OUR STORY AND MISSION
Sweetwater Heritage Farm is owned and operated by Taylor and Tiffany Arnone in Agua Dulce, California. Meeting each other while earning degrees in music, they dated, married, and bought a small house on a few acres an hour outside of busy Los Angeles.
Together, they are on a journey regenerating and restoring a dusty old ranch to a fertile and abundant farm using the principles and practices of regenerative agriculture.
The Land
The property was clean and quaint for ranch-style living, but the well was low and the soil was dead and as hard as cement. Anything that was planted and survived, was eaten by rabbits, gophers, and squirrels. So began a two year long journey of starting over. Trees were cut down, fence lines and pens were moved, and eventually the two farmers were starting from scratch, from the soil up.
The Animals
Puppies came first, followed by a pair of goats, a small flock of chickens, our first herd of sheep, more chickens, and after that animals just seemed to just walk on (or ride home in Taylor's truck). Each animal on the farm has a purpose. Sheep create the nitrogen rich manure, the chickens mix up the manure with table and yard scraps and are also on bug patrol, the barn cats are the rodent control, the goats are for enjoyment and more manure, and the dogs protect everyone from the coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, hawks, and anyone else who wants to eat our animals.
The Orchard
The first batch of trees were planted on December 2019 in a permaculture orchard trio setup, coined by permaculture orchardist Stefan Sobkowiak. The orchard follows a "NAP" sequence of Nitrogen fixing tree, Apple tree, and then a Plum, Peach, or Pear tree. This pattern is repeated both horizontally and vertically. The key for us is biodiversity and using nature as our pattern. Our orchard is a polyculture (multiple species and cultivars of trees mixed together) whereas commonplace are vast rows of the same species and same cultivars, or a moloculture. In the world's forests, trees, shrubs, and other plants are intermingled and live off of a symbiotic relationship with each other. There are no natural "orchards" with rows and rows of the same fruit of the same cultivar found in nature.
Solutions and Design Based on Nature's Design
Sweetwater Heritage Farm does not use pesticides, harsh chemicals, or poisons. We believe there is a natural or organic solution for every pest and problem.
Coyote problem? - Guard dogs.
Rodent Problem? - Cats
Soil Deficiencies? - Compost Worms
Caterpillar Problem? - Native Birds
Fruit Pest Problem? - NAP pattern where pests for one tree are trapped on an island with no other tree of that species next to it.
Here at Sweetwater Heritage Farm, we are in the growing stages, still learning, trying new things, observing what works, and learning from our failures. We want to know where our food comes from and have a connection to it and share that with the next generation. Our goal is to grow healthy, nutritious, organic food and share our journey, experiences, and food with others.
MEET THE FARMERS
Taylor Arnone
Taylor runs a set of sound stages for television and commercials in Los Angeles. He is a California native who grew up in the suburbs but loved spending free time outside gardening, hiking, hunting, and raising animals, always managing to bring home new ones as pets. His dream was to end up retiring on a ranch and having a garden, but never imagined he would find himself owning and running a farm with his wife in their twenties.
Tiffany Arnone
Tiffany is a private piano and flute teacher, accompanist, and musician in the Los Angeles area. She was born in Australia, but moved frequently with her family who were missionaries. In 2011, she came to the States for college where she met and eventually married Taylor and moved to Agua Dulce, California.
While Tiffany is a musician by trade, her mornings are spent feeding and watering the animals, collecting eggs, and making sure the lambs and goats have quality cuddling time each Spring.
