The weather is much better today, which should make for great butterfly activity in and around the house- stop by and see us!
Also, on Saturday, June 28th, starting at 9AM, Neil Bertrando (the owner of our site) will be giving a tour of his entire property, which will include the butterfly hoop house, but will also be much more, as he’ll discuss how his site is integrated into the surrounding landscape, as well as a detailed tour of the permaculture design elements all around the property. A longer description is below; this is sure to be a great time packed full of cool information and ideas. More information details are below. Hope to see you there!
Join us for a tour of Steppe One Farm, the home of Neil and Katie Bertrando, this Saturday, June 28th, from 9-11 am. Steppe One Farm is a developing agroforestry based homestead ecosystem that was planned using the Permaculture and Keyline Design systems. It is located 10.5 miles North of the Truckee River in Lemmon Valley, the terminal basin watershed that feeds Swan Lake, at 413 Matterhorn Blvd. Reno, NV 89506. Directions Here
With Neil as tour guide, the group will explore the food forest, windbreaks, alley crop, animal systems, and more. We’ll look at the beneficial linkages between these systems, including strategies for water harvesting and conservation, irrigation, soil building and fertility cycling, plant selection and spacing, integrated pest management, accelerating succession, season extension, and phased implementation.
You’ll also get a chance to check out the Butterfly House and interpretive trail developed in collaboration with Nevada Bugs and Butterflies. The Butterfly House is stocked with all Native Butterflies and lots of flowering and food producing plants. It embodies the practical application of a main goal of Steppe One Farm: to demonstrate the potential synergy created when agriculture is designed to mimic nature. The hoophouse itself is mobile and adapted from designs by Eliot Coleman and plans at Johhny’s Seeds (http://www.johnnyseeds.com/assets/information/7000movecattunnelbendermanual.pdf). We’re excited to share our experience with this system and many others around the site.
Because the Butterfly House has open hours starting at 10 am, parking will be a little tricky. We’re asking you to help us stay organized and to meet both your needs and those of others. If you show up for the tour and plan to stay for the whole thing, please park in the roundabout driveway or along the road on the South Fenceline. You can also park on Fir St. on the North boundary of the site if you want to be able to leave at any time. Please be careful walking on Matterhorn Blvd. because people tend to drive very fast on weekends.
It will likely be hot and sunny, so please be prepared and bring your preference of tools to foster a comfortable and hydrated experience: for example, a sun hat, water bottle, and sunblock. We do have red harvester ants as on-site residents, so closed toed shoes are recommended.
We’ll also have Loping Coyote Farms’ nursery plants for sale. Some of the plants we currently have in stock are several varieties of Fruiting Mulberries, Yellow Cornelian Cherry, Purple Cherokee Tomatoes, Culinary Sage, Red Valerian, Comfrey, Creeping and Varico 2 Thyme, Hyssop, Dyer’s Chamomile, Ginko biloba (male and female), Sylvetta, Gold Button Yarrow, and Lemon balm. Most herbs and vegetables are $5 each and most trees are $20 each. We are also offering 5 mixed herbs or veggies for $20.
RSVPs are appreciated. To RSVP, email neilbertrando (at) gmail.comWe hope you’ll join us to enjoy the abundant colors, aromas, flavors, and sounds that enrich our lives in the high desert at the beginning of Summer.
With Gratitude,
Loping Coyote Farms and RT Permaculture
