Putnam Farm Conservation Area

If people had land to access, They could care for that dirt, Help it become healthy soil, Learn each other’s names, Carry things together, Plant some seeds, Water plants & Harvest.

They might not.

Yet in Orleans, at Putnam Farm’s agricultural growing plots, people most certainly are.

In 2018, lottery applications opened to interested parties for five annual leases on separate 4000-square-foot gardening plots. Commercial activity and marijuana farming could not occur on site. Today, four of the five original lottery winners remain working the land, and the other plot was quickly leased when it became available.

John Jannell, the Orleans Conservation Administrator who has led the project, is pleased with its progress and the dedication of the gardeners. The thirteen acres had major challenges, as layers of the land had been carted away decades ago to help stabilize the Orleans rotary area before the rotary was created.

At the start, the property seemed more a swimming pond for waterfowl than growable land. “Tom Daley, Orleans’ DPW Director, has been incredible by delivering truckloads of town-generated wood chips and compost to the site,” says Jannell. “The growers have struggled with and fought back against the poor soil conditions and weeds.”

“A group of loyal volunteer project supporters has already sown cover crops to begin the soil building for three additional growing areas for Phase 2 that may be ready for the lottery in the spring of 2022,” says Jannell. The final division of land, Phase 3, will yield another five or six allotments, perhaps in 2023. Interested parties can contact the town of Orleans Environmental Conservation Department for future lottery details.

Peter and Joyce Weinman were thrilled to learn they had won a slot in the first lottery. Originally from upstate New York where they had acres to grow on, they can now also raise produce here for family and friends and donate to local food pantries. “John Jannell has been so supportive and everyone here is so nice,” says Peter. “Overall it’s been a great experience.”

James Rosato planted for years at the Orleans community gardens, and fellow Cape native and work partner Laura Howes also gardened for at least a decade. Together they raise a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. “The over-arching challenge at Putnam is building the soil, and we’re doing that in multiple ways like cover cropping and adding heavy layers of compost and mulch,” says Rosato. “This is the only place on the Cape that I know of where a large public agricultural project like this exists.”

Krystle McMorrow and Ryan Kinton, the newest growers at Putnam Farm, were out prepping their soil on a very cold March morning. Excited to now join the original four gardens, they shared, “We are Cape Cod natives who are fulfilling our dreams of creating an organic farm focused on soil health, biodiversity, and sustainability.”

Arin Hirst, a Cape Codder since age seven, leans towards microgreens, choosing varieties like radish, arugula and broccoli, which he harvests while still quite young. Often using raised beds, he grows a salad blend as well. His studies of natural farming techniques in California inform his practices. “Incorporating good amounts of decomposed organic matter really helps to build up the nutrients, improving the soil that we do have here.”

Kian, Catherine, James and Abigale harvest to feed family, friends and community. Parents and kids from their homeschool group visit and help. Catherine says, “I feel incredibly grateful to the town for creating the space for us to have the opportunity to have our children growing up with farming experience and knowing directly where their food is coming from. We are so grateful to share the joy of farming with our friends, family and community.”

Committed to the future sustainability of the project, Jannell adds, “To have a place as unique as Putnam that allows the public to practice regenerative agriculture while having fun and growing food locally is tremendous.”