The Verde Valley School Farm is part of the Verde Valley School in Sedona, AZ where the principles of World Citizenship, Academic Excellence, Service to Others with a Willing Spirit, the Value of Physical Labor and Environmental Stewardship have been guiding us since 1948. Origins
We broke ground on the original garden during Project Period in May 2013. The fence is a combination of stones gather
ed from around campus joined together by 269 broken down pallets. A four foot deep trench was dug around the perimeter and we buried gopher wire and attached it to the fence. Little did we know that gophers could dig down four feet two inches to get at our cabbage and garlic. The fence took nine months to build. Preliminary irrigation and soil preparations took another three months. June 2014 saw our first humble plantings of tomatoes, beans, and squash. That winter we dug the rest of the space, added compost, and constructed raised beds. Summer 2015 we were able to plant half of the garden. Summer 2016 brought a full and diverse planting as well as the addition of fruit trees. Seeds
Our seeds are our legacy. Over the last three years we have been growing out and saving seeds from all of our crops. Each season, they have adapted to our soil, our climate, and our particular style of growing. Using both dry farming and low water techniques, vegetables have grown bigger with deeper flavor and higher yields. All of our seeds are open pollinated and originate from organic non-GMO stock. Certain plants like tomatoes and beans stay pure while the squash and the corn are left to the whimsy of the wind and the field. After several years of adaptation and mutation, we have squash that grow nowhere else. This year we will be opening our seed library to the community both for sale and donation. The Greenhouse
The greenhouse was built in January and February of 2016 thanks to the generosity of a local family and their foundation. It is 16 by 32 feet with a fully integrated shelving structure which provides both added growing space and stability. The covering is a double wall
light- diffusing plastic which ensures there are no shadows or shade within. The fans and LED lights are powered by solar panels located on the roof of Brenda, the old bus which carried students in the seventies throughout the southwest and Mexico on our annual Field Trips. We are currently researching and designing off-the-grid options to provide heat throughout the winter. The greenhouse allows us the ability to be a year-round farm and to grow papayas and bananas. Expansion
The expansion was originally part of a three year plan conceived in September 2015. In January 2016, a local philanthropist and entrepreneur connected with the school and to the vision we put forth. Thanks to these very generous gifts and belief in what we are doing, we were able to execute that three year plan in six months. Food now growing in the expansion and throughout the farm is divided into thirds. A third goes to our campus kitchen where our culinary team creates three meals per day for 150 students and faculty. The second third is designated for sale through farmers markets and local restaurants. The revenue raised will allow us to donate the remaining third to the Yavapai Food Council’s Bountiful Kitchens which will be provide hundreds of healthy meals made from scratch each day to local elementary schools without commercial kitchens.
