi, like Pinette, doesn’t have enough sun in her own yard to successfully plant ”“ and the deer wreak havoc on whatever is growing there, she said. She used to plant at another community garden in Hollis, nine miles away.

“This is much more convenient, “ she said.

Two years ago, the garden, nicely fenced to keep wildlife at bay, and which now sports 28 4-by-25-foot raised beds, was a dream. The land was scrubby. There were trees and shrubs, and it was overgrown and not suitable for much of anything. Some folks got together ”“ including Lucarelli and her husband Anthony, Melissa Brandt, Nancy Brandt and others ”“ and the Waterboro Community Garden Committee was formed. Pete Cote is a committee member along with Todd Smith, Sandra Jorgensen, Cleo Smith and Berardi.

“A small group got together and decided we liked community gardens, and we wanted one in Waterboro,” said Lucarelli.

There were donations of labor and materials. Local contractor Douglas Foglio, also the town road commissioner, cleared the land. The committee then hosted a rock picking party and began to prepare for the raised beds. They reclaimed the old fence that had been used at the town’s transfer station and there was a donation of soil from Gorham Sand and Gravel. Folks built the raised beds ”“ 25 for the first season and three more this year. Tibbetts Farm offered a discount on soil this year, said Lucarelli. As well, there’s nutrient-rich, year-old, composted milfoil from Lake Arrowhead to enrich the soil.

The first growing season came in 2013, and initially, about a dozen plots were rented. As folks began to see crops growing, interest grew too.

“People wanted to be a part of it,” Lucarelli said.

Soon, 23 of the 25 plots were rented, and the rest planted to benefit the local food pantry. This year, crops from three new beds will benefit the pantry.

The fee to rent a plot is $25 annually ”“ gardeners point out that the value of the yield in vegetables ”“ and the sense of community fostered ”“ far exceeds the outlay, particularly considering the raised beds are already filled with soil, and there’s a handy water source on site.

Gale said the community garden sparked his interest. And, he said, it fits in with the town’s 15-year-old comprehensive plan that spoke to a desire for more community togetherness.

“This is so much fun for me,” he said.

Lucarelli said the garden appeals to a cross-section of the community: first-time gardeners, those who have gardened for years, young families, retirees and older folks ”“ some from Applewood apartments, just down the road from the garden.

As well, workshops are held year-round, free and open to anyone, whether or not they rent a garden spot. They’re held on the third Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon at town hall. On Saturday, July 19, the topic will be pest control.

And even though this gardening season is still in full swing, the committee is thinking ahead to next year. There’s an ongoing gardening shed project, and Lucarelli is thinking about a demonstration that shows how folks on the homefront coped with food rationing during World War II by growing victory gardens.

Community gardens have been popping up throughout the county in recent years. In Saco, Peg Mills chairs the group that oversees Saco Community Garden, located in Haley Park, off King Street. The park sports 48 10-by-10-foot plots, with two set aside to benefit their food pantry. The first growing season for the Saco garden was in 2010.

“It’s been a really good experience,” said Mills.

In Waterboro, Pinette echoed that sentiment.

“It’s a great group of people, from many walks of life,” she said. “And for $25 a summer, how can you go wrong?”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].