Knöppelåsen

501c3 non-profit specializing in educating environmental stewardship, permaculture and regenerative agriculture using CA natives.

Firescaping: Water conservation: Restoration: Conservation: CA native chaparral/arid food forest project Southern California

08/13/2026

ATTENTION!
Update on Humlan's (the humming bird) chicks that nested in our court yard. We know you absolutely shouldn't but did anyway. We named the chicks.
Buzz (female) and Woody (male). Woody was a strong flier and was out flying in the fruit trees and redshank well before Buzz. Buzz stayed in the nest another day and then flew around our courtyard trees and would sleep on the branch directly above Alex's hammock for another couple days while mom feed her. In the video this is Buzz. We can tell because when learning to fly she always sat on the branches to eat. She also comes awfully close and is much more comfortable around us than other humming birds.

Red Fairy Duster. A baja California native plant that is a absolute show stopper. An easy plant that thrives on neglect. Evergreen and a high heat loving plant. This plant wants full sun 12-16h, grows faster with temps over 85*F. This plant feeds many native bees, beneficial insects, butterflies and of course humming birds.

The fairly duster needs NO water once established. However it grows faster and puts on spectacular blooms all summer if given suplemental water. Performs well in a garden or out in the wild. Just like most legumes this plant does have some nitrogen fixing abilities but should be planted with full size in mind.
Because this plant is evergreen and comes alive in the summer the fairyduster makes a great firescaping addition.

This plant is one of the few CA native plants that CAN be planted during the summer. Must be watered once a week though.
Only time you can plant in summer is if you are on the coast, planting in the shade, or planting desert or tropical plants.

Want to live like a Disney princess surrounded by birds and critters that you cohabitate with? Plant Native. Join the FLORA MILITIA.

08/12/2026

Thank you to the Anza community! We have received another load of logs at the Country Corners pollinator garden on Barhman. Thick redshank logs. Do we see some pine logs too? These are very welcomed. Just a handful of truck loads left before we have enough to start. Keep them coming!

Reminder - if taking logs and thick branches of redshake or oak or pine or eucalyptus, etc to the dump
please bring to Country Corners pollinator garden instead. The beginning of town and initial point of interest for Knoppelasens pollinator hwy 371.

08/11/2026

Hollyleaf cherry. A keystone species (prunus species the most valuable after oaks and willows). SoCal native evergreen, forming a large bush or small tree. The currently ripe red fruit can be seen throughout the landscape and are a welcomed sight. The cherries are highly prized by wildlife and humans alike.

The edible fruit does taste like slightly sweet mild cherries although has a giant seed. Taste and sweetness are differed between plants. Also they tend to be the best tasting when they still have a little yellow blushing on fruit. They can become bitter when fully dark red.

The wild cherry leaves and bark (prunus genius) like the chokecherry (prunus virginiana) and even the hollyleaf cherry (prunus ilicifolia) was used historically to make cough syrups. The reason all those cough syrups, growing up were cherry flavored was because the medicine comes from these plants.

Hollyleaf cherry wasnt used as just a fruit but also a nut. After eating the little flesh, indigenous communities would crack open the pit to release the large kernel. The cherry kernels would be leached to remove bitterness and roasted then pounded into meal. These roasted kernels were a staple and taste just like almonds.
Infact almonds are in the prunus genius. They are most closely related to peaches. Just one is prized for the flesh the other for the seed.

The hollyleaf cherry needs NO water once established. However it will grow faster and bigger with more. They grow out of cracks of rocks, love slopes, full sun and dry/tough conditions. Evergreen through the summer making it a green firebreak, a firescaping must have.
Tip: plant one or 3 or 10. Allow squirrels, Coyotes, scrub Jays and all other creatures continue your forestry management by planting more, further into neighbors yards and beyond.

08/09/2026

Buckwheats. A common sight across California and a foundation to the landscape. They are a a keystone species and are some of the most important plants according to butterfly expert Dr. Gorden Pratt.

Here are pictures of a few varieties at Knoppelasen. they come in many different shapes and sizes but feed our ecosystems all the same. Annual buckwheat, common CA buckwheat, sulfer buckwheat, naked stem buckwheat, and giant buckwheat.

A pollinator powerhouse. They feed countless native bees, beneficial insects and butterflies including the endangered chino checkerspot (which has one of the last refuges in the Anza area). Birdfeeders.
Critical nesting and shelter for many small mammals, reptiles and insects.

They are a colonizer plant and take over barren soil to build the soil for the next succession of bigger shrubs and plants. So using the buckwheats as nurse plants you can plant many seelings or small plants in the middle of the buckwheat and they would be more protected from sun and even bunny & gopher predation.
They create endless amounts of mulch and we use them around our fruit trees as living mulch too.

They are a standout for their ability to push blooms deep into the hot dry summer. Even when the blooms fade from pink/white to rust red they offer contrast and visual aesthetics as well as continued habitat.

Buckwheat need NO water once established. However with a little supplemental water in the summer they will have even longer blooms and stay greener longer adding fire resilience. They make excellent ember catchers and slow fires as long as non native grasses are cleared.
Caltrans knows the value of them as they are fantastic erosion control plants too

08/06/2026

Atriplex lentiformis. Also know as big saltbush or quailbush.
A California native plant that is like a Swiss army knife, has an array of uses and should be a part of everyone's garden. Not only is this an extremely easy and tough plant that tolerates our brutal summer sun but needs NO water once established.
A keystone species
As the name implies, this bush is a literal quail and bird feeder. As a member of the amaranth tribe it is a wild spinach so a literal human feeder too. (We used this in our wild spinach forage empanada for our twilight tapas supper)

Also as the name implies the atriplex family are great at salt mining from the soil. So if ever in need of removing salt from soil or need salt in your diet or to season your dishes, keep it nearby.

Keep them close to home, because they are so good at salt accumulation in their leaves. It makes them almost impossible to burn. When hit with flames they "melt" instead of combusting. This makes them one of the best plants for home defense against wildfires as they reduce severity.

If you thought this plant couldn't do more.
If you do happen to burn dried leaves and branches in your home fire place, then you now have ash that you mix with water and create calcium hydroxide. Natural pickling lime.
Mix with masa to make tortillas. Or use as organic white wash to protect all your fruit trees from sun scold and bark damaging pests.

Come learn more about this native plant and many fire resistant others at today's talk Landscaping for fire resilience anzafarmersmarket at 5.30pm

08/03/2026

Prickly pear fruit season is upon us. Bright red, ready to burst. Thanks Ann Rickets for the bounty. The tunas are notorious for being difficult to process. The glochids (tiny hair like spines) are worse than any of the big spines. They get everywhere including cutting boards, the skins of other fruit or unsuspecting bites of fruit, only to end up with glochids on your lips or fingers if not processed correctly.

Our perfered method is cutting the fruit off the pad let it fall into the DG corse sand. With gloves Take a handfull of sand and place on top of each tuna fully covered. Rub and roll tuna vigoursly around in the sand for 10 seconds.
Tunas can be picked up, rinsed off and processed barehanded without fear of sitting for hours with tweasers searching for glochids.
This can be done with a wooden box or bucket that you fill with sand and shake.

No part is wasted the peels of the fruit after being processed gets put into a steamer and juiced into a sweet syrup for a refreshing sparkling drink.

08/02/2026

Alexander Calapodis, one of the exhibitors at the Butterfly Expo hosted by the Temecula valley native plant network at the French Valley Library. Giving away oak seedlings (oaks support the most caterpillars) and talking about the pollinator hwy 371.

07/28/2026

Thank you for the redshank logs and branches. We put a call out for logs that can be used to line the paths at the Country Corners pollinator garden next to pizza factory. The community is answering. They all become bee/bug hotels and ecosystems in themselves. So if youre clearing your property of redshank logs, manzanita, etc for fire clearance, instead of taking to the dump please consider dropping off at front gate of pollinator garden like so.

07/27/2026

Photo dump of Twilight Garden to Table Tapas Supper. Great food, great people, great photos.

Address

32115 Temecula Pkwy
Temecula, CA
92592

Website

http://knoppelasen.org/

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