Garden News | Biddeford Community Gardens

RECIPE: Quick Pickled Beets

Jul 13, 2026 | Garden News

Humans have been pickling since as far back as 2400 B.C. if you can believe it. If you want to extend the life of your produce, do like our ancestors and pickle it. Because we have refrigeration, it’s not necessary to make it shelf stable if you’re going to eat it within the next few weeks. Quicker, easier and you can enjoy it right away.

Here’s a great Pickled Beet recipe we adapted from Chris Shlesinger’s must-have book, “Quick Pickles: Easy Recipes with Big Flavors.”

Red Wine Pickled Beets – yields about 4 cups

Ingredients:

2 lbs beets (about 5 medium), boiled until tender (about 25 minutes), peeled and sliced into coins
1/4 cup orange zest
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp whole allspice berries
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 cup peeled & grated horseradish (fresh is best but jarred is fine)
2 tsp sea salt
ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Get your cleaned jars and lids ready to go (4 or 5 4-oz jars should do it)
Put your beet slices in the jars
Add all ingredients except beets to a sauce pan, bring to a boil, simmer or 3 minutes and pour over your beets
Let cool, add lids, and refrigerate. That’s it! They will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks but you’ll surely eat them up before then. Try in salads with goat cheese and greens, on a cheese plate, on a burger or tuna sandwich, or simply snack on them — beets are a superfood and can help lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, support digestive health, and enhance brain function!

Support Our Adopt-a-Garden-Bed Campaign

May 13, 2026 | Garden News

We’re excited to introduce a new way to support Biddeford Community Gardens this growing season — and become part of the garden in a visible, lasting way.

You can now Adopt-a-Garden-Bed here:
https://givebutter.com/bcg-adopt-a-garden-bed

With a sponsorship starting at $100, your name, or a dedication to someone special, will be displayed on a personalized plaque mounted directly on one of our garden beds throughout the growing season, starting with our beds at our largest garden — Rotary Park in Biddeford.

Your support directly helps fund:
🪴Our greenhouse
👩‍🌾 Seeds and tools
🌱Soil and compost
💦 Water access
👫Youth and community programming

This year, we’re launching our inaugural class of Founding Garden Sponsors — our first group helping bring this program to life. We’re releasing a limited number of sponsorships to ensure the garden remains beautiful, cohesive, and community-centered.

We invite you to choose one of the Sponsorship Levels below.
After you select your sponsorship level, we’ll follow up with next steps to collect your plaque details.

All plaques are displayed for the 2026 growing season, with the option to renew annually.

DONATE BY JUNE 1 AND YOU WILL BE INVITED TO ROTARY PARK FOR THE UNVEILING OF OUR FIRST INSTALLED PLAQUES. REFRESHMENTS AND SNACKS WILL BE SERVED. DATE OF EVENT TBD IN JULY.

Sprout Sponsor — $100

Plaque posted to a garden bed – 12” x 4” engraved outdoor aluminum plaque
Name and/or short dedication: up to 80 characters, including spaces
Recognition on website
BCG bandana designed by our artist gardener, Sophia!
1 lb of produce from our gardens

Blossom Sponsor — $250

Plaque posted to a garden bed – 12” x 4” engraved outdoor aluminum plaque
Name and/or short dedication: up to 80 characters, including spaces
Recognition on website
BCG bandana designed by our artist gardener, Sophia!
5 lb of produce from our gardens

Harvest Sponsor — $500

Plaque posted to a garden bed – 12” x 4” engraved outdoor aluminum plaque
Name and/or short dedication: up to 80 characters, including spaces
Recognition on website and on social media
BCG bandana designed by our artist gardener, Sophia!
10 lb of produce from our gardens
Private tour of the garden by a BCG member and option to pick some of your own produce

Garden Patron — $2,500

XL plaque – 12” x 12” engraved outdoor aluminum plaque
Premier plaque placement
- Headline (larger text): up to 50 characters, including spaces
- Body copy: 120-160 characters (2–3 lines), including spaces
- Logo (optional)
Private 60–90 minute garden or greenhouse reception (up to 15 guests) with guided garden tour and light refreshments
Recognition on website and social media
2 BCG bandanas and 3 t-shirts designed by our artist gardener, Sophia!
20 lb of produce from our gardens (or donate your 20 lbs to a local BCG partner – Bon Appetit, Biddeford Food Pantry or Youth Full Maine)

Thank you in advance for your donation.
We are excited to unveil your plaque in Rotary Park in July 2026!

> Make your donation and Adopt-a-Garden-Bed here: https://givebutter.com/bcg-adopt-a-garden-bed

What’s in Season in Maine: Your Month-by-Month Produce Guide

Apr 21, 2026 | Garden News

If you’re new to gardening or trying to eat healthier, this seasonal chart for Maine is a great place to start. It is essential to see which foods are freshest, most affordable, and most nutritious throughout the year. The green bars show peak harvest times for each fruit and vegetable, when produce is at its best in both flavor and nutrition. Produce picked at peak season tends to be richer in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, while also tasting better. You’ll also see orange and yellow bars, which indicate foods that is available beyond the peak season, meaning they are either grown in greenhouses or stored after harvest. This means you can still enjoy local foods even in colder months, just in a different way!

Spring and summer are upon us, which means getting our hands dirty and planting tons of produce for the upcoming season. Soon enough, an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables will be blooming for everyone’s enjoyment. At a community garden, you don’t just read about fresh produce, you experience it. Come dig in, get involved, and enjoy fresh, healthy food while bonding with your community.

Thank you to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry for this great resource. Click here to see more from their website!

> Volunteer here!

Nutrition From The Ground Up – Smoothies!

Apr 20, 2026 | Garden News

Hi everyone! My name is Amanda and I am a BCG garden team member. Do you know how easy it is to get nutrients through fruits in homemade smoothies? If you don’t, let me share how I taught some friends at St. Andre’s and the Ledgewood apartments to make an easy, nutrient dense smoothie with varying fruits and herbs. The great thing about smoothies is anyone can make one using the fruits, veggies, or herbs they like or have on hand! During my two demonstrations, I talked about knowing how many fruits and veggies to eat each day and how they benefit our bodies, the importance of elevating cooking with herbs straight from the gardens without salt, and how to repurpose fruit to save money.