A Hidden Gem: Chatham Community Garden

Resident Feature Contributed by Chatham Community Garden | Photos by Chatham Community Garden

On the edge of town, tucked away down a long narrow driveway surrounded by woods, you will find Chatham’s best kept secret, The Chatham Community Garden. This sanctuary is where 75 families go to escape the hustle and bustle, enjoy some peace & quiet, and tend to their individual plots to grow vegetables during the spring, summer and fall months.

The garden was not always at this spot, when it first opened back in May 2010, it was located under the PSE&G power lines off Main Street on the border of Madison. After a couple of years, the garden lost its lease and a new site had to be found. After a year of searching, the Community Garden opened its doors at its current location off Woodland Road on land owned by both the Borough and the Township.

Families join the garden because they may live in a condo or townhome and do not have access to a plot of land. Others may have the land but not get the proper amount of sun or they may not be able to place a fence around their garden to protect it from hungry animals. The community garden provides the right environment to have a successful garden.

In addition to the proper environment, the garden is 100% organic, chemical pesticides and fertilizers are not allowed. A lot of the gardener’s will start their plants from seeds in their homes. Once the frost has passed, they will then transfer their seedlings to their plot in the garden. This normally happens in the middle of April, but due to COVID-19, the garden was closed for two weeks and did not reopen until the first week of May.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, the garden is in full swing. Tomatoes are the most popular item grown in the garden, but if you walk around you will see people growing pretty much anything you can find in the produce section of your local grocery store. Right now, some gardeners may have already planted peas, radishes, spinach, chard and mesclun.

For those gardeners who started their plants from seed indoors may already be harvesting some of these crops.

Each year, existing members must renew their spot at the garden by submitting an application. This is usually done during the month of November. At the same time, new gardeners are submitting their applications with the hopes of getting a plot for the upcoming season. There are two plot sizes, full (10’ x 10’) and half (5’x10’). A full plot costs $35 for the season and a half plot is $18. While many of the families are from Chatham, applications are also accepted from non-residents. Between 90% to 95% of the garden members return each season. New garden applicants are either assigned to an available plot or are added to a wait list. There is usually a plot for all gardeners who have sent in their application.

At the start of every season the committee holds its annual “All Gardener’s” meeting. For the past several years, a guest speaker from The Rutgers Master Gardner program has given a presentation. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our meeting was not held. In the past, the presentation topics mainly focused on vegetable gardening. The Rutgers Master Garden program covers a multitude of topics and we are considering adding another “All Gardener’s” meeting so we could take advantage of the different topics.

Each member is responsible for maintaining their plot and the area around their plot. Members are also encouraged to volunteer their time and help with the general up-keep of the garden. Members can help with mowing the grass in the common areas, keeping the fencing secure so critters from the surrounding woods cannot get in and feast on all our hard work, or adopting a section of the garden’s beneficial beds.

The beneficial beds contain flowers that attract insects that will be benefit to the garden. These insects might help with the pollination process or eat the invasive insects that are destroying our plants.

Members can also volunteer to be on the Garden Committee. The committee meets the first Tuesday of every month in the Borough Municipal building on Fairmount Ave. The Committee is made up of five Borough and five Township residents, plus one council member from both the Borough and Township. They discuss the day to day activities that need to be done to keep the garden running smoothly as well as prioritize and approve larger projects.

In the corner of the garden is a bench, made from recycled plastic bags, and dedicated to the memory of “Farmer Paul” Suszczynski who died in September 2016. “Farmer Paul” was a long-time member of the Community Garden and was instrumental not only in getting the current garden up and running after they had to move but also helped with its design. He shared his love of gardening and his wealth of knowledge with all his fellow gardeners.

Farmer Paul

"In Loving Memory [of] Farmer Paul 1945-2016" Bench dedicated in Farmer Paul's honor

The garden is not just for families, the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts both have plots. The scouts are encouraged to help with the weeding and watering for their plot. Last season one of the Boy Scouts used the garden for his Eagle Scout project and this year the Girl Scouts were going to collect produce from the gardeners and donate the items to a local food pantry.

Do you know a neighbor who has a story to share? Nominate your neighbor to be featured in one of our upcoming issues! Contact us at smcevoy@bestversionmedia.com.

We would like to thank Salerno Duane Inc. in Summit for bringing you this month’s cover story.