One of my favorite local shops is The Beverage People, in Santa Rosa. With harvest season getting underway here in Sonoma County, you might want to check them out for ideas on what to do with some of your bounty.
The store is known for its stock of supplies for home wine and beer makers…you [...]

Western Farm Center is a feed store right in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square area…handy for all you urban homesteaders in town, and worth the drive for many more of us.

Established over 40 years ago as an animal feed store, they have an impressive variety of supplies for pet owners and permies alike:
Western Farm Center [...]

Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center is on my must-visit list for the peninsula. I’ll bet their demonstration garden is fantastic!
Check out these great classes and events, plant starts, and seeds by packet or teaspoon. And their web site includes helpful information like vegetable planting companions and a planting calendar.
Common Ground [...]

Did you know that Sonoma has a new seed company this year? The Sustainable Seed Company in Monte Rio is taking orders and has a fantastic selection of heirloom vegetable, herb, grain, flower and cover crop seeds and supplies.
Sustainable Seed Company was founded by Farmer John, who’s also known for founding the online community [...]

Beekeeping, or “apiculture”, is at least as old as the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. In permaculture, they’re an example of a feature that neatly stacks functions: they produce delicious honey, useful wax, and are incredibly useful pollinators. Keeping bees seems like a daunting task, but there’s a store in Sebastopol that can help: [...]

Most locals probably already know about Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery, north of Sebastopol on Rt. 116, just after Graton Road. It’s a wonderful local resource for plants, seeds, irrigation needs, books, and other farm and garden supplies.
In addition to the usual plants and supplies you’ll find at other nurseries, Harmony stocks items you [...]

At the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, about halfway between Petaluma and Sebastopol, you can see the Permie proverbs “The problem is the solution” and “Waste = Food” put into action. I love the dump!
The dump is one of my favorite places to shop…that’s right, shop. That’s because there are two sub-agencies within [...]