Food Church Property, named Treehouse in conjunction with neighboring Connie’s Kitchen is located in Timberon, New Mexico.
Food Church welcomed a new property into the fold in May 2025: the Treehouse & Connie’s Kitchen in Timberon, NM. As the primary restaurant for the rural New Mexico town at the end of a mountain road, Connie’s Kitchen plays a vital role in the community as both a social outlet and provider of local eats. The owner/chef Connie offered her neighboring rental property next to the restaurant as the working site for Food Church.
Food Church founders were able to meet during the first weeks of May to install several systems aiding in onsite, organic food production and what will hopefully grow into the FIRST farm-to-table restaurant in all of Otero County, NM. The rental house will be available as housing for Food Church steward(s) who will continue to manage and expand the Food Church systems.
Food Church Visioneers arrived on site with hundreds of edible plant starts, and multiple buckets of tree cuttings such as plums, choke cherries, and locust. After a week of observing the new property, Food Church Visioneers began to choose spaces on the property for new plants and prepare many beds for planting. All plantings & beds serve a secondary purpose of erosion control utilizing rock walls, woven branches, and mulch. The large 10’x12′ vegetable bed was started in the flat, full sun dirt driveway, fortifying the soil with aged forest mulch and donated aged goat manure.
Visioneers were also able to tackle two key water-saving projects:
a) reattaching a full-length gutter & installing a 650 gallon gray-water receptacle to catch rain for plant-watering
b) creating an anti-erosion, gray water and storm run-off in a barren, plant-less area.
By the end of the initial session at the Treehouse, Food Church visioneers planted close to 200 trees & bushes, several hundred edible herb/fruit/veggie starts, and too many seeds to count!
Planting Summary – Trees & Bushes:
– 6 Choke Cherry, 90+ Locust, 8 Willow, 1 Fern Bush, 4 Seabuckthorn, 6 Currants, 2 Apricots, 9 Grape vines, 60+ Plums, two varieties
Planting Summary – Herb Garden:
– Lovage, Fennel, Chives, Garlic Chives, Coriander, Cilantro, Dill, Lemon Balm, Spearmint, Oregano, Wild Spinach, Thyme, Parsley, Hyssop, Calendula, Clover, Chamomile, Culinary Sage, Burdoch, Mallow, Tulsi, Rosemary, Hopi Tobacco.
& check out the 6 week progress! The first parsley harvest was used in a batch of Connie’s homemade Ranch!
Planting Summary – Restaurant Harvestables:
– Chile (Zia Pueblo & Jalapeño varieties), Tomatos (Wickensburg Prescott Heirloom, San Marzano, & Cherry Spoon varieties), Basil (Lemon, Thai Sweet, & Genovese varieties), Lettuce (Heirloom cutting), Broccoli (Calabrese), Zucchini (Dark Star), Spinach (Oceanside), Cauliflower (Early Snowball), Fennel, Cabbage (Copenhagen Market), Bok Choy, Rutabaga, Brussels Sprouts, Cucumbers, Turnips, Okra, Squash (Butternut, Blue Hubbard, Honeynut, Spaghetti), Kale, Chard, Green Beans
6 Week Progress:
Planting Summary – Seeds around property
– Marigolds, Daikon Radish, Clover, Zinnia, Buckwheat, Wild Spinach, Wildflower Variety
Lastly & just for fun (because Food Church believes if you aren’t having fun, you’re doing it wrong!) … Food Church Visioneers completed some additional rock retaining-walls for decorative flower beds near the restaurant, and a woven-branch herb planter for the restaurant deck!
