Name: Growing Concern
Contact: Richard East
35 Manning Street
Calais, Maine 04619
Phone: 207-454-0183
Email: reast@growingconcern.me
Website: www.growingconcern.me
Facebook:
Online Market: harvesttomarket.com
Products and Services:
-farm stand
-wholesale and retail nursery products
-online market
-landscaping services
-retail outlet for fresh local produce
What Makes Growing Concern Unique?
Growing Concern is an urban farm. It is located in the city of Calais, which is situated in eastern Washington County on the border of Canada. If you have had the opportunity to visit this farm, you may have noticed that as soon as you turned into the entranceway on Manning Street that it truly doesn’t feel as though you are in a city. Richard East has skillfully transformed the property into a horticultural showpiece.
It should come as no surprise that Growing Concern has created an impressive farm. Owner Richard East has over thirty years of experience in landscaping and growing nursery products in northern New England. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in horticulture.
Growing Concern offers annuals, hanging baskets, perennials, shrubs, and trees. They are an approved grower of Proven Winner products in containers and in the field. They also carry High Mowing Organic seeds and a selection of pottery and containers and house plants.
Some of the landscape services that Richard offers includes designing, installing, and maintaining gardens. Individuals interested in having various tasks carried out at their property such as tilling, mowing, lawn care, and pruning, can contact Richard. He has a great deal of experience with managing property and caretaking, as well as building retaining walls, patios, and walkways.
A year-round farm store with diversified offerings operates at Growing Concern. Local produce, eggs, dairy, herbs, fresh and frozen berries, breads and baked goods, meats, maple and honey products, jellies and jams, vinegars and oils, and personal care products are offered. Richard sells products from over twenty local farms.
Promoting local farming is a major focus of
Growing Concern. This past October Richard participated in the first Calais Regional Hospital Community Wellness Fair at Washington County Community College. Growing Concern was part of the effort of the event representing local farms and the nutritional value fresh food offers.
Individuals interested in various products can go online to Growing Concern’s On-line Market. As long as they order from the list of available items by Tuesday at 8 p.m. they can pick up these items at the Growing Concern Farm Store on Thursday of that week between 3 and 5:30 p.m.
For the past twenty years, Growing Concern has utilized organic practices. Six acres on the farm have been cultivated. There is an old orchard and an impressive selection of trees, shrubs, grasses, and perennial flowers. Both the fields and greenhouses are utilized for plant and vegetable production.
Richard’s retail farm stand was purposely constructed to take advantage of the morning and afternoon sun. It was designed to coordinate with the architecture of the adjacent 160 year-old-farmhouse. Local building materials and energy-efficient principles were utilized in its construction.
Growing Concern operates on a year-round basis. In the fall, the farm stand is open from Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Although they are closed in the fall from Sunday through Wednesday, they are on the farm most rainy days.
Individuals interested in finding out the latest news about Growing Concern can check out their Facebook page. The farm shares weather updates, food budget and farming news, and some favorite recipes. The latest posting involved directions for decadent Inside-out Caramel Apples.
Richard East and Growing Concern have brought urban farming to a whole new level. It is amazing to see all the farms that have agreed to be part of the Calais Buying Club.
The online farmers’ market has been a great success. It serves as an inspiration to farms in other parts of the state and country to see that
collaboration in farming makes all the sense in the world, even in a city setting.
