El Paso’s Ascarate Community Garden almost destroyed by Covid-19 pandemic
EL PASO, Texas -- It was a brisk morning earlier this week when Ignacio Munoz walked through the Ascarate Community Garden, naming all the fruits and vegetables growing there.
Munoz is an El Paso master gardener and one of the several gardeners who tends to and cares for the garden.
"Our goal is to give people resource-based information to help them grow vegetable, flowers, plants, whatever," Munoz said.
The garden is full of ready-to-be picked veggies, and some that are struggling to survive.
In March, when the coronavirus pandemic hit El Paso, the garden was shut down with no one allowed in to care for the plants.
It was like that for two months, eventually killing the summer plants.
"It was sad. People work very hard to have a beautiful place like this," said Munoz, gesturing at all the plants surrounding him.
When restrictions lifted, Munoz and the other gardeners came back and got their hands dirty. It took more than two months, but the garden is almost where it used to be.
Rows of raised beds cover the majority of the garden. The beds holding fresh squash, spicy jalapeños, fresh herbs perfect for a fall dish and several other fruits and veggies to keep someone full for days.
At the other end of the garden sits a small greenhouse, designed and built by the gardeners.
It holds about 15,000 plants and it used to propagate all the plants in the garden.
Nestled in between the garden and the greenhouse is the teaching area.
"We built the pergola," Munoz said. "We can bring school kids out to start teaching them about gardening."
In a garden full of possibility, it also allows you to bring the garden home with the knowledge you have gained.
"You can be successful with anything if you have the knowledge and that’s what we offer people -- the education and the information on how to be successful with a gardening and having a beautiful garden at your house," Munoz said.
Click here to learn more about the Ascarate Community Garden.
