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Introducing Mariposa's Round the Block Farms

Andrea Hurd • April 8, 2020

We are living through interesting times


Covid-19, the coronavirus, has us all in a new situation, but we are living through it together. Sheltering in place means a large proportion of our communities are home a whole lot more than we used to be. Sheltering in place disrupts our normal schedules, distances us from our family, friends and co-workers. This isolation and finding new ways to adapt to it, forces us to refocus and realign our lives.


Some of us are still working, albeit at home, which means we probably have jobs that require us to spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Some of us in service industries considered “non-essential,” such as landscaping, are sitting at home too - but with a bit of time on our hands.


All of us have questions and anxieties. When will this end? How will I continue to pay bills and feed my family safely? What if the supply chain breaks and I can’t get things my family needs? All of us at Mariposa share in these feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. Particularly when it comes to food.


That’s why we’ve chosen to use our collective skills to help our community grow food. As a cooperative, serving our community is one of our bedrock principles, and it’s at the heart of our decision to launch a new service. We’re expanding our business -- historically focused on creating garden sanctuaries for humans that support and regenerate the natural environment -- to now also provide more food security for our community.

A bunch of dill next to a basket of greens
A garden with a beehive in the middle of it

Introducing Round the Block Farms


Have you ever wanted to have a vegetable garden? Many of us are so busy, even now, that the wish to grow vegetables doesn’t sync up with the time it takes to actually do it. Never mind the time it takes to learn how to be a successful grower of vegetables!


To make it possible, even for those who are still working (whether at home, or in a service industry, and/or trying to manage home-schooling their children at the same time), Mariposa's Round the Block Farms will provide everything you need to grow your own food.

Two women wearing hats are working in a garden

We'll use our proven, award-winning ecological design-build processes to create a space where you’ll grow vegetables, fruits, kitchen and medicinal herbs, and companion plants that help bring pollinators and discourage pests so your garden will thrive. We’ll take care of weeding, fertilizing, harvesting too - or you can have the pleasure of doing those things yourself if you prefer.


Giving Back


We want to give our customers the chance to share with the community as well. Our vision is to provide opportunities for those who have extra to share their harvest with others who may not have access to land for growing, or even to fresh vegetables and fruits at all. We’ll also make it possible to sponsor all or part of a planting bed installation and maintenance for people who need to receive the aid. 


In short, Round the Block Farms is all about:


Building up your health and immunity with fresh food. Fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs have higher levels of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. These elements are key to building up a healthy and strong immune system.


Building up your community with sponsorships and surplus vegetables. Help others weather this storm by donating - your produce, or your money, or both - to help supplement the food supply or support the installation of vegetable gardens for others in your community.

A group of small plants growing out of the ground.

If not now, when? If not us, who?


Mariposa's worker-owner team brings years of experience as farmers, garden designers, and teachers to this new venture. And we’ve always grown food for clients who want it - it just hasn't been our primary focus. That means we know how to do this, and do it successfully.


The idea to create Round the Block Farms came out of our reaction to the sudden shutdown of our normal landscaping business. But as we’ve dreamed and thought and worked out the details, it’s become more and more clear to us that this project is central to who we are as an organization and a cooperative dedicated to caring for our team, our customers, and our community. It fits perfectly with who we are, and who we want to be.


Even more importantly, we think this is a service that's needed in the world today - for now, and even beyond this time of pandemic. As we launch, the time is NOW for planting spring food gardens - we can't delay another minute. If you’d like to learn more about how it works, visit our Round the Block Farms page here.

A purple flower is surrounded by green leaves
A bunch of orange flowers are growing in a field.

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MEET THE GARDEN CARE TEAM

By Andrea Hurd • August 31, 2022
Kari and Allison have been working as co-leaders on The Garden Care Team since last fall. The team is committed to implementing Mariposa's philosophy of “Find your home in nature.” Meaning, they are working with nature, rather than against natural systems, to care for all of our gardens. ​When we asked Allison, who is an experienced gardener, how she thought we stand out from the rest, she said, “At Mariposa, we are much more concerned with the functionality of plants and role of plants. Not just what looks good but how they can provide habitat. How they provide year round nectar sources rather than just the aesthetics of year round color, yet we still accomplish the same level of beauty as any high end garden when we focus on pollinator and wildlife needs.” From left to right: Kari and Allison loving a Mariposa garden How we do it To make sure our client’s garden habitats stay in balance, we practice an ecologically based way of designing and caring for our gardens. This requires planting a diverse array of pollinator friendly plants and grasses, as well as providing water, food and shelter for any beneficial insects that may want to visit your garden. Some of the things we do during our garden care visits are:  * fertilizing with organic fertilizer, * checking and adjusting irrigation seasonally, * hand picking weeds, * employing non-toxic and organic methods of pest management, such as hand picking or spraying with water * planting cover crops in vegetable beds in the winter to boost the soil fertility and * annually apply compost and mulch to the entire garden for soil health. An assortment of native and pollinator friendly plants in all of our gardens promotes a medley of native bees, wasps and other pest predators that keep down pest pressure. The variance of plants and beneficial insects ensures that your garden stays in balance as an ecosystem, which makes it very low maintenance. When we install our gardens, we implement methods such as flame weeding and sheet mulching to control weed pressure. We work to build up the health and texture of your soil so that it will hold water longer, and make it available to your plants, even during a drought.

March 22 is World Water Day!

By Andrea Hurd • March 18, 2020
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A stone path in a garden surrounded by flowers and plants.

Pruning for Health and Seasonal Interest

By Andrea Hurd • February 10, 2020
At Mariposa, we have a particular way of working with plants that is geared toward understanding and honoring the nature of each species. It can take a long time to learn each plant, but a few tips on ways to “listen to plants” can help all gardeners become more skilled in the art of pruning. When we say “listen” what we mean is to observe them and the way they grow closely. This practice means you don’t necessarily have to read a book on how to prune each plant (though that is also very helpful and highly recommended--especially for fruit); instead, you can find patterns in the way certain plants grow that can be applied to a number of species. There are some general rules of pruning, however, and this post covers the basics that you can use to get started on pruning most of the trees, shrubs and perennials in your garden.
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