October 2026 Club feature: Agriculture

The following is an extended look at the featured club of the month in the October 2026 issue of the Rec Center News. Click here to view the entire issue.

A Growing Community

Agriculture Club prepares for the season

Nestled between a manufacturing yard and Grandview Golf Course’s 14th green sits a seven-and-a-half acre hidden gem few Sun City West residents seem to know about.

“We’re Sun City West’s best kept secret,” said Agriculture Club president Rich Woosley. “But we don’t want to be kept a secret any more.”

The Agriculture Club, 17800 137th Drive, has been around since 1989 yet Woosley said he often hears from residents they were unaware such a place exists.

“It used to be club members didn’t want to tell anyone about the plots but with many of our members beginning to age out we need to now reach out to the younger retirees who are moving to Sun City West and let them know what a great club this is.”

Behind its gates at the end of 137th Drive sits roughly 250 plots managed by the 330-member club. Members may purchase up to two 20-by-40 foot plots per household which they are then responsible for its maintenance and upkeep. For those who are new to the club or unsure whether they have that green thumb or not club plots are available for a season or two. If that member finds they have the knack then they may purchase one of the available plots.

Currently, there are nine available plots, according to Woosley. However, with fall-winter planting season about to begin in late September/October, expectation is that those plots will go quickly.

And if club members are as lucky as Bill Conaway, who saw sprouts a few days after he planted his latest crop, they could see quick results from their efforts.

“I planted Japanese cabbage, Japanese spinach and gold beets on Sunday (Sept. 6),” Conaway said. “And today (Sept. 9) the sprouts are already a couple of inches high.”

Conaway is the club’s handy man and one of the more dedicated members. He arrives at the plots every morning at 6:30 a.m. to do his rounds – checking for water leaks and other necessary repairs – before tending to his double plot section at the rear of the Agriculture Club. He’s been part of the club for 15 years and when something needs fixing members can call him to help with repairs.

While October is a busy month for Sun City West in general, the Agriculture Club sees an uptick in activity around that same time as members return to prep their plots for the fall-winter growing season. Many of those crops will be harvested in December to make way for the spring growing season which runs from February until it is too hot to grow anything but cactus.

Once harvested members are free to do what they wish with their crop. Many donate to local food banks or the Native American reservations.

“It that sense of giving back to the community that is especially rewarding,” said club vice president Carole Kittelmann.

Tomatoes are a popular commodity among the club’s community, but with a wide range of states represented among the membership, Woosley said you can expect a variety of crops being grown.

“We have folks from across the country,” he said. “They all try to grow things native to their own state, but we grow everything – cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and Brussel sprouts.”

Or, as Kittelmann found this past season, sweet potatoes can flourish in the desert soil.

“Last year I tried cabbage, cauliflower, beans, spinach,” she said. “But I really had a bumper crop of sweet potatoes.”

With her cabinets full of sweet potatoes now, Kittelmann said she plans on doing tomatoes and wants try Yukon gold potatoes. The bonus of belonging to the Agriculture Club is that she has not needed to purchase produce at the grocery store since she joined the club.

Many of the members had never farmed or gardened before coming to Sun City West, Woosley said, but once they learned about the club and purchased a plot they found how much they enjoyed the activity.

“You get out of your plot what you put in. Some of us with plots are here nearly everyday while others only stop by once a week. It all depends on how much time you want to put in,” Woosley said. “It’s wonderful to just be outside with your garden. It’s peaceful here. Some of us come out and just sit around enjoying the outdoors. Sometimes I’ll just come, sit back and read a book out here.”

Photo Gallery

Check out these images from the Rec Centers’ recent visit to the Agriculture Club.

Click on any image to enlarge.