Author: Bill M

The Hanover Community Gardens now has a secure new fence that should give much improved protection against animal predators, including deer, woodchucks and raccoons.  On Saturday September 1,  John Korfel and his 3-man crew of Critterfence installers drove up from their home base in Connecticut and spent a very intensive six hours installing our new fence around the entire perimeter of our gardens.

Two days before the fence installers arrived, a local landscaper had come to mow the weeds around the fence perimeter and within the central area between upper and lower gardens.  On the morning of the installation, ten members of the garden arose early and came to the garden to take down the temporary fence that had provided some protection to the gardens since spring.  Thanks to their efforts, the fence had been completely removed by 8:00 am, by which time the installers had begun their work.

The fence, produced by Critterfence, Inc. (www.critterfence.com), includes a 7-foot high high-strength polymer mesh for protection against deer, with three 5-foot wide latched doors.  The lower two to three feet of the fence have an additional plastic-coated steel mesh that is overlapped with the ground for 6-12 inches and staked down to the ground every 4 – 5 feet, to keep smaller animals such as woodchucks from entering the gardens.  The fence has steel posts every 10 feet, with steel reinforced cables between all posts.  The fence will remain up year- round and should provide protection against animal intruders for many years to come.  Below find some photos taken by the installation crew on during and after the fence erection.

Hanover Community Gardens wishes to express its sincere thanks to the individuals and organizations that contributed funds to make the fence installation possible.  The external donors include:  Anonymous donor, Hanover Improvement Society, Mascoma Bank; member gardener donors include:  Ardis Olson and Alan Dietrich, Megan Holthoff, Jan Chapman, Francis Kennedy, Doug Deaett, Viva Hardigg, Robert Oden, Tammie Patten.  Additional assistance was provided by Joanna Whitcomb and the Town of Hanover, particularly Julia Griffin and Betsy McClain.  The effort was led by the Fence Committee chaired by Doug Deaett, and the Garden Committee (Megan Holthoff, Francis Kennedy, Shelley Sanyal).

The garden has two spots available for this season. We have one half plot in the upper garden and one full-sized plot in the lower garden. Please email Shelley at ssanyal1969@gmail.com or Francis at Francis.E.Kennedy@dartmouth.edu for more information.

There are currently 3 full plots (20’ x 20’) available in the lower garden and 1 half-plot (20’ x 10’) available in the upper garden.  If you would like to expand your garden, or if you know someone who would like to take over a plot and garden with us this summer, please contact  Francis Kennedy (francis.kennedy@dartmouth.edu) for one of the lower garden plots or Shelley Sanyal (ssanyal1969@gmail.com) for the upper garden half-plot.

Garden Plot Payment
Please make your payment for this year’s garden plot ($40 for full plot, $20 for half-plot) by early June.  Make check payable to Hanover Community Gardens and send to Megan Holthoff at 10 Reservoir Rd., Hanover.

We’ve made lots of progress toward getting a year-round fence around the Hanover Community Gardens, but we aren’t there yet.

• The Garden Fence Committee, led by Doug Deaett, came up with a design of a year-round fence that would be supplied by Critterfence and installed by Critterfence Installation for a total of a bit over $6000, including installation.
• Joanna Whitcomb worked with Dartmouth College, on whose land the gardens are located, to get their approval for the erection of a year-round fence around the gardens.That approval was granted and the license allowing us the right to garden on the land is being updated.  The Town of Hanover has also given their approval.
• More than half of this year’s gardeners responded to our poll about a fence, and they unanimously voted to have a year-round fence instead of a seasonal fence.
• Many of the gardeners also pledged donations toward the fence purchase; a total of over $750 was pledged and those pledge payments are coming in.
• Proposals for funding were submitted to several organizations in the Hanover area.One of them, Hanover Improvement Society, has responded favorably by giving us a grant of $500.
• As of May 1 we had less than one-third of the funds required for purchase and installation of a year-round fence, so were unable to contract with Critterfence to get a new fence installed before Memorial Day.
• We have decided to reinstall our seasonal fence, at least temporarily, and plan to do so onMay 12 (see below).  This will allow the gardeners to start planting this month.
• Assuming sufficient funds for a year-round fence are obtained during the summer, the seasonal fence will be taken down later in the summer and the year-round fence will be installed at that time.

Saturday, May 5th at 9:30 am
Saturday, May 12th at 9:30 am

During the past few years there has been a rapid growth of mint, invasive weeds, and even some bushes in the area around the gardens.  They have grown into the fence and have caused deterioration of the fencing.  Those plants and other detritus, including discarded posts, needs to be removed before any fence can be installed at the gardens, and the grounds in general need a good cleanup.  For that purpose, we hope to get as many gardeners as possible together this coming Saturday, May 5, at 9:30 am for a garden clean-up work party.  If anyone can bring weed whacker, clippers, rake, hoe, etc. to assist in the effort, that would be much appreciated. With a decent turnout, it shouldn’t take more than an hour.  The ground may be rather soggy, so wear appropriate footwear.

A second work party is being scheduled for Saturday morning May 12, also at 9:30, to put up the seasonal fence and install hoses.  Again, assuming a decent turnout it shouldn’t take more than an hour.

Please plan to come to one or both of the work parties.  In case of rain, they will be rescheduled.  Please check the garden webpage (www.hanovergardens.org) for updates.