SACO — A new community garden program is taking root, and will provide aspiring green thumbs a place to grow their own vegetables.

The project was started by City Councilor Margaret Mills, who came up with the idea in 2008.

“I was so excited when Saco was named the greenest city in Maine (by Growing Green Magazine),” said Mills. “My first reaction was, where’s the community garden?”

Mills said that in her mind, green also means gardening and growing things.

With the help of interested local gardeners and the University of Maine York County Cooperative Extension program, as well as community support, the project moved forward this spring and Saco Community Gardens was on its way.

Forty-eight rental plots, each 10 by 10 feet, will be available next year at Haley Park on King Street. Interested gardeners need not live in Saco, though. Anyone may apply, but according to the bylaws, gardens must be planted by mid-June and all plants must be removed by Nov. 1.

The property has an on-site water source, and there are plans for students from the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology to build a tool shed. The shed will be stocked with tools and resource materials to be used on premises.

Organizers envision the garden as a place where camaraderie will grow along with food, and veteran gardeners can share their expertise and mentor beginners.

Saco has a diverse variety of housing, said Mills, and the garden will give people, such as those who live in condominiums or apartments, a space to grow their own vegetables.

Joe Morsehead is a Master Gardener who has received training through the University of Maine York County Cooperative Extension and a member of the Saco Community Garden steering committee. To fulfill his requirements as a Master Gardener, Moreshead said he has to do community service work.

His work with the community garden group, he said, “kills two birds with one stone.” Not only does he get a chance to fulfill his community service requirement, but he gets to do something he loves.

Moreshead is an enthusiastic gardener who said he enjoys “the fruits of my labor.”

“There’s nothing like picking and eating your own food,” he said.

Moreshead said a person can pick a mescaline salad that would cost a lot of money at a fancy restaurant and eat it fresh that day by growing their own lettuce and vegetables.

Not only do fresh vegetables taste better than store bought, but “it’s amazing how much money you can save” when you grow your own produce, said Moreshead.

The Saco Community Garden group currently has a demonstration plot on the grounds of the Dyer Library, as a way to bring awareness to the forthcoming gardening area on King Street.

Getting the demonstration garden going has been a group effort, with different members of the steering committee donating items like seeds and stakes and maintaining the garden. Growing on the small plot are a number of plants including carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, basil and squash.

“Considering the weather, we’re very pleased,” said Diane Lambert, communications secretary for the group.

Vegetables and herbs harvested from the demonstration garden are donated to the Saco Food Pantry.

“On a 10 by 10 plot, you can grow quite a bit of food,” said Mills.

For more information on the Saco Community Garden project e-mail sacocommunitygarden@gmail.com.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.