Story and photos by Kathy Batesel
Ann’s Community Gardens is a valuable resource that enables Freeporters to get fresh food and certain veggies that aren’t routinely stocked at the Old School Store across the street – and best of all, it can all be “purchased” with nothing more than a bit of sweat equity.
Volunteer Gail Crocker was loading a wheelbarrow of soil when I caught up to her. As a recent transplant to the area, I’d noticed the sign for the greenhouse but hadn’t seen any activity there since I’d arrived last December.
A quick internet search told me that Ann Schweitzer and Frank Palermo teamed up with the Freeport Community Development Association (FCDA). The FCDA raised funds and Ann and Frank contributed their expertise, ultimately designing a practically indestructible 600 square foot space for the village. Using solar vents and lights, in-floor geothermal heat, and gravity-fed rainwater collections, its original design thoughtfully looked for energy efficient ways to feed Freeporters and encourage social contributions to combat feelings of isolation for seniors and others.
Gail was friendly and informative as she showed me around. “I’m preparing garden beds and planting seeds,” she said. She pointed to rows of onions, showed me seed packets of radishes, and directed me to the heat exchanger that helps keep the greenhouse at ideal temperatures for growing indoors. She pointed to lettuce she was about to move outdoors because it was a cold weather plant, and she needed room to sow the warmer season seedlings.
In the past, she said, people paid to rent individual table-height planting beds. They planted what they wanted to. They’d water them, weed them, and harvest them for their own families.
“We’re trying something a little different this year,” she told me. A longtime farmer, Gail is an expert on planting and has tackled the challenge of seeding every planting bed in the greenhouse. Instead of renting beds to individuals this year, volunteers will be able to contribute to the entire project and later harvest the fruits of their labors. As stated on the Ann’s Community Solar Greenhouse Facebook page, volunteers are invited to help water, weed, and keep the building and grounds tidy.
One thing probably won’t change: Each year, the greenhouse holds a plant sale to raise money for continued operations. Pam Crouse highlighted that while it’s quite energy efficient, the greenhouse does have monthly hydro expenses, annual expenses for supplies, and maintenance expenses for repairing breakdowns of the solar powered geothermal system. “We need to look at getting grant money and donations,” she said.
