Preparing (a) Soup (Garden)

Stage 1 of  Soup Garden is underway at Smokey's Community Garden in Ruidoso

There's nothing like cooking with produce straight from the garden.  In Ruidoso, area children are growing the ingredients for soup in large vegetable garden supported by The New Mexico Alliance for Children and the USDA Forest Service. The first planting included several varieties of potatoes, onions, carrots, tomatoes, corn, beans, squash, peas, cabbage, herbs, and an assortment of greens, said NMAC director Julia Price.

The soup garden is one of several gardening ventures available to children (Read about the pizza garden),  incorporating raised beds, cold frames, and in-ground planting at the Smokey Bear Ranger Station.  Read about dedication ceremony on May 11.

All produce will be donated to the Lincoln County Food Bank on a weekly basis through the summer.

Price said the NMAC is developing the educational components for the Forest Service garden.

• A Garden Apprenticeship Program, with area middle and high school students helping to design and nurture the garden
• Participation by 150 preschoolers, who will have the opportuntity to start seeds indoors in Head Start classrooms and transplant their seedlings to the garden in May
• Training to teach low-income families how to manage small-plot gardens using available yard space and extend the growing season to increase community food security year-round
• Summer classes open to area youth, teaching gardening, water conservation, and composting basics
•  Area chefs will demonstrate healthy cooking methods for the produce, and healthy recipes will be included with the vegetable soup packages we put together for the food bank.

More updates coming this summer...