Bogota Community Garden

14-June-2016
    On Saturday 11-June the Bogota Community Garden held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the garden to the public.  This was held in coordination with Bogtoa Beautiful's first " Walk with  the Mayor" event.  The walk was planned in-order to finish at the Garden located along River Rd just south of the WWI Memorial at W. Ft. Lee Rd. The walkers, lead by Mayor Chris Kelemen,  who were welcome to the Garden with a balloon arch at its front gate and the sight of brightly painted rain barrels along side the planting beds.  There were opening statements by Bogota Beautiful's Amaru Bustamante, and by Bogota Mayor Kelemen.  The Mayor thanked those who took the time to not only walk with him, but to stay and help christen the newest addition to the Borough's landscape. He continued by saying that Bogota Beautiful is more than a single group, but is an idea that all of the citizens  need to have to show the beauty of Bogota. Mr. Bustamante talked about how Bogota Beautiful may have came up with the idea of this garden but it was the work, skill, commitment, and volunteering of the residents of Bogota that has been the force behind this  Community Garden.  He said this garden is not a gift to Bogota from his group, but a gift to the Borough of Bogota from the citizens to themselves.
   Then the two Men along with members of the Bogota Community Garden commission Joseph Gallagher & Nancy Guaman and Bogota Environmental  Chairperson Councilwoman Daniele Fede  Along with others to  help cut a burlap ribbon to open the garden. Many of those in attendance took he time to look inside the garden. They received a first hand look at the how big a planters is and got a feel for the enclosure. They walked along the path inside and check out the rain barrels painted by Students form the Bogota High School Art Club. 
    Follow the dedication there was a demonstration by Angela Bonanno-Lynch of the Bergen County Utilities Authority on composting. Ms Lynch had a Home size compost bin on display and explain how it could be best use. She said that a combination of soil, leaves, and grass trimming  with the addition of non-cooked vegetable &fruit scraps, with no seeds can made a healthy compost to add to any garden. ( coffee grounds, used tea bag, & egg shell are also except-able ) 
   The garden consists  total of 16 planting beds measuring 6ft by 4ft.   The beds are in two rows of eight  that lie roughly parallel to River Rd. The beds are almost two feet deep to allow for a deep base of soil.  The beds are enclosed by an unobtrusive fence with two  gated entrances. The fencing continues along the ground in a way to help discourage any animals from digging into the space. The perimeter then has a row of annuals planted there which softens the  look of the additional fencing. The River rd entrance if bordered by a wooden arbor while the second gate is facing the north towards the Monument.  Each planting bed is numbers for rental identification.  Ms Guaman said that 6 of the planting bed have already been rened for the first year. Rentals are for a Calendar year with a fee of $30.  Anyone wishing to reserve at planter for themselves, or as a group should contact the  Bogota Community Garden at: bogotacommunitygarden@gmail.com for information on reserving a bed, and  to learn about the requirement will be to be a part of the garden.

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