Good Sam’s Pantry Garden
The garden began in Fall 2020 with raised beds and a community compost program. In Spring 2021 we hosted classes and workshops led by Brandon Francis, Diné teacher, grower, seedkeeper and soil scientist alongside Greg Felsen, Director of the Montezuma County CSU Extension program.
As we’ve worked to reclaim this space in downtown Cortez from a parking lot to a place to gather around food, stories, kinship and remembering, we’ve seen the program grow and deepen. We encourage anyone of any age to come to the pantry garden for some respite and to take time in this space for all.
2022
SEED SWAP! We started the season off with a Seed Swap, co-hosted by Montezuma School to Farm Project and CSU Montezuma County Extension. We shared a lot of advice, knowledge and beautiful seeds with each other. We’ll have another Seed Share/Seed School with SEEDS IN COMMON in the fall so stay tuned!
PLANT GIVE-AWAY! This is our 3rd year of garden plant distribution. Thanks to the skills and generosity of folks with Common Ground Community Gardens, pantry volunteers, local businesses, farmers and gardeners, we’ve been able to distribute healthy vegetable plant starts that you can grow at home. We often have a wide variety of tomatoes and peppers, herbs, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, squash and many more.
PROGRAMS IN THE GARDEN We are hard at work planning and creating workshops and demonstrations that take place in the garden behind the pantry. Indigenous Garden Workshops are held monthly and are open to all ages and experience levels. We cover garden and plant basics, composting, epigenetics (memory and adaptations the seeds carry with them), Q & A sessions, growing and harvesting techniques, and much more.
Volunteer: Anyone who engages with the pantry is encouraged to volunteer in the garden to help us save seeds and grow fresh herbs, vegetables and plant starts for distribution.
2023
WE’RE BACK AND GROWING STRONG! Brandon Francis is teaching monthly workshops on the 4th Wednesday of every month during the growing season (May through October) at 4:00pm. The program is growing and developing into something really beautiful and special. Check back soon or subscribe to our newsletter below to receive information about all of our upcoming Indigenous garden workshops and events.
The garden is located behind the pantry in our parking lot at Beech and North Streets (off North St) in Cortez.
Questions? Call 970-565-6424 or email director@goodsamscortez.org
Seed-saving workshop with community partners hosted by Seeds in Common and The Montezuma School to Farm Project, at their production garden at Cortez Middle School.
