Offers Ecstatic Organic Experience

Gathering of Friends Farm
Offers Ecstatic Organic Experience

by Margo Fried, Gathering of Friends Farm

Imagine yourself surrounded by the Gila National Forest, a river running by your feet and majestic rock cliffs within a stone's throw.

Now imagine a lush, organic garden, in the midst of this peaceful valley, and you will find yourself at the Gathering of Friends Farm where their new course, "Ecstatic Gardening," will be taught this year, spring through fall.

Chief course instructor Jane McKay, with over 12 years of rural and city gardening, will be sharing her wealth of experience in this high desert setting.

Not only does Jane have countless hours of hands-on experience growing bountiful organic produce, but her background as a landscape architect and nurse makes for a rich and solid academic base. Jane's produce has been sold at La Montanita for over four years, as well as at markets in Colorado, and throughout Catron County.

Ecstatic Gardening is an immersive, participatory course that will unfold sequentially and organically — governed by the seasonal and successional tasks of creating, maintaining, maximally utilizing and enjoying an abundant organic garden.

Besides hands-on practice, there will be discussions, lectures, meetings and handouts as well as recommended readings.

Access to their extensive organic gardening and farming library will be made available as the course dictates and needs arise.

You can choose from either the first or second weekend of each month, March through October, 2001.

Each month will feature seasonal hands-on instruction and suggested readings in advance related to the specific activities and skills required at that time of the year to build and maintain a successful garden.

This ensures that students can follow the seasonal process and learn of the myriad ins and outs of raising their own food.

The location is awesome! Located on an old 160-acre homestead at the mouth of the spectacular Frisco Box Canyon, the San Francisco River runs right through it, while national forest land completely surrounds it.

Despite this being an agriculturally challenging area to farm, Jane and coworkers at Gathering of Friends are successfully growing herbs and vegetables year-round, which is not a feat taken lightly!

Along with their certified organic garden and orchard, they have their own hydroelectric power system, a one-acre pond, and sweet mountain spring water.

They are off the grid in terms of power and water supply and although they are not yet fully self-sufficient with food, they are working to get there. A lot of what they grow is used in their meals.