This series of eight blog posts by Melissa Ott about the Santa Cruz Permaculture fall-winter 2017 Permaculture Design Course was originally posted on the Green Gal blog in April 2017.017. Weekend Two: November 5-6, 2016 The second weekend of the Santa Cruz Permaculture Design course, we explored watersheds, water catchment, understanding climate and microclimates, and the characteristics and management of
“SANTA CRUZ >> When landscape designer Lydia Neilsen mentions rainwater harvesting, the permaculture expert thinks raised earthwork gardens full of …”
Tour Skyline Chestnuts Walk our annual and perennial fields at their peak Learn fall harvest and preparation for winter Preserve the harvest through canning, drying, fermenting and pickling Taste apples, pears, jujube, carob and more Share final projects and talk through where you go next This one-weekend course is part of a six-weekend course series: Permaculture Food Forests. Sign up
Practice summer pruning and budding while the bark is slipping Learn summer orchard maintenance Taste stone fruit at Andy’s Orchard in Morgan Hill, home to one of the largest private collections on the West Coast Visit Emma Prusch Park, the Heritage and Master Gardener orchards, the CRFG International Orchard, Village Harvest and Veggielution This one-weekend course is part of a
Practice asexual propagation, cuttings and divisions Dive into berries, citrus and avocado, and learn what thrives in a coastal climate Follow up on winter pruning with thinning and spring training Design and set up irrigation before the dry season This one-weekend course is part of a six-weekend course series: Permaculture Food Forests. Sign up for this single weekend below.
Learn and practice grafting, budding, layering and divisions Turn January’s scion wood into trees Explore pest and disease management in a perennial system Study greenhouses and propagation by seed Walk the farm’s kiwis and cane berries This one-weekend course is part of a six-weekend course series: Permaculture Food Forests. Sign up for this single weekend below.
Practice winter pruning on apples, pears and stone fruit until the cuts make sense Select bare root fruit trees: varietal selection, rootstock, disease resistance and pollination Join the CRFG scion exchange and take home cuttings of varieties you can’t buy Study tree physiology and plant bare root trees This one-weekend course is part of a six-weekend course series: Permaculture Food
Learn the principles of food forest design, from canopy to root layer Walk a working coastal farm and see the systems in place Bring your own project to the group, whether that’s a farm you’re dreaming of or a backyard you want to rethink Tour the UCSC Alan Chadwick Garden, one of the founding sites of California’s organic movement Taste
Upcoming Permaculture Food Forest Sessions Curious to experience the course before committing, or just want to take one of the sessions? You’re welcome to join us for a single weekend! Tuition is $295 per weekend. Sessions are held at our farm north of Davenport and at orchards, gardens and farms around the region. Meeting locations are sent ahead of each
Open Farm Tours 2026 Sunday, October 11 | 10am to 4pm | Santa Cruz Permaculture Farm, Pescadero Once a year the farms of this region open their gates to anyone who wants to walk in and see how food actually gets grown. We are one of the North County stops on this year’s Open Farm Tours, and we would love
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