Beyond Organic Farming
Located within Three Canyons is Sonoita Creek Farms, a small community-based permaculture farm that will supply Three Canyons’ residents with homegrown vegetables, fruits, culinary and medicinal herbs. Rooted in pragmatic ecological farming practices the farm enriches life at Three Canyons by integrating local and sustainable food production, reflecting the development’s holistic philosophy. Though the primary role of the farm is to provide fresh produce to residents through a Community Supported Agriculture project, Sonoita Creek Farms also sells produce at regional farmers’ markets and to restaurants within a 100-mile radius. Sonoita Creek Farms blends sound ecological science with organic food production techniques, fitting into the existing ecological system rather than wholly reshaping the land to suit the needs of agriculture.

The nursery at Sonoita Creek Farms raises a variety of plants and trees for both food production and ecological restoration work that is taking place at Three Canyons. From Papago pomegranates and Manchurian apricots, to Cottonwoods and Emory Oaks, to over two hundred species of native grasses and plants, the nursery is a repository of the biodiversity found at Three Canyons. Farm manager Steve Buckley, who has worked with Native Seeds/SEARCH, Slow Food USA, and on ecological restoration projects throughout the southwest, is designing a model for sustainable agriculture that complements the beyond-conservation philosophy underlying Three Canyons. “Imagine a farm in your own community that produces fresh local food for your family,” he encourages. ”Knowing the practices of how your food is grown and knowing the people who grow it are the fundamental component of building community, and it is the foundation of sustainable agriculture itself.”

Aside from making life at Three Canyons even more pleasurable, Sonoita Creek Farms practices “restoration” agriculture, working to cultivate threatened traditional American crops as part of national and international efforts to safeguard our collective heritage of diverse foods and food traditions. Through participation in efforts such as RAFT (Renewing America’s Food Traditions), the Southwest Regis-Tree, and by working with the seed conservation organization Native Seeds/SEARCH, Sonoita Creek Farms is developing a viable local food system for the entire Sonoita Creek Valley.