Tucson Organic Gardeners

March 17, 2026 - General Meeting - Mulches
2026-03-17 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Phoenix) | 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.
“Mulches”
Speaker: Sonya Norman, Public Programs Coordinator for the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. She runs the Adult Classes and Trips for the museum’s members, which cover natural and cultural history of the Southwest. In addition, she coordinates the museum’s invasive species, primarily buffelgrass, removal teams. Her true passion is greening and cooling cities through rainwater harvesting. Twenty years ago she began running tours with Brad Lancaster, then branched off to implement water-catchment features in her neighborhood, working with the City of Tucson on the first permitted neighborhood-scale curb cuts. She has developed a small neighborhood park, planted over 100 street-side trees and runs tours and workshops on the topic. Sonya is a native of Tucson and graduated from the U of A with a B.S. in Geosciences.
In this presentation, Sonya will discuss the pros and cons of rock vs organic mulch. Over the last two decades, crushed rock has emerged as the dominate ground cover for builders, house-flippers, roadside and even sometimes park landscaping. This contributes to the urban heat island, necessitates the increased reliance upon herbicide, increases weeds and makes that ground useless. Organic mulch, on the other hand comes with a plethora of benefits to the urban environment.

Tucson Organic Gardeners Spring Garden Fair
2026-03-21 08:30 - 13:30 | Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind (ASDB) – Plant Fair, 1200 W. Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ
Saturday, March 21, 2026 – Note no dogs allowed.
8:30 am – 1:30 pm
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.
A special THANK YOU to our Sponsors!

April 21, 2026 - General Meeting - Roots!
2026-04-21 18:00 - 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.
“Roots”
Speaker: William LaVoy started his career with plants at the Muir Woods National Monument working for the National Park Service, while studying botany at San Francisco State University. He then shifted focus to agriculture where he worked with symbiotic mycorrhiza and their role in drought tolerance in rice, while obtaining a Master’s at Mahidol University in Thailand. Now as a PhD candidate in the Computational Plant Science Lab with Dr. Alex Bucksch at the University of Arizona, William is pursuing the use of sophisticated technological tools to help better understand the impact of roots and their architecture on nutrient uptake to aid plant breeding efforts.
This presentation will focus on the often overlooked and hidden half of plants, the roots. Roots are responsible for the uptake and transportation of almost all nutrients required for happy and healthy plants. They also serve as the interface between the plant and the surrounding soil environment. Root signals will actively recruit beneficial soil micro-organisms and alert the rest of the plant about changing environmental conditions. Roots are amazingly complex and important, please join my presentation to learn all about them!

New Date/Location: General Meeting - Garden as Sanctuary
2026-05-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Ward 6 Council Office, 3202 E 1st St., Tucson, AZ
NOTE: NEW DATE AND LOCATION!!!!
General Meeting at Ward 6 City Council Office 3202 E 1st St, Tucson and via Zoom.
“Garden As Sanctuary”
Speaker: Eli Nielson, Ecosense Sustainable Landscapes
Eli was born and raised in Tucson. Like most Tucson natives, he couldn’t wait to leave this desert hell hole, so at 18 he joined the army, where he became a sergeant and worked as an Intelligence Analyst for five years. After the army he received his degree in Urban Planning from ASU. In 2009 he humbly returned to his hometown – now recognizing it as the lush Sonoran Desert oasis it truly is – and founded EcoSense, with the goal of creating the most badass sustainable landscape company in the galaxy. As our name indicates, EcoSense Sustainable Landscapes is dedicated to designing and installing resilient landscapes. Our designs consider the realities of climate change – using rainwater harvesting and native/arid-adapted plants – to restore disturbed soils and create beautiful and healthy ecosystems that thrive in the Sonoran Desert.
You may want to create a space to meditate, pray, journal, create art, a space for healing. In this presentation on Garden as Sanctuary, Eli will share with us ideas on how your garden can connect you to the land, invite nature into your space, and create a place to restore your body, mind and soul. We will explore how our outdoor spaces can become places of restoration rather than obligation. In this presentation, I’ll share how harvesting rainwater, planting native species, and embracing low-maintenance practices can transform a yard into a resilient, self-sustaining refuge. By working with natural cycles instead of against them, we reduce upkeep, conserve resources, and create landscapes that feel alive and grounding. The result is more than a beautiful garden—it’s a sanctuary where we can slow down, reflect, and reconnect with both our inner thoughts and the rhythms of the natural world.
In conjunction with this talk we are doing a members-only tour at Tucson Botanic Garden on Saturday, May 23 at 9 am.

May 23 - Members-Only Tour of Tucson Botanical Gardens
2026-05-23 09:00 - 10:00 | Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 N Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ
For Members Only,
As an extension of our May presentation we are delighted to invite you to a special, member-only, guided tour of the Tucson Botanical Gardens. If you’ve been looking for a way to transform your outdoor space into a soul-restoring refuge, this is the perfect opportunity to see those principles in action. Come wander with us as we explore how native plants and natural cycles create a true Sonoran sanctuary.
Tour Details

When: Saturday, May 23, 2026, at 9:00 AM
Where: Tucson Botanical Gardens
Duration: 1 hour
Bonus: The Butterfly Exhibit is open from 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM. Feel free to stay after our tour to enjoy it on your own!

Exclusive Member Benefit
Tucson Organic Gardeners is covering the registration fee for up to 15 active members.
Please Note: To ensure an intimate and focused experience, this tour is for active members only (general member or vendor member) – no children or plus-ones are permitted for this specific event. For household memberships, only one guest is permitted.
Register today!
Space is limited, so we recommend grabbing your spot early!

Deadline: You must sign up by May 5th
Waitlist & Cancellations: If your plans change, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your spot to another gardener on the waiting list.

Ready to find your sanctuary?
Register HERE
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at tucsonorganicgardeners@gmail.com.
We can’t wait to see you in the gardens!
