Splash - Community Garden
up:: Community Garden - Internal
tags:: #public
owner:: @Niko
status:: #status/review
La Finka Community Garden
Spring 2026 plans for food, resilience, and shared stewardship
This spring, La Finka is beginning the next major chapter of a project we have been slowly working toward since moving onto this land: a community garden rooted in food security, low-labor systems, and long-term resilience in Reno’s high desert.
This garden is not just about growing vegetables. It is about testing what actually works here, sharing that knowledge openly, and creating a place where food, ecology, and community effort come together in a tangible way.
We are excited to be working with Urban Roots & Humilitree on the land projects here at La Finka!
Our Partners
Help Support
- Donate to Community Garden
- Volunteer -> Email @ lafinka@pm.me
What's Next
260312 Build Day - Raised Bed Install
Who: You
When: Thursday March 12th @ 2:30 PM
Where: La Finka
Our Goals:
The Details
Why a garden here
Food brings us together!
La Finka has always been an experiment in shared resources. We host concerts, talks, workshops, and gatherings, but food has always felt like the missing backbone. Growing food on-site closes a loop that touches health, ecology, and community in a way nothing else quite does.
Our goal in time is to grow roughly half of the household’s seasonal produce, with a strong emphasis on storage crops like potatoes, squash, beans, onions, and garlic that carry us through winter.
At the same time, the garden is meant to be a shared learning space. Not everyone has land, water access, or the time to experiment. This garden is a place to learn by doing, to test ideas, and to build skills together.
The Site & Layout
The garden lives in the southwest portion of the property, roughly 160 feet long and 50 to 85 feet wide, with soft edges that blend into the rest of the land. The layout is intentionally simple and locked in early so we can build on it year after year without reworking the fundamentals.
Current
Inspirational Designs
At the core are north to south oriented production beds chosen for even sun, airflow, and ease of management. Two large 20 foot by 4 foot experimental beds sit at the center. We will be experimenting with a gravity fed water system once plants are established on drip. This system was inspired by the ToDo:: Link here Chinampas in MXC.
Additionally, we plan on additional 6 raised garden beds.
Around this core are zones that do different kinds of work. The south edge will be planted with dwarf fruit trees and medicinal plants, forming a long-term perennial system. The west side remains looser and more experimental, with hugelkultur, biomass plants, and room for trial and error. On the east side, a small garden lounge and gathering area creates a calm place to meet, work, and host workshops.
Water as the organizing principle
Water drives everything in the design. We are working with gravity rather than against it.
An existing pond on the west side acts as the low point, collecting overflow and supporting experimental planting and biomass growth. We are also planning an upper pond at the southeast high point of the garden. This upper pond functions as a header tank and control point, receiving ditch water during the irrigation season and not only feeding the beds slowly by gravity, but incorporating an off grid solar pump system to irrigate multiple zones.
How the garden is cared for
The garden is stewarded first by the household, with a dedicated garden lead managing daily operations, crop rotation, harvesting, and coordination. Community members are invited into defined support roles rather than informal expectation. This keeps the system resilient even when participation fluctuates.
Workshops and volunteer days will happen, but they are secondary to the health of the system. The goal is a garden that can function even in a busy season with just a couple of people putting in focused time.
What makes this a community project
This is not a collection of individual plots. It is a shared system. Community members who participate will be contributing to something larger than a single bed, and in return sharing in the harvest, the learning, and the satisfaction of building something that lasts.
We are also documenting what we do. Irrigation setups, crop choices, storage methods, winterization, and failures will all be captured so others can learn from them. La Finka will share these patterns openly as they develop.
What spring looks like
This spring, success looks like this:
A working irrigation system
At least six productive beds planted
The first round of dwarf fruit trees in the ground
A fixed layout that future years build upon rather than redesign
Everything beyond that is additive.
If this excites you
If you are interested in helping build, learning alongside us, or taking on a small stewardship role as the garden grows, we would love to hear from you. More details about work days, workshops, and ways to get involved will be shared as spring approaches.
This garden is a long-term project. We are planting it with patience, intention, and the belief that shared systems, when designed carefully, can feed more than just our bodies.
Email lafinka@pm.me!
Created: 260305-13:29
Updated: 260311-20:19