Backyard Homesteading in the High Desert
Over the last half decade, the Verde Valley School Farm has grown from an idea born in a field of nightshade, yellow grass, and red dirt, into an eclectic desert forest of annual and perennial plants producing a vast array of crops for food, medicine and beauty. We have been adapting seeds and plants from around the world to thrive in our unique and ever-changing environment. Our triumphs and failures have merged into a philosophy rooted in hard wisdom, flexibility, and vigorous curiosity. This presentation will seek to summarize our efforts and experiences in the field as well as offer our ideas and vision for the years ahead.
Michael Spielman has been the Farm Manager and Orchard Keeper at The Verde Valley School since 2013. Before finding his calling as a tender of plants, he was a roofer in the South Bronx, a bread delivery man in New Hampshire, a kayak ranger in Alaska, a janitorial technician in Tucson, a night watchman in South Lake Tahoe, a backcountry ranger at Keet Seel and first baseman for the notorious Congers Blue Jays. He has a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa. He believes in the imminent return of neighborhood farming and its capacity to rebuild communities and feed the world. Here at VVS, he has worked with a team of students and faculty from around the world to take a vision, pair it with continuous toil, and turn it into a valuable resource for the community. His keynote will leave the conference attendees with a renewed sense of appreciation of what it takes to create a full spectrum sustainable backyard ecosystem in the high desert.