This workshop will provide participants with a step-by-step theoretical—and hands-on practical—"how-to" approach to the utilization of greenhouses as a component of sustainable living. In exploring innovative and proven techniques in growing food all year around, relative to your unique circumstances, you will find that greenhouses can be effective with a minimal investment. You will learn about different styles of greenhouses/ high-tunnels/ hoop-houses/ shade structures, and how to build micro-climates for various plants with various irrigation techniques.

Tarenta Baldeschi and his staff teach at Avalon Organic Gardens & EcoVillage in Tumacacori, Arizona. They will share with you how, in 2007, Avalon Gardens began transforming established Bermuda grass pastures, acre by acre, into a thriving food producing garden. Learn the basic steps with them, and from their experience, discover what you need to do to apply these unique techniques in gardening. Focus on the need to adjust and adapt to climate changes and extreme temperatures in the Sonoran desert—from 120 degrees down to 0 (zero) degrees. Because of Global Warming, this climate zone currently experiences severe drought during the monsoon seasons, micro-bursts and wind gusts up to 80 miles an hour, and frosts that occur later in the spring and earlier in the fall. Learning to adapt to the current trend of Global Warming will be an integral part of this workshop.

Subjects include:

• Understanding how unheated greenhouses/ high-tunnels/ hoop-houses function for propagation and planting
• Enriching the soil with various composting materials and Effective Micro-organism (EM) brewing and application to stop erosion and increase moisture retention
• Using shade structures for cooling and heating
• Applying rainwater harvesting and storage to keep temperatures moderate
• Converting flood irrigation to drip irrigation in order to better regulate the temperatures of soil and roots during various seasons
• Using floating row-covers, perforated clear plastic, and biodegradable plastic mulch
• Spacing choices and inter-planting of various food growing plants
• Planning and applying wind breaks and shade with fruit and nut trees, and using flowering perennials to attract beneficial insects and pollinators

The workshop is six hours, plus time for lunch.

Workshop fee is $200 per person and includes an organic lunch. Financial contribution is required; work trade or material barter will be considered.

Please make reservations one week in advance. A minimum of 6 participants is required to hold workshop, otherwise subject to cancellation.
Larger groups, organizations, schools please call for further information about group rates.

Inquire about Lodging & Childcare information.

Some printed material will be distributed, explaining basic steps, references to materials, books, etc. Please no recording with camera, phone, or video unless pre-approved by written request stating purpose in advance.

• This exact workshop cannot be done elsewhere.
• A specific project/workshop, (for example assembling or building greenhouses/ high-tunnels/ hoop-houses/ shade structures/ drip irrigation, etc.) can be done elsewhere. Call for details.
• An initial on-site consultation is necessary to plan and prepare a workshop elsewhere.
• On-site consultation is available for an hourly fee of $75 per person (a team of two will always consult together) plus traveling expenses.
  
  

  This fee includes the following:

  • A site evaluation
  • A Q&A session with the client to assess project needs
  • A final written evaluation and recommendation, with estimated material costs and hours of labor needed

    Any drawings, vision plans, pictures, elevation maps, plot plans, landscape designs that are available, and any other material requested by consultant, might be required in advance in order to prepare for an off-site visit. Phone or email time will be tracked and will become part of the consultation fee.

Held at Avalon Organic Gardens & EcoVillage in Tumacácori, Arizona. For more information call (866) 508-0094.

This workshop will introduce a natural building technique featuring a fiber-reinforced cement application. By using recycled material such as paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, and natural materials that are readily available in your area—like dirt, sand, clay, grass clippings, and straw—you can learn many ways to apply these materials into the construction and landscaping around your home. With a small amount of cement and lime, natural fibers mixed together create a strong bond that is sustainable and practical in building and is more in harmony with the environment.

Menelik Hume has 35 years in the construction field, with a background in architectural passive solar design. In the past 10 years he has worked and experimented with alternative building practices with the construction crew and designers of "Earth Harmony Builders" at Avalon Organic Gardens & EcoVillage.

Workshop includes:

• "How-To" — using a variety of recycled materials in mixing recipes for Papercrete


• Learning about slip forming, block making, cobble stones, and stucco


• Introducing the age old technique of plaster forming and layering with lime and clay


• Discussing the many benefits of fibrous materials in insulation factors, water proofing, and sound reduction


• Introducing new building concepts in the use of various reclaimed materials to create form with beauty and harmony

The workshop is six hours, plus time for lunch.

Workshop fee is $200 per person and includes an organic lunch. Financial contribution is required; work trade or material barter will be considered.

Please make reservations one week in advance. A minimum of 6 participants is required to hold workshop, otherwise subject to cancellation.
Larger groups, organizations, schools please call for further information about group rates.

Inquire about Lodging & Childcare information.

There will be a short presentation and discussion before and after the workshop, with printed materials explaining basic steps, references to materials, books, etc. Please no recording with camera, phone, or video unless pre-approved by written request stating purpose in advance.

• This workshop and/or project, directed by our crew of Earth Harmony Builders, can be applied in your area.
• An initial on-site consultation may be necessary to plan and prepare this workshop or project to meet your specific needs.
• On-site consultation is available for an hourly fee of $75 per person (a team of two will always consult together) plus traveling expenses.
  
  

  This fee includes the following:

  • A site evaluation
  • A Q&A session with the client to assess project needs
  • A final written evaluation and recommendation, with estimated material costs and hours of labor needed

    Any drawings, vision plans, pictures, elevation maps, plot plans, landscape designs that are available, and any other material requested by consultant, might be required in advance in order to prepare for an off-site visit. Phone or email time will be tracked and will become part of the consultation fee.

Held at Avalon Organic Gardens & EcoVillage in Tumacácori, Arizona. For more information call (866) 508-0094.