VGN Grant Programs

Vermont Fruit & Nut Tree Grant 2023

The Vermont Fruit & Nut Tree Grant focuses on increasing access to fruit and nut trees through plantings and related education at select community garden sites across the state. This grant program is a collaboration between the Vermont Garden Network (VGN) and the VT Urban & Community Forestry Program (VT UCF). Additional funding comes from Branch Out Burlington.

Congratulations to our 2023 Grantees:

  • Central Vermont Supervisory Union Center for Integrated Permaculture
  • Crossett Brook Middle School Garden
  • Edible Brattleboro Help-Yourself Gardens
  • Folsom Learning Garden
  • Hardwick Community Garden and Orchard
  • Middlebury Tree Committee
  • Middlebury Union Middle School Food Forest
  • Mill River High School Organic Garden
  • Montpelier Community FEAST Farm
  • Thetford Academy School Garden
  • Town of Waterbury Community Gardens North

Goals of the Program:

  • To support planting fruit and nut trees at community garden sites in Vermont.
  • To prioritize planting of these trees at sites serving underserved populations.
  • To ensure survival and proper care of these trees through grant guidance, educational offerings, and sharing resources. 
  • To develop and share success stories and best practices for community fruit and nut tree planting, care and use.

Fruit & Nut Tree Resources

Fruit & Nut Tree Selection Guide

Please review and consider the following guidance prior to applying, when deciding the appropriate species, size, and number of trees for your site.

  • If these are your first tree plantings you’ll want to consider starting small, with 2-4 trees. 
  • Many fruit and nut tree varieties require a pollination pair – 2 trees/site (click here for pollination info). 
  • Consider your garden’s hardiness zone and match it to the hardiness of the species when selecting trees to plant (click here for hardiness map).
  • Fruit tree spacing (above ground and below ground) is another consideration when determining the number of trees that will grow successfully on your site (click here for basic spacing info).
  • For additional considerations check out this Site Assessment & Species Selection Worksheet. See below for more resources to guide your project.

Additional Resources for Fruit & Nut Tree Selection, Planting & Care

Websites:

Books:

  • Landscaping with Fruit, by Lee Reich
  • Paradise Lot, by Eric Toensmeier & Jonathan Bates
  • The Community Food Forest Handbook: How to Plan, Nurture, and Organize Edible Gathering Places, by Catherine Bukowski
  • The Fruit Gardener’s Bible: a Complete Guide to Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home Garden, by Vermont horticulturists Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry
  • The Holistic Orchard, by Michael Phillips

Congratulations to our 2022 grantees! And thank you for all you’re doing to bring more fruit and nut trees to communities across Vermont!

  • Barton Community Giving Garden (Barton)
  • Bellows Falls Middle School Garden (Bellows Falls)
  • Champlain Elementary (Burlington)
  • Champlain Housing Trust (Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester)
  • Community Gardens at North Branch Nature Center (Montpelier)
  • Conscious Homestead (Winooski)
  • Edible Brattleboro Help-Yourself Gardens (Brattleboro)
  • Feast Farm (Montpelier)
  • Great River Terrace Community Garden (Brattleboro)
  • Green Acres Community Garden (Barre)
  • Guilford Central School Garden (Guilford)
  • Highgate Library Community Garden (Highgate)
  • Lamoille South Unified Union: People’s Academy & Morristown Elementary (Morrisville)
  • Milton High School Garden (Milton)
  • RuralEdge: Mountain View Housing & Island Pond Housing (St. Johnsbury, Island Pond)
  • Rutland County Parent Child Center Community Garden (Brandon)
  • Storyteller Garden – SUSU commUNITY Farm (Brattleboro)
  • Vermont Farm and Forest School Learning Garden (Roxbury)
  • Willowell Edible Forest Pathway (Monkton)
  • Windsor Community Gardens (Windsor)
Skip to content