Paul wrote:
>
> What part of the earth do you call home?
My apologies to anyone who's seen this several times, but I suppose, like
Paul there are some new people on the list who don't know who else is on
the list. So here's a short self introduction.
I live in Sebastopol, California with my wife, Michiko. Sebastopol is in
Sonoma County, which is well known for its wine (next to Napa county which
gets more publicity), just north of the San Francisco Bay Area. The local
terrain varies a lot as does the weather, but basically we have 6 months of
rain in the winter and 6 months of drought in the summer. Sebastopol is in
an area of rolling sandy loan hills 10 to 20 miles from the ocean with its
tempering effect. The area was mostly an apple producing area, though
grapes are becoming more popular and in the past other fruits (cherries and
berries) were also common. Irrigation is unnecessary for deep rooted
perennials despite the summer drought. Our area is rural / suburban which
has proven a healthy environment for many small farms and ranches, though
many are moving into the area for the feel without actually doing any
agriculture.
We have two acres of old apple orchard, that is in the process of
"recovery" from decades of disking. We have just finished building our
house (2.5 years!) and are beginning to do more with the property. We put
in a small pond a few years ago and planted a few fruit trees. We need to
continue planting and develop the garden area. I would like to allow a
half an acre or more to go semi-wild, using Fukuoka's and Mollison's ideas
for a "food forest". The mature apple trees will provide a useful base to
work with. With our mild climate we may easily be able to grow food all
year (with or without a green house?) and provide a large variety of foods,
fiber and fuels. I am half serious about starting a CSA; they seem to be
doing well in this area, and we think we would enjoy it.
That's probably more than most wanted to know, but there it is.
Eric Storm
