Somerville, MA: [URL=http://www.greencitygrowers.com]Green City Growers (GCG)[/URL] announced today the opening of a large raised bed vegetable garden at [URL=www.assemblyrow.com/]Assembly Row[/URL]. The ten raised beds, located across from the Assembly Row Welcome Center, were installed and planted in June and will serve multiple purposes for customers and businesses alike starting in July.Seven of the beds will supply herbs and vegetables to two of the restaurants at Assembly Row – [URL=http://papagayorestaurants.com/somerville/]Papagayo Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar[/URL] and [URL=http://river-bar.com/]River Bar[/URL]. Urban farmers from Green City Growers will maintain the gardens weekly using only organic OMRI approved methods. Growing produce in close proximity to the restaurants will enable the chefs from Papagayo and River Bar to incorporate unique crop varieties that might not travel or store as well as those made available via conventional restaurant supply companies.
In addition to maintaining the production beds for Papagayo and River Bar, GCG will also provide garden education sessions for Assembly Row office tenant SmartBear Software as part of their employee benefits package. During these monthly sessions, GCG farmers will teach SmartBear employees how to grow their own vegetables, with lessons covering topics such as planting, pest and disease management, and harvesting.
Finally, the neighborhood garden at Assembly Row will host GCG farmers for a monthly educational session, ASSEMBLY gROWs, open free of charge to all community members. Tasks are geared towards participants of all ages.
“This project is a really exciting example of the ways that urban agriculture is bringing Boston-area communities together,” says Jessie Banhazl, CEO and Founder of Green City Growers. “We’ve worked with businesses, restaurants, and communities before, but this is the first time that a single GCG installation has served such a variety of individuals at once.”
Matt Ehrie, VP and General Manager of Assembly Row, echoes Banhazl’s excitement: "It is the people that make Assembly Row what it is, a real neighborhood that continues to unfold every day with a dynamic community of people living, working and visiting The Row. The garden is one of many ways we are able to connect with and give back to this brand new community - providing education, programming and bringing people together. We are very excited to see our partnership with Green City Growers blossom while our community can continue to harvest the benefits."
The first neighbordhood garden education session at Assembly Row is scheduled for July 18th at 3 PM.
About [URL=http://www.greencitygrowers.com/]Green City Growers[/URL]: Green City Growers (GCG) is an urban agriculture business specializing in the installation and maintenance of raised bed gardens, rooftop farms and indoor growing systems, using only organic OMRI approved methods. GCG transforms otherwise unused space into thriving urban farms providing schools, home-owners, restaurants, businesses and communities immediate access to nutritious food, while revitalizing city landscapes and inspiring self-sufficiency through garden education programs. Green City Growers was founded by Jessie Banhazl in 2008.