Bill Robinson of the Crazy Chili Farm in Mesa
Bill Robinson is the manager of the Crazy Chile Farm where volunteers plant, nurture, harvest, and grind heritage chiles into powder for sale as part of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration’s outreach programs.
Along with the chiles, the farm grows native blue corn, which is now nearly extinct but was once a staple for the Yoeme people of the Rio Yaqui Valley in Northern Mexico. The church partners with Native Seeds/SEARCH and the Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture, a non-profit with a mission of finding and saving arid-adapted seeds in the Southwest, since supplies for native food crops are very limited.
Bill will share some of the history of the farm and detail the team’s journey in learning techniques to lead to a successful harvest.
Visitors are always welcome to attend a meeting or field trip before deciding to join. Members with no previous gardening experience are welcome and not required to live in Sun Lakes.
Meetings are held every third Tuesday of the month, all year. Attendees gather at 9:30 a.m. to socialize and enjoy refreshments and coffee. During this first half hour, we greet visitors and check out gardening books from our reference library and purchase any raffle tickets. There is also a “Free Stuff” table where members donate citrus or herbs or plants for other members. The meeting is called to order at 10 a.m.
Check out our monthly newsletters and “Resources” section on our website SunLakesGardenClub.org. There is an option to “Join” online under the “Membership” option. Club memberships are only $20 per year, and a spouse or second member in the household is only $10 per year. The meeting location is the Chapel Center (house next door to Sun Lakes All Faiths Community Church and across the street from the Sun Lakes Country Club), at 9230 E. Sun Lakes Blvd. N., in Sun Lakes.