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Monday, January 23, 2017

Pacific Dogwood -- Cornus nuttallii

Cornus nuttallii | California Flora Nursery:

Also pacific dogwood. dislikes pruning or fertilizer like water if fast draining..... I believe it drops leaves. Cool party-shady areas, with deep, rich, well-draining soil, usually at the edge of forests.

The Pacific Dogwood is a species of dogwood native to western North America from lowlands of southern British Columbia to mountains of southern California. An inland population occurs in central Idaho. Cultivated examples are found as far north as the Queen Charlotte Islands. It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 7-20 meters tall, often with multiple trunks and and an irregular form. The leaves are opposite, simple oval, 8-12 centimeters long and 5-8 centimeters broad. The flowers are individually small and inconspicuous, 2-3 millimeters across, produced in a dense, rounded, greenish-white flowerhead 2 centimeter diameters; the 4-8 large white "petals" are actually leafs, each leaf is 4-7 centimeters long and broad. The fruit is a compound pink-red berry about 3 centimeters in diameter, containing 50-100 small seeds; it is edible, though not very palatable.

With its spectacular white flowers, bright green leaves, beautiful autumn foliage, and attractive growth form, Pacific Dogwoods are among the more popular native California trees in landscaping applications. It's long-lived and easy to grow as long as it's planted in its natural range and in the right site type. It needs to be planted in cool, rich, deep and well draining soil, in part shade, preferably among smaller companion plants, so as it matures it can reach its branches out into direct sun. Provide occasional summer water until established, then stop all supplementary irrigation. Avoid disturbing the soil within a few feet of the trunk.

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http://calscape.org/Cornus-nuttallii-(Pacific-Dogwood)?srchcr=sc5a6f9d49c1479
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Claytonia perfoliata - miners lettuce

Claytonia perfoliata - Wikipedia:

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Umbellularia - California Bay laurel

Umbellularia - Wikipedia: this grows very large, likes moisure like company of pines etc and the wood is highly prized.  the nuts can be eaten and the bay leaf is similar to bay laural but stronger.  a useful tree but may need to be pruned to keep it from becoming too large for the site by the house.

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Lonicera hispidula | California honeysuckle


one Idea is to bury all these posts on flora on one date in the past but include a unique identifer in the body so a directory can be found that contains only these items which can then be viewed all together.  This is a work around for blogger as it does not have sections.
Lonicera hispidula | California Flora Nursery: roots in shade and vines out into the sun perfect for providing seclusion

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Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Riparian | Mostly Natives Nursery

54 B Street, Unit D
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Phone: (415) 663-8835

Riparian - "of, pertaining to, or situated or dwelling on the bank of a river or other body of water"

The riparian corridor is one of the most fertile habitats in California. The towering trees offer shade to cool the water below and food and nesting sites for birds. The understory supports a diverse community of land mammals, insects and amphibians. And the streams supply water for all as well as habitat for fish and other aquatic creatures. When planting your streambank it's nice to keep this community in mind and indulge in a diversity of plants. This will also help to ensure the eventual success as you discover that some selections do better than others.

Planting along a riparian corridor necessitates choosing plants with different drought tolerances. Those plants closest to the water flow must often be able to withstand seasonal flooding while plants at the highest points of the bank are often droughted in the late summer and fall. Generally all of the plants must be happy growing with at least some shade. And erosion control along the bank sides is an important element in selecting your planting material. All of these factors should be considered when choosing your plants.

Riparian | Mostly Natives Nursery:



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Thursday, January 5, 2017

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Urbanite by the truck load

We are using broken concrete from construction sites delivered here free to stabilize sandy soil hillsides creating landscape terraces. Some of it is beautiful for steps in our landscape pathways. Call us if you have a need for some. It would be easily loaded from the driveway to the back of a truck by hand

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Blackberries are sweet, tart and peak of season

Can you say pie? There's nothing like homemade.  So yum with ice cream or freeze them up for smoothies. These are a variety called Kiowa that is very early and long fruiting with giant berries often over an inch long.  U-pick with the family it'll be a great day for the family in the sun

Friday, January 1, 2016

Resident Stay Policy

Introduction
  • When we started Oasis Community Farm over six years ago had many plans and dreams about how we would connect with the larger community. Petaluma and the bay area have many diverse groups, interests and activities with which we share values such as nurturing, caring for and protecting people young and old. Self expression, art, critical thinking and a love of justice are core values and we are openly progressive and political. We are not a business nor are we open to the public. Rather our singular purpose is to live a good life, share with others and build community around the farm's abundance.
Term
  • $500/ month rent
  • We anticipate a one year commitment although it is not a contract but an understanding
  • Also we ask for a 3 month probationary period that give you and us an opportunity to reconsider

What is included
  • Free wifi, utilities, laundry, available farm food and kitchen basics
  • Free or arranged use of kitchen, hall and grounds for your personal use, projects and activities
  • Some limits may arise and a 10 pm main lights out and quite hall rule generally applies unless previously arranged. This means you and us.

Work commitment
  • 10 community hours per week

Additional professional collaboration
  • Help at markets, booths, farm events and parties, social media, farm tours, food processing projects, community cooking, depending on skill sets may be arranged either for additional compensation or in lieu of community hours

How is work directed
  • We will avoid ad hoc direction but rather rely on scheduled, planned or agreed upon routines
  • We will use the certification model that will allow work to be self directed as much as possible

Decisions
  • Decisions about work, garden planning and house activities will be made the spirit of collaboration, planning in weekly meetings. However we are the farm managers so your input although encouraged is advisory
Visitors
  • Openly welcomed to encourage community although visitors should respect boundaries, farm routine
  • Intimate friend overnights are natural but visitors should leave in the morning and not turn into extended stays.

Workshops, parties and farm stays
  • Scheduled parties and gatherings are possible with no excessive drinking or drugs and a focus on fun and caring
  • Out of town/country friends are expected but should have limits that are agreed upon in advance

Personal items
  • Many tools and resources are shared on the farm. Personal items left in community space should either have explicit boundaries such as labeled boxes, etc or be clearly committed as shared resources. Knives and kitchen gear come to mind as well as personal food in refrigerator and pantry.

Camp Stay Policy

The use of the camp ground is to encourage the enjoyment of nature and connection to the farm among friends of Oasis Community Farm. A family with kids for instance could use and overnight stay to make a vegetable CSA work day memorable for the kids - a real adventure. In addition it will be useful in farm work and stay arrangements, (Perhaps with Wwoof http://www.wwoof.net/how-it-works/, especially with young people and usually short term of a week or so. In the case of an agricultural project that required more help the terms of a farm worker stay could be up to 90 days. We do not have such a project currently as we are focused on getting the barn done. So 2 or 3 weeks is more likely.

From time to time people may just need help with a place to stay during a transition or disruption in their lives. Out of generosity and compassion and friendship we may offer accommodation on a case by case basis. It is not the main goal of the campground to provide for such emergencies and yet we recognize that this may happen to friends and friends of friends as time goes by.

What Is Included In a Farm Stay?
  • Free wifi, utilities, laundry.
  • Free or arranged use of kitchen, hall and grounds for your projects and activities
  • Some limits may arise. The Hall is not completed yet so us may be limited to Kitchen area hotwater electrical outlets and the bathroom.
  • Fire wood from scrap

What Is Asked for In Exchange for a Stay?
  • Working/contributing to the farm 10 hours per week
  • Bring stories, uplifting, inspiring adventures and a loving vibe
  • Respect boundaries of other residents, farm life and routine

How is work directed -- Our goal is to avoid ad hoc direction but rather rely on scheduled, planned or agreed upon routines. Regarding campground stays it is more likely that work will be arranges side by side with a permanent resident as there will be little opportunity to set up a routine.

What About Visitors?
  • Openly welcomed to encourage community
  • Visitors should respect boundaries, farm life and routine
  • Intimate friend overnights are natural but visitors should leave in the morning and not turn into extended stays.