About Our Farm
Our family farm is different.
Our Land
Lane Creek Reserve is nestled along the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains, with a breathtaking view of the fierce and grounding Mount McLoughlin. We are part of the Rogue Valley which has historically been known for pear orchards, timber and agricultural production. Nowadays, The “Valley” is becoming known as the Mecca of Southern Oregon vineyards, intimate concerts at the Britt Music Festival and peak production of cannabis and industrial hemp.
Observing Our Land
Our first few years on our land were spent observing and letting go of the attachment to our plans. We learned to listen to the land and to go with what it needed and learned how to best utilize what it had to offer. We set our systems up to work with our watershed, our livestock and our garden space. Our biggest lesson has been to be malleable enough to augment the situation and to be creative in working with what our farm needs.
From the beginning, we took our time implementing infrastructural systems to stay flexible and adaptable to be able to alter those systems in the future. We took the time to gain perspective on how to best harness the land and work with it to its fullest potential. Learning the natural processes may take patience, but it’s necessary for a long term prosperous farm.
One main focus we prioritized was our water situation, and the need to irrigate paddocks for the livestock. We ran lines to the top of the property and the ridges so that our water system would be gravity-fed. Once the lines had been set and the watershed had been observed, we were able to locate the areas with heavy water retention throughout the summer, since the Rogue Valley tends to have hotter, drier growing seasons.
In these observations, we also found where the winter watershed would leach the soil of water-soluble nutrients. This information helped decide where to plant our beds, with proper irrigation and healthy soil. Observing, identifying and working with this system, we were able to begin our gardens and build our nutrient load.
At Lane Creek Reserve, we value and respect what is put in the ground, knowing our efforts will be rewarded with what is grown in return.
Our values include giving back to the community through education, sharing ideas and encouraging an expansion of knowledge to those that are just learning.
“Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you”
Wendell Berry