We are hand-scale market growers of flowers, vegetables and fruits serving the Fresno community since 1996. Our principle outlet is the Vineyard Farmers Market on the northwest corner of Shaw and Blackstone in Fresno open Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons year around. We also participate seasonally in other markets in Fresno-Madera area.
Our growing practice includes a no-tillage, permanent mulch system. Tillage destroys soil organic matter which has roughly become halved in agricultural soils since they came under the plow in the early 1900s. Our practice of accepting grass clippings and leaves from two landscape maintenance gardeners and applying this material to our growing beds has restored our soil's organic content to well beyond what it probably was originally. This benefits the greater community in two ways: one is that it has kept many, many tons of valuable organic material out of landfills and the other is that we have sequestered tons of carbon in our soil that would otherwise be in atmosphere contributing to global warming. And yes, there is a third way too: we supply the greater community with the highest quality flowers and produce available as result of growing them in the mineral rich and biologically diverse soil that develops under our permanently mulched beds.
Our philosophy includes modeling our farm, our beds and our work on natural systems such as whole organisms [as trees or human beings] or communities of organisms such as forests or woodlands. This philosophy is outlined in General Systems Theory [search] as it was given to science by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the 1940s and popularized by physicist-philosopher Fritjof Capra. A major feature of this philosophy is the principle of self-organization that springs from biological complexity and relives us of the burden of the continuous management and chemical interventions required in the operation of factory farms. More on this can be found on our website at http://www.wholesystemsag.org.
Each year we grow more than a hundred kinds of flowers and vegetables all mixed together among a growing number of woody trees and shrubs that bear fruit, fix nitrogen, cycle nutrients, host birds and beneficial insects and ameliorate moisture and temperature. For the 2006 growing season we have seeded 12 species of acacia and a number of brooms and other woody shrubs that take nitrogen from the air and, when cut and used as mulch, make it available to our flowers and vegetables. We expect to be offering some of these woody nitrogen fixers along with the variety of flowering and vegetable plants we sell at the market. This work is taking "sustainability" well beyond the concepts and practices with which the word is ordinarily associated and we consider ourselves at the leading edge of sustainable agriculture.
In 2002, Permaculture's co-originator David Holmgren published a book, "Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability" with which we strongly identify. We practice all of the 12 principles discussed in his book and are pleased to be associated with the Permaculture movement. A theme that runs through Mr. Holmgren's book is the coming decline in energy availability that will follow "peak oil" [search] and how the practice of permaculture can mitigate the decline in the material standard of living that is sure to result from this pivotal event. We are pleased to share our practices with the public--home gardeners, people interested in self-sufficiency and food security--without charge on the internet. Our research and our work is supported solely through our sales at farmers markets.
Our growing practice includes a no-tillage, permanent mulch system. Tillage destroys soil organic matter which has roughly become halved in agricultural soils since they came under the plow in the early 1900s. Our practice of accepting grass clippings and leaves from two landscape maintenance gardeners and applying this material to our growing beds has restored our soil's organic content to well beyond what it probably was originally. This benefits the greater community in two ways: one is that it has kept many, many tons of valuable organic material out of landfills and the other is that we have sequestered tons of carbon in our soil that would otherwise be in atmosphere contributing to global warming. And yes, there is a third way too: we supply the greater community with the highest quality flowers and produce available as result of growing them in the mineral rich and biologically diverse soil that develops under our permanently mulched beds.
Our philosophy includes modeling our farm, our beds and our work on natural systems such as whole organisms [as trees or human beings] or communities of organisms such as forests or woodlands. This philosophy is outlined in General Systems Theory [search] as it was given to science by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the 1940s and popularized by physicist-philosopher Fritjof Capra. A major feature of this philosophy is the principle of self-organization that springs from biological complexity and relives us of the burden of the continuous management and chemical interventions required in the operation of factory farms. More on this can be found on our website at http://www.wholesystemsag.org.
Each year we grow more than a hundred kinds of flowers and vegetables all mixed together among a growing number of woody trees and shrubs that bear fruit, fix nitrogen, cycle nutrients, host birds and beneficial insects and ameliorate moisture and temperature. For the 2006 growing season we have seeded 12 species of acacia and a number of brooms and other woody shrubs that take nitrogen from the air and, when cut and used as mulch, make it available to our flowers and vegetables. We expect to be offering some of these woody nitrogen fixers along with the variety of flowering and vegetable plants we sell at the market. This work is taking "sustainability" well beyond the concepts and practices with which the word is ordinarily associated and we consider ourselves at the leading edge of sustainable agriculture.
In 2002, Permaculture's co-originator David Holmgren published a book, "Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability" with which we strongly identify. We practice all of the 12 principles discussed in his book and are pleased to be associated with the Permaculture movement. A theme that runs through Mr. Holmgren's book is the coming decline in energy availability that will follow "peak oil" [search] and how the practice of permaculture can mitigate the decline in the material standard of living that is sure to result from this pivotal event. We are pleased to share our practices with the public--home gardeners, people interested in self-sufficiency and food security--without charge on the internet. Our research and our work is supported solely through our sales at farmers markets.
Listing last updated on
Jan 21, 2025
Market Channels
You can find us at:
Schedule and Location:
Vineyard Farmers Market
100 West Shaw Avenue [NW corner at Blackstone
Fresno, CA
Saturdays, 7am to noon. Wednesdays 3pm to 6.
Upcoming Events
No Events on File
The Vineyard Farmers Market is open year around on the northwest corner of Shaw and Blackstone under the arbor behind the eyeglass store. Days and hours: Saturdays 7am to noon. Wednesdays 3pm to 6.