A free book library will be located at the Vista Lake Community Garden this spring, offering gardening books, seed catalogs and seed packets.
Healthy Archuleta
Stroll around Pagosa Springs and you are liable to notice several free book libraries built by the high school building trades class with materials donated by Build Pagosa. Once the libraries are built, the advanced art students paint them with whimsical images before they are placed around town.
This got the brain working. Wouldn’t one of these book libraries be perfect at the Vista Lake Community Garden as a free seed library?
Build Pagosa was contacted and at its February board meeting voted to gift a book library to the community garden.
As luck would have it, the library was painted with blue bears, the theme of high school art teacher Kelly Lewis. Now, the book library needed some embellishment so it would fit the garden theme. Vegetables, soil, insects and worms were added to the front. In addition, the titles of the books that the bears were reading were changed to garden topics. Added to the library was a can to hold pencils and two trays to house seed packets.
The library is now waiting for gardening books, seed catalogs and seed packets to make it complete. Community gardeners will be able to share their seeds with others as well as take seeds to plant in their own beds. The free seed library will be installed at the Vista Lake Community Garden this spring, adding whimsy and function to the garden.
For more information on the Vista Lake Community Garden and Healthy Archuleta, please visit https://www.foodcoalition4archuleta.org or email fsfearchuleta@gmail.com.
Spring seeding
On Sunday, March 12, the Community Learning and Leadership Committee (CLLC) of the Vista Lake Community Garden held its first event of the year at the Pagosa Lake Property Owners Association (PLPOA) Clubhouse. It was a seed-starter party.
Some 20 members of the community showed up and were greeted by Toni Gallegos and given a demonstration on how to plant and water seed trays by Deborah Smith of Healthy Archuleta.
Folks planted trays of tomatillos, Brussels sprouts, beets, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, kale, cauliflower and a variety of herbs. Even the kids got into the planting of seeds. They also planted seeds to take home and watch grow. The seed trays were covered, watered and await germination. They will eventually find their way to the new greenhouse at the garden and be used at a starters sale and second seed planting event to be held on April 16.
The CLLC has other events planned, too. Among the happenings are seed planting in the upper garden at the PLPOA to feed the community, several kids programs, a seed-to-soil planting and garden bed decorating for the Fourth of July. This is just a handful of what the community can look forward to.
If you like to play in the dirt, why not join the CLLC with its effort to commit to the community garden and assist in its future events? If interested, please contact Healthy Archuleta at fsfearchuleta@gmail.com or call (401) 206-4579.
