{"id":74010,"date":"2019-08-18T19:51:17","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T01:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/tour-de-farms-showcases-durangos-urban-gardens\/"},"modified":"2019-08-19T01:51:17","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T01:51:17","slug":"tour-de-farms-showcases-durangos-urban-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/tour-de-farms-showcases-durangos-urban-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour de Farms showcases Durango\u2019s urban gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Therese
Therese Teiber talks about her garden and how she grows her plants near Junction Creek on Saturday during the 12th annual Tour de Farms. She agreed to host more than two dozen people on her property, but only if she was first on the tour.<\/span>Bret Hauff\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Therese Teiber uses eggshells and water walls. Patsy and Kevin Ford keep a lot of fountains. Peter Schertz never wanted to put a fence around his garden, but it was the only way to keep the deer out.<\/p>\n

Each Durango resident-gardener welcomed more than two dozen people onto their properties Saturday to showcase their plots and techniques. The crowd of younger families and older couples biked to each home along a 6-mile route from the banks of Junction Creek, through Animas City and to Oak Drive, just off Florida Road.<\/p>\n

Some did it for the ride, others did it for the gardens. And for Darrin Parmenter, La Plata County director for the Colorado State University Extension Office, the 12th annual Tour de Farms embodies the spirit of Durango.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of folks try to garden,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd any reason to get people on a bike is a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parmenter, on his blue road bike, led the group of cyclists \u2013 stretching, at times, 100 yards along Durango city streets \u2013 joined by Lexie Stetson-Lee, executive director of The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado. The two worked together to organize this year\u2019s Tour de Farms, which included two tours: a 20-mile route north of Durango and a 6-mile ride through the north part of the city.<\/p>\n

\"Darrin
Darrin Parmenter explains the route of the short ride at the 12th annual Tour de Farms to a group of more than two dozen people. The La Plata County director for the Colorado State University Extension Office worked with Lexi Stetson-Lee, director of The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado, to organize this year\u2019s event.<\/span>Bret Hauff\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe long ride goes into spaces with incredible diversity,\u201d Stetson-Lee said. \u201cThe short ride showcases how fun local foods are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone on the 20-mile tour was wearing fluorescent, breathable and skin-tight biking suits, Parmenter said. The 6-mile crew was a bit more casual. Some towed strollers stuffed with kids. Others wore flannel. Travis Ward wore what appeared to be his hiking pants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a little garden and I wanted to ride around town,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve done this for several years, I\u2019m looking for some fresh ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christy Schaerer said she rode the Tour de Farms for the third time this year in hopes of seeing \u201cgardens that you don\u2019t even know are there.\u201d She once mountain-biked, and she has gardened all her life, Schaerer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatering systems are always interesting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Diane and Gordon Maller don\u2019t farm \u2013 \u201cit\u2019d be a battle,\u201d Diane said, to garden where they live near Purgatory Resort. They rode the Tour de Farms \u201cfor the riding more than anything else,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n

But the focus on exercise didn\u2019t stop the Mallers from appreciating the work of each gardener they visited.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly, these are people respecting their environment and taking care of the land,\u201d Gordon Maller said.<\/p>\n

Chad Cheeney\u2019s 1\u00bd-year-old daughter and 3\u00bd-year-old son were \u201cpumped\u201d for the ride \u2013 \u201cthey like the adventure,\u201d he said. They\u2019re a biking family, but they\u2019ve also got a garden. Cheeney said he hopes one day to take it from a \u201cpractice garden\u201d to a plot that can produce enough food for a full dinner.<\/p>\n

\"Dozens
Dozens of people rode around north Durango and north of the city on bicycles touring local farms. The 12th annual Tour de Farms featured private and community plots and ended at Ska Brewing with food from many of the farms visited.<\/span>Bret Hauff\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Jami Thomas brought her 6- and 4-year-old boys to \u201cgive them more comfort and show what you can do on your own,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do it, and all these people are doing it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marye Jackson, who volunteers at Ohana Kuleana Community Garden, said she hopes the riders are inspired by what they see growing around town.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is they stand back, look around and say, \u2018I could do this in my backyard\u2019,\u201d she said. \u201cHere\u2019s a place for young families to grow and show their kids the natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schertz said he hopes the people who visited his home garden steal some of his ideas and incorporate them into their own. As the crowd left, he invited each of them to come back.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter when, he said. Just knock.<\/p>\n

bhauff@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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