01907_Summer_2019 WEB

SUMMER 2019 | 19
Seaside Cooperative Garden President Sarah Koch, center, speaks about her vision for the garden as
construction manager Joe Picariello and vice president Sierra Munoz look on.
always told me I had a green thumb."
Carrots were left in the ground and
covered with leaves over the winter,
added Picariello. "I'd shovel 2 feet of
snow, move the leaves, and dig out the
carrots. Boy, they tasted good. The ground
was warm. It was like a root cellar, which
we had in the house as well."
"There's tremendous interest in
gardening in this community, and in Lynn
and Marblehead. People want to do it, but
there's not always space or the knowledge.
Here, we can all learn to grow vegetables
and reap the benefits," said Picariello.
Picariello maintains an 8-foot-by-16-
foot raised garden at his home on Carson
Terrace, which yields lots of tomatoes,
lettuce, cucumbers, beets, carrots, string
beans and broccoli.
"And all the neighbors benefit," he
said, then smiled.
"I'm excited to learn from John and
other seasoned gardeners," said Munoz,
who lives near the high school and has
a small, rocky backyard. "I grew up in
Wisconsin, with my hands in the dirt and
looking for tadpoles," she said. Her children
Emmett and Eleanor will likely follow suit.
Little Eleanor can be seen on the group's
Facebook page wearing a "I (heart) veggies"
onesie and surrounded by seed packets.
(The group's Facebook page is fun.
One post says "Pollen: When flowers
can't keep it in their plants." Another
says "When you realize EARTH and
HEART are spelled using the same
letters, it all starts to make sense.")
"I want my kids to know where food
comes from. Kids see us planting seeds,
then watch vegetables come out of the
ground; maybe they'll even eat some
right then and there," said Munoz, a
two-year Swampscott resident.
Koch, Munoz and Picariello agree
Seaside Cooperative Garden is a team
effort by members, volunteers, the town
and its Public Works department, and
numerous benefactors who have helped
make the garden a reality.
B. Good hosted a fundraiser in April,
and support has come from For the Love
of Swampscott, the First Church of
Swampscott, a woman on Puritan Road
who gifted the group with unused pavers,
and many others. Meninno Construction
cleared the land and donated sod and
loam, much of it coming from where the
dog park now sits. GVW Inc. provided
materials to build the raised veggie beds.
Moynihan Lumber contributed fencing
and posts, to keep critters away from
the veggies. Seedlings were started by
Brandy Wilbur, STEM coordinator for
Swampscott Public Schools, and her
Green Scholars students, using donated
High Mowing Organic Seeds. Bertram
House will install an irrigation system
and a small shed will be provided so
volunteers don't have to constantly lug
shovels, rakes and the like from home.
From small things, big things
someday come. And Seaside Cooperative
Garden is just getting started.