Flying Disc Ranch

People
Robert Lower, Pedro and Carolina Medina, Eric and Ian Lower, Adolfo Ramirez, and Christina Kelso
Farmland
11 acres in Thermal, about 525 miles to San Francisco
About
Robert bought his property in 1979 from Ben and Patricia Laflin, of Laflin Date Gardens, one of the original date producers in California. Robert cleared the land, installed irrigation, and planted over 500 palms. The ranch has become a tropical fruit forest interplanted with citrus, aloe vera, figs, guava, and mango. Robert farms using “observation, adaptation, and accident.” He and Christina got their Permaculture Design Certificates in 2010, although Robert has always grown in this style. Anyone who has visited Flying Disc Ranch might appreciate Ben Laflin, Jr. oft cited quote: “A well-kept date garden is a majestic sight.”