MILO, Maine — Bespectacled Mitchell Carey, 10, of Milo was stooped over a tomato plant in a garden on the outskirts of town Wednesday, talking to the plant.
“You’re doing a good job,” Carey murmured as he carefully pruned small suckers — or new shoots — without disturbing the large green tomatoes that draped the plant.
Nearby, Adam Stetson, 10, of Brownville was examining beetles he had found on string bean plants. “Look, there’s two of them eating a string bean,” he yelled. Carey, Stetson and about 10 other Milo and Brownville 4-H Club members are growing a 30-by-60-foot garden to help feed the hungry in their communities as well as to learn how to grow their own produce. Along the way, the children have learned how to prepare soil, identify beneficial bugs as well as pests, and master techniques that can help improve the crops.
4-H leaders Sue Stetson and Catherine Greene of Brownville and Natalie Hitchcock of Milo have helped the children with the project, as have parents, Three Rivers Kiwanis Club volunteer Frank Cochrane, Andrew Barnes, a former AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer, and University of Maine Cooperative Extension specialists such as master gardener Hannah Todd.
“The 4-H youth are doing the garden, but it’s really the community that has made it happen,” Barnes said Wednesday. He said local businesses donated hoes, rakes, shovels, wooden stakes and manure for the project and the town donated the space.
That generosity has been matched by the children, who are growing corn, string beans, tomatoes, watermelons, summer squash, potatoes, carrots and peppers for the local Meals on Wheels program for seniors and the local food pantry.
The senior program gets the fresh produce, and the food pantry will likely get food processed by the youngsters, giving it a longer shelf life. Each of the youngsters has a particular plant to tend and the produce from that plant will be exhibited at the Piscataquis Valley Fair later this month.
“The garden turned out better than I thought it would,” said Sue Stetson, Adam Stetson’s mother.
She said the youngsters have gathered every Wednesday afternoon to tend and water by hand the garden located in the town’s industrial park. The exception is Carey, who has made almost daily visits to tend to and talk with his tomato plant.
Carey said Wednesday he enjoys gardening. He said he made sure there were plenty of earthworms and compost under his tomato plant and planted marigolds as a natural repellent to tomato bugs. The youngster also collected rainwater that fell from the roof of his home to apply to his plants, believing the water might be more nutritious.
Taking gardening a bit further, Carey also noted he was making a new pesticide using the organic smell of tomato plants to repel beetles from other plants.
“It’s a hands-on science lesson,” Barnes said. “As the garden got bigger, their interest began growing right with the plants.”
Lily Hitchcock, 10, of Milo said it was fun learning how to grow a garden and identify bugs. “I think it helps our education,” she said. At the same time, she also said it was fun helping others in the community with the food. “It’s a good project,” she said.