"They were members of the local Wilson 4-H club and that legacy continued when JoAnn raised her own family there. "My daughters both had dairy projects," she said. "They were in the replacement heifer program where they raised dairy calves and sold them at the fair. So that was two generations right there at the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Fairs. We had a really wonderful time. We have wonderful neighbors and we're still here on Chapman Lane.""
"Beginning of the farm JoAnn and her husband, Richard, inherited the farm from her parents in 2000 and considered planting something that would beautify the place, like grapes. But then she discovered something even better. She learned that lavender was drought tolerant and gophers aren't interested in it. They put in 500 lavender plants and now they maintain around 3,000. Richard had also decided to try his hand at keeping honey bees, and they"
Petaluma's Lavender Bee Farm on Chapman Lane is a multigenerational family farm owned by JoAnn and Richard Wallenstein, originally purchased by JoAnn's parents in 1947. The farm evolved from vegetable and large-scale chicken operations into a lavender and bee enterprise after the Wallensteins inherited the property in 2000. The couple planted an initial 500 lavender plants and expanded to about 3,000, choosing lavender for drought tolerance and gopher resistance. The farm maintains strong community roots through 4-H and fair projects across generations, with JoAnn's daughters participating in dairy and heifer programs, fostering continuity and neighborly ties.
Read at The Mercury News
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