About the Ranch
Austin Heritage Fruit Ranch is a small family owned and operated farm located in the mountains of Sonoma County, California. We specialize in heirloom and unique varieties of stone fruits, apples and pears, and grow a small amount of many other fruit and nut trees. The preservation of biodiversity, protection of surrounding ecosystems and overall environmental stewardship are at the forefront of our agricultural philosophy, making our agricultural practices more environmentally sustainable than those of USDA organic mandated standards.
We love biodiversity!
Though our orchard spans only 3.5 acres, it is so highly diversified that we have trees producing fruit throughout every season of the year. This diversity supports a natural ecosystem that mono-crop conventional agriculture can't compete with. Our practices support pollinator and wildlife habitat and we use those ecosystem services to our advantage, rather than attempting to control or eliminate them. While most orchards have to pay for bee keepers for pollination services, the richness of our orchard's biodiversity attracts all of the natural pollinators needed for the growing season. Moreover, since we avoid pesticide application, our local honey bees are free to use our orchard as a habitat safe from chemical threats. We are proud that our orchard has created an environment that is safe and welcoming for wild Sonoma County honey bees, and we are happy to see them actively pollinating our orchard every year!
Our attention to biodiversity is also a key pest management strategy at Austin Heritage Fruit Ranch. The orchard's biodiversity richness limits the proliferation of common agricultural pests. For example, a conventional mono-crop of lettuce is essentially a salad bar for pests like aphids and various types of caterpillars, with acres and acres of these insect's favorite food. When farmers break up mono-crop systems and introduce a variety of plant species, the previously mentioned food chain is disrupted and a diversity of beneficial insects and pests begin to filter into the system. This creates an ecosystem that is more self sustainable. Pests are controlled by beneficial insects at a sustainable level and do not have free-range to completely eradicate any one particular crop. This is a more natural kind of agriculture, as mono-crops do no exist in nature.
A vibrant fruit orchard in the middle of the Sonoma County mountains; producing high quality fruits of nearly every variety! Come see us at the Hieldsburg Farmer's Market on Saturdays!
Austin Heritage Fruit Ranch is a small family owned and operated farm located in the mountains of Sonoma County, California. We specialize in heirloom and unique varieties of stone fruits, apples and pears, and grow a small amount of many other fruit and nut trees. The preservation of biodiversity, protection of surrounding ecosystems and overall environmental stewardship are at the forefront of our agricultural philosophy, making our agricultural practices more environmentally sustainable than those of USDA organic mandated standards.
We love biodiversity!
Though our orchard spans only 3.5 acres, it is so highly diversified that we have trees producing fruit throughout every season of the year. This diversity supports a natural ecosystem that mono-crop conventional agriculture can't compete with. Our practices support pollinator and wildlife habitat and we use those ecosystem services to our advantage, rather than attempting to control or eliminate them. While most orchards have to pay for bee keepers for pollination services, the richness of our orchard's biodiversity attracts all of the natural pollinators needed for the growing season. Moreover, since we avoid pesticide application, our local honey bees are free to use our orchard as a habitat safe from chemical threats. We are proud that our orchard has created an environment that is safe and welcoming for wild Sonoma County honey bees, and we are happy to see them actively pollinating our orchard every year!
Our attention to biodiversity is also a key pest management strategy at Austin Heritage Fruit Ranch. The orchard's biodiversity richness limits the proliferation of common agricultural pests. For example, a conventional mono-crop of lettuce is essentially a salad bar for pests like aphids and various types of caterpillars, with acres and acres of these insect's favorite food. When farmers break up mono-crop systems and introduce a variety of plant species, the previously mentioned food chain is disrupted and a diversity of beneficial insects and pests begin to filter into the system. This creates an ecosystem that is more self sustainable. Pests are controlled by beneficial insects at a sustainable level and do not have free-range to completely eradicate any one particular crop. This is a more natural kind of agriculture, as mono-crops do no exist in nature.
A vibrant fruit orchard in the middle of the Sonoma County mountains; producing high quality fruits of nearly every variety! Come see us at the Hieldsburg Farmer's Market on Saturdays!