Welcome to Bean Tree Farm!
There's a lot going on inside and out: cooking up desert food delights, building with earth, harvesting rain,
growing soil, planting abundance, stewarding our watershed,
sharing the bounty with the community.
We're in the Tucson Mountains foothills not far from downtown Tucson.
Check out our products, workshops and events.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter (below).
Thanks for visiting our site!
Bean Tree Farm collaborates with several local organizations including Desert Harvesters, Sonoran Permaculture , Arizona Homemade Artisans , Pima County Public Library and Community Food Bank.
We have been so busy with projects and planning with partner groups that we have not scheduled a series at the farm as of Fall '24, but we are listing events planned monthly in our newsletter, available by subscription below.
See below for a sample of what we offer in less busy times!
Right: Spring '24 Permaculture class site walk
Join us for a series that includes hands-on cobbing, plastering, Delicious Desert foods tastings, cooking & processing- a gathering of opportunities to practice what we like to call "The Art and Craft of Place-based Living". Class size is limited to assure learning opportunities.
A natural building intro to and tour of 35 years of cob, adobe, rammed earth and repurposed materials projects, and a desert foods tasting, Class size 10.
During this event, we will be making and using Cob, an ancient mixture of clay, sand and chopped straw, to continue the seed storage building project. Class size 10.
A Delicious Desert Cooking class and if weather permits, a bit of Cobbing too! We'll feature a recipe from "Eat Mesquite and More" cookbook and other seasonal food prep tips. Class size limited to 6 participants.
Following up on previous workshops, we will continue cob, bottle wall, sculptural elements and plaster work on a small straw bale / cob seed storage building, and focus on seasonal and stored Sonoran Desert Food Forest plant tastings each month, until the heat returns. Class size 10.
Following up on previous workshops, we will continue cob, bottle wall, sculptural elements and plaster work on a small straw bale / cob seed storage building, and focus on seasonal and stored Sonoran Desert Food Forest plant tastings each month, until the heat returns. Class size 10.
Following up on previous workshops, we will continue cob, bottle wall, sculptural elements and plaster work on a small straw bale / cob seed storage building, and focus on seasonal and stored Sonoran Desert Food Forest plant tastings each month, until the heat returns. Class size 10.
Following up on previous workshops, we will continue cob, bottle wall, sculptural elements and plaster work on a small straw bale / cob seed storage building, and focus on seasonal and stored Sonoran Desert Food Forest plant tastings each month, until the heat returns. Class size 10.
Saturday, July 20, 10am-1pm:
Tie Dye Workshop and Tasting!
To register for this event or inquire about scheduling a custom walk, tour or event, please contact us at
Workshop Testimonials
"wanted to email and thank you again for hosting us this fall.
We learned so much from our stay with you and the students are carrying so much of this inspiration with them!" University of New Mexico Arts and Ecology Program Director
"I also wanted to thank you for a great Workshop yesterday.
I have so many ideas percolating in my head for the use of cob in our homestead. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and of course Jill's wisdom as well with us." MK
Please note: We are a small wild foods farm and learning center. We offer our products to subscribers and members, by appointment.
FOODS: Pre-paid subscriptions for our seasonal products are available through Community Supported Permaculture (CSP) subscriptions.
Many of our products are live culture and lacto-fermented, and require refrigeration.
Pricing varies depending on season and ingredients.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES: We offer farm tours and tastings by appointment, and schedule seasonal farmstands, harvests and workshops.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter (below) for updates.
Bean Tree Farm is a United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary.
from Nancy: "I wanted to let you know how effective the Salve-ation Creosote salve is.
For years I have random hotspots of itchiness that pop up and have often been scratched raw.
Your wonderous salve is the only application I've found that calms the area, and so I thank you again."
Bean Tree Farm offers internships and retreats.
Contact us for info and application.
We collaborate with people and organizations on visioning, site planning and design.
Contact us with your project ideas.
In April of 2013, I had the honor of being the first participant in Bean Tree Farm’s new retreat program. I had planned on staying for 5 days but on arrival and a tour of the grounds by Barbara Rose, I immediately decided to stay for 3 WEEKS.
I’m a permaculturalist living in Joshua Tree, CA. I picked Bean Tree Farm for my visit because I wanted a deeper understanding of drylands permaculture that I could take back and teach to my community. I could see that this would happen for me on BTF and that I needn’t look any further.
The drive from Joshua Tree to BTF was disheartening to say the least. More like heartbreaking. Mile after mile of exploited and left-for-dead desert due to exploitative agricultural practices that have depleted and salted the soil. And then there’s the endless urban sprawl. I was feeling pretty low right up until the moment I turned onto the BTF property. It honestly took my breath away. There, glistening in front of me was a fully intact permaculturalist’s dream with a healthy, diverse, and abundant Sonoran desert ecosystem. And the birds were singing! Everywhere!
What did I learn? Where to begin?? I learned about the amazing health giving properties of desert-harvested food. I learned about the simplicity and common sense of processing humanure into deep rich compost. I saw firsthand how it works to integrate all the systems so that they support each other – water harvesting, solar energy, composting,native food production, and buildings. And so much more! And then there are the people who live there. Smart, sweet and deeply knowledgeable. I love those people. And I send my gratitude again to them all for making me feel so welcomed. Barbara Rose, the permacultural designer of BTF, should be designated “A National Living Treasure”. I followed her around for 3 weeks, picking her brain. I’ve already passed a great deal of her information to my community and will continue to do so with my upcoming public talk on Drylands Permaculture. I hope to talk a bunch of my friends into coming with me to next year’s retreat.
Thank you BTF friends! - Jill G.
SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER HERE
Keeping up with social media is not one of our strong points!
If you want to get in touch, sign up for a farm share or workshop,
email us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
PLEASE NOTE
The farm is located in a small private residential community.
We keep pretty busy with projects on the farm, and are not available for drop-ins.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment, tour or attend an event.
Baja Arizona, United States
Copyright © 2024 Bean Tree Farm - All Rights Reserved.