HappyDay: ‘Like All Things in Life, Balance is Key’

Casey O’Neill is a cannabis and food farmer in Mendocino County who has been writing newsletters about his efforts to provide sustainable produce and marijuana. We feature his column once a week.

One of the glorious things about where we live is the intermittent nature of weather in the late fall and winter.  Rain interspersed with periods of dry and sunny weather makes good opportunity for getting infrastructure and maintenance projects done while providing plenty of downtime for recharge, planning and organizing toolsheds.  Now that the ground has softened and the cover crop is all sown, we can begin the trenching and other infrastructure work that we weren’t able to get to in the spring.

      Farming is one long series of projects, all moving at different speeds and on different courses.  From water systems to fences to soil-building and the growing of crops, there is a varied tapestry of work to be done.  There is also a wide array of skills that are developed over time and with experience.  Like anything in life, the more you practice the better you get.

       Each year we refine our methods based on observation and new information.  As we age we begin to focus more on making the tasks easier, upgrading equipment and infrastructure as we are able.

      In the early days of the farm we were focused on being human-powered and operating without mechanical equipment except the quad for moving compost.  As time has gone on and both the wear-and-tear on our bodies and our knowledge has increased, we have slowly gathered tools and implements that will make tasks easier.  There comes a limit to physical strength and stamina that we are coming to understand as we age and look towards the long-haul of a life on the farm.

      The right types of hoes and plant spacings make weeding easier, though we still have a long way to go with weed control.  We are struggling with the deep rooted perennial weeds like mallow and comfrey, but also harvesting them as forage for chickens and rabbits.  We are trying to find the balance between perennials that require little maintenance with our system of rapid-rotation annuals crops that provide for market and CSA.

      With the advent of our first tractor last year, we cut our time and effort for moving compost way down, which makes bed prep and the overall flow of the farm much more efficient. Being able to do road maintenance is a huge help and the attachment for forks makes loading and unloading heavy things not require the strain on our backs.  Trenching in water lines and other digging becomes easier (so long as there is space for the tractor and the slope isn’t too steep).

      Over the years we went from cutting all the cover crop by hand and forking in the residue to using a BCS walk-behind tractor to flail mow and drop the plant residue on the bed surface.  The machine is small and maneuverable enough to operate on our steep slope and narrow terraces and has a PTO that can run different implements. The power harrow attachment creates soil contact with the chopped plant matter, hastening decomposition.   Utilizing silage tarps to cover the beds for a few weeks helps to germinate and kill weed seeds so that there is less work in crop maintenance.

       Using the tarps also lets us make use of the intermittent sunny periods during the wet season.  Whether the tarp stays for a matter of weeks or for a couple months matters not, giving us flexibility to plant the space when we are ready.  Instead of having to wait for the weather and being behind if it is a wet spring, we are able to make use of those times in late winter when the spring itch to get going has begun.

       We do the full prep (mow, compost, amend as needed, broadfork, harrow and lay the drip back down) on a sunny day and then cover with the plastic.  The soil organisms will break down the cover crop and the soil will be ready for planting at the time of our choosing without the problem of leaching from rainfall.  The terraced slope works well for keeping rainfall out of the raised beds that are covered, absorbing into the uncovered beds and pathways to recharge the water table.

      There is a necessary balance between desire to get ahead of the prep work and allowance for full growth of the cover crop, so we wait as long as we can before getting going.  Working backward from when we want to plant, we ready the rows that will be used for early veggies first, working our way through spring crops and seed-grown cannabis until we finish planting clones and summer crops in June.  The two weeks around winter and summer solstices mark the downbeat before prepping and planting for the upcoming seasons begins.

      Farming is a balance of living in the present, feeling the sun or rain on our faces, while preparing for whatever season is next in the rotation of life.  Juxtaposing present and future keeps things interesting but is also a knife-edge that can stray off into anxiety.  Poor planning (not enough thinking about the future) makes things hectic and stressful.  Too much thinking about the future makes us lose the beauty of the moment and the essential kernel that powers the work.  Like all things in life, balance is key.  As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!