Hi Everyone!
I had a great opportunity to tour, consult for and learn alongside the stellar team at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield Farms location. While many amazing things happen at Chatfield Farms (and I encourage you to take the tour!), I was mainly focused on the Market Gardens and supporting fields. Mattie, Josie, Katy, and Rutger are the powerhouses behind an incredible team of dedicated, regenerative, organic farmers that deliver approximately 300 shares of CSA veggies every day in the main season.
Like all farmers, they face some challenges, including a significant change by Denver Water to start alkalizing its supply to a pH of 9. This change was done with the noble intention of keeping lead in old pipes and out of the water supply. Unfortunately, however, plants really don’t like anything above 7.5 and as a result, this change is truly hammering growers of types. While we do feel that replacing those pipes would be well worth the added cost, until that happens, Paonia Soil Co. is staying solution-oriented in our approach to helping farmers navigate the high alkalinity. We couldn’t be more honored to work with Denver Botanic Gardens to help take their soil in a new, more resilient, direction.
But, to accomplish this, we need some help.
The Denver Botanic Gardens is a 501 C3 non-profit and through our Soil That Serves program we’re seeking a donor or a couple of donors to cover the $4,000 budget shortfall to specifically amend the fields used for market production. Together, we can foster resilient living soil systems that will produce nutrient-dense foods for many years to come!
If you’re interested in supporting this exciting collaboration with a tax-deductible donation, please contact us through this form. We appreciate your support!
Cheers,
Bart Eller
Executive Director, Paonia Soil Co.
