HappyDay: ‘Spring Comes in Waves’

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.

Spring comes in waves with the weather, ebbing and flowing as temperatures rise and fall but cycling upwards as the days lengthen and growth explodes. We have no control over it, so we ride the waves with as much grace as we can muster, remembering the lessons of years gone by but knowing that each year is different and we must take what comes. This cool spell with rain in the forecast is welcome for a drying landscape and for the cool weather crops as they come to fruition, broccoli and cabbage heading up, salad mixes and cooking greens holding their mild flavors and delicate tenderness.

      In each month of the year we plant our hopes for the future while harvesting the fruits of our labors. To farm is to celebrate the successes and mourn the failures of past seasons while seeking solace through the seeds that are our dreams for times to come. In June we plant most of our cannabis, clones going out after the 10th to make sure they won’t flip into flower early. The beds are prepped and ready, and we are excited to bring the farm to full production capacity with a great lineup this year.

      Strawberry Biscotti bats cleanup again as our longtime flagship, and we have high hopes for another win at the State Fair for our entry of our fall 2025 harvest batch that tested at 43% total cannabinoids. Test results are far from everything, and we love this strain as much as any we’ve ever grown for her comfortable high that carried forward from the Sour Strawberry we grew for more than a decade, along with the flavor and deep fuel nose she picked up from the Biscotti.

     It felt good to get some seed plants in the ground this week with ten Orange Durbans planted into one of the big terraces at our place. I’m starting seeds later than I used to, balancing cannabis planting with the spring salad, root and cooking green crops that I love so much. I’m also trying not to spend much time on ladders in the terraces anymore, but even with later sowing the Durbans will still reach over eight feet in height, towering over the summer garden and reminding me of the deep strength and beauty of this plant that has meant so much to us over the years.

     Cannabis from seed remains one of the deep joys of my life after more than twenty years of farming. Of the dozens of crops we farm, none grows as fast or as large as the herb, stunning in her growth and awe-inspiring when she towers over me. There is nothing better than a late summer walk through the terraces as I’m dwarfed by the giants and enveloped in their abundant muskiness, the skunkfuelfruitfunk enfolding me in the dreamlike light of the golden hour.

       Today I’ll sow the next round of summer squash after a failure due to some hungry rodent that dug out and ate more than a hundred seeds from the trays of our last batch. I also need to sow double basil because the first planting was mostly destroyed after I planted it in the hoophouse at the farmstand, probably by a ground squirrel. Also going into the trays for germination today will be a full round of salad mixes, both Asian greens and lettuces, along with turnips, beets, scallions, cilantro, collards and bok choy.

      There is always so much work to be done, but careful planning and a great team yields incredible results. Our affirmation for June is that Roots Don’t Rush, and we picture the cool, rich earth teeming with life and offering abundant nutrients and mycorrhizal relationships to roots that reach out in the darkness of the soil. Roots exist in dynamic give-and-take relationship, offering exudates of sugars that the plants synthesize from the sun in the magical alchemy of photosynthesis in exchange for nutrients and support from the denizens of the dirt.

     Roots are a constant reminder that we exist in community, and that when we share effort and benefit through methodical preparation, the results are abundance and the deep joy of vibrant growth. We strive to be like roots, connecting and seeking, sharing and offering our gifts. We remember that roots grow in good time, and like Pops always says, “everything comes to he who waits.”

      We are patient, and with patience comes kindness and from kindness comes love. When we remember that roots don’t rush, we remember the truth of a life well lived, the honor of stewardship, the joy of good work. We share in the qualities of community through mutually beneficial relationships that uplift and support, carrying us through the hard times and celebrating the good times. Though the hours are long and the workload is heavy, we are grateful for the gifts that the land provides through our tending. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!