Members of the Quail Creek Gardeners and friends toured the San Xavier Co-op Farm.
Ron and Vicki Sullivan
A few miles north of Quail Creek along the Santa Cruz River, San Xavier Co-op Farm operates on 1,700 acres of farm land. Tour guides Bob Sotomayor and Phyllis Valenzuela shared their knowledge and vision of the farm’s mission. Several Quail Creek members of the Allen J. Ogden community garden in Sahuarita and their fellow gardeners were looking for new gardening ideas and ways to improve crop productivity. Anna apples and diatomaceous earth interested the gardeners.
A few years ago the farm introduced Anna apples into its orchard inventory. A very early season Golden Delicious style apple variety from Israel, it is noted for its very low chill requirement of less than 300 hours. The community gardeners are now discussing possibilities for introducing the Anna into a future community orchard. It is ideally suited to climates such as southern Arizona and especially the Santa Cruz River valley. According to anecdotal reports, the fruit has good eating and juicing qualities and makes for a nice strudel when mixed with Granny Smith.
Another topic of interest introduced to the gardeners and a top priority for Bob is Celite. Also known as diatomaceous earth, it is a naturally occurring soft, siliceous sedimentary rock easily crumbled into a fine white powder. Basically the mineral consists of fossilized remains of hard-shelled algae. It is used as an effective agricultural insecticide on the farm. In fact, it is the only insecticide used at the farm. Look for the products labeled Celite and Harborlite.
A farm tour on the Tohono O’odham Nation Sells Farm is on the planning board. For more information about San Xavier Co-op, their store and tours contact www.sanxaviercoop.org.
For photos and an accompanying article about the tour, visit Green Valley Gardeners Allen J. Ogden Community Garden web site at www.ogdengarden.com.