A brand new kind of community garden at McAllister Ranch, 2025

In 2025, we are proud to be working with the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Office to be building a brand new community garden at the site of the historic McAllister Ranch on Route 66!

The picturesque McAllister Ranch has been dormant for over 20 years. In tandem with the innovative team at the Flagstaff Sustainability Office, we are working with City representatives, local agriculture players, and interested community members to begin the process of bringing McAllister Ranch back to life!

While we are currently working on permit approval, if all goes well, here is a look at what we are hoping to develop this season:

Area 1) Living History Patch

Every season, we hope to celebrate the living history of Flagstaff through food! From stories of Scottish kale to Apache wild tea to African Diaspora collards, the plants we grow and eat tell us the story of who we are. In 2025, around six different crops will be trialed and celebrated!

Area 2) Community Plots

Familiar with beds that can be rented / allotted for the season? This is what the community plots are for! We are currently building soil in 6 modular vigo beds, planning crushed gravel paths, and are working on additional beds that accommodate wheelchair access so community members of different physical abilities can share in this community space. This area will launch to the public in 2026.

Area 3) Community Rows

We need more growers to come up with innovative and sustainable ways to feed people for the future. Could this be you? The community rows will be open for allotment per season just like traditional community plots, but are especially meant for those looking to learn to grow at scale for their communities. Based off of successful programs like NM "Grow the Growers," we will be experimenting with a small cohort of growers who can apply in 2026. This season, we will be silage tarping and sheet mulching to prepare and build soil for community rows next year. This area will launch to the public in 2026.

Area 4) Polyculture Demonstration Garden

A plot to grow plantPulling from traditional agricultural methods from Indigenous cultures including Maya, Hopi, Dine’ (Navajo), and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), this plot will measure growth, crop yields, pest pressure and growing challenges compared to conventional rows. 

This season, we will suppress weeds with silage tarps and then plant a (winter kill) cover crop. This area will launch to the public in 2026.

Area 5) Superyard Farms Trial & Share Rows

What grows well in this space and what kinds of insects, critters, pest, soil, water, and microclimates effect it? We hope to gain some first-hand knowledge about this in 2025!

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