February 24 - Members Event: Tomato Up-Potting Workshop
2024-02-24 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Phoenix) | Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) – Workshops, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ, 85745
Members Event: Saturday, February 24, from 10 am – noon at Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB), 1200 W. Speedway Blvd, Tucson

In our first workshop, we learned how to grow tomatoes from seed, how to make a good soil mix for them, and how to up-pot the sprouts to their own pots. On February 24th, 10-12, we will have our next up potting party to move these seedlings into larger pots and ready them for planting in the ASDB gardens and for sale to raise funds for the Pollinator Equity Project at our Spring Fair!

Visit us at the Farmer's Market!
2024-03-03 08:30 - 12:30 | Rillito Park, 4502 North 1st Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Representatives of Tucson Organic Gardeners will have a table at the Heirloom Farmer’s Market at Rillito Park (https://www.heirloomfm.org/markets/rillito-park/) on Sunday, March 3 from 8:30-12:30. Visit us there to get your gardening questions answered and learn more about our upcoming events!

Tucson Organic Gardeners Spring Garden Fair
2024-03-16 09:00 - 13:00 | Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) – Plant Fair, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ
Saturday, March 16, 2024 – Note no dogs allowed.
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind – 1200 W. Speedway Blvd
Free admission. Note new location!!

Locally grown plants & seeds -vegetables/herbs/flowers/native plants
Organic compost, fertilizers & garden supplies
Gardening & composting advice

Proceeds benefit Tucson Organic Gardeners, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization

March 2024 - Spring Into Summer
2024-03-19 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Community Room: Park in the 2nd Street parking lot and follow the signs. This is not the lot that Google will direct you to if you input the church’s address., 3736 E 2nd St, Tucson, AZ, 85716, United States
Speaker: Reggie Smith from Westwind Seeds
Tuesday, March 19, 6:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Presbyterian AND via Zoom

Reggie has been a successful gardener in Tucson for more than 50 years. She started Westwind Seeds in 1980 when she saw many of her favorite heirloom seeds disappearing from mainstream seed companies. She is committed to carrying the best seeds for extreme climates. All Westwind seeds are open pollinated, heirloom seeds that produce well in Tucson.
Spring Into Summer
Reggie Smith, owner of Westwind Seeds and an experienced gardener, will explain the best strategies for creating a successful garden. She will discuss the optimal growing conditions to help you plan your Spring into Summer vegetable garden. The right seeds, soil, plants and timing will assure your success.

Members Only Tour of Mission Gardens
2024-04-06 08:00 - 09:00 | Rillito Park, 4502 North 1st Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Mission Gardens has agreed to provide a guided tour of the gardens for TOG members on April 6th from 8 AM – 9 AM. Cost will be $5 vs the normal $10 for other patrons. If you have never been to Mission Gardens, this is the time to go to learn about the history of the gardens and the local culture with agricultural roots dating back 4000 years! It is a great tour featuring beautiful grounds that will be vibrant with native plants, local Arizona crops, fantastic fruit trees and more! There will also be a native grass festival starting at 9 AM that day which members can also take part in and Mission Garden members can enjoy discounts at the gift shop! Space will be limited to 15 people! If you are interested please sign up HERE!

April 2024 - Tomorrow's Garden
2024-04-16 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Community Room: Park in the 2nd Street parking lot and follow the signs. This is not the lot that Google will direct you to if you input the church’s address., 3736 E 2nd St, Tucson, AZ, 85716, United States
Speakers: Dena Cowan and Kendall Kroesen

Tuesday, April 16, 6:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Presbyterian AND via Zoom

Mission Garden is a living museum that tells the story of over 4,000 years of multicultural agriculture in the Tucson Basin. Mission Gardens is now planning a new garden that is to be called Tomorrow’s Garden. Its purpose is to explore how to grow food in the local area in the future, with higher average temperatures, more extreme weather events, and less water. A garden committee has gathered input from diverse stakeholders and is now in the process of making initial decisions about the garden design. This presentation will describe the status of this effort, some of the broader scale design parameters, and some of the possibilities we are exploring. Mission Gardens will also be welcoming input from Tucson Organic Gardeners’ about this new effort with an interactive portion as part of the discussion.
Dena Cowan is Curator of Collections at Mission Garden, Tucson’s Agricultural Heritage Museum, where she has also served as Garden Supervisor and Community Outreach Coordinator. For the past two years she has also created a farm plan and consulted for Arizona’s first certified organic regenerative farm, Oatman Flats Ranch.
Kendall grew up in Southern California and earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. After college he worked for four years on archaeological and conservation projects and became a bird watcher. Later Kendall received a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, San Diego after twenty months of field work in central Mexico. Kendall held post-doctoral research positions at UCLA and at the Tucson VA Medical Center. In February 2002, in a departure from social science, Kendall joined the staff of the Tucson Audubon Society. There he was involved in communications, rural habitat restoration and creation of an urban bird habitat program. Kendall has served on a variety of community advisory committees including the Tucson Parks and Recreation Commission. He now works as Community Outreach Coordinator at the Mission Garden. He enjoys gardening, birding and walking dogs with his wife Mary Beth Tyndall.

Earth Day with us at the Farmer's Market!
2024-04-21 08:00 - 12:00 | Rillito Park, 4502 North 1st Avenue, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Representatives of Tucson Organic Gardeners will have a table at the Heirloom Farmer’s Market at Rillito Park (https://www.heirloomfm.org/markets/rillito-park/) on Sunday, April 21 from 8:00 – noon. Visit us there to celebrate Earth Day, get your gardening questions answered and learn more about our upcoming events!

May 2024 - General Membership Meeting (Zoom only)
2024-05-21 18:30 - 20:00
General Membership Meeting via Zoom only.
More info and Agenda TBD.

July 2024 - Member's Only Potluck
2024-07-13 08:00 - 11:00
Summer Potlucks – Member’s Only
We plan to hold our first summer pot luck at Dreamflower Garden (Lorien Tersey – Owner) on July 13th from 8-11 am. Email with details will be sent to current members. If you are not sure of your membership status, email us at tucsonorganicgardeners@gmail.com

August 3, 2024 - Members Only Potluck
2024-08-03 08:00 - 11:00 | Blue Moon Community Gardens, 1501 N. Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ, United States
Summer Potlucks – Members Only
The Tucson Organic Gardeners Members Only Potluck on August 3rd, will take place at Blue Moon Community Gardens, from 8-11 am. The address is 1501 N. Oracle Rd. This location has a large garden, natural spaces, a large ramada and picnic tables
Email with details will be sent to current members. If you are not sure of your membership status, email us at tucsonorganicgardeners@gmail.com

Sept 17, 2024 - General Meeting - Regenerative Planting Practices
2024-09-17 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom. Doors open at 6:00 pm.
Regenerative Planting Practices – with Charles Rogers
Our presentation is aimed at discussing the best planting practices possible for the regeneration and preservation of Sonoran Desert plants, soil and wildlife. Our methods have enabled us to produce positive results for regenerating Native Soil Biology, which optimizes a plant’s root growth, nutrient uptake and water retention. We do this by focusing on key components of planting Sonoran natives such as varieties, amendments, root pruning, earthworks and irrigation. By focusing our efforts in these areas, we’ve developed sustainable planting practices that regenerate and integrate Native Topsoil, Flora and Fauna in the Sonoran Desert. We also will be diving into best practices for long term sustainable vegetable gardening here in the desert.

Ryan Charles Rogers was born and raised in Tucson. Charles is the owner of Earthcare Landscapes LLC, a sustainable landscaping company, serving all of Southern Arizona. He is also co owner of Sonora Flora Nursery, a native plant nursery and a co owner of Strawman Ranch, outside of Benson, which has a 1 acre permaculture food forest installation, and houses native riparian/higher elevation nursery stock. Furthermore, Charles is certified in rainwater harvesting, along with continuing education and certification through smartscape and the master gardeners program.

October 15, 2024 - General Meeting - Healthy soil and a healthy you!
2024-10-15 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom. Doors open at 6:00 pm.
Healthy soil and a healthy you! presented by Kurtis Priebe
Kurtis will be covering three topics as part of this discussion: 1) garden health, 2) regenerative gardening (restoring an inactive garden), and 3) introducing to the audience Steve Solomon’s book The Intelligent Gardener: Growing Nutrient-Dense Food (compost is good, but introducing eleven minerals, in the right proportion based upon a soil test, is the missing link to J. I. Rodale’s method of providing the nutrients the micro life, plants, and humans need for a healthy existence).
Kurtis has been producing food and gardening since 1969. Since 2005 it has been his hobby, and since 2015 his full-time job. He moved from his home state of Michigan to Little Rock, and in 2022 moved to Tucson where he has a small garden and large compost pile at his home. He now rents a garden plot at the Rincon Heights Community Garden and heads-up the composting area for the garden.

Visit us at the Steam Pump Farmers Market!
2024-10-26 09:00 - 13:00 | Steam Pump Ranch, 10901 North Oracle Road, Oro Valley, AZ, United States
Representatives of Tucson Organic Gardeners will have a table at the Heirloom Farmers Market in Oro Valley at the Steam Pump Ranch (https://www.heirloomfm.org/markets/oro-valley) on Sunday, October 26 from 9 am – 1 pm Visit us there to get your gardening questions answered and learn more about our upcoming events!

Postponed until February!!! Visit us at Santa Cruz Farmers Market!
2024-12-12 15:00 - 18:00 | Santa Cruz Market, 267 South Avenida del Convento, Tucson, AZ
Postponed until February!! Representatives of Tucson Organic Gardeners will have a table at the Santa Cruz Farmer’s Market at the MSA Annex (https://www.communityfoodbank.org/how-we-help/local-food/#market) on Thursday, December 12 from 3 – 6 pm Visit us there to get your gardening questions answered and learn more about our upcoming events!

December 17, 2024 - General Meeting - Nocturnal Creatures in the Garden
2024-12-17 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom. Doors open at 6:00 pm” Nocturnal Creatures in the Garden” with Courtney Christie.
Our speaker, Courtney Christie, is a reptile and invertebrate enthusiast both in her personal
time and profession. She is a zookeeper in the Herpetology, Ichthyology and Invertebrate Zoology
department (HIIZ) at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum where she’s worked for the past eight
years, and where she’s gained a bulk of her knowledge about reptiles and invertebrates. She is also
an avid hiker, aspiring naturalist and an artist, all of which have been greatly inspired by her love
for the Sonoran Desert. Through both her job and her art, she is passionate about representing
lesser-known critters that are generally misunderstood or unknown altogether. She’s had the
opportunity to work with a wide variety of Sonoran-Desert fauna ranging from rattlesnakes and
gila monsters, to horned lizards, turtles, various amphibians, and too many invertebrates to
name. Courtney went to the University of Arizona where she majored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
which led to her getting an internship and then her current job at the Desert Museum. Through
conservation trips, mentors, educational programs, and personal outings like hikes, blacklights,
and herping expeditions, she has gained a deep appreciation for all the strange and fascinating
wildlife that calls our desert home.
In this talk Courtney will discuss strange critters that might call your garden home, or enjoy passing
through—especially at night—including reptiles, amphibians, and various invertebrates. She will
discuss the who, what, where, why, and when, with an emphasis on behavior.

January 21, 2025 - Bugs in the Garden
2025-01-21 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom.
Bugs in the Garden presented by Deborah North, Master Gardener
Curious about the insects in your garden? Join us to discover some of the common insects you’re likely to encounter while gardening. As organic gardeners, it’s essential to identify and understand their life cycles so we can make informed decisions about whether action is necessary. We’ll explore both common beneficial and nuisance insects, helping you navigate the active and dynamic season ahead in our Tucson gardens. Insects being discussed:

Green lacewing
Assassin bugs
Praying mantis
Lady beetles
Larvae of butterflies and moths
Leaf footed bugs
Aphids and other soft-bodied pests
Grubs – really good guys
The good termites

Deborah North is a native of Arizona. She started gardening in the ‘80’s while living and working in Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, this did not prepare her for gardening in Tucson. Returning to Arizona in late 2003 she rapidly learned that to enjoy gardening in Tucson required significant re-training. She entered the Master Gardener program through the University of Arizona in 2004 and has never looked back! She is a subject matter expert in citrus, deciduous fruit trees and IPM (Integrated Pest Management) but loves to speak about any gardening topic. One of her joys of being a master gardener is having the opportunity to help extend the science of the university with the community.

February 18, 2025 - How to Over-Summer Your Garden
2025-02-18 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom.
How to Over-Summer Your Garden and keep your soil alive.
Speaker: Lorien Tersey of Dreamflower Garden
Lorien Tersey has been gardening year round in Tucson for 23 years, building a one acre urban farm using integrated organic practices. She spent three years on the grounds staff at Tohono Chul Park and was active for years with the Gardeners of Tucson. She sells plants and produce at the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market and from her gorgeous farm in midtown.
Over-summering the garden. Lorien will share with us suggestions on how to prepare our gardens for the Tucson summer. If you are a snow-bird who isn’t here over the summer or you are here and trying to coax along a summer garden, she will offer us tips on what we can do with plant selection and plant care, and most importantly, tips on how to keep your soil “alive” and best practices for watering.

March 18, 2025 - Identifying Plant Diseases
2025-03-18 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom.
Presentation on Identifying Plant Diseases, by Toni Moore and Noemi Mills, Master Gardeners.
What’s wrong with my plant? Is it an insect pest? Disease? Fertlization problem? Watering? Learn how to identify common garden problems and what can be done to keep your garden healthy and beautiful.
As a proud member of the Master Gardener Class of 2023, Noemi joined this program to connect more deeply with the community she loves. Being a Spanish speaker, she aims to expand the program’s reach by giving talks in diverse parts of town, helping to inspire and educate a broader audience of gardeners. Though she didn’t inherit the green thumb her grandfather and father had, diving into this program has sparked a newfound passion for gardening. She is excited to continue growing—both as a gardener and as a part of this amazing community.
Toni has been a Master Gardener in Pima County since 2000. In Tucson she frequently gives talks on a variety of subjects for the Master Gardener program, both in person and on-line. In a pre-Master Gardener life, she was a math teacher and astronomer.

Tucson Organic Gardeners Spring Garden Fair
2025-03-22 08:30 - 14:00 | Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) – Plant Fair, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ
Saturday, March 22 2024 – Note no dogs allowed.
8:30 am – 2:00 pm (Note expanded hours).
Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind – 1200 W. Speedway Blvd
Free admission.

Locally grown plants & seeds -vegetables/herbs/flowers/native plants
Organic compost, fertilizers & garden supplies
Gardening & composting advice

Proceeds benefit Tucson Organic Gardeners, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization

Visit us at Tucson Village Farm
2025-04-05 09:00 - 15:00 | Tucson Village Farm, 4210 N. Campbell Ave, Tucson, 85719, United States
Representatives of Tucson Organic Gardeners will have a table at the Tucson Village Farm. (https://tucsonvillagefarm.arizona.edu/) on Saturday, April 5 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Visit us there to get your gardening questions answered and learn more about our upcoming events!

Community Gardens of Tucson - Pollinator Festival
2025-04-06 15:00 - 17:00 | New Spirit Garden, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ
The Community Gardens of Tucson POLLINATOR FESTIVAL Spring Fundraiser
April 6th from 3-5 pm at the New Spirit Garden, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail

For more information, visit their website

April 12, 2025 - Garden Structures Workshop
2025-04-12 09:00 - 10:00 | GD2 Community Garden, 1933 N Bell Ave., Tucson, AZ
TOG Garden Structures Workshop at GD2 Community Garden
Free Garden Structures Workshop, Saturday, April 12 from 9 to 10 am at GD2 Community Garden, located at Kha Dang Park in Tucson’s Garden District. Address is 1933 N Bell Ave.
This hands-on, collaborative workshop will give you some ideas on how to build garden structures like a trellis, shade or frost covering, and ways to keep out insects or animals from your garden. We will give you some ideas on what materials you can use for your project. Space is limited so click here to sign up early and bring your ideas.

April 15, 2025 - General Meeting - Seed Workshop
2025-04-15 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom. Click HERE to join via Zoom
Seed Workshop by Nicci Romero, Horny Toad Horticulture.
Nicci Radhe is the grower and producer of seeds and plants at Horny Toad Horticulture. An all organic urban seed farm at the base of Sentinel peak. We offer wholesale plants and seeds to nurseries and do direct sales to the public at markets and events! Horny Toad grows and produces locally adapted heirloom and open pollinated seeds right here in Tucson.
In this speaker series we will enjoy a very short 30 minute seed 101 talk by Nicci about starting seeds indoors and outdoors followed by a seed harvesting and processing workshop. We will talk about seed starting mediums, containers and best practices to ensure strong and vibrant seedlings. The second part of this meetup is a hands-on workshop that will be on the patio of the Knox room. Attendees can just watch but if you wish to participate please bring gloves, a mask and wear long sleeves. We will be processing Hollyhocks, Wild Luffa, Tithonia, Artichoke and Basil and everyone will get seeds to take home!
If participants have seeds to purify please bring them to the workshop we will process those for you with our new winnower! We will have a seed/plant exchange as well so bring any extra seeds and seed bags to share with our gardening community. We will also raffle off a BIG basket of Horny Toad goodies!

Pima County Master Gardeners Plant Sale
2025-04-19 08:00 - 11:00 | Master Gardeners, 4210 N. Campbell Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85719
Pima County Master Gardeners Spring Plant Sale
Come one, come all for a morning of plant shopping. The sale will run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. We’ll have a “fabulous selection of plants, cacti, and succulents, perennials, and a wide variety of water-wise plantings well suited for our Tucson area.” We will send out a plant list closer to the sale date.
Do you need compost, soil probes, or our Master Gardener’s Handbook? We will have that and more for sale. Master gardeners will also be on hand to answer all of your questions. Consider spending some time touring our Demonstration Gardens for inspiration.
For more information, visit their website:
https://extension.arizona.edu/events/spring-pima-county-master-gardener-plant-sale

Sheep Manure Sale!!
2025-04-26 08:00 - 2025-04-27 17:00
Sheep Poopalooza Spring-2025
Beryl Baker (Long time TOG Member) is looking to empty out her sheep pens of manure and is offering up lots of great poop for your gardens and composting areas!
Cost will be $50/load (Truck or Trailer) for the 1st Load! Cost will be $10 for each additional load! You can also load up buckets, boxes, tubs and more for $5 each!
A small skid loader will be available to use to load trailers and trucks quickly! We are looking for individuals to run the skid loader with a reward of as much manure as you want and some snacks to boot!
Here are the details!
Date: 04/26-27/2025 (Sat & Sun)
Time: 8AM – 5PM
Location: Mission Rd and 36 Street
Please RSVP to Beryl, by 04/20/25 so that we can secure a loader for the event! Beryl Baker can be reached at 520-624-1614 for exact directions and to confirm your order.
You can also arrange to pick up during a different time and date but loading will be done by hand only!
This is a great deal and sheep poop is great for supplementing your gardens and she uses as much organic inputs as possible to boot!
This is a great opportunity for the green thumbs in our community!! We hope to see you there!

May 24, 2025 - Member's Only Summer Potluck
2025-05-24 09:00 - 12:00 | Dreamflower Garden, 3227 East Glenn St, Tucson, AZ
Member’s Only Summer Potluck at Dreamflower Garden
9 am – noon
Sign up to attend HERE
If you are not sure if your membership is current, please email us at tucsonorganicgardeners@gmail.com
If you would like to join our club or renew your membership, it is just $15/year. Join HERE
Dreamflower Garden hosted by Lorien Tersey – Lorien runs a beautiful urban farm in the middle of Tucson. There are also four chicken coops on her property. We will have an indoor room with cooling to enjoy our food. Lorien will give one to two tours of her current crops on her half acre lot throughout the morning. Crops are grown year round with veggie, herbs and flowers changing throughout the seasons. Address: Dreamflower Garden Alley, 3227 East Glenn St, Tucson.
We will provide drinks and would like an approximate headcount for planning purposes. Please bring a dish to share and re-usable table service (plates, cups and cutlery) for all members of your party. You will be taking all your items and table service home with you. If you have a chair, please bring that too. Create a label for your food item with a list of ingredients for the food sensitive, and any attributes like gluten free, etc. Please include your name so we can get your container back to you (just in case!)

June 28, 2025 - Member's Only Summer Potluck
2025-06-28 09:00 - 12:00 | Watershed Management Group: Limited on-site parking. Ample on-street parking on Bellevue, 1137 N Dodge Blvd, Tucson, 85716, United States
Member’s Only Summer Potluck at Watershed Management Group
9 am – noon
Sign up to attend HERE
If you are not sure if your membership is current, please email us at tucsonorganicgardeners@gmail.com
If you would like to join our club or renew your membership, it is just $15/year. Join HERE
If you haven’t been to WMG’s Living Lab you are in for a treat! There is a small summer veggie garden currently growing but WMG’s mission is water management here in the desert and plants native to the Tucson area. We will have the choice of using a shady patio area to enjoy our food or we will be able to use their learning center if it’s crazy hot. There are all kinds of examples of passive rain collecting to active collecting along with the native plants. There is also a greywater watering system and compost toilets on property. We are also inviting the WMG crew including their volunteers to relax and have brunch with us. Address: 1137 N Dodge Blvd, Tucson.
We will provide drinks and would like an approximate headcount for planning purposes. Please bring a dish to share and re-usable table service (plates, cups and cutlery) for all members of your party. You will be taking all your items and table service home with you. If you have a chair, please bring that too. Create a label for your food item with a list of ingredients for the food sensitive, and any attributes like gluten free, etc. Please include your name so we can get your container back to you (just in case!)

Cancelled: August 10, 2025 - Member's Only Summer Potluck
2025-08-10 08:30 - 11:30 | 2627 N. Geronimo Ave., 2627 N. Geronimo Ave., Tucson
Member’s Only Summer Potluck with the Compost Queen
8:30 – 11:30 am
Sign up to attend HERE
If you are not sure if your membership is current, please email us at tucsonorganicgardeners@gmail.com
If you would like to join our club or renew your membership, it is just $15/year. Join HERE
Member Joy Holdread is a master composter and we will have lots of information about composting. Joy will donate a bag of compost as a prize and has chickens for children to feed. She will show her rain water harvesting basins, passive systems, and cisterns. Address: 2627 N. Geronimo Ave. Tucson .
We will provide drinks and would like an approximate headcount for planning purposes. Please bring a dish to share and re-usable table service (plates, cups and cutlery) for all members of your party. You will be taking all your items and table service home with you. If you have a chair, please bring that too. Create a label for your food item with a list of ingredients for the food sensitive, and any attributes like gluten free, etc. Please include your name so we can get your container back to you (just in case!)

August 26 - Organic Gardening in Tucson's Desert for the Absolute Beginner
2025-08-26 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
Tuesday, August 26 on Zoom at 6:30 pm. Click HERE for Zoom access
Organic Gardening in Tucson’s Desert for the Absolute Beginner is a supplemental presentation by TOG Board member, Melody Peters. This online talk is geared to those wanting the basics of starting an organic garden in Tucson — those totally new to gardening as well as more experienced gardeners who are new to the desert or in the process of switching over to organic gardening practices. We will talk about the philosophy behind organic gardening followed by basics such as choosing a garden site, digging your garden, basic soil ecology, the use of compost, mulch and organic soil amendments, and the importance of planting the right crops at the right time of year. This Zoom talk will be repeated after the Fall Fair on October 28.
Since her retirement as an art educator, Melody has been devoting much of her time to gardening and gardening groups. A long-time member of TOG and a frequent TOG Board member, she has also served for 13 years as coordinator of Rincon Heights Community Garden. You can meet her in person at TOG’s semi-annual fairs where she sells plants to benefit the Pollinator Equity Project, an endeavor that raises native pollinator plants for donation to sectors of the Tucson community that cannot afford to buy them.

September 16, 2025 - General Meeting - Soil Building
2025-09-16 18:30 - 20:00 | St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church Knox Room: Park in the 3rd Street parking lot., 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson, United States
General Meeting at St. Mark’s Presbyterian, Knox Room and via Zoom.
“Soil Building”
Speaker: Kathleen Opeka of Desert Primrose Gardens
Kathleen Opeka is the founder of Desert Primrose Gardens, a Tucson-based garden educator and permaculture designer. With a background in environmental studies and wilderness education, she brings decades of hands-on gardening experience from the Colorado Plateau to the Sonoran Desert. Kathleen’s passion lies in connecting people to plants, community, and place.
Join us for an engaging discussion on building healthy soil in desert environments. This class will touch on strategies and principles for improving soil fertility through natural and regenerative approaches. Great for gardeners at any stage.
In conjunction with this presentation, we have a members-only tour of Alpine Goat Girl farm on September 24.
