Our New Hoop Garden!

Last fall the Manzanita Village Garden Club in conjunction with the Groundskeeping Committee wanted to move our primary garden off the terraces near our common house. We decided to build a hoop house on a long flat area along our pedestrian roadway. During the early part of this year, we were able to build a 12’ by 48’ hoop house with two long beds on either side of a central walkway. The hoop house is complete with animal-deterent fencing, work benches and a bird house. After the snow cleared from our late spring snowstorm of last weekend the plastic cover was installed so we can begin our early spring planting. We hope the plastic covers will protect the plants in the spring and fall and serve as a sun shade in the hottest part of the summer so that we’ll be able to extend our growing season and provide an optimal environment for our crops.

For further updates on our community gardens and other projects, check out the Manzanita Village Gaia’s Food Forest Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Manzanita-Village-Gaias-Food-Forest/143045212424353 .

Hoop Garden

Our new hoop garden is well on its way to completion.

Constellation Trail Hike

On October 29, 2011, a large group of Villager people and dogs hiked the Constellation Trail in the Dells.  Shown below are a couple of pictures, thanks to Connie B.

Goats for Fire Fuels Mitigation

 

In the spring of 2011 Manzanita Village was awarded a grant by the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors for fire fuels mitigation in our ravine. This grant is part of a larger effort that eventuated in the community being awarded a FireWise Community designation by FireWise/USA (http://www.firewise.org/). Becoming a FireWise community is an important effort in western and southwestern areas that are yearly ravaged by wildfires. Just this year the nation watched as 538,049 acres were destroyed by the Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona.

A major portion of our fire fuels mitigation grant was earmarked to hire a local herd of goats to help clear the four acres closest to community homes. Using goats instead human beings for this initial clearing effort means we not only can clear away fire fuels and underbrush but also enhance groundwater penetration and ultimately provide a healthier environment fro both the plants and animals living in this area.

After a period of preparation on the part of both the Village and the staff of Settler Valley Ranch, including the installation of a solar-powered electric fence to protect the goats from our resident coyotes and other predators, a herd of 25 goats, three males and 22 females, was delivered on Sunday October 23, 2011. It will take this herd about 40 days to clear the designated area.

National Survey of Cohousing

The Cohousing Association of the United States (Coho/US) recently conducted a national survey of cohousing communities around the country. Manzanita Village participated in this survey. The results have been published on-line in a downloadable PDF report that can be found here.