The Farm

The design of the landscape and garden is integrated with the design of the house to blur the boundaries between inside and outside, using large windows and wide bi-fold doors to open up large expanses of the walls. The landscaping is also important in making the home carbon neutral by producing oxygen to offset the greenhouse gases from the small amount of natural gas that will be used in the kitchen and for backing up the hot water system when necessary. The hardscape areas and driveway are also designed to reduce storm water runoff by slowing the flow rate, and redirecting it to landscaped areas.

A key element of the Farrar Green home is the sustainable organic farm. The farm is intended to be relatively self sufficient, growing the majority of the fruits and vegetables required by the Farrars. A fruit stand at the corner of the property is planned in order to offer surplus garden produce to neighborhood families, reducing the need to drive to the supermarket and purchase distantly grown food.

All of the flat areas of the 2 acre property are planted with edible trees and plants. The sloped areas are planted with low maintenance, drought tolerant plants and trees. None of the trees and plants chosen produce varieties of produce that are found in local supermarkets. Instead, the Farrars (members of the California Rare Fruit Growers Association (link to http://www.crfg.org) have selected unusual and heritage varieties. The number of varieties planted is maximized by grafting multiple varieties of fruits on single trunks. They have also planted early, mid, and late season tree varieties in the same hole to provide additional varieties and lengthen the harvest.

The farm includes a wide variety of fruit trees, fruiting vines and berries. Plans also include a vegetable garden, herb garden, and even a tea garden. Unusual and heritage varieties of fruits and vegetables have been chosen so that the varieties of foods that are grown include those that are not commonly found in supermarkets. Some of the plantings include:

The fruit trees create a beautiful approach to the home through an orchard lining the driveway and hillside area. The landscape design attractively groups plants by water requirements to optimize the irrigation requirements and terraces the slopes to reduce water use while helping to maximize the planting area.

The Farrars have drilled a well that provides enough water to supply all the needs of the farm.  The bore hole for the Ground Source loop for the geothermal system was drilled at the same time as the well. The well pump is powered by the Farrar Green Home solar photovoltaic panels. The irrigation system is controlled by the Cortexa Smart Home System .