Happy Gardening

The garden officially opened on April 13.  It's so exciting to see the progress that everyone is making!  One person we'd like especially like to remember is Martha May.  A long-time Chatham resident, she always wanted the town to have a community garden.  While she didn't live to see it, she's with us in spirit.  I wish I had known her.  Doesn't she have a nice smile?

I think that Martha would also be smiling about the brass doorknob that I salvaged from a cute little house on Pine Street the day before it was torn down (I hope this isn't illegal -- the door was open, officer!)

As you've probably seen, we have a bungee cord for keeping the gate closed.  We're still trying to think of a more elegant solution, so if you have any ideas, let us know.

J&M donated that nice wheel barrow.  It has a solid tire, so we won't have to worry about filling the tire.  We'll probably buy another one, but we want to see how demand runs.  Let us know if there is a queue for it.

Have you seen Dick's beautiful raised beds?

Come see the perimeter beds.  We'll be having a plant up soon, so stay tuned.

And keep working on those paths.  (Go you Kathryn!) The official ribbon cutting is May 1 and 1:00.

Hurrah! The Fence is Up

Remember when our garden looked like two burial mounds?  This is a picture from February 1, Groundhog Day Eve.

Now the garden coming together, thanks to all of the volunteers who worked over the past weeks to make it happen.

In late March, Paul, Alice and John Eyre (not shown) worked on the water connections with the Borough Department of Public Works.  Yes, they hand dug this trench!

We will be watering our garden with town water (from artesian wells), run off the water main along Division Avenue.  DPW installed a water meter, and the Community Garden will pay for water use with the income from plot rentals.

There are brass fittings and flexible pipe runs underground from the meter to the garden.  If you go to the garden now, you will see the pipe running up to the posts that will support the spigots.  There will be three spigots running down the center path and one outside the garden to water the perimeter beds.

This past week was a beehive of activity.  Peter Coviello disced the compost and soil to a depth of one foot. 

Thanks, Pete, the soil looks great!  (The trench is for the groundhog/bunny barrier.)

Now for the fence.  

Here are Paul, Vince DeNave (the Borough engineer) and some of the Green Path crew, unwrapping the fencing materials.

Next the poles went in.  Did we mention it was really hot on Wednesday and Thursday?

Then the metal mesh was hung, small on the bottom, big on the top.

In this picture, Dick, John and Hector are putting up the angle brackets to hold a monofilament that acts as a deer barrier.

Sharon, Katey, Kathryn and Maryann, just finished closing up the ditch that holds the water pipe.  Yes, the soil was like concrete it that heat.

Mary is doing the same inside the garden.

Come on down and see the progress.  Stay tuned for an email alert about opening day!