BUCKFIELD – Middle school students are planting a one-acre-plus garden at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School that will be the largest of its kind in New England, according to Patrick Carson, SAD 39 health coordinator.

“This is awesome and lots of fun,” student Sierra Wescott said as she dug her shovel into the ground to plant a large bleeding heart flower.

Bryan Miclon pointed across the garden, saying, “I’m making a potato patch over there, and we’re going to have mashed potatoes.”

Carson and middle school teachers Annette Caldwell, Gretchen Kimball and Caleb McNaughton thought of the idea, and Carson was able to secure a Healthy Maine Partnership Grant to get it started.

With volunteer help from Rusty Brown, Kate Buck and Guy McAllister, the soil was prepared for planting. That’s when the 110 students took over planning the garden.

Their first hurdle, Carson said, was getting water. Using the town supply was not an option because of the cost, so they suggested using the rainwater coming off the roof into the gutter drains.

Getting it to the garden was another hurdle, but they rigged up a sump pump at the school to send the water through hoses to the garden. Then they built a four-foot frame to hold two large containers. The wood was donated by Lowell Lumber.

Now, they have 600 gallons of water stored.

The students planned every section of the garden. When high winds blew the tomato plants, they decided to build a wall of black plastic to shield them. When some wanted high-bush blueberries, they researched and added magnesium to the soil to help the plants grow. Now they have a 15- by 10-foot area of blueberries.

Jake Veda was busy tying strings on the climbing bean lattice. He said he has a garden at home.

The students went into the woods and cut small saplings that they bent into an arbor for the beans to climb.

Carson said the kids researched how to keep the deer out and came up with using hair from barbershops.

Caldwell said they couldn’t use manure for fertilizer because they didn’t have a 120-day window before food could be consumed safely, so they plan to have some tilled into the garden in the fall after the food is harvested. She said they had used some commercial fertilizer in a few areas.

There is a small shed used to store tools, many of which were donated by Fred Cooper. The shed was moved from the elementary school by Maynard Farrar and Philip Savage.

The school bought most of the plants but had donations from several local greenhouses.

It received a Wellness Account 21st-Century Grant that will help students maintain the garden for five years in an after-school program. One stipulation of the grant is to start a 4-H club.

Students will work in the garden this summer, and their families may use produce as it is harvested. The school will also have a food stand. When school resumes in the fall, most of the produce will be used in the cafeteria.