Anyone who has been to the Southwest knows that there are not many gardens here, mainly because of the summer heat and the monsoon season when we get heavy rains; so most of the Homes in the Gallup area are landscaped with rocks.
Our dream, here at Villa Guadalupe, is to make a vegetable garden among the sand and rock of New Mexico. The Residents were asked what they wanted to see in the Garden, their favorite vegetables to be planted. We are hoping to make the garden so that the Residents will be able to watch its growth from their wheel chairs, and then after it has been harvested it will go the kitchen, and we will have them to eat.
Phase one finally came to life, thanks to the students of St. Francis University of Steubenville on their spring break. The students did much digging and removing of rocks, making long trenches to put in PVC Pipes (Polyvinyl Chloride Pipes) and gravel above where the garden will be. It was felt that the PVC pipes are essential for keeping the rain and mud coming down into the garden later on. This alone has been a big step in the “Garden Project”, thanks to the Students of Steubenville!
