It’s time to start planning, preparing soil, and actually planting. Like every February the warmth of the days has begun to return, and the nights have less and less deep frost (below 20 degrees). With some protection and choosing the right seeds, planting can begin.

We have been giving more and more tours at Avalon Organic Gardens. It’s often show and tell as well as answering many curious questions. Many know something, some very little; always there are big smiles. It is interesting to look back and reflect on how many have visited. It is also interesting to find out who actually started a garden. While most people don’t stay in touch, some do. It is uplifting when one can inspire another to begin gardening. And what an opportunity when children ask if they could come and learn! We now have two schools coming every week to help, learn, and yes, heal. Some children have been so far removed from the knowing, seeing, and experiencing how food is grown that it seems we have lost a whole generation.

And so here is the new idea: For this year I want to inspire you to transform or start a small part of your garden space and dedicate it solely to teach others how to garden. If there are not any yet interested children or teens in your neighborhood, maybe there are friends and neighbors who are but don’t have a space or tools and  just need help to get started.

I recommend two recently published books that can be used when working with school children (although they can be applicable to gardeners of all ages):

• Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea by Alice Waters
• How to Grow a School Garden: A Complete Guide for Parents and Teachers by Arden Buckin-Sporer and Rachel Pringle

The principle is simple. Find a space, make plans what you want to teach, and then let others know that you are willing to share your gardening experiences.

Here are some essentials you could teach:

• Compost building:  Have materials ready—for example: some straw, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, kitchen scraps, and some older soil to mix in. Have one pile always going and add to it as your students come.
• Turning garden beds: Using a digging fork, you can apply some compost at the same time.
• Shaping a bed: Create perimeters and level the landscape.
• Bulb and seed planting:  Have seeds and bulbs ready; in the cooler months beets, turnips, radishes, lettuce and other greens work well. Maybe you would like to plant some flower bulbs according to the season.
• Transplanting from pots. Have some potted plants ready to transplant—sometimes having a little head start helps to see the progress.
• Traditional and conservative watering techniques.
• Weeding and mulching:  Always have a bed to weed and mulch (if you don’t have mulching material available, you could use well broken down compost to mulch with).
• Thinning: Thin direct planted seeds for the right spacing.
• Fruits of the labor: The joy of harvesting, washing and cooling the harvest down.
• Preparing a great meal together!

Another great way to teach is to visit other gardens to learn their methods. For a finale, make a tour of one of the bigger gardens and farms in your area. We give tours all year round, whether it is for one person or for very large groups. Please call (520) 603-9932 to arrange one. Also, visit us on the Internet (www.avalongardens.org) for more information on all of our educational programs and services like our all year round Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program (www.avalongardens.org/csa) and the Personality Integration Rehabilitation Program (PIRP) for challenged teens and adults (www.pirp.info).

Of course you can visit our weekly Saturday Farm Stand at the Tubac Plaza Main Stage from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. to see what’s growing throughout the year.

See you soon,

Tarenta (Change Agent)

In reflecting on our gardens, our first thoughts tend to focus on what didn’t work. While these thoughts do have their place, one could also approach last year’s memories by realizing our answered prayers, hopes, dreams, visions, and more.

So many blessings have occurred here at Avalon Organic Gardens that we wanted to thank God as well as all of you for your support of this local organic food movement. The children are especially thankful. There are other farms and gardens which have also benefitted from your support.

In each of the following answered prayers lies direction and inspiration in what you could do as well in your own gardens. Many of these techniques were introduced in this “In Season” column. Let me begin:

• Increase in fertility of the land. By not using chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides and by applying mulches and compost alive with micro-organisms (E.M.) the soil is responding beautifully. The texture is richer, and a gardener can feel it with their hand’s touch.
• Besides the living soil, more vibrant, stronger and healthier plants have also benefitted from denser plantings for erosion control; rotation of crops; creating rest and restore times for many areas; better irrigation techniques; variety and cycles of mulching; successful experimental windbreaks (sorghum/sudangrass); improved seed selection. The most important benefit from all of these improvements was an increased community spirit and enthusiasm in assisting every week with the most time-consuming needs. Some of you came all the way from Tucson to help; thank you all so much.
• Efficiency in soil preparation, planting, harvesting, storage and delivery of all vegetable was upstepped by the donation and purchase of certain equipment. Our most precious refrigerated truck and ice making machine enabled us to deliver our harvest fresh all the way to Tucson in 116 degree heat.
• Our CSA membership doubled in size this year, which means we are feeding 200 people all year round; abundance is given away to our neighbors and friends.
• More opportunities within the Personality Integration Rehabilitation Program were offered to many troubled and socially challenged teens and young adults through tax free donations made by you. Teaching gardening and animal husbandry feeds the next generation to come. Gardening opens a true healing connection with the Universe Mother Spirit.
• Somos la Semilla—“We are the Seed,” was formed this year. This network of grassroots groups, organizations, funders, farmers, and clinics in Arizona-Sonora borderlands work together to grow our future through healthy food systems. The group was born from the Healthy Food, Healthy Future Conference in Dragoon, Arizona, which was convened in February 2010 to discuss the future of a healthy, working local food system in Southeastern Arizona. Their website is www.somoslasemilla.org.
• We hosted an increased number of events, tours and workshops this year. The largest crowds came to the BeAware Festival in May, and to the First Annual Somos La Semilla Open House Organic Garden Tour in Santa Cruz Valley in September. The other six participating gardens and farms had similar success with their garden tours. Showing your gardens is a very rewarding experience.
• Our Tubac Farm Stand now operates year-round at the Tubac Plaza Main Stage on Saturdays from 11a.m. – 1 p.m. We celebrate and share stories with our customers who are now also friends.
• We extended our Community Supported DEO-Agriculture (CSA) and now serve all year round in Santa Cruz County and the Santa Cruz River Valley.
• After very well thought-out designs for soil preparation and rainwater catchment throughout this past year, our one-acre Food Forest Project will soon be planted intensively this coming year.
• An increased number of rainwater and grey water catchments provide most of the water needs for hundreds of native trees, bushes, herbs, flowers and fruit trees.
• By extending our growing seasons with two smaller non heated, shade cloth hoop houses, we have been able to start our seedlings and protect them from the severe heat and the hardest of frosts. With financial assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) a larger hoop house is in the planning stage.
• Also with assistance from the NRCS, we are planning to convert six acres of flood irrigated pastures to drip-irrigated gardens. Besides saving water, drip irrigation will slow down the growth of some of the weeds and improve seedling and transplant growth by directionalizing the water better.
• The grasshoppers were few in comparison to the plague in 2009.
• I also wish to express my gratitude for being able to write for the Connection for another year. Thank you all for supporting their cause and important community building.

There are of course many more answered prayers not mentioned here—many personal as well. The highest gift to give and receive is the love of God, and without all of your support and friendship this sanctuary Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm and Ranch would not have been able to bless and touch so many customers, visitors and students. Come and visit, we give tours every week. Call (520) 603-9932; also visit our updated website at www.avalongardens.org.

Thank you again and have a blessed year, Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)

Gratitude is an inspirational tool for gardening. Ideas come and bring a renewed life-force to manifest some of our dreams and hopes. I encourage you to begin planning and implementing this month to make your garden a special and sacred place that instills a sense of peace in a very busy world.

Think of where you would like to sit in your garden and how to share this space with your family and/or friends, as well as visitors. Several natural benches and chairs under a tree give you a sense of belonging. When envisioning this place, how and what would you like to observe? Maybe a birdbath and feeder close by. Plant one or more fruit trees to become a main feature of your sanctuary.

How does the water flow when it rains? Let it accumulate in a natural berm as a rainwater catch basin where you plant another tree—ornamental or otherwise. Along the rim of that berm you can plant vines or creeping plants. All of the plants will absorb the water that soaks into the berm; this is considered a basic permaculture design imitating the natural flow.

Falling in love with your garden is very healing and when the creativeness pours out of you it will fill your heart. When you share this feeling with others it will bring you all closer and friendship begins or deepens every time. Working together with others is another wonderful way to bond in your garden. In this season there are leaves and debris to rake up. You can prune dead branches of your roses, other bushes, and trees.

Maybe the flow of your walking paths can be improved. Growing up in Europe I remember the many parks—some of them hundreds of years old—filled with planted vegetation that naturalized. A simple bench under a tree creates a space to contemplate and/or visit with others. Smells of the simplest herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary and others can complement each area and enrich your life. Broadcast one or several types of clover seeds in an area. It will bring color and a carpet like beautification. Some areas can become permanent features that increase yearly with all the seasons.

Your vegetable gardens in this season can hold lots of greens in tight spaces. Even the root vegetables like carrots, beets, radishes, turnips can be planted and harvested successively through mid spring. Be creative, rather than growing in long rows, seed them close together in circles or other shapes. You can thin them as they grow until the biggest ones have the right spacing. (The thinned vegetables can be very sweet and tasty in salads.) Bulbs like garlic and onions can be planted in large mounds as well. There is nothing more amazing than when your greens glow in the morning dew when the morning sun is just beginning to touch the leaves.

So keep on planting these different vignettes where you think they should be, and where you can observe and enjoy the changes of the seasons. You might be surprised how many birds, insects, and wildlife will be showing up. And most importantly your life will be filled with love touching your spirit and soul. Love is real! (Also the title of a song by TaliasVan of Tora and the Bright and Morning Star Band on The God Child Came Christmas album).

Come visit Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm and Ranch—call (520) 603-9932. We’ll give you personalized tour answering questions and showing you some of the manifestations of a labor of love—which all gardens really should be. We have also many pictures on our new and updated website: www.avalongardens.org/pictures.

Have a wonderful season of creative discoveries, Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)

As the seasons turn again, we experience amazement seeing how everything changes so rapidly. While the cooler nights help remind us of the pending frosts here above 3000 feet, there are still plenty of hot days that lull us into thinking it won’t freeze. Many plants respond to longer and cooler nights by becoming semi-dormant. Growth is limited, and for many vegetables the season is over when the frost touches the leaves and flowers. I’ve written before extending the growing season with row covers and hoop houses. These are great tools to apply for everything. Besides the most common root crops of carrots, beets, radishes and turnips, as well as the garlic, onions, shallots, and leeks you can hear with all your awakened senses: GREENS!!!! This is the destiny of the garden for the next six months.

Clean up your beds removing your weeds and remnants of the summer garden. Prepare your beds by first applying well broken-down compost and then digging under by hand or using a tiller to turn. Shape your beds, rake them, and then start envisioning your favorite greens filling up all your beds. Here are some options: Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale, Collard, Swiss Chard, Mustard, Fennel Bulbs, Asian Greens (Tatsoi, Mizuna, Pak Choi, Bok Choy, Chinese Cabbage), Spinach, Arugula, Lettuce (of which there are 1001 varieties), and many specialty varieties.

My favorite discovery this year was planting all of the greens very densely and then harvesting the baby leaves at about 3”-6”. Most of them, once cut, will come back again within a week or even earlier. Some varieties will continue to come back after 4 to 10 cuttings. The skill here is not cutting them too low, but to leave about 2” standing; this will keep the crowns intact and they will re-sprout new leaves as long as they have water and sunlight. You also need to think ahead and successively plant more of them every 4-6 weeks. They are also easily protected from frost with a floating row cover like AgriBon or Reemay—neither of which require a lot of setup. Small metal or plastic hoops keep the leaves from touching the frost, but even without them most don’t get damaged. The plants are not very tall and by planting very close together (two inch spacing) they will grow like a beautiful carpet. When you mix different color leaves and stems you let nature design it. Keep them weeded right from the beginning. Once they reach a certain size and density they will shade and crowd out most weeds. Here are some combinations that work beautifully together: • Red and White Kale, Collard, Red and Green Mustard • Rainbow Swiss Chard • Red and Green Lettuce mixes (romaine, endive, chicory, loose leaf, oak leaf, and many more) • Other possibilities can be found by looking through seed catalogs

You will experience that your senses get renewed with new flavors: some might have a tinge of spice; some give you strength; some feel and taste soft and gentle; some totally surprise you; and your eyes feast right along. I hope you enjoy these new autumn flavors all they way until spring.

One of the most rewarding life experiences is to become attuned to nature. Any tended and cared for garden is a great teacher of virtues. Even the “unattended” natural and wild gardens give you a richness of recognizing divine patterns just by observing their growth and changes throughout the seasons. “Unattended” is not really what’s happening, because the Master designer, gardener and creator—unseen but ever present—is very much taking care of all living elements.

Visit us and take a tour at Avalon Organic Gardens in Tumacacori (call 520-603-9932). Visit our website (www.avalongardens.org/csa) and sign up for our weekly newsletter. You can also meet us at our farm stands in Tubac and Tucson, or, meet us at any of our CSA pick-up locations (Tubac, Green Valley, Tucson). In addition to vegetables, we now have a CSA share program for Grass-fed Avalon Beef (www.avalongardens.org/beef). We’re happy to answer questions here or there; you can also email us at csa@avalongardens.org.

Until next month, Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)

The last few months have been very rewarding with the variety of so many vegetables harvested in abundance. It is always amazing what the desert can provide given some compost and water. But there is so much more happening in a garden. The other day I was reflecting on the transitioning of a very good friend to his next journey—an inward and upward journey. For the almost 20 years that I had known him, he always enjoyed coming to the gardens. Even in his last few months, at almost 80 years of age, he came looking for something to do—pruning, weeding, or just raking, it made no difference to him. He loved it. He knew it was healing. It gave him peace and purpose beyond his daily routines and responsibilities. I’ll always keep this in my memory of him. He was truly an impressive elder with a real spiritual heart of service. Why is it that we feel the healing connection with the Universe Mother Spirit in the gardens? I leave this for you to answer.

Recently we have had many visitors to our gardens, many with lots of experience in gardening, and most of them educators in the fields of health and sustainability. Permaculture design applications have become popular in recent years, and all of us are learning from each other, with new ideas coming in all the time. I have always believed that seeking and learning from the many divine patterns all around us, once recognized, can lead us to the next step, idea, and vision of how to live and grow in harmony with nature. To me the highest form of permaculture is building and living community. All plant communities adapt and get to know each other throughout the seasons of many generations, and so it is with us humans too. There is a fine balance that keeps us all in harmony.

As the seasons change again, new plantings of frost hardy plants in the soil are necessary for them grow strong roots. The timing is so vital in September. You need to know the maturity dates of your plants in relation to your possible first frost date. Last year in mid October, in our region near Tumacacori, it went down to 20 degrees for several nights in a row. So get your plants in the ground as soon as you can. Once established you can cover them in the early afternoon (around 3 p. m.) with some plastic or floating row covers to trap some of the heat absorbed by the soil. If you have a greenhouse, it’s even better. The easiest—and very affordable and effective covers—are simple hoop-houses. We are planning to put one more up this fall to be able to extend our growing seasons.

Some of my favorite plant varieties to grow for the fall are greens. I love their freshness and taste, and most become sweeter with the cold, and even with some frosty nights. We just planted spinach. It will take the plants some time (about 60 days) to get established for a first harvest. Many greens like spinach can be harvested by taking off the biggest leaves, mainly from the outside. The new leaves will come from the crowns and will be ready to harvest every week. Some plants can last many months. You can use the same method for kale, collards, Swiss chard, many Asian varieties, and other greens. You can also extend your growing season with succession plantings in 4-6 weeks. As the warm days get shorter, the plants will grow slower but keep longer, and some will last all the way into the spring.

One of our goals of gardening, besides growing food for our families and the whole Santa Cruz River Valley, is to create a sanctuary for people, plants, insects, birds, and animals. A sanctuary is a place of balance and sanity, where all living spiritual forces smile with you so that true healing can occur. The healing begins in the heart and soul first, and I have found that a little gardening each day is powerful medicine. I encourage you to start your gardens, or enjoy other gardens by visiting them and possibly helping, too.

A powerful and energetic group of people “Somos La Semilla / We are the Seed” met last July at Avalon Organic Gardens and made plans to sponsor an all day event on Sunday, September 12, 2010 from 9 a. m. to 6 p. m. Seven organic farms and gardens in the Santa Cruz Valley will open their fields to the public for free farm tours. The tours seek to educate people about the benefits of locally grown foods and inspire people to grow some of their own. At each of the farms and gardens, the public will be able to see what various seasonal crops are growing.

The participating farms are diverse and include: Avalon Organic Gardens in Tumacacori; Forever Yong Farm in Amado; Arivaca Community Garden in Arivaca; University of Arizona Extension Service Vegetable Garden in Green Valley; Continental Elementary School Garden; and Green Valley Pecan Co. in Sahuarita. You can find information on the tours at: avalongardens.org/images/somos/flyer.jpg; www.somoslasemilla.org; or by calling (520) 904-8102. We hope we can all inspire you to become an important part of the organic gardening community of this beautiful and blessed valley that we live in. Avalon Organic gardens still offers Community Supported DEO-Agriculture (CSA) harvest shares all year round. You can sign up anytime. Call (520) 603-9932 or visit: www.avalongardens.org/csa. See you all soon, Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)

Here are some great quotes on soil:

“Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.” ~ Charles E. Kellogg , 1938

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” ~ Aldo Leopold, 1949

“If the soil is destroyed, then our liberty of action and choice are gone …” ~ W.C. Lowdermilk, 1953

“The nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself.” ~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“How can I stand on the ground every day and not feel its power? How can I live my life stepping on this stuff and not wonder at it?” “… the soil of any one place makes its own peculiar and inevitable sense. It is impossible to contemplate the life of the soil for very long without seeing it as analogous to the life of the spirit.” “We spend our lives hurrying away from the real, as though it were deadly to us. ‘It must be somewhere up there on the horizon,’ we think. And all the time it is in the soil, right beneath our feet.” ~ William Bryant Logan

It is such a fascinating topic, and with observation and some common understandings, one can learn stunning truths. Have you seen a dust storm recently? It just comes and takes. Or have you watched a monsoon rain erode your beautiful garden beds? How about weeds?  Aren’t they amazing how quickly they can take over? Is it good or bad to have weeds?

I went to one of our projected perennial gardens the other day and was in shock over how poorly some of the plants did, while surprised over how well others did—even in 100 degree temperatures. So I looked closer. Where the soil was just basic sand, it was dry, and a few inches below, it was dense from either too much moisture or lack of it. Even the weeds were not in abundance. In other areas just a few feet away, there were grasses, amaranths, lambsquarters, purslane, and other “weeds.” When I dug into the soil at that location, I found a mixture of broken down compost, small rocks, and sticks, and it felt very alive. It was breathing air. Is it what I planted where and when? I sensed that it requires personal touch and care to get to know your soil in every part of your garden. It’s like adopting your soil and getting adopted by it at the same time. How much attention do you give, and how much time do you spend with your soil?

There are some simple and practical approaches to consider in developing a relationship with your soil:  The more broken down organic matter you apply the better the soil conditions will become. As you create shade through trees, bushes, flowers and other tall plants, the more bio diversity you have and the more options you’ll also have as to what you can plant.  New micro climates will spring forth and life will change throughout all the seasons. So, get your broken down compost, your wood chips, leaves, straw, and cut grasses and apply them freely on top of your soil. Decide on some fruit and shade trees and plant them. Keep your garden in a balanced moisture level. Have some flowers for bees, butterflies and birds.  Create an environment hospitable for new life cycles which will come, including bugs, earthworms and trillions of micro organisms. Make some compost teas or get some Effective Micro Organisms (EM) to accelerate the growth of your soil.

If you already have some form of a garden, increase your mulch and compost layers. Believe it or not sunflowers are great soil builders. Plant lots of them; their joyful design will put a big smile on your face and on the faces of those who visit your garden.  Have a great summer—I hope you have planted lots of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, okra, and beans just to name a few. Plant them close together. This will keep the moisture in longer and give shade to each other.

Visit Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm and Ranch in Tumacacori for guided tour (call 520-398-2655). Look us up on our website www.avalongardens.org; we are still taking new CSA members—you will find the information on that program there, also.

Another quote stunned me the other day and made me think about soil in a whole new way: “Mind is the human soil…..” –The URANTIA Book, p. 1210.

May the monsoon rains come plentifully and bless all of us this year,

Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)

This season is usually filled with much growth and first harvests, but we experienced a big surprise here in Tumacacori—several frosts in early May (the last of which culminated on May 10^th).  We’ve since replanted and transplanted. Most likely others have too. Keep on planting until your gardens are filled. You can then choose succession plantings. The longest days and most sunshine offer lots of potential. Depending on your location and timing, certain plants love it while others get exhausted and need to be replanted every four to six weeks to have a second or third season.

We have been planting bush and pole beans, summer squash varieties and cucumbers, cantaloupes and watermelons, beets and carrots, determinate and indeterminate tomatoes, and greens of all kinds. Greens are prized treasures in the heat; you can grow them all year round if you help them keep cool by providing them shade underneath the okras, pole beans, sunflowers, amaranth and other tall plants. Plant your greens on the east side so they get the first sun and then the afternoon shade. Give them a cooling with water sometime before noon and, if the days require it, add another little bit in the late afternoon. Greens especially benefit from succession plantings since you can’t predict the heat waves, wind gusts, and moisture. Timing is important, but I suggest that you just keep on planting. Once in while the circumstances of all life forces—seen and unseen—create an array of possibilities that are so special. Expect the unexpected, and even if you haven’t thought much of faith when you garden, you can hope and dream—and some of us even pray.

In recent weeks I have thought about immigration—not just political issues but actual plant immigrations. All cultures have watched and experienced plants adapting to the most amazing climates with great and amazing benefits. Some were planned and very much intended, others were surprises. Did you know that many of the common plants we grow and eat had their origins in another country—especially countries south of the border. Let me share some plant origins with you:

Africa: Watermelon, Okra

Asia: Broad bean, Cress, Lettuce, Muskmelon, Onion, Pea, Radish, Rhubarb, Spinach, Cucumber, Endive

Central & South America: Bush Bean, Cucumber, Kidney Bean, Flint Corn, Eggplant, Potato, Scarlet Runner Bean, Sweet Potato, Tomato, Winter Squash, Pumpkin, Pepper

Europe/Asia: Asparagus, Chinese Cabbage, Water Cress, Dandelion, Horseradish, Cauliflower, Carrot

Europe: Beet, Pole Beans, Celery, Swiss Chard, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Kohl Rabi, Cabbage, Leek, Parsley, Parsnip, Rutabaga, Turnip

North America: Jerusalem Artichoke, Summer Squash

There are, of course, many more familiar vegetables, fruits and flowers that have their origins elsewhere.

When you look at that list you can really appreciate other cultures and their gifts. And, as it is with plant life, so it is within the human race. Some of the migrations have happened for thousands of years. Even with borders or territories there was still trade. And when marriages occur between cultures, there arrives the unforeseen and unexpected. All is part of a magic evolutionary and revelatory plan. Pause for a minute and give thanks for the blessings that a small garden can teach you about humanity.

Come and visit Avalon Organic Gardens, Farm and Ranch. Call (520) 603-9932 and let us know. I hope to see you soon—here on a tour, at our Farm Stand in Tubac on Saturday from 11-1pm, or at one of our Community Supported Deo-Agriculture Program (CSA) delivery locations. We now offer our CSA program year-round from Tubac to Patagonia, Green Valley to Tucson. You can sign up for it online at www.avalongardens.org/csa, or call the phone number above.

With much appreciation for accepting me as your neighbor and friend,

Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent),

an immigrated American Citizen , born in Germany to a father who immigrated from Italy and a mother who immigrated from Romania

PLANTS LIVE IN COMMUNITIES
Greetings fellow gardeners!
When you really look at any plant in nature you will notice it is connected with other plants—by giving or receiving shade, warmth, coolness, wind protection, support, color, water, nutrients, and many other intricacies. We call this interdependency and true community living. Plants know this, and humans are still in the discovery of it. Neighborly care and love for one another is what plants do all the time. To be flexible, to adapt to circumstances—whether it be a drought, monsoon storm, a move (transplanting), or a need for healing—is a must for every living thing; and, with the collective help of others, much more can be accomplished than just the sum of the parts.
This philosophy and common sense understanding has been adopted into Permaculture design, Xeroscape landscaping, companion planting, rain- and grey-water harvesting, and Feng Shui. Throughout history it has been called the golden rule and divine pattern. I am suggesting, in the spirit of Easter, that you resurrect some of these age old truths. Every garden is different, and so there are no strict formulas, but there are guidelines. Be creative and ask some good nurseries.
Plant shade: Choose one or more deciduous trees. Some are fast growing (softwoods: willows, cottonwood) ; others grow slower (fruit trees, desert trees). One has to consider water needs too, but keep in mind that once the shade is established those plants that benefit from the shade will then use less water. Plant windbreak: You can choose hedges from native plants like jojoba, yuccas, bamboo, black/raspberries, or rose hedges with edible rosehips (even rose petals). Plant variety: My favorite companion planting is the native three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. They are true companions. Last year we did this and had a great harvest. Some other ideas are amaranth, lettuce, and onions. Another consideration is tomatoes and basil with some marigolds. In the corners of your garden have permanent spots for culinary herb perennials (rosemary, chives, marjoram, oregano, etc.), medicinal (calendula, lavender, comfrey, mints, plantain, stinging nettle, etc.), and edible standards (globe artichokes, rhubarb, asparagus). Plant beauty: Grapevines, roses, and flowers of all kinds including the sunflower. Did you know that there is a native sunflower (misnamed Jerusalem Artichokes) that has edible roots? It’s very beautiful and tall with many small flowers, and the nutritional benefits of its tubers are amazing. Plant density: Fill up your spaces with many kinds of vegetable plants and mulch all heavily with organic compost. It creates a microclimate and a plant community that is sustainable even in the desert.
What is described above is just the beginning, and each season you can add more plants. Envision it first, and then step by step plant your varieties and fill in the spaces. Involve your family, or make a family of friends, and you will find it’s more fun and creative. Ask your neighbors, garden clubs, or community gardens. In this process of learning and discovery, you find a new sense of belonging which fills your heart and soul with purpose. It is truly remarkable how healing gardening can be, no matter how small the beginnings.
We celebrate this time at Avalon Organic Gardens with our Annual Family Easter Celebration on Sunday April 4th, 11 A. M. – 3 P. M. Bring the kids for a hayride, Easter Egg Hunt, music, a children’s play, refreshments, and more. You can find the flyer online at http://globalchangemultimedia.org/events.
On Saturday, April 24, 11 A. M. – 5 P. M. our Annual Earth Sustainability Day is coming to Tubac Plaza. I hope I see you there or at our weekly Farm Stand in Tubac on Saturdays 11 A. M. – 1 P. M. And, don’t forget—its time to sign up for your share in our Community Supported Agriculture Program. You can do this online at http://avalongardens.org/csa or by calling 520-603-9932 (where you can also arrange for a personal tour).
Have fun planting and building your community, Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)

Why is this so important? We live in a Food Desert (scarcity of local, healthy, and naturally-grown foods), especially in rural areas. Even a supermarket with its myriad of choices can be a food desert. We need to realize that healthy food is a Human Right for all, and we need to protect it! We don’t have enough local and healthy food grown in this area, and the education system needs to improve so the children and adults can learn the value of local foods grown in a sustainable way. We also don’t have the surplus needed to keep the market prices reasonable so that local organically and naturally grown foods can be affordable for everyone. There needs to be more farm-stands, farmer’s markets, and grocery stores with local fresh foods. The fewer miles the food travels on the road (most travels an average of 1500 miles), the more fresh and ripe it is. By incorporating growing practices that are more sustainable, we will also have less environmental pollution and better water conservation, and, of course, we can all eat healthier and live better lives.

How can we manifest these gardens to be everywhere? The first step is to commit yourselves for a whole season to do it. You need to find some land—backyard or community garden project—and then to learn as much as you can how to grow food as you do it. Visit your farms and community gardens, talk to each other, and support each other. Find a neighbor, a friend, or even better yet, a group of people to do this together so that the effort, time, and responsibility can be shared. Maybe there is already something in progress in your neighborhood. This is true community building.

Growing food is all about soil, seeds, and water. Soil building is so vital in the desert. By using real compost you enrich the soil so it can feed the plants, absorb the water like a sponge, and become itself a multibillion strong beneficial organism. Work your compost in the soil as soon as possible and then plant any seeds in the ground according to instructions given for timing and depth. Protect the soil from wind and water erosion—mulch with straw, woodchips, or other materials. At the beginning of the season you should also apply water and air permeable floating row covers to give protection from frost, wind, and sun and keep heat in at night.

My favorite plants right now are all the greens—lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, and some root crops including beets, turnips, radishes and carrots as well. The summer-loving plants require warmer temperatures to sprout and grow; you can start some in your window sill or greenhouse to transplant later.

Have you ever tried growing microgreens? Get a mix of seeds of greens you like and plant evenly and very close together; I have often simply broadcasted them with great success. Once they are at least 3” tall, you can regularly cut them down to the first inch above ground level. They will continue growing for quite a while and are a continual source for delicious baby greens salads! Feed the plants every two weeks using a spray bottle full of compost tea, kelp, or fish emulsion.

If you’re not ready to plant a whole garden, how about planting and tending food plants in a container—as you would house plants. All they need is good soil and a good light source. I have seen a lot of people grow food this way. You can start indoors and then bring them outside for the warmer months using walls for shade and wind protection. You can grow tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, squash, and greens this way.

During our conference a wonderful service-oriented Mexican lady and missionary wife from Agua Prieta/Douglas envisioned herself being the seed for her people by starting more gardens and teaching them how to grow and live sustainable. She called it “Somos La Semilla”—“We are the Seed.” The vision was so beautiful that several of our working groups adopted it for different activities. I encourage you all to see yourself as a seed that inspires not just yourself but others to grow. The cosmic energies of this spring season will give you all the support to go forth and multiply.

I look forward to visiting or hearing of your food gardens. Write me at Avalon Organic Gardens, Attn: Tarenta, P.O. Box 4910, Tubac, AZ 85646, or E-mail me at csa@avalongardens.org. Send some pictures as well—we might be able to include you in the open house garden tour in September that we are planning. Of course you are welcome to ask me any questions, too.

May you sprout and be blessed this season, Tarenta Baldeschi (Change Agent)