Northern Californians here?

I have to say the outline of these regions seems to leave out Northern California, but I assume we should be here. I am interested in any conversation about local, regional, and broad scale networking. There were some Northern California permaculture convergences a couple of years ago and some Yahoo groups that were generated, but as best as I can tell there is no online network for Northern California permies and the like. Transition seemed to take over last year, but I see no discussion forums or listservs from them

…i'm heading to Yolo County in the next two months. I know there's a small group in Davis (with Derek Downey). In the last days I've come across posts here by people in Sacramento (James Colbert and Doug Hack).

Also, along the lines of more organized/actively designing/PDC-offering locales, there are a few folks up in Chico (Brian and Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper of Gaia Creations). Then of course, Occidental Arts & Ecology in Sebastopol, like Regenerative Design Institute, must have a wider network as should the folks in Petaluma (Permaculture Skills Center)...

WENDY! Waving vigorously from Phoenix! Nice to see another "Holly fan" here on permies.

I posted a longer response but perhaps i erased it or it was lost in the inner internet. I have some awareness of the groups you mentioned in Sonoma and Bolinas. I posted at Occidental Arts and Ecology's Facebook Page a couple of days ago on this issue, and someone of seeming authority there was going to get back to me I met Ed Garret from Fresh Spin Farms in Davis a couple of weeks ago. I don't think he is too into the regional networking idea, but i do think some of these people are at least willing to be on listserv or forum for regional communication. Please mention me to some of the contacts you have, or feel free to contact me by email

mattnapa@aol.com

Jennifer! You caught me on my first post on permies! Did you ever get my email some months ago (back when I signed up for your email list)? I love reading about the stuff you're up to, and the updates on the Watershed Management Group activities.

Matt, I'm not currently in anybody's network (been in Europe the last 3 years), but when I get back to the US I hope to change that. Not that it's really close enough to you, but I think the Davis group meets periodically at the Davis Food Co-op… maybe that's a place to start?

Wendy Smyer Yu wrote:Jennifer! You caught me on my first post on permies! Did you ever get my email some months ago (back when I signed up for your email list)? I love reading about the stuff you're up to, and the updates on the Watershed Management Group activities.

Wendy - I DID! And then Yahoo started acting hinky and search as I might, I never found it again. Sigh. So glad to see you here. When are you back in the US?

Check your email, I tried again!

And there is BDANC.org for those interested in biodynamics--

I am in northern CA! Technically still bay area but Rohnert Park is hardly bay area to me.. Hah are you way far north?

Yeah, I was surprised as well that there isn't a section for northern California. I am starting a place on a 1/2 acre in the middle of downtown Sacramento. It would be kind to call it a work in progress but we DO own the land, it has a 2bdrm house on it and a bunch of mature fruit and nut trees as well a a huge thicket of olives that we are about to start harvesting. The website is www.thatsYfarms.com. I am also revitalizing a meetup group as well http://www.meetup.com/Sacramento-Sustainable-Living/

So it is an urban lot then? I am guessing because you said downtown sacramento.. Ha

I'm right here in Contra Costa. BeetDown Pharm. Four acre hillside with lots of oak, some goats, and maybe a chicken or two. Interested in lavender, sunflowers, growing trees from seed, and anything else that's well-suited to the land and climate.

Oh nice, Mountain you aren't that far away at all. I am obsessed with sunflowers. 100% my favorite flower. You just live there with your family?

Living here with the family, the animals, the plants, and the fungi. And even though we're within city limits, we're right next to thousands of acres of grazing land that should be converted (eventually) to permaculture.

Nice! I keep asking about people's living situations just because I have been interested in community living lately.. I'd like to know if there are any intentional communities in our area. I am sure there are. I am sure I could find them with a quick google search but it is always cool/nicer to meet people on permies rather than find them through google. Idk.

Cassie Langstraat wrote:So it is an urban lot then? I am guessing because you said downtown sacramento.. Ha

Well, I live in Downtown Sacramento and for "real" downtowners its outside of the "grid" but for almost anyone else, its in the heart of what most call downtown.

You can google it at 3941 y street, 95818

Other than lots of mature trees, its mostly dirt at the moment, we bought it in July of this year.

That is awesome Michael! You are so close to everything by being in town but still have quite a bit of space to grow a lot of food!

I had to rush off before I could finish the post. The property also has about 12 mature fruit and nut trees. A HUGE productive fig and another smaller one lost under two huge pecan trees. There is a very tasty nectarine that was crazy productive and an apple that may end up having two or three apples make it to ripeness but they must be tasty as it is the only tree on the property that has been pruned well. There is a GIANT olive thicket heavy with green fruit that is starting to ripen and turn black that we are about to harvest and a number of different plums and a couple of loquats.

The pecan trees have a small fig and two loquats under them and I am seriously considering trying to create a food forrest underneath them although I am not entirely sold on the concept AND pecans drip very stock sap all year long so that might be a problem.

I took over a sustanability meetup group that wasn't doing much and am working at getting it going. We are going to start doing "barn raisers" where we go to each other's homes and help out with projects in each other's yards.

Sustanability meetup group

If anyone is in town and needs a place to crash or wants to put some work in, just let me know!

Michael, I just joined your meetup. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to come from Woodland to Sac, but I like your idea of sharing assistance on each other's yards and passing abilities around. Your property sounds amazing. I'm just starting and so far the only "productive" thing I've got is a budleia that blooms through summer, regardless of drought. I also have a young volunteer fig coming up under some very drought-stressed birches and after 6 weeks being unable to identify two massive trees in my backyard I stepped on a pecan the other day and thought the idea was preposterous (there are no other obvious nuts on the trees and I didn't think they do well in the valley) until I found another under a paver and saw your post… So, maybe I have pecan trees… Other than that, I have a huge garden space with raised beds (which will be removed in favor of a sunken bed approach) and tons of roses and the ubiquitous stretch of (now turning brown) lawn.

Wendy Smyer Yu wrote:Michael, I just joined your meetup. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to come from Woodland to Sac, but I like your idea of sharing assistance on each other's yards and passing abilities around. Your property sounds amazing. I'm just starting and so far the only "productive" thing I've got is a budleia that blooms through summer, regardless of drought. I also have a young volunteer fig coming up under some very drought-stressed birches and after 6 weeks being unable to identify two massive trees in my backyard I stepped on a pecan the other day and thought the idea was preposterous (there are no other obvious nuts on the trees and I didn't think they do well in the valley) until I found another under a paver and saw your post… So, maybe I have pecan trees… Other than that, I have a huge garden space with raised beds (which will be removed in favor of a sunken bed approach) and tons of roses and the ubiquitous stretch of (now turning brown) lawn.

Wendy, there are members all over in the group, I am sure there are some in Davis and perhaps even Woodland. I am going to do a "harvest party" with our pecans which are going to be ripe soon, any chance you would be interested in hosting something similar out that way?

As an aside, I am not one for taking out existing infrastructure, any chance you could keep the raised beds in production and ADD in sunken beds? We are getting ready to host this saturday an event centered around winter garndens and cover crops, any chance you could attend that? Would you be willing to host something similar out your way? I am not sure what happened to it but I had an event without a date to tour a wool mill out your way in Woodland at Wool Mill in Yolo/Woodland and perhaps we could create an event at your place AND a tour?

Hi Michael!

I saw your Saturday event and am sorry that I have visiting family and related obligations this weekend. bummer!

Honestly, I'd love to come - winter veggies are my favorite and I need a kick in the pants to get things going. I'll use some of my beds for that this winter and for as long as I have the beds as this is a slow-going project here. Unfortunately the layout of the beds is awkward and un-aesthetic and space-hogging, leaving no room for anything else. But I'm taking things piecemeal so...

If indeed I do have pecans, the trees must not be producing hardly anything due to having been very very pruned back before I bought the house. Two pecans on the ground don't make two pecan trees and as far as I can tell (with binoculars because nothing is reachable from ground level), I have no other evidence. So, before we start planning pecan harvests, I'm going to need positive identification or else we'll blame the crows for dropping things in my yard!

Ultimately, I'd be delighted to host something - not sure what's suitable for my place yet… but if I can collect enough food-grade buckets from local stores we could at least do a self-watering-container workshop . Give me a few months for that one, though, I only have 3 buckets so far.

The yolo wool mill is having an event on October 25th (http://yolowoolmill.com/events.html) - We could do something in conjunction with that date, conceivably, except at this point I'm still unpacking boxes and painting walls, etc - not particularly permie oriented, so maybe let's hold off for a bit

I'm happy to make local connections - back when I lived here (2000-2011) there wasn't a lot of permie stuff going on until right around the time I was leaving.

W.

I am in the East Bay, Oakley to be exact but I work in Concord. I am extremely interested in learning more about permaculture principles. I still consider myself a newbie but am devouring everything I can read about it. I love The Institute of Urban Homesteading and love taking courses and going on Farm Tours. I have taken one workshop on building with Cob and just completed my first Cob oven. Yay! I brew kambucha, and keifer, and make my own soaps. I also raise chickens. That's about it for now. My husband and I have a vision to move to the Auburn area in a few years where we will build an earth bag home, and live sustainably. I would love to know if there are others of like mind in our current area and future area that we could learn from.

Hi all northern Californians!  What has been going on for the past 7 or 8 years since the last post?  Maybe everyone is busy keeping up their gardens but I'd like to see this topic get resurrected and for like-minded folks to meet-up perhaps.  I'm in the foothills, just above Auburn and north east of Sacramento about 60 miles, so relatively easy to connect.  Hope ya'all will chime in!

On behalf of the Wild Rivers Permaculture Guild (WRPG), hello from far Northwestern Northern California! Northern California is much bigger than most probably realize. We are 350mi north of the SF Bay, and actually closer to Portland.

All are welcome to join the WRPG, but we aim to primarily serve Del Norte County in NW California and Curry County in SW Oregon. Send me a PM or look us up on FB for information on our meetings, work parties, and educational activities. Our recent Harvest Festival brought around 500 people to the Crescent City Food Forest and raised over $5000 for local food security. I had very little to do with that, as we have many other talented and passionate members who did the work for that event.

Let me know if I can help anyone get involved.

I’m in Southern Lake county 30 minutes from Calistoga

Hi, I am in northern Siskiyou County. I would love to join in on some local networking. Also for people this far North we are also allowed in the Cascadia region. Or at least some of there advice applies to my location.

Nevada County here. It would be fun to join a meet up or gathering of fellow Permies in Northern California.

Debbi Reinke wrote:Nevada County here. It would be fun to join a meet up or gathering of fellow Permies in Northern California.

 Debbi, I'm in your locale and there's another gal recently moved here too. We all need to meet! I'll let her know you wrote in and if you'd like to Moosage me your number I'll call you and we can connect!