Sojourn Magazine

SOJOURN MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4 - Fall 1997

Special Plants of Mendocino County

Antique Roses, Ros Equus,
Virginia Hopper, Branscomb

I always encourage people to make the choice of old roses when they are trying to landscape their gardens. For finding plants that have proven to do well and have withstood the test of time, you can't go wrong with these varieties, also described as "heritage," "historical," or "vintage" roses. Growing them preserves a piece of living history and the gene pool for tenacious and vigorous varieties.

In the old days hybrids were produced by just putting roses side by side. Now hybridization is a very scientific process that works toward the goal of attaining specific characteristics. This practice really took off when the oriental roses were brought from China in the late 1700s and introduced to the European varieties. Although the Oriental roses were tender and modest in appearance, their repeat blooming abilities stimulated a desire to produce this property in more fragrant and hardy varieties. The Autumn Damask, an ancient hybrid grown by the Romans, is a cross between a Persian rose--Rosa moschata--and the European Rosa gallica. It has been carried all over the world by missionaries, conquistadors and immigrants, and is one of the "found" roses of Mendocino County. Early on, most hybridizing with tender Oriental roses was carried on in mild climate areas such as southern France. Later, greenhouse hybrids were developed all over Europe. Over the past 200 years, thousands of roses have been introduced, but of course not all have survived.

Wild rose natives existed in America, but in the early days of settlement, almost all garden varieties were brought from Europe. One of the earliest American hybrids was called Champney's Pink Cluster--created by crossing the China Rose or Rosa chinensis and Rosa moschata in the early 1800s. In the 1840s one of our native roses, Rosa setigera, was used to produce a line of handsome rambling roses, but since they only bloom once a year, they did not enjoy a great deal of popularity. One of those early American ramblers is also among our Mendocino County "found" varieties.

I have been a collector of the old "found" roses for about twenty-five years, and have been in the rose business for fifteen. I have about 200 varieties, and I list over 150 of these in my catalog. My sister Joyce Demits lives in Fort Bragg and also has a rose business (Tanglewood Farms, Heritage Rose Garden) and a beautiful garden there. We have been instrumental in establishing the historical rose garden within the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. With the help of other people, we are now working to establish an endowment for that garden so there will be funds to take care of it into perpetuity.

Many roses in Mendocino County were planted generations back. The people who live in these places now don't have any idea of their identity. We find roses in old home sites in towns such as Willits, Ukiah and Fort Bragg, in places like Spy Rock, in cemeteries, and even in abandoned areas such as the old lumber town, Usal, in the northwest corner of the county (known as the Lost Coast). Most of the roses that have survived on their own are very hardy. Some that are frost-tender, have survived on the coast in places where it doesn't freeze. It is an interesting mix because our county is so large and has so many different kinds of climates.

We have been doing research into the identities of these old roses. It takes a lot of time and brings only a few successes. Looking for more data and information from the past to help substantiate our guesses is an ongoing process. We collect literature written in the 1800s and the early 1900s, the time when these roses were introduced. Quite often the vague descriptions make it difficult to pin down an absolute identification. For instance, "It was a rose-colored rose that grew rather tall," doesn't help us much and means an identity will probably remain a mystery.

Irises
Jean Near, Redwood Valley

I first learned about irises from my mother. She just passed away at age 102. I have a fairly large collection, and never seem able to resist putting in a few more. The sizable patch in my vegetable garden gets the best care. Irises forgive a lot, and can get through the summer without much water. Some are tender, but many are very hardy.

Most iris lovers collect what we call the bearded iris. Among these there is a recent interest in "remontant" irises, or re-bloomers, which bloom both in spring and fall. We grow the German bearded (tall varieties over twenty-seven inches) and the median bearded iris (under twenty-seven inches). The beardless iris are also nice in their own way and are becoming more popular in Mendocino County. These include varieties such as spurias, Siberians, Louisianas and Japanese. The Louisianas and Japanese like a lot of water, the Siberians do well at the edge of the lawn as they need about the same amount of water as the lawn, and the spurias need very little water. Some types of beardless irises are wild (species iris) and have hybridized indiscriminately. We have grouped the local wild irises under the general name "Pacific Coast Natives." Many have exotic flowers and are now being crossed with Siberians (called Calsibs). The Dutch irises, which you commonly see in florist shops and which are easy and popular to grow in gardens, come from a bulb. The others come from a fleshy root called a rhizome.

Any irisarian will probably say they wait all year to see the irises bloom. In the spring, all of a sudden, a first iris shows up. You know who it is because they all have names. When you see it for the first time, you say something like, "Oh, there you are!" It's a special feeling. Every iris is different and has its own personality. A lot of work has gone into hybridizing each one. A tremendous number have been thrown on the compost heap because they didn't measure up. Only those that sparkle and speak to a person are kept.

I am a Master Judge for the American Iris Society. I can judge irises anyplace I am asked, and I do judge them every spring in Northern California. However, I don't travel very far from home since my sheep have to be cared for twice a day. On the show bench, the Master Judge looks at the bloom stock presented in competition. They judge a grower's ability to show an iris at its best--a balanced presentation of a lovely specimen of that iris. Fingerprints, aphids, spiders, torn petals and such will mark down a specimen. It is difficult to get an iris to a show in perfect condition, especially dark ones that show moisture spots so easily. Irises are fragile and easy to bump or crush. It is hard to understand this unless you have gone through the stress of getting them to a show.

The Redwood Iris Society was formed in the 1950s as part of the American Iris Society. It had about a dozen members in the beginning and now it has grown to over seventy members. There is a tremendous interest in irises. Other societies exist in England, France, Australia, Japan and elsewhere. It is amazing how this little flower gets people together.

Our local society meets about seven months of the year to conduct the business of putting together our two main events--a spring show and a July rhizome sale. The sale provides some of the money needed for the show. The Redwood Iris Society membership is mainly local, with some representation from adjoining counties. We are always open to new members. All you need to do is pay your dues and love irises.

Everlasting Flowers
Shirley Smith, Covelo

I moved to Covelo in 1990, and have been growing flowers there ever since--both fresh and everlasting varieties. Every year my garden gets a little bigger. Now I have about an acre in flowers. I probably grow over thirty varieties of everlasting flowers--small quantities of some, and large quantities of those flowers that do really well in Covelo, which is hot and dry. I'm into art and I love color, so I guess that's how I got into growing so many brightly colored flowers.

I grow a lot of strawflowers and also a lot of grasses. The first everlastings I grew were statice, an annual that produces a lot of flowers. They are easy to grow and to dry. Their colors are brilliant and, as you cut them, they keep producing. Statice grows through the whole season until frost. I also grow a lot of "love-in-the-mist," or nigella, which is a beautiful fresh flower and has interesting pods. Sometimes I buy dried flowers for their seeds. I did that with wheat celosia--a feathery-looking everlasting--because I couldn't find the seed at any seed stores. It did really well, so now I grow a lot of it. It is nice both fresh and dried. I also grow a lot of cockscombs--big beautiful flowers that look like a dark pink velvet brain. I have saved seed from these also because the seeds can be very expensive to buy. I have planted about 1500 plants of cockscomb this year. Each plant makes one large head. If they don't sell fresh, I dry them and use them later.

Since I grow organically, certain insects are a problem, so I grow extra flowers. The insects can have their share, and I can have mine. If I have too many problems with bugs, I just don't grow that flower anymore. You have to figure where you live, what your climate and environment is like, and what grows well there--then go for it. Continues on the next page...

What I grow in Covelo is different from what people can grow in other parts in the county. Our season is short. We can have early fall and late spring frosts. It's a difficult place for growing, but it can be done.

Several days a week I harvest the flowers and hang them upside down in the barn. It is so warm there that they dry in a week. Then I can make up the dried bouquets. The flowers keep their color pretty well over the winter if you keep them in boxes in a dark area, so I can make up bouquets from last year's flowers also.

I make bouquets, wreaths, wall decorations and baskets out of my flowers. I have also been offering workshops for a couple of years on dried flowers and wreath-making. Last year I held classes in Berkeley and Covelo.

In the summer there are markets all over the place, practically every day of the week. I sell at the Farmers Markets in Mendocino County and in Berkeley. I like the idea of the Farmers Market, the people who come to them, and the idea that whatever people grow, they can put it together and sell it.

The market in Berkeley is incredible. I can get things there that we can't grow here. Mostly, I sell flowers arranged in bunches so people can take them and put them directly in a vase, dry or fresh. Some customers receive fresh flowers every week when they buy their vegetables from my partner, Tom Palley. The people who come there are starving for anything that is fresh and grown organically, and for things that are a little different and interesting. They say Tom's carrots are the best they've ever tasted, so they swarm me. It's busy, but I like that. People come and buy, and the time flies.

I like being my own boss, doing my own thing and working outside. And I like taking the winter off and going to warmer climates. It works out well as a part-time venture, and has kept me healthy in many respects. This year I spent half my time off in the Yucatan, and half in the central coast area of Mexico. When I come back home, I'm raring to go again.

Herbs
Joanne Alexander, Potter Valley
Snow Mountain Botanicals

I operate a small botanical extract company called Snow Mountain Botanicals with my business partner, Kathy Fisette. We've been doing business for about five years. In the past, Kathy was a midwife and a nurse, and I was an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist. We met in Occidental at the Northern California Women's Herbal Symposium, where we rediscovered the wild plants in Western herbology. We started by making medicine for our families, and things took off from there until the idea of creating Snow Mountain Botanicals was born.

We both have small, unique experimental gardens on our homesteads (mine at 3000 feet and Kathy's at 1500 feet) near Potter Valley. We're attempting to grow medicinal plants that will succeed in our particular ecosystems, with our mountain soil and hot summer climate. Our gardens supply the company with Chamomile, Passion Vine, Skullcap, Nettles, Mugwort, Lemon Balm, Artichoke, Spilanthes, Ashwagandha, Vitex, Raspberry, Echinacea, Feverfew, Elecampane, Rosemary, Lavender, Motherwort and Calendula.

Modern science and the old folklore have found that plants' medicinal qualities are strongest at particular times in their growth cycles. The Skullcap is harvested just as it has completed its blooming process. We harvest our Echinacea flowers, Chamomile blossoms and Motherwort just as they start to bloom, and the St. John's Wort when it's just starting to bud in the early spring.

We use only fresh plant material in our extractions because we believe that the medicine is only as vital as the plant that's used in it. Growing our own plants assures fine quality. What we can't grow we get from other places, mostly within the United States. We have the tender-leafed plants and flowers shipped one-day air. This is very expensive, but essential. For instance, we buy fresh Kava root from Hawaii. We personally know the people we buy from, and trust them to grow and harvest at the right time. What we can't get fresh we have to buy dry from India and Europe.

We are experimentally trying to cultivate many herbs that we now import. We are successfully growing Ashwagandha, an herb that is considered an East Indian ginseng. Its root is used. It grows wonderfully here as an annual. Since it doesn't winter over here, we harvest it in the fall. We are also growing Vitex (Chaste Tree), a beautiful plant whose main medicinal property is hormone balancing. It is used for a vast array of women's ailments. This perennial takes about five years to reach maturity as a six-foot-tall shrub. Vitex is native to the Mediterranean and requires a very long season. Its large beautiful lavender flowers bloom at the end of summer. The medicine comes from its tiny berries, which we harvest fresh and then extract. To my knowledge, nobody in the United States grows this valuable plant in quantity. Another plant we are growing successfully is Licorice. Not available domestically, it is only available from Europe in the dried form. It takes three to four years before the root can be harvested. Licorice is used to tonify the adrenals. In Chinese medicine it harmonizes formulas and makes them more digestible.

Since we do integrate some Chinese herbs into our formulas, they have become my special project. I'm growing quite a few different ones here. Many of the roots take five or six years before we can start to harvest them, so although we are successfully growing these plants, we aren't harvesting yet. Ho-shou-wu (Polygonum multiflorum, popularly called Fo-Ti) grows to a beautiful viny twenty-foot-long plant. The root of this perennial is used. I'm also growing a plant with the botanical name Codonopsis, also called Dang-shen. In China it's considered the "poor man's ginseng," one of the most important herbs in the Chinese pharmacopoeia. It is a blood and chi (energy) tonic. This long vining plant grows ten feet. Its little flowers bloom all summer long. Other plants are Chinese Skullcap, Astragalus (for the immune system), and Schizandra berries (an adaptogen and liver herb).

We grow a number of trees and large shrubs such as Hawthorn. We harvest the flower and leaf of Hawthorn in the spring, and the berry in the fall. All these parts are equally important. We extract them separately and then blend them together. We blend the fresh plant in an industrial blender with 190-proof alcohol, then place it in glass jars in a dark place for four to six weeks. We shake them every day. At the end of the brewing process, they go into a hydraulic press, where the plant material is separated from the liquid.

We are a small company, and we hope to stay a hands-on business. We both live on land bordered by the National Forest. The forest is part of our extended garden where we wildcraft Horsetail (used for urinary problems), Yerba Santa (for colds, flu, and mucus) and St. John's Wort (for a nerve damage, depression, bee stings and skin rashes). We prune the Yerba Santa in the fall so it will come back nice and vibrant in the springtime. St. John's Wort is painstakingly harvested at the bud stage, over a four-to five-week period. We also wildcraft California Poppy (a nervine, calming for children), Cleavers (for the urinary tract), Grindelia (a.k.a. tarweed, for the respiratory system and asthma) and Usnea (pale green-gray lichen that grows in oak trees--an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial immune strengthener). Usnea is abundant in the hills here, but is difficult to harvest and process.

Another herb we are growing up here is Ginkgo, one of the oldest plants on Earth, wonderful for blood circulation, especially in the brain. It is one of the most widely sold botanicals in Europe, where it is prescribed by medical professionals for senility, Alzheimer's and as a brain stimulant, brain tonic and blood circulation stimulant.

Many plants are becoming extinct in the wild. The herb industry is growing so rapidly that wild stands of many plants are being over-harvested. We are cultivating those that will grow in this bio-region, like Echinacea purpurea (blossom and root) and Echinacea angustifolia (which has the strongest medicinal value). Skullcap, which used to grow all over Snow Mountain right above us, is starting to disappear from the hillsides. Arnica is also rapidly becoming scarce. It grows in only a few places in California, at very high elevations. Snow Mountain is one of those places. When I started harvesting up there about seven years ago, it was abundant. Now it's just about gone. Goldenseal is another plant that is disappearing in the wild. We are desperately trying to grow it, but it wants to be cool and damp and doesn't particularly like it here.

Our small family business and gardens grow a little larger each year. Although the two of us grow a lot of the same things, our harvest times are different by about three weeks.

My garden is spattered with ornamentals, culinary herbs and roses. I grow Cayenne (a blood and circulatory stimulant), Artichoke leaves (important in our digestive formula), Raspberry leaf (a women's tonic), Lavender and Dandelion root and leaf.

We make both compounds (herbal combinations) and simples (single extracts). As in the Chinese tradition, we believe there is great value in synergistic blends that modulate each other. If one herb has harsh effects, another can counteract it. Some herbs make others more potent. We make twenty compounds. Each one uses from four to twelve herbs that are brewed, harvested and processed at different times, extracted and pressed individually.

Our medicines are available at the Ukiah Co-op, Mariposa Market in Willits and Dry Creek Farm over in the Sierras. We also sell to practitioners--acupuncturists, chiropractors and massage therapists from Ukiah to San Diego. We get a certain amount of business from our Internet site as well.

I think that more and more people want to have a hand in their own healing and health care. We support that in our educational work by speaking at conferences and making literature available. At the co-op, we have a book on the reference shelf with detailed descriptions of our compound.

Botanics & Extracts
Katrina Frey, Redwood Valley
Frey Extracts

Our new line of herbal extracts are certified organic by Demeter, the biodynamic certifying organization, named after the goddess of fertility. Even though there is no biodynamic alcohol available for making tinctures, our herbs will soon be certified biodynamic. The labels were designed by Theresa Whitehill of Colored Horse Studios in Elk. We started producing Grapeseed extract last year, using a steam extraction method. Ours is the only organic Grapeseed extract available. We're also making Ginkgo and Echinacea tinctures. We bought the Ginkgo this year and have planted hundreds of Ginkgo trees and thousands of Echinacea plants. We soon plan to extend our line to include St. John's Wort and Valerian. Europe has a very developed market for biodynamic tinctures, but I don't know how they will be received here in the United States. We are considering the Internet as one way of marketing them.

Botanics of California
Joan Griswold, McNab Ranch, Ukiah

The most important thing about gardening for me is that it gets you in touch with the rhythm of life--with seasons, rebirth and growth. It's absolutely soul-feeding. We can become cut off from that in our society. When I was living in Seattle, I used to wake up on the freeway with a cup of coffee in my hand. Now I get up in the morning and go visit my herb garden.

I've lived here about seven and a half years. I truly enjoy and appreciate this area. There is a lot of history here. The areas my gardens are located in have had a lot of erosion in the past. Part of our work has been to bring back the soil. The blessing for me has been to get to know every inch of the land.

Our total property is ten acres. Right now the herb garden is about four acres. Thanks to my wonderful business partners, I have a part-time gardener to help me. This allows us to expand what we're doing. Since we are encroaching on nature, I think it is important to preserve a habitat for wildlife. We have left six acres wild, which is fine because a lot of plants that I use are wildcrafted. It's great to be able to use what's here. The plants I use from the land are: Echinecia, Lavendar, Yarrow, Lemon Balm, Rosemary, Sage, St. John's Wort and Peppermint.

One of the tag lines for our products is "The bridge between our garden and you." There are lots of "natural products" on the market. Their herbal content is usually about 1%, for reasons of price and stability. Our herb content, by contrast, is over 10%. To be effective, the herbs have to be concentrated to a high level. You just can't put a drop in and call it an herbal product. We use other natural ingredients as well, such as Grapeseed oil, Apricot kernel oil, vegetable glycerin and Aloe Vera. I didn't feel that skin-care products were being prepared properly or effectively. Making our own is a way of sharing nature with people and providing truer value to people for their money.

Marijuana
Mary Jane, Mendocino County

Obviously I'm growing this herb for financial reasons, but I'm also also doing it because I find myself more at peace in the woods where I feel closest to nature. Sometimes I work well into the evening if the moon is coming up. Generally, I try to get to my plants after sunset and before sunrise, but sometimes I have to be out there in the middle of the day. That's when I have to be careful.

The big push is usually before spring. If I'm really on top of things, I work in the winter rains when no one else is out— hauling supplies, replenishing holes from last year, and beefing up the soils. I try to grow organic as much as possible. This makes it harder because I have to haul more weight. But I can forage for oak mulch and manure, collect good top-soil and work it in. Bat and seabird manure are commonly used fertilizers. These can be bought at a local growing-supply store. They are high in phosphorus and nitrogen.

Come spring, I've got starts that I pack out in boxes very carefully. When I haul them to my spot, I feel like I'm carrying a load of babies. They seem so fragile and yet it's amazing how resilient they are. There's a lot of backpacking and hauling involved—grueling trudging-up-and-down-hillsides with no paths, climbing through branches, stumbling, rolling down hills and wondering sometimes what I'm doing this for. But when I get home there's no better feeling. I know I've worked myself to near death, but I feel good about it at the same time.

After everything's planted, next thing is the sexing period. I remove all the males and leave the females, allowing them to have all the extra space to grow. The females have little hairs. You can identify a male because they have balls in the crotch where the leaf and the stem meet. You see that and you yank the plant.

Close to harvest time, the female plants are getting big and juicy. They're starting to sparkle, and smell so sweet and fruity. I just watch and wait until they're fully ripe. If they get overripe, they get airy and loose rather than firmly packed.

There is paranoia to deal with. How can you not be paranoid when you've got this beautiful garden of gorgeous plants that are ever-so-ripe and have to be picked inside of one week? There are helicopters flying constantly right over your area. You hear from the radio and from other people that the copters are in the area right where you are. It's hard not to be paranoid, but at some point you just have to just let go and let the universe come through for you or not. The whole way through -- from beginning to end -- you have to have no attachments. You really have to work hard to have no expectations. Like life, right?

This work sometimes feels like I'm replanting the Mother. Marijuana used to flourish all over. Now we have to hide it. But it's a part of our culture; we can't deny it. I would prefer to sell to the medical marijuana people, because that's who need it the most. As for myself, I wouldn't want to live without it. It helps in so many ways. In this day and age, pot helps people get through. It's voluptuous; it's alive; it's a relationship. You nurture it; it nurtures you.

Organic Vineyards
Katrina Frey, Redwood Valley
Frey Vineyards

The Frey family has been here in Redwood Valley for thirty-six years. When they moved here, Jonathan, my husband, was nine. My father-in-law wanted to increase the value of this property because when Reagan was governor there was a rumor that Round Valley and Redwood Valley would be flooded as part of the big Peripheral Canal scheme. So he thought he should put some grapes on the property to increase its value in case he had to be bought out. He also thought he should put his twelve kids to work. The family planted the grapes when Jonathan was in high school. The grapes were grown organically from the start. Some years this was more by neglect, but a ground fertility program in mind. The first grapes were sold to Fetzer and Parducci.

The Frey kids grew up, and Matthew went off to work for the Fetzers. Jonathan and I met in Covelo, at Alan Chadwick's Garden Project. I grew up in Michigan, went to college and then moved out to California to live in the Bay Area. One day I read a story in the Chronicle about this garden project up in Covelo. I said to my friend, "I've always wanted to do something like that." And she said, "Why don't you?" So I moved up to Covelo in 1976. Jonathan arrived at the same time. It was sort of a heyday--the fourth or fifth year of the project. There were forty apprentices.

In 1978 we moved back here. Matthew, Jonathan and I decided to start a winery in 1980, with the help of the younger kids. That first year we produced 2,000 cases, and everything was done by hand. We used a basket press. From the start, we decided to be purely organic--with no sulfites in the wine. We were the first winery in the country to do that. Now we're the oldest and the largest organic non-sulfite winery in the country. We produce up to 30,000 cases of organic wine annually. Sixty-five percent of our sales are outside of California. We sell a lot in New York, Florida, Chicago, Colorado, Washington state and Oregon. The Japan market is also really opening up. If we had more grapes, we actually could be selling more wine. Even so, Mendocino has the highest percentage of organic grapes of any county in California--Fetzer, Kohn, Frey, Hidden Cellars, Lolonis, and some of the smaller cellars, like Fife, which used to be Konrad, sell organic wines.

We came to the idea of an organic winery through the philosophy that this is the correct way to farm and to live on the Earth. We are also into contributing back to the community. Our main focus in giving has been to environmental groups. We have an informal policy to donate to county causes to help schools, the Green Party, etc.

Interestingly enough, consumers are more interested in the fact that our wine doesn't have sulfites than that it is grown organically. So many people are sensitive to sulfites. In our polluted world, more people than ever are suffering with asthma, allergies and other health ailments.

We are not only organically certified, we've been biodynamically certified since 1996. Under CCOF guidelines we're allowed to use elemental sulfur in the fields--a mined rock dust--to control mildew. We occasionally use sulfur in the fields, but we don't use sulfites in our wine-making. Sulfites are mainly used to prevent oxidation in wine. The point at which the wine is bottled is a time of great risk. We have a sophisticated bottling machine that exactly controls the amount of exposure the wine has to air when bottling. The bottles fill up from the bottom, and the wine rides on a coat of nitrogen gas. As the gas dissipates, the cork comes in. Then a spinner puts the top over the cork; the labels are glued on, and a conveyor belt carries the bottles to the boxes.

Our production is done on our land, and we grow about 15% of our fruit. We buy the rest from other certified organic growers—all but one in Mendocino County. We have really good grower relationships, and have been pretty much working with the same group of growers since the late 1980s. Some of them have planted more grapes to fit our needs.

In the early '80s, before the Cabernets came in, we had rains. But for the last few years we've been really lucky county-wide. Sonoma and Napa have had very serious mildew problems during the flowering of the grapes in the wet springs of '95 and '96. Because of our later season, the bad weather had passed by the time flowering took place here, so most of Mendocino County squeaked through.

We feel our vineyards are in really good health and balance. This is partly because of the biodynamic preparations and practices we use. Luke, one of my brothers-in-law, makes the herbal preparations here on the farm. They are buried or composted for about six months and then applied in minute amounts--homeopathically. The preparations are put in water and stirred for an hour in a figure-eight pattern to energize them. Then they are sprayed from a home-made contraption he pulls through the vineyards behind a four-wheeler. Some preparations are applied on the soils and others to the plants. This has to be done during the correct phase of the moon and at the correct time of day. In biodynamics, you consider the whole environment as a living, breathing organism.

We are now getting ready to release the first biodynamic wine in the United States. Kate Gould, a Waldorf teacher, is designing our label. She attended Emerson College in England and is making us a Waldorfian-style watercolor. We're thinking of calling this new line "Stella Terra"--for stars and earth.

Beba Frey, the family matriarch, has been behind everything, heart and soul. Not only was she financially supportive in getting the winery started, she participates in amazing ways. Every other morning she comes out and loads trucks. She calls this her weight-bearing exercise for the day. Then she goes off and works full-time, and she does volunteer work as well. I told myself years ago not to compare myself with my mother-in-law.

This project has been a family effort. We've been able to raise our children amongst it all. Not only can we watch over the kids, but they have been incorporated into the work--putting on labels when we're bottling, helping pick, holding hoses. For my kids, this has really been significant. They feel they're important--that they're a part of it.

Liesha Boek, Redwood Valley
Viticultural Project Coordinator, Kohn Properties

I started working at Kohn in 1992. We have about 1000 acres of certified organic grapes. I monitor the vineyards, am in charge of pest control, keep all the managers informed about what's going on, hire field workers and am involved in labor relations. As the only Caucasian person here who speaks fluent Spanish, I am a go-between for the office and the field. I really enjoy that. I'm getting to know the Mexican culture better, because the majority of the workers in the field are Mexican. In winter we employ twenty full-time people, and during harvest this can be upwards of 150 people. Last year I enlisted the help of an assistant, a fieldworker named Remedios Jaimes, who doesn't speak any English. She is the first full-time Hispanic woman with benefits and paid vacations, who works in the vineyard department. She drives a tractor, leads crews in the vineyard and does pest control.

We have ten ranches altogether--five in Hopland, three in Ukiah and two in Redwood Valley. By contract, we will be growing for Fetzer until the year 2000. Most of our wine goes into their Bonterra program. Bonterra-brand wines are 100% organic. They are hot sellers in restaurants, and most popular among younger consumers (25-35 years old). The industry is really expanding right now. The price of wine has gone up, and the price of grapes is also going up.

In 1992, the winery and the Fetzer brand were sold to a family-owned corporation, Brown-Forman. They are based in Louisville, Kentucky, and own several other companies like Jack Daniels and Lennox China. The Fetzer family kept most of the vineyards. They had to come up with a name, so they went with their mother's maiden name, Kohn. Kohn Properties is the new company. I started work here a week before the sale to Brown-Forman in August, 1992. I was hired because I speak Spanish. I have a bi-lingual teaching credential, but rather than start teaching right away, I got distracted into agriculture. I love to work outside, and my Spanish has improved since I began working here.

If we have a bug problem, we use M-Pede, an insecticidal soap which is a contact spray. That's basically all we use for bugs, and we don't even use that every year. This land was farmed conventionally for years. Some of our vineyards were old pear orchards. Chemical fertilizers and conventional farming in general destroy the soil structure, so we are trying to build the soil back up. This is really hard when you are continually farming. In general, vine health increases and problems decline over many years when you go organic. It's not instant.

We add a lot of compost, minimize tillage and of course use no synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. As we plant new vineyards we are trying to re-inoculate our soil with endo-mycchoriza, the natural microbes that live on the roots of plants. Through years of chemical farming those were burned up and killed by excess nitrogen.

The standards for organic wines have being watered down a bit, by accepting sulfites in 100 parts per million. Some organic wineries are upset by this. The really serious growers are considering biodynamics. This is more holistic. The Home Ranch in Redwood Valley, where the Fetzers grew up and where the original winery is, is now being farmed this way. We still don't have any animal stock, but we are working on it. We are learning about biodynamics by reading, going to seminars, talking to consultants and by doing it.

Farming is the basis of civilization. If you can farm in a way that is more conducive to a healthy environment, you are on the road to improving your whole life. We preach this message to ourselves and others. As we become more aware of health and environmental issues, we can all move in a more sustainable direction. The biodynamic direction is beyond organic. You gain more than you use. In the United States, these methods are mostly used on small farms and market gardens. In New Zealand and Australia, thousands of acres of rangeland are being farmed biodynamically.

I love being involved with agriculture. Working with plants and people is a great combination. I'm totally addicted.

Jessica Taaning, Redwood Valley
Neece, The Ranch

My husband worked in the city for years. Then he decided to get out of the rat race. Now he pretty much just helps raise our son and take care of this place. He's a great help to me. If I'm working, he'll make breakfast and do the laundry; it's the perfect situation. Besides working in my garden and with the grapes, I am also a student and a part time bartender. I'm working toward my A.S. degree.

We have ten acres of Chenin Blanc, Merlot and French Colombard grapes, which we sell to the Frey Winery. We have been growing organic for twelve years, and were certified seven years ago. The Freys had the first winery that produced wine from organic grapes on a commercial level. I grew up with them and when I decided to grow grapes they were right there. Although the grape market is peaking now and is going to flatten out eventually, I believe I'll always have a home for my fruit. People producing organic wines can't find enough organically grown grapes, so I feel I am guaranteeing my market. Other local vineyards are turning in the organic direction now also.

This year we planted red clover, vetch, and oat as cover crops in the vineyard. We hand-seed the cover crop. Unless you have a French plow or weed knife to get in between the grapes, it's really hard to keep the weeds under control. The clover is a nitrogen carrier, and aids in choking out the star thistle, which is a real problem here. Organic growing takes a lot more cultivating, and although you don't have the clean, pretty rows of weedless grapes, you do have a healthier soil.

We hire two people for pruning, and Frey brings in their crew to take fruit off the vine during harvest. My life is a lot easier during the harvest season.

I think women have always played a big role in the farming industry, whether in preparing what's been produced or tending to the vegetable garden. They have always worked hand-in-hand with the men in their lives, whether they were ranchers or farmers.

Trees
Nancy Fiers, Laytonville
Mountain Maples

I have a specialty nursery at 3800 feet located seven and a half miles up Spy Rock Road. From our ridge, you can see the ocean, which is about twenty miles away as the crow flies, and at the end of spring you can still see snow on the Yolla Bolly Wilderness Mountains. It's really quite dramatic and beautiful. Mountain Maples grew out of my desire to be able to live on this beautiful land. I grow and sell deciduous trees, Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) and Beech (Fagus sylvatica), mostly by mail-order. We grow over 200 cultivars of Japanese Maples and fifteen other species of Asian Maples that we send all over the United States and occasionally to specialty growers in other parts of the world. As propagators, we begin with the seeds, the scions and the rootstalk. Producing the trees is only part of my work. I am also involved in educating the public about the beauty of Japanese maples, selling the trees, and collecting the money so that I can continue my work.

In my Pacific Rim woodland rock garden, I incorporate a lot of the local wildflowers and beautiful sub-shrubs among the Maples and more typical alpine-type plantings.

The Maples do beautifully all over Mendocino County, although inland they need a little bit more shade, and on the coast they need protection from wind. These small garden trees grow from three feet to as high as thirty-five feet tall, and come in various colors from red to green to pink. Most of our customers have small lots and use these special trees to accent their gardens.

We prefer that the people who come to visit have an appointment. The best time is Friday through Monday. We are very remote and have only had PG&E for the past year and a half. Before that, our electricity was solar powered and we pumped our water with a generator.

Our customers include gardeners, landscapers and bonsai enthusiasts. Most of them find us either by word of mouth or through our advertisements in Fine Gardening and Horticulture magazines. We also receive exposure through our participation in the San Francisco Landscape Garden Show, the Eureka Landscape Garden Show, the Golden State Bonsai Show, the Northwest Bonsai Show, some smaller shows and local community events. We are present in several places on the Internet, in the gardening malls, VirtualGarden, GardenNet, Bay Area Gardener and several bonsai sites; soon we will have our own home page with our catalog available on-line as well as in print.

We are a growing business. Our first catalog came out in 1990, and a year and a half ago we hired our first full-time help. I run the nursery with my husband Don, my nursery manager, Marcy Miller, and her partner Billy Cole. My daughter-in-law, Adena, travels to shows with me. We are a quintessential small-time family business.

Rare Conifer Foundation/Living Forest Foundation
Susan Snowe Mayginnes

The Rare Conifer Foundation is now in the process of changing its name to "Living Forest Foundation." We are a non-profit organization focused on preserving endangered species of conifers and teaching people to have a harmonious relationship with the Earth and each other. We want to bring a level of consciousness to the environmental movement that enriches human relationships and harnesses our collective intelligence and creativity.

Of the 650 species of conifers on Earth, about one-third are in danger. We are growing about 350 species of conifers on our property in the mountains above Potter Valley. The temperate forests aren't being given much attention, and have been mostly destroyed. We have participated and supported field study and research in Earthwatch expeditions to these forests in North and South America, Taiwan, Japan, China and Eastern Europe.

We collect seeds from species in peril in their native habitats. From the nursery site, we make seeds and seedlings available to arboretums and to others interested in conservation. We are in also in the process of setting up conservation orchards. Among the rare trees we are growing here are the Tibetan Pine (Pinus bhutanica var. tibetica), the only specimen outside its eastern Tibetan habitat, and the Sahara Cypress (Cupressus dupreziana) from the Algerian Sahara. Our conservation orchard of these cypress is the only one we know of in the world.

On our expedition to Chile in collaboration with Fundacion Lahuen, we brought back seeds from the ancient forests of the Monkey Puzzle Tree, (Araucaria araucana). In the Patagonia Andes we hiked for days looking for the last old-growth groves of Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), only to see it packed out on the backs of people and horses in the form of shingles. It was like going to a tree cemetery. It was devastating. Nothing was left. We now have seeds in our seed bank, and about forty seedlings of the Alerce and fifty seedlings of the Monkey Puzzle Tree.

Our initial reaction to the condition of the forests was anger. But being angry just compounds the problem. At whom should we be angry? The people packing out the wood, who are trying to make a few dollars to feed their families? The companies that buy it? The government, for not protecting the groves? The economies of third-world countries? Blaming is not the answer. People have been angry and blaming each other for thousands of years, and this hasn't solved anything yet. The economic system we have works for about one billion of the 5.7 billion people on the planet. Most of the rest are just trying to survive, and about two billion are seeking improved standards of living--better food, health, education and business. Can we say they can't have it? However, it is clear that if they try to achieve economic success using the same practices we did, we will not be able to sustain the planet. We have to do something different.

To get polarized groups to some kind of resolution, they have to listen to each other in an extra-ordinary way--what we call "generous listening." Most people think they know how to listen, and they actually don't. Loggers and environmentalists represent a classic polarity, where people feel their point isn't being heard. To compound things, lives and jobs are at stake. You don't come to a solution by just more strongly advocating your position. You also have to care about the other person's position. You'd be surprised at what can happen. When people feel cared about, they open up to hear your position, they open to other possibilities, and work in partnership for creative solutions. We've been doing this with groups, and it really works. They rapidly resolve problems that have been long-standing. We are interested in igniting people's loving, creative spirit so they can build the necessary relationships to do business in a way that makes a remarkable difference in the health of the planet and the quality of life for all of us.

Landscaping
Susie Meier, Ukiah
Evergreen Gardenworks

In our landscaping business, Brent and I wanted to help people create low-maintenance gardens so they could enjoy being in their gardens more. Using the "right plant, right place" approach, we set about collecting specimens that were the desirable size, color, and shape for a specific location. As our collection grew, we decided it might be more fun to grow these unusual plants ourselves. We needed to support our collecting habit, so we began cultivating plants for nursery stock and developed a site on North Oak Street in Ukiah as a retail nursery outlet.

Our nursery is unique. We have many plants in the ground so a customer can see what a plant will look like as it grows bigger than the four-inch or one-gallon pot they buy. I move the displays around a lot to show off whatever is in bloom or interesting at the moment. It's nice to watch people come in here and enjoy the beauty. We have lots of interesting perennials. Some are deer-and drought-resistant. Xeriscaping* is becoming very popular in places with a limited water supply and with people concerned with water conservation in general. Among our drought-tolerant plants, we offer a wide variety of sizes, colors and foliage. I am always on the lookout for interesting and unusual plants for my customers. It has been rewarding and fun to be involved with interactive landscape design with people who want to do their own work but need ideas. Some of the local professional landscapers consult with us and incorporate our plants into their work. It's a great combination.

It has been rewarding to be involved with the community, and to be influential in changing many people's gardening tastes by exposing them to our ideas and plants. I have been active in the Ukiah Farmers Market for the past few years, have been designing garden areas at the MCAVN (Mendocino County AIDS Volunteer Network) house, and am looking forward to creating a greater market for some of the local artisans who make garden-appropriate items such as fountains, gates, sculpture, planters and pots.

* Xeriscape (pronounced ZIR-i-scape) is a patented name that stands for water-conserving landscapes. Xeri' means "dry", derived from xeros, the Greek word for "dry," and 'scape means "vista." Other terms synonymous with "Xeriscape" include waterwise and water-efficient landscaping.

Pam Callaghan, Boonville
Organic Garden Maintenance Planning

I moved to Mendocino County from the San Francisco Bay Area in 1992. I still work there part-time doing landscape maintenance, consulting and design. My business there is called Good Life Ventures.

I started doing landscape maintenance in organics in 1986, and now I'm able to convince more people to forego the pesticides and live with a few bugs. That's really fun. In the city I meet with clients, talk with gardeners, do garden inspections and plant brokering, and oversee projects. Most of the installations I work on are showplaces that have to be in bloom twelve months of the year. These gardens all use organic materials. I spend a lot of time getting plants from nurseries, since most of the people I work for don't have the patience to wait for their vegetables to grow.

I love what I'm doing. It was wonderful to get away from the rat race in the city, and live in this county where life is so much more relaxed. I can spend more time outside and with family and friends, and I can still do plenty of cultural things since I work in the Bay Area. I have the best of all worlds.

I do my business in the city and write up plans and reports at my office in Boonville. My management plans are like a book—a cross-referenced garden-maintenance manual for the homeowner and gardener to refer to. Then they don't need me to come in as often to tell them what to do. Once a project is done (this can take up to several years), I may be called in monthly, quarterly or once a year. This varies according to the site and the gardener.

Part of my job is to take responsibility. I don't want clients yelling at gardeners. If something isn't right, I take the flak. That's what I get paid the big bucks for. It has taken me years to get to the point of handling the energy. This is a wonderful place we live in if we treat each other with respect.

Rella, Fort Bragg
Simply Succulent

I've been groovin' on plants since I was three years old. At five, my dad built me a veggie and fruit stand, which I never staffed. I wrote a little note about how people could leave me money in my can, and they did. It paid for my first-through eighth-grade tuition in parochial school. Now I've come full-circle and I have a stand again--at the Farmers Market.

I grow succulents. I like the soft edge. Succulents endure; they have pizazz; they're global. Succulents exist all around the world--on mountaintops, deserts, grasslands, even in the Central American forest canopies. Being a poor gypsy, I can travel without ever leaving my nursery. Some succulents are flamboyant; some are ordinary. Some representatives are grand, being over fifty feet tall, while some mature succulents are not bigger than a thumbnail.

Here are two examples: Sempervivum (commonly called "Hens and Chicks") grow well and their needs are few. They require good drainage, but they are generally pest-free, can tolerate heat or cold, heavy rain, drought or fog. They are an excellent choice in a rock garden but a very bad choice for a house plant. Haworthias, on the other hand, are native to South African grasslands. They can tolerate high heat but dislike bright sunlight. An indoor setting is perfect (provided it is not a southern exposure) because their light needs to be filtered.

Over fifty plant families have succulent members. Their world is full of variety and beauty. It's a joy for me to have a small business growing the plants that I love.

Eleanor Lewallen
Mendocino Sea Vegetables

Ever since I was a very little girl I have always loved the ocean. We lived in North Hollywood where it was really hot. When I was five or six, we went to a beautiful beach. Later at home, I started dancing in front of my mother saying, "Look mama, I'm the ocean." She said, "Yes! You are the ocean."

My life as a sea vegetable harvester has given me hundreds of hours in the tidepools. My husband John and I have been harvesting sea vegetables since 1980. I was pregnant with Shanti the summer we started, and Rebecca was still five. We would leave the house 4:30-5:30 a.m. The low tide 50 minutes later each day, and it's important to be there when the tide is low and to go with hope and patience. It's a challenge to get up so early, drive an hour to the ocean, but it's also wonderful. The sea vegetables we harvest include Nori, Wakami, Kombu, Sea Palm Fronds and a number of exotics like Fucus. Some years we also get Mendocino Dulse. It's the first to be ready for harvest, but if it's still rainy, it can't be dried it properly. Each kind of sea vegetable has to be handled correctly so as not to destroy the plant and its ability to grow and reproduce. Each is different. You learn to tune in to the tide, the sea vegetables, their stages, the weather... As the summer comes and the days get longer, we know when they are ready to be harvested.

In 1980, when we began this work, I attended the hearing opposing offshore oil drilling. I was dressed in white and almost nine months pregnant and also was carrying a large white bag of dry seaweed. It was like I was carrying two big precious white bags. I was hesitant to speak, not knowing if what I would say could make a difference. Back then people said they were "fighting oil drilling" but I said "I am protecting the ocean" and I created the term "Ocean Protection." I was one of the five founding members of the Ocean Protection Coalition. We've protected the ocean from oil development, from the disposal of old radioactive submarine engines and from mineral mining from the ocean floors. Numerous times I went as a citizen lobbyist to Sacramento and Washington D.C. and spent hours writing and speaking to prevent offshore oil development. It has been a huge challenge with lots of joy and burnout.

It's important for sea vegetables to be protected and for people to be able to harvest them. The Native American people have used Nori as a dietary staple for centuries. In Mendocino County, they deep fry it and eat it with fry bread. The Japanese they use Nori in sushi as a fast food. Nori is very high in protein and delicious. Different kinds of sea vegetables can be used in many ways, but I like them just as they are, fresh during harvest and after they've been dried.

Seaweed is also good for healing. The algin in kelp, which includes Wakame, Kombu and Sea Palm Fronds, helps to remove heavy metals and radiation from the body. It saved the lives of many Japanese when the bomb was dropped in WWII. I found out about a year ago that I had a brain tumor and that it was cancerous. This has been a challenging and really hard year. Now as I near my last chemo treatment, the MRI reveals no tumor. I hope and pray that all of the cancer cells are gone or will be soon. When I was having radiation treatments, I was told by my doctor not to eat the brown kelps, which have algin and interfere with the radiation. So I didn't. This is an amazing, awesome, irony. I did use other kinds, though.

Seaweed is very good for the skin. When my platelets are low due to the chemo, and a cut or sore won't stop bleeding, I can I use seaweed to stop the bleeding. This came from an intuition and has worked. Some seaweeds have a wonderful gel that is exquisite for the skin. We harvest two kinds specifically for the bath. When you use them in the bath, the water contains vitamins, minerals and trace elements. A local company, Borealis, uses our seaweed for their bath salts and seaweed soap.

We've been called upon to come forward and share our knowledge about sea vegetables. For instance, seaweed has trace elements that land vegetables grown in depleted soils don't have anymore. What the ocean offers is incredibly rich. Our book, Sea Vegetable Gourmet Cookbook and Wildcrafter's Guide, contains a chart listing the vitamin and mineral content in the most widely used sea vegetables. It also has over 200 recipies, information on healing with seaweed, how to harvest ecologically and essays about my love of the ocean and about raising children in our world of sea vegetables.

I'm thankful to be alive, and so grateful to be here in Mendocino County as a mother, sea vegetable harvester and a lover of this holy place.

As all of the world's oceans are connected, so are our lives. Eleanor