By Suanne McLellan | Healthy Archuleta
There is clearly a gardening bug going around in Archuleta County.
In January, registration opened for Seed to Supper, a six-week basic gardening class presented by Healthy Archuleta, Colorado State University (CSU) Extension and the Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association. The class filled quickly and there was such an overwhelming interest that a second section of the class was added, allowing for 50 people to learn the fundamentals of gardening at high altitude. In addition, there are 10 students enrolled in a Spanish-language section of the class.
If you missed the registration for Seed to Supper, there will be plenty of opportunities this spring and summer to learn about how to grow your own food. The Mountain High Garden Club, Healthy Archuleta Grower’s Group and CSU Extension are teaming up for a series of 10 garden workshops this year, covering a wide range of essential gardening topics. The first event will be a Seed Swap and Seed Starting Workshop on Saturday, March 18, at the CSU Extension building.
The Seed Starting Workshop will start at 10 a.m. and will be taught by Suanne McLellan, former president of the Mountain High Garden Club and an experienced gardener for more than 35 years. To garden successfully in our short growing season, strong, healthy plant starts are a must. Starting your own transplants is a great way to save money and allows you to grow varieties that you might not be able to find for sale.
Workshop topics will include setting up the environment for growing indoors and what materials you will need and how to plant, water and thin seedlings. We will also demonstrate how to pot up the seedlings as they need more room to grow. There will be a $10 fee for the workshop and registration is required. You can register for the workshop at www.foodcoalition4archuleta.org/garden-education.html.
Following the workshop, there will be a seed swap, starting at 11:30 a.m. and going until 1 p.m. The seed swap is free and all are welcome to join. This is always a fun community event. If you have seeds you would like to bring, come as early as 10 a.m. to set up. Please have your seeds in envelopes and clearly label them with name, variety and the year they were harvested. You can bring both flower and vegetable seeds.
This is a great way to learn which varieties grow best here in Archuleta County and to try new varieties that others have had good success growing. You are still welcome to come to the swap even if you don’t have seeds to bring. Our Archuleta gardeners are happy to share their abundance of seeds to make Pagosa healthier and more beautiful.
To learn more about the entire 10-workshop series, visit www.foodcoalition4archuleta.org/garden-education.html.
McLellan will teach a Seed Starting Workshop on Saturday, March 18.
