Nature writing has largely ignored the fact that humans are natural, & that their environments are a part of nature. In The Urban Ecology Almanac, excerpted here, biologist & permaculture designer Laine MacTague strives to inspire us to think of where we live as habitat, and to begin to lavish the love & care upon it that we tend to …
It was a bountiful and ever-challenging year on the Quail Springs farm. We saw more produce coming off the farm than ever before, many baby chicks born on the land, and milk production costs down to a record low of $.85/gallon. Last spring we planted over 100 more black and honey locusts trees in hopes of increasing our fodder, fuel, …
By Lindsay Allen Oh what a happy harvest we pulled from the garden this month! We are wealthy in big, heavy, beautiful, Tanzanian gourds. This past winter Sasha, Andrew and I were lucky enough to be working on a few different projects in Kenya and Tanzania. During our last week we were walking, slightly lost, in a village outside of …
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a staple tree here at Quail Springs. Native to south-eastern North America, black locust has been naturalized to different temperate climates all around the world due to its many useful functions. Black locust is a fast growing, nitrogen-fixing tree that we have found to be an excellent pioneer species here in our arid climate, due …
Here in the high desert, using and reusing our water in the most efficient ways possible is even more important than in other climates. Although the water from our showers and laundry was being directed to trees and other plants, we felt that we were missing an opportunity to use this water in the most effective way. We were thrilled …
by Jan Smith, Quail Springs Farm Adviser Our 14 goats browse 450 acres in southern California @ Quail Springs Farm, clearing brush, foraging on a wide variety of high desert shrubs and trees for about 4-5 hours a day. In addition to that the dairy does in milk also eat a high quality organic feed on the stand. For the …
DATES TBA Overview: The internship offers extensive education about the day-to-day operations of a full-time functioning Permaculture farm and education center, and is geared specifically for those deeply interested in and drawn to work long-term with holistic, integrated food producing animal systems in a community setting, with an educational focus. This opportunity offers broad practical experience to complement a theoretical knowledge base. …
It’s garlic planting time at Quail Springs! Forty students from our annual fall Hands-On Permaculture Design Course are making a big job into a fun afternoon’s work. There is a slight coolness in the air, a high-desert blue sky overhead, and dappled light filtering through the leaves of young trees. We’re preparing the seed garlic, sorting it for size, laying out the planting pattern, …
This past April, Margaret Waterhouse, a former farm and garden apprentice, came down from Davis California to the high desert home of Quail Springs Permaculture Farm in southern California with about 120 grape cuttings carefully packed in moist wood shavings. A small group of friends, family, former apprentices, and students had gathered for the weekend to visit, walk the land, …
Today I was delighted to find my order of seeds had finally come through the mail. I combed through internet and catalog trying to find the right plants. I finally found the gold mine in Native Seed Search, an awesome and inspiring organization. Here is their mission statement: “Native Seeds/SEARCH conserves, distributes and documents the adapted and diverse varieties of …
