Mediterranean climate permaculture

I haven't come across any permaculture books for Northern California, but "Golden Gate Gardening" is a good general resource for edibles. The California Rare Fruit Growers association might also be helpful.

Honor Bateman wrote:I haven't come across any permaculture books for Northern California, but "Golden Gate Gardening" is a good general resource for edibles. The California Rare Fruit Growers association might also be helpful.

I do have that one and it is very good, indeed!

There's a book about food forestry for Cascadia and northern California, you can read it free online: http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/Permaculture/Agroforestry/West_Coast_Food_Forestry-A_permaculture_guide.pdf

Thanks for this.. Interesting reading so far. Giselle Ps ok this is the best listing of tree fruit I have seen.. This is a keeper!!!

Tegan Russo wrote:There's a book about food forestry for Cascadia and northern California, you can read it free online: http://library.uniteddiversity.coop/Permaculture/Agroforestry/West_Coast_Food_Forestry-A_permaculture_guide.pdf

Terrific! Thank you!

Thanks nice sharing!

Update.. I have soo many new plants I can add to my list! There is some plants there I've never heard of. I'm definitely going to print this out. Giselle

Welcome Fiesta.

Perhaps you can find some of what you're looking for in "West Coast Food Forestry, a Permaculture Guide" by Rain Tenaqiya. There are many examples of polycultures in there.
"Another kind of Garden" by Jean Pain may be of interest to you since he worked in Southern France.
There's also a lengthy registration of a workshop in Crete by Darren Doherty you can find on youtube.
"Water Harvesting for Agriculture in the Dry Areas" by Oweis et al deals with many ancient and modern ways of farming with rain water only. A very interesting book if you don't mind a technical approach.

Good Luck!

Ah, you already found one

Bauluo Ye wrote:Welcome Fiesta.

Perhaps you can find some of what you're looking for in "West Coast Food Forestry, a Permaculture Guide" by Rain Tenaqiya. There are many examples of polycultures in there.
"Another kind of Garden" by Jean Pain may be of interest to you since he worked in Southern France.
There's also a lengthy registration of a workshop in Crete by Darren Doherty you can find on youtube.

"Water Harvesting for Agriculture in the Dry Areas" by Oweis et al deals with many ancient and modern ways of farming with rain water only. A very interesting book if you don't mind a technical approach.

Good Luck!

Thanks!

I am still hunting for Mediterranean information and I found this website and the practical info was really good!

http://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/nottle.html

Has any one read this book? Jones, Louisa 2012 Mediterranean Landscape Design, Thames & Hudson, London.


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It’s crazy how a short drive changes.

I’m just east of Redding, Palo Cedro/Oak Run. Our average rainfall is near 40” a year. Just a short 20 minute drive to Red Bluff and the average falls 10” to about 30” per year.

Eric Swenson wrote:It’s crazy how a short drive changes.

I’m just east of Redding, Palo Cedro/Oak Run. Our average rainfall is near 40” a year. Just a short 20 minute drive to Red Bluff and the average falls 10” to about 30” per year.

Is it fire prone there?

Lori Ziemba wrote:Specifically, I'm interested in how people in Greece, Italy, etc. grew tradtitional crops like olives, grapes, carob, chestnuts, pomegranites, figs without irrigation in the summer.  Or did they rely on irrigation?  I'm having a hard time imagining they had the resources to irrigate large orchards, vinyards, etc.

Anyone have knowledge of this?  

We have about 20 very ancient olive trees and a couple of old fig trees in addition to the new trees I planted.  

Some of the old olive trees will produce medium sized olives, but others will only produce tiny olives that aren't any use. It's a hill-side property with a few fields in the valley. The trees that produce sizable olives are on relatively good soil at the bottom of the valley where a little brook runs when it rains during the wet season.  They will produce olives without irrigation even though the soil usually stays dry from April/May thru October.  We don't get any rain during the summer. However, the same trees wouldn't produce any olives if they were just a few meters up the hill. Thus, it really depends on your soil.

There are two farmsteads on our land, each farm house had a big fig tree that used to produce large figs while people were living there; however, after the land was abandoned, the trees only produced tiny figs that aren't edible. In other words, while people lived there, the trees would get water even if they weren't specifically irrigated.

The only tree that still produces many fruit is a huge carob tree even though its on a dry hillside and doesn't get any water whatsoever.

In other words, olive and fig trees will produce fruits without irrigation if they are on good soil that gets plenty of water during the wet season. Only carob trees will produce fruits without irrigation even on very dry soil.

I don't specifically irrigate the olive and fig trees I planted; however, since they are part of my vegetable garden, they do get water when I irrigate my vegetable plots. In a particularly dry year, when I don't have enough water to irrigate the vegetable plots, these trees may still produce small fruits, but the figs will loose all leaves by August.

Dieter Brand wrote:

Lori Ziemba wrote:Specifically, I'm interested in how people in Greece, Italy, etc. grew tradtitional crops like olives, grapes, carob, chestnuts, pomegranites, figs without irrigation in the summer.  Or did they rely on irrigation?  I'm having a hard time imagining they had the resources to irrigate large orchards, vinyards, etc.

Anyone have knowledge of this?  

We have about 20 very ancient olive trees and a couple of old fig trees in addition to the new trees I planted.  

Some of the old olive trees will produce medium sized olives, but others will only produce tiny olives that aren't any use. It's a hill-side property with a few fields in the valley. The trees that produce sizable olives are on relatively good soil at the bottom of the valley where a little brook runs when it rains during the wet season.  They will produce olives without irrigation even though the soil usually stays dry from April/May thru October.  We don't get any rain during the summer. However, the same trees wouldn't produce any olives if they were just a few meters up the hill. Thus, it really depends on your soil.

There are two farmsteads on our land, each farm house had a big fig tree that used to produce large figs while people were living there; however, after the land was abandoned, the trees only produced tiny figs that aren't edible. In other words, while people lived there, the trees would get water even if they weren't specifically irrigated.

The only tree that still produces many fruit is a huge carob tree even though its on a dry hillside and doesn't get any water whatsoever.

In other words, olive and fig trees will produce fruits without irrigation if they are on good soil that gets plenty of water during the wet season. Only carob trees will produce fruits without irrigation even on very dry soil.

I don't specifically irrigate the olive and fig trees I planted; however, since they are part of my vegetable garden, they do get water when I irrigate my vegetable plots. In a particularly dry year, when I don't have enough water to irrigate the vegetable plots, these trees may still produce small fruits, but the figs will loose all leaves by August.

Thanks, this is interesting!  Do you know what your average rainfall/year is?