By Joanna Dokson.
The Atalanta Cooperative Garden has openings for both working and non-working members for the 2024 season. Located on the north bank of Willow Creek, the garden is in its 23rd year of production on the Atalanta project land. The garden produces food for members and the Food Bank each summer with the help of working members and volunteers. All produce is grown with organic methods and products, and our water comes from our solar-powered well.
Each year a wide variety of veggies are grown: asparagus, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, peas, beans, peppers, radishes, kale, chard, carrots, beets, garlic, rutabagas, onions, leeks, shallots, parsnips, broccoli, cabbage, winter and summer squash and herbs.
Our permaculture orchard is expanding with the addition of more fruit trees and berry bushes. Members may also purchase eggs from Atalanta and this year we are hoping to offer goat milk to members as well.
Garden members can sign up for half or full shares. A working share will be free this year and a full non-working share is $300. A full share is generally enough for a family of four or more.
The content and amount of produce in a share will change and increase throughout the growing season. Last year’s harvest yielded 17 to 20 lbs per week during the height of the season. Non-working members have their shares delivered to their homes while working members take their shares after harvest each week. Working members help with planting, harvesting and maintaining the garden which is watered by soaker and drip irrigation on timers.
We are happy to share that for the sixth year, after submitting a proposal, the garden was chosen to participate in a crowd-funding effort sponsored by $eedMoney, a nonprofit offering financial and technical support to public food garden projects.
We again raised enough money to fund some wonderful improvements. $eedMoney funding will support the expansion of nearly double the garden house with a classroom space, planting beds and a bathroom. Many thanks to the community members who supported this successful crowd-funding effort!
It is part of our mission to share the experience of growing food and healthy eating. We have been honored to have mothers and preschoolers visit from Alamosa to help with the final harvests and a recipe exchange. Many of them had never tasted or seen some of the veggies in the garden.
This August we are planning to host an international group of volunteers through the Human Force program for the third time. We look forward to learning from them and benefitting from their volunteer help while sharing our local community, the Atalanta project, and the heritage of the San Luis Valley as we have in previous years. Volunteers have come from Canada, Asia, South America, Europe, and around the USA.
We are looking forward to another fun and productive year. Call or email Joanna for information and to sign up: 719-256-6200 or email: contact@atalanta.org.
For more information visit www.atalanta.org.