This touching article below by my colleage Dale Rodebaugh appeared in today’s Good Earth. The part that caught my attention was that 94! other families or individuals competed for the garden. That would add up to a lot of homegrown food if they all were able to find land. One option for those families and others to explore is “land link” on Urban Land Army’s Web site. The site aims to connect land holders with land seekers. I checked and currently there’s several land offers in the Durango area.

Garden Party: Volunteers, contest winners plant for future

by Dale Rodebaugh

When the extended Manore family starts to harvest tomatoes, onions, cilantro and jalapeño peppers in their backyard garden in a few weeks, they can credit the bounty in part to 12-year-old daughter Alexis, an eighth-grader at Escalante Middle School.

A site visit by the sponsors and the level of interest and participation by the applicant also were factors. The project is a cooperative effort by The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado; the Fort Lewis College Environmental Center; Backyard Harvest, a private business; and the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension.

The Manores bested 94 other families or individuals who applied for a free garden. The response to the freebie offer was such that the sponsors have applied for a grant to fund four more gardens in the fall, said Shari Fitzgerald, director of The Garden Project.

Snippets from the essay Alexis wrote reveal her winning touch:
“A garden of our own can help the environment because we would be growing our own edible produce …

“I could believe that I have grown something important to the people everywhere.

“If I were to be able to grow multiple vegetation … it would make me think that I could achieve other goals of mine.”

The Manores couldn’t be more delighted.

“We’ve wanted a garden since we moved here seven years ago,” LaDonna Manore said. “But we didn’t know where to begin, what type of soil we have or what weeds we’d contend with.”

Now, Manore said Saturday, the family will be able to share garden produce with neighbors.

In addition to LaDonna Manore, husband, Robert, and Alexis, there’s son Darrious, 5, and LaDonna’s parents, Frank and Rose Pacheco.

LaDonna Manore works for La Plata Family Center, her husband for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

The sun was starting to bear down Saturday when volunteers from the sponsoring groups began turning over earth in a 15-by-20-foot plot in the Manore backyard. The garden was contained within a frame of discarded railroad ties.

As some volunteers shoveled, others sifted loose earth for shards of whatever or strands of non-native Russian knapweed that had ruled supreme. Darrious took charge of earthworms.

Then, on cardboard that was laid for weed control, crew members placed alternating layers of new soil, manure and aspen chips. The mixture was topped with straw mulch.

“When we work with children we call it our lasagna garden,” Fitzgerald said. “The cardboard is the pasta, the soil the meat and the mulch the cheese topping.”

The last act was the planting of lettuce, broccoli, squash, three types of hot peppers, onions, cilantro and tomatoes.

Fitzgerald has installed 12 gardens since her organization was founded in 1998. The list of free-garden recipients includes schools, the Durango/La Plata Senior Center and the Manna Soup Kitchen. The Garden Project also does educational programs.

The FLC Environmental Center received $4,000 from the Coutts and Clark Western Foundation this spring to fund several environmental projects, including the free garden. The cooperative isn’t turning to the same source for the fall grant, Fitzgerald said. She won’t name the funding source until a decision is made.

The CSU Cooperative Extension will give the Manores a six-week class in home-scale agriculture so they don’t start cold. The family also will receive appropriate hand tools.

The Durango Discovery Museum is offering two programs for children this summer: “Cooking Camp with Yucky Salad” and “Anatomy, Biology, and Chemistry: The ABC’s of our Bodies.”

“Cooking Camp with Yucky Salad” takes  place June 1, 8, 15 and 22 (Mondays).

 ”Our silly friend Yucky Salad is back with what may be her most important lesson to date. Take advantage of our local resources and dabble in sustainable living. Each week, we will use fresh and local products from the farmer’s market to create a healthy and delicious dish. We will also be visited by some local professionals who will lead sessions in cheese making, jarring and canning, and more. This is a great opportunity to introduce sustainable living to budding chefs and future foodies,” the program brochure reads.

The schedule is 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. for ages 3-5 and 2:30-4:30 p.m. for ages 6-10 at Durango Discovery Kids. The cost is $90 or $75 for members.

“Anatomy, Biology, and Chemistry: The ABC’s of our Bodies” for ages 3-5 takes place June 2, 9, 16 and 23 (Tuesday). 

“A pediatric nurse friend will join us for this exciting and hands on look at the systems in our bodies and how they work. Ever wonder what happens to your food after you swallow it? Are you curious about what makes your hair grow? If so, this is the class for you!” the brochure reads.

The schedule is 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and the cost is $80 or $65 for members.

To sign-up go to www.durangodiscoverykids.org and click on programs and download the registration form or call Lexie Wallace at 828-1154 or Ashley Hein at 259-9234.

Stay posted for more summertime activities.