The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (BTLT) will celebrate the opening of the Tom Settlemire Community Garden from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on the eastern border of Crystal Spring Farm off Baribeau Drive.

The celebration will feature a scarecrow contest, a perennial plant and baked goods sale, live music, a children’s activity, and tours of the garden with a Master Gardener.

Visitors to the free event will be able to vote for their favorite scarecrows and garden plots. For details about the scarecrow contest and entry forms, visit the land trust’s website (www.btlt.org) or call 729-7694. There is a contest fee of $5 to enter scarecrows in adult or children’s (12 and younger) categories.

Advance submission of scarecrow entry forms and fee to the BTLT office is encouraged, but scarecrow entries will be accepted the day of the event.

Holders of the 73 community garden plots started cultivation on May 1 at the fenced garden. The garden bears the name of Tom Settlemire, a longtime director and former president of BTLT.

The idea of a community garden at Crystal Spring Farm first took hold in the early 1990s, when BTLT began its 15-year campaign to purchase and preserve the farm, according to a land trust release.

“In the spring of 2011, BTLT’s agriculture committee made the garden a top priority, forming a subcommittee that brought the idea to fruition in just one year,” the release states. “The garden came into being, thanks to countless inkind donations and hundreds of volunteer hours, including two work days involving over 100 people.”

On the work days, volunteers installed more than 1,000 feet of fencing, 2,000 feet of walkways, compost bins and a fully equipped gardening shed.

The plots, most measuring 10 feet by 16 feet, were available on a first-come, first serve basis to the entire community. All plots have been committed, and a waiting list for plots next year is available.

BTLT members paid $25. Non-members paid $35.

The land trust hopes to keep plot fees low by dedicating funds from two annual fundraising events, including the scarecrow contest, to the garden. A harvest dinner featuring items grown in the community garden is planned for Oct. 13.

Plot holders have access to compost, water and consultation with Master gardeners. They must commit to five hours of volunteer work at the garden annually.

In addition to individual plots, the community garden includes a large “Common Good Garden” being used to raise storage crops for the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program (MCHPP). Volunteers from MCHPP and Seeds of Independence, a mentor-based youth advocate program, are working together to plant, weed and water four crops — onions, carrots, winter squash and potatoes.

One half-acre of the two acres set aside for the garden was prepared this season. Because the site does not have power, water is periodically pumped from an onsite well into storage tanks which provide 1,300 gallons of storage capacity.

The land trust hopes to raise $1,900 to finance a solar pumping system that will refill the water tanks continuously and demonstrate a practical use of a renewable energy source.

“The volunteer effort that planned, built and is now maintaining this garden has been incredible,” BTLT associate director Caroline Eliot said in the release. “This wonderful community resource brings together people of all generations where they can share knowledge about a mutual interest. The fact that we have a waiting list for plots tells us that the garden is fulfilling a real need in the community.”

For more information, call 729-7694 or visit www.btlt.org.