January 2025

Community Tree Planting

Food for thought…

A neighborhood Food Forest connects communities to nature and food by integrating seven layers of trees and understory plants that produce nuts, fruit, mushrooms, herbs, and berries.

Food forests reduce temperatures, boost biodiversity, and enhance beauty. The trees and the birds that live in them also support organic pest control.

The orchard is transitioning into a food forest, with ducks, geese, and fruit trees working together. At 4 years old, the trees are expected to yield a good harvest.

Mustang grapevines on the south side of the farm further demonstrate how food forests can thrive together.

Fruit will be available for purchase at the farm stand this summer. To learn more about a local food forest, visit Austin’s Festival Beach Food Forest. Field trip, anyone?

Mushroom Blocks for You and Your Garden

Thanks to VF resident Dr. Matt, you can pick up culinary mushroom blocks that you can sprout for food or use as a soil amendment. You can pick up blocks from the metal shed in front of the farm ($5 donation to Central Texas Mycology appreciated)

Farmhouse Love

We’re looking for a group of volunteers to help steward the Farmhouse. This amazing home, built by Swedish immigrants Hilma and Carl Bergstrom in 1902, is very special to many of us. It is a place that is unique to not only Village Farm, but to Austin. (The only other authentic working farmstead that we are aware of is Boggy Creek Farm in east Austin – well worth a visit.) 

We love having such community-building events as our game nights, cooking classes, potlucks, book clubs, and parties there. We’re fortunate to be able to head over there on a weekday for a change of scenery or working remotely. We need to care for this treasure. With an aging foundation, rickety porch, and patched floors, care must be taken. Recently there has been damage to floors and contents; the house has been left unlocked after events; entry codes have been shared with non-VF residents.

In order to take good care of this special place, we’re looking for some volunteers to help us develop a user manual for how to care for our farmhouse. We are fortunate to have several Green Gate Farms’s college interns who are helping with this effort; they are especially interested in creating a sustainable systems guide to reduce waste.

Other areas that this group can tackle:

• Kitchen organization, labeling and stocking
• Revive the Bergstrom garden project (e.g. roses and other 1902 era plants)
• Interface with Roberts management on maintenance issues
• History – maintain antiques, install historical signage, photos

If you’d like to help with this important project, please email Brandy Beverly brandybeverly14@gmail.com

You Wanna Throwdown?

Art on the Farm projects have featured, among other things, quarterly Artisan Markets, gallery nights in the farmhouse, and hosting emerging artists during Austin’s annual Studio Tour. This year, we are pleased to offer new opportunities for you to get your hands in clay! We’ve identified a great instructor who will offer handbuilding and wheel classes just as soon as all materials are gathered. A generous gift from a resident has gotten the ball rolling. Next steps are to purchase a kiln and potters’ wheels, then have a certified electrician install. Watch for a GoFundMe notice soon.

Village Farm Resident Association

Over the years, Residents have come together to create a vibrant community, transforming this collection of tiny houses and a farm into a proper neighborhood. From garden and bird clubs to cooking classes, movie nights, and game nights, these activities require careful planning, coordination, promotion, execution and clean-up. 

While the community thrives, there have been ongoing challenges with Roberts’ follow-through on commitments. High turnover (four Property Managers in four years, ditto sales staff) has further complicated these issues. Though we’ve made significant progress, we must continue holding them accountable.

A dedicated group has worked for years to gather resident input, refine that feedback, and advocate to management with one unified voice. We used to call ourselves Dumbledore’s Army, but today, we are the Steering Committee. Please let us know if you want to join us!

We plan to hold a Resident check-in in late February to hear from you. What’s working? What’s not? What would you like to explore further? Keep an eye out for the invitation.

Beyond the Steering Committee, we have additional opportunities to get involved. Your talents are needed! You can contact anyone on the committees to get more information.

• Steering Committee: Lisa Apfelberg, Brandy Beverly, Anglea Kopit, Van Thompson, Tisa Wheeler
• Communications Committee: Brandy Beverly, Lisa Apfelberg, Mary Connor, Angela Kopit, Wendy Schuelke, Bridget Woods
• Programming Committee: Lisa Apfelberg, Angela Kopit, Regina Kubelka, Tisa Wheeler (seeking volunteers)
• Welcome Committee: Lisa Apfelberg (seeking volunteers)
• First Thursday (monthly meeting, discuss farm news and sustainability topics, 5:30-7:00)
• Homestead Groups (meets monthly, second Wednesdays, 5:30-7:00)
  • Garden Club: Carey Hajovsky, Brandy Beverly and many others (all are welcome)
  • Bird Club: Dennis Benke and many others (seeking volunteers)
• Food Forest Initiative: Lisa Apfelberg
• Community Garden: (future)
• Work/Skills Barter Program: (future) Seeking interested lead
• Shared Equipment Program (future) Seeking interested lead

Have you met our feathered friends?