Mimi Adler, Bedford’s Citizen of the Year in 1990, was instrumental in starting Bedford’s Community Gardens in the George Jordan Conservation Land behind Hartwell Road more than 50 years ago. In Mimi’s day, the gardens offered sunny space for gardeners with shady yards, along with conviviality as the gardeners shared tips, plants and their harvests. And on Bedford Day, Mimi would stage a mini-fair with entries for the best corn, fattest tomato, most succulent squash and competitions for jams, jellies and pies.
Many gardeners have come and gone through the years, and nearly all have fond memories of their experiences. Click here to read Mercedes Kane’s short reminiscence of her time as a community gardener.
Today, the gardens are home to 23 plots that are available for a $50 annual fee, $40 of which is returned to the gardeners who actually work the land during the season.
Save one, all of this year’s 23 gardeners live in Bedford, although anyone may apply for space in the spring once resident requests are filled. The plots are administered by Conservation Commission administrator Elizabeth Bagdonas, with support from Rob Dobson, who is both a Bedford Land Steward and the Community Gardens’ liaison to the Conservation Commission.
The town provides water, mowing and refuse removal. Gardeners of all stripes tend their own plots and grow a diverse selection of crops. There is a shared grape arbor, and the plots brim with corn, tomatoes, squash, beans and more unusual plants like an Asian loofah squash and noodle beans well over a foot long.
Dobson and his partner Brian Magee dine handsomely from their two community garden plots. “We grow all our own produce—everything but bananas, we like to say! —for about six months of the year and freeze a lot for the winter.”
Their favorite crop is the little Japanese turnips, a plant that can be sown for an early harvest in the spring, and then re-seeded to produce fresh turnips throughout the season. “The white orbs look just like small ping pong balls. They are so tender and delicious lightly steamed,” said Dobson, “they don’t even need butter or olive oil.”
Dobson is an advocate for Bedford’s community gardens, posting notices in the spring when the plots are available. “I love to see all of the different approaches the gardeners have, and we’re continually learning from each other. It’s a nice little community. Many of the gardeners have been returning for years, but there are almost always other good plots available. I’m always happy to give tours to prospective gardeners.”
Photographs of Bedford’s Community Gardens
Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in learning more about Bedford’s community gardens, please let The Citizen know and we’ll put you in touch with Rob Dobson.
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Hi! I can’t believe that I have lived in Bedford for the past 8 years but I never knew about the gardens. I am interested in learning more about the community garden. Can you please let me know how I can get involved and apply for the space?
As a member of the community gardens and “pretend” farmer, I must admit that there is a special peace at the gardens that you cannot find even in your own back yard. Perhaps because it is removed from all the demands of our modern lives. There, you can take in small pleasures, like in the sound of crickets, song birds and the change of the seasons. When you leave with dirt on your hands, knowing that you have held back the weeds for another day, you feel a sense of accomplishment. Seeing the sprouts pop up in the spring and then eating that first vine-ripened tomato in August could be defined as “heaven on earth”
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I have lived here my whole life and never knew about the gardens! Great article!