Work on a new grow dome is underway in southeast La Plata County.
Working toward getting the Allison Area Community Grow Dome on its feet – which will serve the Allison-Arboles-Tiffany area – has been a community effort, according to a news release from the dome’s president, Peggy Duggan.
The dome was donated by Arboles resident Bob Walkinshaw in memory of his wife, Jane Amundson; Pine River Shares donated soil and helped work on planning; Mt. Allison Grange members are lending a hand; and Ignacio High School students are building raised beds for planting in Molly Turner’s wood shop class with donated materials from Builders FirstSource in Durango.
The dome’s mission is to “promote food security and facilitate community members in growing their own fresh produce by providing gardening education and a venue for starting plants for transplant, growing produce and extending the growing season with an indoor growing space,” the release said.
The dome is a community nonprofit that operates under People Improving Communities and Kids, the Colorado State Grange’s 501(c)(3).
For more information
For more information, contact Grow Dome President Peggy Duggan at (505) 690-5396 or Angelica Marquez Lucero at 317-5233.
Some hard work is still needed to get the grow dome up and running, the release said.
Volunteers are needed to assemble the beds, fill them with dirt and add plants, and the dome still needs an irrigation system and an aerator, the release said. Water-based plants and fish are also needed to fill an interior pond that will help maintain the humidity in the dome and act as a water source for plants.
A plant sale will be held 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the TARA Community Center, 333 Milton Lane, Arboles, to help with costs.
Duggan did not immediately respond to request for comment Monday about the opening timeline for the grow dome.
epond@durangoherald.com
