Internship at Steep Creek Ranch – Kseniya Huntington Spring 2024

Week 10

This week’s work was brief to allow time to complete final projects. We started out the week by turning the compost. We then did some more weeding in the garden, anticipating our absence from the space for the rest of the year. After weeding we started to plant all of the starts we had purchased last week. Pole beans went in next to the peas and at the empty space on the end of that trellis. Herbs went in the same bed next to the strawberries and flower strip. Eggplant found their home planted between every pepper, Malabar spinach went in the trellis next to cucumbers, and the black currant was put in the raspberry cage along with the rhubarb.

On day two we checked the moisture meters, some of which had lower numbers than last time we checked, and some with much higher. The upper vineyard block of Syrah was showing tip burn and yellowing and had a much higher number than any other block. After this, we cleaned up the debris that had accumulated in the garden over the past few weeks of weeding and maintenance.

Readings

This weeks readings include three chapters. The first, “Farming Carbon” is mainly about carbon sequestration. The topics that are discussed in this chapter are no-till, cover cropping, carbon emissions and offsetting them, and lack of resilience in conventional agriculture. The author discusses the usual benefits of no-till and cover cropping, but frames them more with a focus on the carbon these practices can store. Montgomery explains how carbon is released from soil after tillage because of the acceleration of SOM decomposition, how chemical fertilization and conventional cereal production decreases soil carbon, and how no-till requires less passes with machinery which reduces fossil fuel use. Another section of this chapter discusses the possibilities of offsetting carbon emissions with regenerative agriculture saying “Rattan Lal conservatively estimates that worldwide adoption of all three elements of conservation agriculture could put enough carbon back into soils to offset 5 to 15 percent of global fossil-fuel emissions”. This idea creates a sense of hope, though I believe this cannot be the only solution. The author mentions this as well, saying these processes could only buy time before more environmentally friendly energy and economy practices are adopted (though his example is “green” energy, which in my opinion is not a viable solution as all of that energy is impossible without exploiting minerals and other materials from oppressed countries.)

The next chapter “Closing the Loop” is mainly about closed loop systems, centered around use of humanure. The author starts the chapter out with a history lesson on past scientists who “discovered” that plants needed nutrients and didn’t just eat decaying matter. The next section of the chapter is about use of humanure, starting with Asia in the early 1910’s. The author recounts an experience that Franklin H. King has seeing farmers in Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Japan return their waste (both kitchen and bathroom) to their fields. He discusses how many European countries and the U.S. lose so much of their soil nutrients through waste disposal rather than reuse. King also describes methods of interplanting, successional plantings, crop rotations, and use of N-fixing plants. All of these factors allow only a few small farms to feed many people, unlike in the United States. The next section of the chapter talks about TAGRO, the biosolid fertilizer produced by Tacoma’s waste processing facility. This shows the possibilities of recycling nutrients within a community and reducing environmental impact at the same time. For both the sections about biosolids, the author explains the importance of the composting or purification process required to insure a safe final product. In the traditional Asian method, the waste is composted and uses bacterial degradation to negate toxins or pathogens that could be in the waste. For TAGRO, the facility uses a pasteurization process to kill off microbes and pathogens, then the waste is further processed through aerobic and anaerobic digestion chambers to eat off the organic contaminants.

The final chapter “The Fifth Revolution” is a conclusion to the book, offering reflection and insights on the contents. Throughout the book, the author gives examples of conventional and organic, subsistence and commercial, local and national forms of agriculture with one thing in common. All of the farms are trying to approach farming from a perspective that had been suppressed and demonized by western society. I have had some issues with the book, primarily the lack of different perspectives aside from a western science standpoint. The book barely mentions the systems of oppression in place that have suppressed TEK across the globe, prioritizing the very scientific system that led to the destruction of the soils of Indigenous people everywhere. The book frames the ideas of national or global change through the lens of working within the bounds of the governmental structure. Policy changes and corporations “switching” to be more environmentally friendly are not what is needed for global liberation of the oppressive U.S. food regime. Greenwashing the entities that are actively degrading land, enacting genocide on historically oppressed peoples, and purely focused on profits and controlling populations will not change anything. As the book states “Unlike the fertilizer-intensive Green Revolution practices that developed top-down through government agencies and corporate research, conservation agriculture has largely evolved and spread through bottom-up farmer-led initiatives.” The movement for regenerative agriculture has potential to spur a local food/local economy movement. Shifting the source of our needs from global exploitation to your own community. Not only does this provide opportunity for closed loop cycles, reduced fuel usage, community health, and context based practices, it bolsters communities to be resilient and adaptable. This movement cannot be possible without colonizers listening to Indigenous peoples and working to make reparations. And, as liberation of one is not possible without the liberation of all, Indigenous food sovereignty should be at the forefront of these movements.

Week 9

This week started out with the usual Monday chores. After finishing these, we weeded the garden again and did a little bit of pruning on the tomatoes. Most of the pruning was getting rid of axillary shoots that had grown since the last weeding. All of the other plants aside from the cucumbers had grown a significant amount and should start producing soon. We plan to get more starts later this week to account for the plants that haven’t been doing too well.

On day two we started off by going back to the sections of DRZ irrigation we did some repairs to last week. Many of the PVC tubes had been snapped off around the top of the soil, with about an inch or so sticking out. We needed to pull these tubes, which proved to be very difficult. After pulling the tubes we needed to use a hand-turned soil sampling auger to re-dig holes. Before we could do any of this we needed to find the parts and tools.

On day three we had to wait for a large shipment of wood shaving mulch to be delivered. After this, we drove to a orchard and vineyard supply store to pick up some amendments and fencing for our project at the homestead. James had picked a style of horse fencing that should protect the future orchard from deer, but not cause harm if they were to attempt to jump in. The supply store employees loaded the fencing supplies on the bed of the truck in a way that made it difficult to strap them down. This was also on top of the fact that we had not strapped down something that large and heavy before, so it was fairly difficult and required us to stop later to readjust. We then headed back to the farm to drop off the truck and fencing.

On day four we went to a nursery again to pick up starts. We originally needed to go for eggplant starts, which hadn’t been available when we first bought starts, but after inspecting the garden we realized we could both use some replacements and could fill more space. We got a couple Persian cucumber starts, some Malabar spinach, a black currant, some herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage), some more strawberries, a rhubarb, pole beans, the needed eggplants (a mix of Japanese and Italian), and another tomato to fill our last spot. After this, we hauled them to the farm and set them to be watered before we start to plant them next week.

Readings

This weeks chapter, titled “Invisible Herds”, goes over the main topics of biochar and microbial health in soils. The chapter begins with an anecdote of the author’s about travelling through the amazon testing soils. In the jungle, due to the high amount of microbial activity, there was very little organic matter in the soils. However, in areas that were cultivated by indigenous people, the soil was rich and black. This anthrosol is known as terra preta and has a very high amount of organic matter and microbial activity, largely due to the charcoal content. This section of the book leads to the author discussing biochar, a product of low oxygen and long duration pyrolysis. Biochar can be used in soils to increase porosity and therefore water holding capacity, SOM, and microbial populations.

The next section of the chapter discusses the biochar applications as well as microbial amendments on a few farms in Costa Rica. One farmer makes a type of bokashi leachate using MM (mountain microbes) and a mix of rice bran and molasses. She uses this microbial inoculant to either apply on cropping areas as compost, or makes a tea with it, similarly to the “leaf mold” tea we made with ponderosa pine needles. This farmers soils was a drastic contrast to the conventionally farmed coffee plantations around her that had no topsoil and relied on agrochemicals. Another farmer nearby also employs MM. He decided to mill and roast his own coffee, which he does by using the coffee chaff to heat his roaster. The charred chaff is then composted and reapplied to his soils. This is another example of a much more closed loop system than conventional agriculture.

The author finishes with a conclusion about the benefits of biochar, mentioning its ability to balance acidic soils, increase nutrient holding capacity, enhance root mass, and increase growth of mycorrhizal fungi (which assists in the uptake of mineral nutrients typically unavailable to plants). Biochar can also offer long-term carbon storage due to it’s slow rate of decay. This longevity could possibly aid in the issue of excessive atmospheric carbon, offering a way to sequester carbon from farm residues and organic household waste.

Week 8

This week started out with the usual Monday chores, with significantly less compost to turn after using a good chunk on the young vines last week. After completing the chores, we looked at the employee garden’s progress. Most plants were starting to have above ground growth after a cold beginning to the spring. The pepper plants seem to be responding well to the flower pinching, as they have all grown about an inch or more. We also realized that the tomatoes had flowered, which signified that we should start to prune off the lower branches and axillary shoots. Since we were somewhat late to pruning, most of the plants already had two large main stems. We decided to have two leaders, which would hopefully fill up the space between plants. We also did a bit of weeding, which was mostly grass popping up from little chunks of leftover sod. After this we moved back to the homestead to continue on our fencing project. Since the drip emitters had been set up over the weekend, the soil was much easier to work with. We started out by pounding the northeast end, then moved to finish the north end and start on the west. After finishing everything that had been irrigated, we moved the drip tape yet again.

On day two we started out by finishing off the west end of the fence and then moved the irrigation to the southeast end. After this, we started to repair the root-zone irrigation that was on some of the vines at the homestead vineyard. The direct root-zone(DRZ) irrigation set-up seemed fairly simple, a small PVC tube with a cloth filter around the bottom end was shoved into a hole next to the vine. This tube has a small hole on the side near the top that a microtube connected to the drip line can be pushed through. The goal of this irrigation is to reduce water loss. DRZ irrigation has also been shown to reduce weed pressure, assist vines in producing deeper roots, and increase yields (1). By using sub-surface irrigation, the shorter rooted annual weeds are unable to reach irrigation water, and cannot compete for this resource. The deep irrigation also reduces the vines need to grow roots in the upper 60cm of the soil which can increase drought resistance and help provide a backup in case of irrigation failure. After doing a little bit of repairs, we went back to the nursery to hopefully get some eggplant starts. Unfortunately, every plant was infested with aphids and we could not get any. Our plan is to go to another nursery to see if they have any eggplant without pests.

On day three we did a little bit more repair on the DRZ irrigation at the homestead. Many of the PVC tubes had been decapitated by the weeder attachment for the tractor, so they needed to be replaced. We would come back and pull out the tubes that needed this repair next week. The other main fixes that were needed were re-inserting the microtubing into the PVC and putting new rubber caps on some of the tubes. After this, we weeded the garden again.

On day four we started out by finishing the last of the fence post pounding on the southeast side. Now that we are finished with the posts on the entirety of the fence, we will likely begin to attach fencing and be done with our big project. The next step for us/the farmers is to work on an orchard map to set-up for eventually implementing the perennials. We decided to make a theoretical map of what the orchard could look like, as well as some other perennial patches that could provide other benefits. Our ideas were to have a mixed orchard with fruit and nut trees, alley cropped shrubs, and a variety of other native understory plants. We also had the idea to have a hedgerow on the north end next to the Old Highway that runs nearby. This hedgerow could provide multiple uses such as: being a space for native pollinators, providing habitat for smaller animals, blocking noise and chemical pollution from the road, and aesthetic purposes. Our goal for the hedgerow was for it to be mostly if not all native shrubs. The actual plan that James mentioned to us was to have the orchard section be on the west side, where intense winds come from. Then, on the east side, there would be a chunk of row crops. The orchard should provide a dual purpose of fruit crops and a windbreak.

Readings

This week chapter, titled “Carbon Cowboys” goes over the previous themes of no-till, cover cropping, and crop rotations, but is mainly about cattle integration and different techniques around this. One of the farmers Montgomery visited talks about how through adopting all three ideas of conservation agriculture as well as integrating diverse livestock, he has improved his soil in a few ways. By adopting these four ideas, the soil microbiome has greatly benefitted, therefore increasing plant available nutrients, building SOM, increasing water holding and infiltration capacity, and sequestering carbon. The author mentions again how the livestock tear grasses which signals them to send out more exudates, which creates a greater buffet for the soil microbes to feast on and then share mined minerals. This farm also tries to use one aspect of the farm’s waste and cycle it through another aspect of the farm (using leftover grain as chicken feed or grazing cows through wildflowers that no longer serve the pollinators). The farmer also integrates diverse livestock within previously harvested areas, where chickens help cows with flies, cows help chickens with predators, the plants help feed the animals, and the animals give back nutrients and digested matter to the soil.

The other farm the author visited had a type of mob grazing model. The cattle were moved in a large group in smaller paddocks and were moved frequently. After the cattle grazed an area, they wouldn’t go back to that paddock for a year. This rest period allowed the grasses to reestablish, the soil microbiome to thrive, and for cattle parasites to die off before being able to find a host again. The farmer explains how in a less densely packed grazing models, the cows will pick the best forage and leave undesirable plants (often invasive weeds), which would then go to seed and grow again. By using dense grazing, the cows would eat everything, trying to get food near them before others do. This process can somewhat replicate the buffalo herds that once moved through the areas these farms are in. The buffalo would move in dense and large groups, tearing and impacting soil with their hooves, and then would move across the great plains, likely not re-grazing that area until much later. As they moved they would deposit their manure and urine on the grazed land, which would enrich the soil life.

1.) Ma, Xiaochi, et al. “Direct root-zone irrigation outperforms surface drip irrigation for grape yield and crop water use efficiency while restricting root growth.” Agricultural Water Management, vol. 231, Mar. 2020, p. 105993, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105993.

Week 7

This week started out with a sick day on which we started to deliberate for the possible orchard that is being considered for the degraded field north of the homestead. James has expressed interest in a mixed orchard and possibly shorter lived perennials. He wants to sell or gift the yields from the orchard to the local community. We started the planning process by reading some of “The Fruit Gardeners Bible” and thinking about what would be best to grow in the area.

On day two we did our Monday chores of turning the compost pile and checking moisture meters. Last week gave us lots of rain, but this week was a hot and dry one with temperatures going into the mid 80’s. The compost pile has significantly broken down over the last few weeks of turning due to the amount of aeration it was receiving. When asked about monitoring the temperature of the compost to ensure it was reaching high enough temperatures to burn out weed seeds, James told us that it wasn’t a big issue for them. The farm makes sure to separate invasives as much as possible, and typically mows most fields before grasses and forbs can go to seed. After our chores we did a bit of weeding in the employee garden, as well as pinched pepper flowers to stimulate growth. Many of the plant suffered from the cold damp conditions, and then were immediately onslaught with intense sun and high heats. These fluctuations seem to have done a number on some of the plants, with burnt tips and a few floppy basil sprouts. However, the flower patch is abundant with new sprouts that seem to be enjoying the sun.

In our process to make the deer fence for the homestead, our next step is to pound t-posts. Last week, James decided we should run irrigation along the fence line to make the post pounding easier. To start this process we unraveled a 500’ drip irrigation tube along the Northeast fence and began to measure out every 20 feet from the wooden posts we placed in the last couple weeks. We then marked out where 20 feet sat with flags. Next, we would need to find the emitters and drip hole puncher.

On day three we started by setting up the emitters on the drip tube. We punched holes at each of the marked areas, pushed in emitters, and then turned on the irrigation to run overnight. After this we were tasked with banding compost around a block of young vines on the East hillside of the upper vineyard. After banding the compost on the first block, we moved to the second block and noticed there were lots of weeds growing in the area around each vine. We weeded these out, mostly grass, with some flowering plants that were very spiky.

On day four we banded compost around the second block of young vines. The vines already had compost and mulch applied to them in the last two years, but James’ goal is to increase SOM around the vines in order to eventually dry farm them. We discussed irrigation in this area and talked about water rights for a bit. James mentioned how some years they would water for 6 hours once a week, and other years they would water for 6 hours once a month depending on soil moisture levels. We also talked about drought tolerance for grapevines after he mentioned that he wants to dry farm. His goal is to increase SOM as the plants age, deepening their root systems and increasing the soil moisture capacity in the vineyards. The young vines were also being trained in a different way than the rest of the vineyard. They were head trained rather than cordon trained, which James said would reduce their yields by a few clusters, make mechanization harder (which already was hard to due the steep incline), and use more T-posts. The upside of this training that James mentioned was that it would be easier to harvest from due to the higher fruiting zone. After finishing the compost banding, we went out to look for equisetum. We found a spot that had a good amount of equisetum and began to harvest. When James requested equisetum, he asked for ones that hadn’t developed laterals yet and we were confused as from our experience field horsetail had laterals as soon as it popped up in spring. The spot that James pointed out for us to harvest did not actually have field horsetail, and was another species without laterals. After harvesting we put them in a cool dry place, next week we will likely lay them all out to dry before making a tea with them.

This week’s chapter titled “The Organic Dilemma” is mainly about the comparisons between organic agriculture and conventional. The author visits the Rodale Institute in Kutztown, PA, and discusses the benefits that the farm has experienced from practicing organic agriculture. The farm practices a 3 year rotational tillage model to reduce disturbance while still tilling perennial weeds. When the farm is not tilling, they use a roller-crimper to lodge and press the dense cover crops they use. This practice mulches the soil, terminates cover crops before planting cash crops, and makes up for tillage or herbicide use for weed suppression.

A large section of the chapter discusses yield comparisons of organics versus conventional. The main takeaway from this is that after switching to an organic no-till model, there will be a slight lag as the soil needs to regenerate, but afterwards yields can match or exceed levels found on conventional farms. Another section of the chapter discusses soil biology and the importance of fungi in making nutrients plant-available. With the onslaught of instantly accessible nutrients from chemical fertilizers, many farmers can’t see the importance of a soil nutrient that isn’t immediately available. Much of soil’s nutrient content in not in plant available forms, which is where the soil microorganisms come into play. As discussed previously, these organisms break down unavailable nutrients and transport them through hyphal networks to the plant, which then give of root exudates to feed the organisms. With conventional tillage and fertilizer use, the soil microbiome is destroyed, interrupting the soil’s capabilities to feed plants with valuable micronutrients. On top of this, the soil cannot aggregate nearly as well, and porosity is affected by the destruction of soil organism’s habitat. The author also discusses how grazing animals on fields can make the plants produce a different set of root exudates due to the ripping and tearing of roots rather than clean cuts produced by mowing. This root damage causes the plant to send out more exudates to hopefully receive medical care in the form of nutrients. The burst of exudates could possible increase the amount of biological activity in the soil, and be a good boost for young or future crops.

Week 6

This week started off with the Monday chores described last week. We did a walkthrough and checked all of the water meters. The numbers on most meters were higher than they were last week, signifying that the soil had dried a little. After doing this week turned the compost pile, which took a bit longer than last time as it was one large pile rather than the separate chunk we integrated last week. After completing the regular chores, we started to place the newly delivered yellowjacket traps in the lower vineyard and over at the Raven. These traps were simple funnels that lead into a chamber that is filled with water. The water activates a small pouch of “lure” which I presume to be a pheromone.

On day two we started out by packing more wooden posts at the homestead. For this session, we placed posts on the north and west ends of the perimeter and followed the same actions we did last week. After leveling and packing in the posts, we removed the existing T-posts that were next to them and used fencing staples to pin the fencing to the wood posts. There was an electric fence wire that ran around the top of the fence, a remnant of when the family used to keep horses. This wire needed to be removed and was disconnected from its electrical source.

On day three we started out by placing the rest of the yellowjacket traps in the upper vineyard and on the homestead. One of my favorite parts of walking through the upper vineyard is seeing all of the new flowers that pop up, this week being yarrow. After placing these traps, we were tasked with clearing the asparagus patch at the homestead garden. James mentioned how this patch produces a lot every year, and that there is always too much for the family to eat, so they always share with employees. The weeding was fairly easy, mostly grasses that weren’t rooted firmly. After weeding, we packed the final two posts on the east end.

On day four we began working on the fence ends for these we needed to disconnect a crosswire that held the two posts at tension. Each fence end is an H of two vertical posts and a horizontal post nailed or screwed in. After removing the wire, we unattached the horizontal post. We then pull the outer post and replace it like we had been doing for previous posts. We reattach the horizontal post, tension the posts with wire, and tack the fencing back into the post. For one of the fence ends, we needed to replace a small gate. To do so, we used an auger drill bit to drill holes in the newly placed post, and then screwed in the necessary hinge parts. We put the gate back on and before tightening and leveling it.

Readings

This weeks chapter titled “Developing Solutions”, discusses Dr. Kofi Boa’s “No-till Centre” in Ghana and what they teach there. This chapter follows similar themes to previous chapters, but under the context of a Ghanaian farm. The author talks about how the soil there is red and there is almost no topsoil in unforested areas. The no-till centre primarily works with local subsistence farmers and agriculture students. A big difference in the practices is how they emulate a subsistence farm rather than last chapters South Dakotan mega-farm. A topic of the chapter was how western agribusinesses operate on the “get big or get out” mindset, gearing their products for large farmers, of which there are few in Ghana. Boa offers a different perspective, historically most of Africa was fed by small subsistence farms, so his teachings are based around this. Boa follows the teachings of conservation agriculture, simplified for context “1. Open up the soil only enough to plant a seed—minimally disturb the soil. 2. Make sure the ground is covered with prior crop residue at planting, and use cover crops to build biomass and soil organic matter. 3. Introduce diversity to the fields through rotations and intercropping.” Boa teaches about the benefits of polycultures, green manure and mulch, crop rotations, no-till, and bolstering the soil microbiome. The author meets with students of Boa’s to see their home gardens where they have been practicing no-till and the soil is moist right below the surface, a stark contrast to tilled or unforested soils. Boa mentions the importance of keeping the soil covered for moisture retention: reducing evaporation from direct sun, increasing soil microbial and other soil dweller population therefore increasing capillary action, and increasing soil organic matter.

Week 5

This week started out with learning how to use the tractor. We needed to be trained for future projects, and James thought turning the compost piles would be a good way to learn the controls and safety. After being trained on the tractor, we set off to move one compost pile on top of the other, trying to aerate it as much as possible. It took a bit to get used to the controls of the tractor bucket and to figure out how to use a manual transmission. James tasked us with turning the compost every Monday morning as part of our farm chores. The other task he requested of us was to check the soil moisture meters, which we would be introduced to the next day.

After our work turning the compost pile, we walked around some of the property with James and the assistant winemaker to look at and identify flowers. We saw the usual big-head clover, lupine, a few yarrow that are just blooming, large-flowered triteleia, a species of groundsel, and a purple parasitic flower. The parasitic flower was very interesting because no one had seen it before. It seemed to only be in a very specific spot on the farm, and was quite small with no leaves.

On day two we started out by checking the soil moisture meters. We started out with a short discussion after James mentioned he needed to apply a boron amendment. He mentioned how boron is water soluble and is often low in rainfall areas. He also mentioned “Shatter” and “Hens and Chicks” two fruiting phenomenon that happen in conditions of low boron or zinc. Shatter is when many or all flowers in a cluster don’t bear fruit, leaving a mostly empty cluster. Hens and chicks is when not all flowers are fertilized or fertile from the beginning. This causes a mix of fully ripened and unripe fruit on a cluster. The unripe fruit do not have seeds because they weren’t fertile, and thus the plant does not send energy to these fruits. The next topic was the moisture meters themselves and how they function. The meters are a ceramic tube that an electrical current is sent through. Two wires poke out of the meter and can be connected to a device that measures the centibars of soil water tension. A lower number indicates the energy a plant uses to draw water from the soil and marks a higher soil moisture level. We used this device to check each block across the estate vineyards and the raven. After checking and inputting the data from each block, we put a tarp over our tomatoes to hopefully protect them from the forecasted freezing temperatures later that night.

On day three we started out by going back to the location of our first nettle harvest to collect some more. Last week I had mentioned that James requested non-flowering nettles, but after asking him again, he mentioned that it was totally fine for them to be in bloom. After our harvest we purchased some spray paint and went out to mark the header posts on each of the vineyard rows that had the soil moisture meters. This would make it easier for us and others to know where to go when the meter readings needed to be logged.

After our work on the farm we drove out to the Brooks Memorial Retreat Center to visit with Sarah Williams and her program “Land-Based Learning: Foodways” to introduce ourselves. We talked about our upbringing in the area, which most students hadn’t been to, and how we’ve developed our goals and experiences through academia. I mainly talked about my experience growing up near the vast wheat fields south of The Dalles and how oppressive they felt. As I learned more about agriculture and the environment I got a much deeper picture of why those fields felt so horrid. Now I am hoping to connect my learnings and my passions of community, baking, and ecological practices for the health of our planet. I hope to work with BIPOC folx and other marginalized communities to foster healthy food systems and education surrounding food and agriculture. After discussing my goals, I did a short bread making demonstration and tasting.

On day four we started out by making the nettle tea using the nettles we had collected the day before. We followed the same process as last time and left them to sit in barrels next to the others. After this, we went to the house to measure the fencing. We had been asked to work on a cost estimate to upgrade the fence around the property to a deer fence so that the field north of the house could be used to grow tree crops and possible other perennials. We started out by measuring each side and the distance between fence posts. There was not a standard distance between the posts, so we decided to keep the spacing and just replace the 4 foot posts with 10 foot. We needed to put wooden posts about every 60 feet. After measuring we grabbed all of the spare wooden posts from the vineyard and started to remove existing posts. We then filled in the holes with sandy soil and packed it in with a long prybar. All of the posts needed to be leveled before packing. For one of the holes we needed to use an auger to drill away where a rotted post had been before.

Readings

This week I read chapter six “Green Manure”. The main themes in this chapter were cover crops, no-till, leaving crop residues in the field, and crop rotations. Like the previous chapters, most of this section of the book was about the benefits of no-till. However, Montgomery does mention crop rotations and cover cropping as valuable and necessary inclusions.

Crop rotations are necessary to reduce dependence on pesticides and fungicides. By rotating a diverse array of crops through fields, there is less opportunity for a population of pests to develop and reproduce. The author mentions how many farmers incorporate a corn -> soybean rotation. While this might be ever so slightly better than no rotation, nature knows cycles better than anyone. Montgomery mentions how rootworm beetles would lay eggs to hatch the next year in a corn monocrop without rotations, but that after a while of corn to soybean rotations, the rootworm beetle learned to lay eggs in a field of soybeans. The beetles knew that the corn that would certainly come the next year, and readjusted their reproduction cycle to accommodate that. Employing a diverse and frequently changing crop rotation messes up the cycles of pests, which further disrupts their effects on a successful harvest.

Cover cropping is another invaluable practice. Cover crops are a very effective way to manage weed pressure and to keep soil nutrients in the local cycle. They keep hold of soil nutrients in plant form which reduces run-off. They can also shade the soil to keep it moist, block weeds from getting sunlight, create habitat for beneficial organisms, keep the soil in place with roots, and continue to keep life growing in the soil.

Week 4

This week started out with my ILC partner and I going to visit Dr. Beug’s home and farm to pick up the tomato (Black Prince, Orange Banana, Paul Robeson), basil, and brassica starts he had offered to give us last week. Before he gave us the starts we had the honor to do a short tour of his mixed orchard and home garden. His garden had lots of strawberries, flowers, tomatoes, peppers, melons, corn, basil, and other herbs. Some of which were growing in a short high tunnel/greenhouse. After touring his garden, we crossed a small ravine to walk through his orchard. In this orchard were a variety of fruits and nuts: walnuts, pecan, almond, shipova, apples, pears, plums, autumn olive, American persimmons, and American chestnuts. These trees were mixed into each other in a randomized fashion. After the tour we collected our starts and left to visit a local nursery. At this nursery we got peppers, strawberries, raspberries, Thai basil, cucumbers, summer squash, onions, chives, parsley, tomatillos, and cilantro. Later that day we planted our first two rows of crops starting with intercropped tomatoes and basil, and peppers. The next row we planted was cucumbers, tomatillo, scallions, and onions.

On day two we finished our planting in the east bed where we planted cilantro, parsley, and garlic. After this, we planted to west row with the two raspberry varieties (a red and a golden), snap peas, summer squash, and strawberries. We still need to get eggplant and bean starts, but after that the garden should be completely planted and only need basic maintenance. After we finished planting we began reburying the irrigation boxes that we had dug up the week before. The first box was fairly easy, all that was needed was to reline the hole with chicken wire and then bury the box. For the second one we had to replace the old box as it had completely fallen apart. We got a new box and used a reciprocating saw to cut out chunks on both ends for the pipe to fit in and then buried it.

We had been tasked with a few things before James left on a trip, these included collecting more nettles and finding equisetum that fit his specifications, researching weed barriers for the grass around the employee garden, and researching biological control for knapweed and skeleton weed. On day four we went out to the first place we collected nettles, but realized that they had already flowered. James requested we get them before they flower so their energy wasn’t expended trying to reproduce. Luckily, the second batch of nettle tea was not required. James also requested that we find equisetum while it was young and did not have laterals. From my experience, field horsetail has laterals from the second it emerges from the ground. From my me and my ILC partner’s searches, we haven’t yet found any equisetum patches without laterals, other than another species growing near wetlands.

Our research for this week was mainly on weed barriers and the biological control of skeleton weed. The main options we chose for weed barriers were to either a weed barrier fabric or cedar boards. For the weed barrier fabric we would need to dig a trench and place the fabric in the trench and then bend the excess over the garden area in an upside down L shape. We would then cover it with mulch. This barrier might not completely stop grass from growing into the garden, but it would have to grow through mulch on top of fabric, so it would be much easier to weed out. The cedar boards would also require us to trench, but the trench might have to a little wider. This could provide more of an actual barrier to the grass, as we could have the planks be slightly raised. Cedar would be our best choice for wood as it can grow around this area and is naturally antifungal which would reduce the amount it breaks down.

Rush Skeletonweed (Chondrilla juncea) is a perennial in the Asteraceae family. It originated from Eurasia and is considered a noxious weed. It is also considered to be very difficult to control, as it has a sometime 7′ taproot, can produce around 15,000 seeds a year, and can also spread through root shoots (1). Management options for C. juncea include: mechanical control through hand weeding or mowing before flowering (tillage is not advised because it can regenerate very well), chemical control, cultural control through cultivating a healthy natural ecosystem and reducing usage of inputs that may contain weed seeds, and biological control through use of pests (namely gall midge [Cytiphora chmidti], a gall mite [Eriophyes chondrillae], and a rust fungus [Puccinia chondrillina]) (2). Our choice of control would be one of the available biological controls.

James suggested that we contact the OSU extension in Hood River to inquire about biological control methods and the possibility of obtaining some. After I asked about my worry for introducing another invasive species, James said that there hasn’t been issues for that yet. We will continue to research the benefits and possible downsides to each of the options before we move forward with a choice.

Readings

This weeks reading was the 5th chapter “Ditching the Plow”. Main themes were no-till agriculture, comparisons between organic and conventional no-till, history of tillage in the contemporary U.S. and parts of Europe, conservation agriculture, and perennializing plants.

Similarly to previous chapters Montgomery speaks to the benefits of no-till agriculture; it reduces soil erosion and in connection run-off, increases accumulation of soil organic matter, and reduces disturbances in soil microbial communities. These concepts are not always believed and only recently are they becoming mainstream. The author describes in detail the doubts that folks have had about no-till over the years. These doubts are most definitely influenced by the Western history of agriculture that is further backed by generational experiences and government/corporate propaganda. Without the constant need to purchase plows, tractors, or the newest implements, massive agrobusinesses wouldn’t be making nearly as much money as they’d like. To further fuel this, tilling decreases soil health which further develops the “need” for farmers to purchase and use agrochemicals in order to have successful crops.

Another main topic was conservation agriculture, which includes ideas from no-till. The 3 principles of conservation agriculture are: “(1) minimum disturbance of the soil; (2) growing cover crops and retaining crop residue so that the soil is always covered; and (3) use of diverse crop rotations.”. These principles are simple, but are widely disputed or misused. The author states how many farmers choose one or two of the principles to follow which leads to skewed results and misbeliefs about conservation agriculture. A section of the book talks about how Rattan Lal, a soil scientist, tried to implement and publicize conservation agriculture. His attempts were often dismissed as heresy and were often countered with experimentation from other scientists. Typically, the experiments were not done according to the full 3 principles and thus couldn’t be accurately compared, as per the subchapter titled “Apples to Oranges”.

This chapter highlights the recent past and its destruction of Indigenous soils, displaying the horrible impacts tillage has on soil health and structure. However, it also shines light to the growing movement toward soil regeneration as a holistic practice. With more and more farms practicing no-till to some degree, focusing on conservation of soils, Western agriculture is slowly working to an ecological practice reminiscent of the Indigenous practices around the world.

1.) https://smallgrains.wsu.edu/weed-resources/common-weed-list/rush-skeletonweed/

2.) https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd563041.pdf

Week 3

This week began with garden planning. We started out by creating a more detailed map with more accurate scale and a bit more space for labelling. We then referenced the crops employees had requested. There was a unanimous vote for tomatoes and peppers, and individual requests for beans, peas, herbs, berries, eggplant, and cucumbers. Everyone expressed that they wanted varieties that weren’t very common or available in most stores. We also decided to go get starts and seeds from a local nursery next Monday. For berries we decided to get strawberries and a few raspberry starts. Our goals for planting emphasized companion planting, diversity, and accessibility. For companion planting we made sure to space out plants with negative interactions, and tried to group companions near to each other. This process proved to be difficult due to the small amount of growing space. For accessibility, we decided to keep trellises on one side of the garden, this would hopefully help reduce the amount of up and down movement whilst harvesting.

After making the plan we started to set up infrastructure. We used hog paneling and T-posts to set up trellises on the north side of the garden. Using zip ties, we fastened the panels to the T-posts. We started with only the center row and then made the raspberry cage by placing regular T-posts in a square and attempting to wrap wire around it, which ended up failing because of how thick the wire was.

On day two we started by bottling apple cider. The cider was made with apples from Dr. Michael Beug’s home farm. We were set up with a bottle filler, a corker, and a cager. The bottle filler was connected to a large tank filled with cider and powered with a pump. A valve needed to be opened for the reservoir to be filled before bottles are pressed into the nozzles and filled. The corker squishes the cork into a thin cylinder which is then pressed down into the bottle with another lever and the cager presses down and rotates the muselet’s lower ring. As we filled them, we loaded all of the bottles into bins and afterwards cleaned up. For this day, we bottled 50 cases (w600 bottles)

Later that day we finished the last two rows of trellising using the same process. We had to alter some hog paneling because it was 8ft tall instead of the 4ft that we needed. We used wire cutters to separate a 12.5’x8’ rectangle that we then cut in half. While placing these pieces the trellis needed to be mended together because of the way it had been cut. We used little fencing parts called “gripples” to create tension and hold the stray wires in the place we needed. We also grabbed some T-posts that had holes in them so we could recreate the raspberry cage in a tidier manner. These posts proved to be much better, and the cage is now more solid.

On day three we started bottling the second vat of cider. We did so by repeated the same process from the day before. The tank needed to be regularly stirred/disturbed to mix up the yeast that was settling on the bottom. This time we finished filling the unfinished second bin of bottles and started on another. After cleaning up, we set up irrigation in the employee garden. We needed to locate all the parts that were scattered around in various places: a timer, drip tape, a main line, a pressure regulator, valves for each row, couplers for the main line, and an L piece for the flower strip. After collecting these parts, we began to build the irrigation system starting from the spigot. We needed to splice the mainline to accommodate the row valves that were attached to T pieces. After splicing, we connected the drip tape to a row valve and cut off the ends before plugging them with stoppers. This was repeated for the last two rows and the flower strip.

Our next step was to begin cleaning up the garden. Rotovating the plot made lots of grassroot clods separate from the soil and rest throughout the tilled layer. We decided to remove these clods and we were removing larger stones which would be used for lining the paths.

On the final day we used landscape pins to pin down the drip tape and then continued to remove grassroot clods and stones. After this, we started to line the paths with the stones we had collected for the last couple days. This made the garden feel a lot more refined, and along with the finished trellising and irrigation, it was starting to look complete.

This day we had a meeting with Dr. Beug planned for the afternoon. We met with him to show what we had been doing and discuss our future plans. We showed the garden and discussed our plans for increasing food security for employees, as well as our crop ideas. After discussing the garden for a bit, Dr. Beug mentioned that he had lots of plant starts and had some left over that we were free to take. He mentioned a large amount of tomatoes, a large purple heirloom, a paste tomato he coined as “paste with taste”, and a smaller purple variety. After a few anecdotes of his experiences as an evergreen professor on trips during the Rajneesh era in central Oregon and the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, he asked us our future plans and projects on the farm. We then discussed the creek bed restoration project that James had mentioned. We would soon be tasked with moving large rocks and logs to partially block the streambed to hopefully slow down the creek’s flow. This would be possible soon as the creek had dried up for spring. This process would hopefully emulate the work of beavers, who through their blockages, increase water percolation to the water table and create habitat for wetland creatures. I am personally very excited for this project because drought resistant practices are much needed across the world, but especially in the semi-arid desert we are farming in.

This week’s work in the employee garden brought up the topics of food insecurity, community action, and social resilience. Our main goal for the results of the employee garden are to increase food security, foster a shared community space, and to provide an example for the possibilities of supplementing income with fresh produce. Community gardens are known to improve community connections, increase consumption of fresh produce for communities with gardens, can provide a space for sharing of cultural knowledge, and connect peoples to their cultural practices and foods. (1) There is research being done on the impacts of community gardens on the health of the communities they reside in. One such article based in the Columbia River Gorge mentions how after implementing a community garden project with 38 Latino farmworker families there were numerous benefits. Participants were asked how often they consumed vegetables in a day. The amount of participants who submitted “several times a day” increased from 18.2% to 84.8%. The amount of participants who would “sometimes” or “frequently” worry about running out of food before money was available went from 31.2% to 3.1%. (2).

Readings

This week I read the chapters 3: “Roots of the Underground Economy” and 4: “The Oldest Problem”. The 3rd chapter briefly discusses the history of Western beliefs around how plants were nourished. The author explains how organic matter was seen as something plants consumed. This idea led into the idea that soil was a “chemical reservoir” full of nutrients the plants could uptake. The author then describes how Haber and Bosch discovered a way to synthesize ammonia for war efforts and then eventually agriculture. The discovery of chemical fertilizers changed the agricultural landscape of the world, soon the degraded Western farms could become (or seem to be) highly productive. The next section points out a 1930’s theory about the benefits of returning organic matter to fields, which was said to be possible due to mycorrhizal fungi. The author then explains how parts of the soil food web operate and benefit the growth of plants through symbiotic relationships. Combining all previously mentioned theories, we now know that organic matter feeds life in the soil (though not entirely on its own as was previously believed). Microorganisms are able to break down the organic matter from complex to simple forms, releasing stored nutrients and minerals. These organisms also form relationships with plants, trading these nutrients for plant exudates. After this, the author finishes the chapter by expressing how the intensive use of fertilizers and ‘cides has depleted organic matter, and severely disrupted soil communities, thus destroying the building blocks for plants to obtain holistic nutrients and the micronutrients they need.

The 4th chapter was mainly about tillage and its history across the globe. In previous history, exploitative civilizations like the Romans and British wore down their lands, eroding and extracting all organic matter through many years of tillage and eventually monocultural plantations. These degraded lands (along with horrible conscience) led these civilizations to exploit lands of other civilizations, which in part destroyed their soils too. This cycle has been repeated over and over and continues today in the current food regime led by Western countries (mainly the U.S.). The author also gives anecdotes of his experience with doing conferences in the Southeast U.S. and meeting with farmers. He describes tan soils that “reminded me of a California beach I frequented in my high school days”, and an immense lack of organic matter in the once rich prairie soils frequented by massive herds of buffalo. This chapter displays the brutal reality that settler colonialism and Western agriculture have shaped, a vast history of slavery, stolen land, exploitation, genocide, and extraction.

1.) Richardson, Jesse. “Using Community Gardens to Augment Food Security Efforts in Low-Income Communities.” Academia.Edu, 29 Nov. 2016, www.academia.edu/30158028/Using_Community_Gardens_to_Augment_Food_Security_Efforts_in_Low_Income_Communities.

2.) Carney, Patricia A et al. “Impact of a community gardening project on vegetable intake, food security and family relationships: a community-based participatory research study.” Journal of community health vol. 37,4 (2012): 874-81. doi:10.1007/s10900-011-9522-z

Week 2

This week started out with spreading compost on the employee garden. We used compost made with on-farm residues and it contained a large amount of crushed grape remains (seeds and some skins), as well as a solid population of red wiggler worms (Eisenia fetida).

After this we began work on the Raven’s irrigation system, starting with checking the main compressor/pump. The main line runs on a centrifugal pump connected to a cistern that is filled by a nearby spring. To use a centrifugal pump, it needs to be filled with water or “primed”. We filled a line connected to the pump and had to give it a few runs before it started to catch. After confirming that the water was being pressurized (150 Psi), we walked over to the vineyard and James began explaining the system. There are 4 valves that manage water hammering induced by the sudden surge of pressure, each connected to a block of the vineyard. The valves control flow to each block, with relief valves at the end to ensure no damage is done when activating the opening valves. Within seconds of turning on the valve connected to the first block, a chunk of PVC broke off and shot out. This valve was turned off and would be fixed soon.

After our introduction we moved on to testing individual drip lines in one block after the other. We were tasked with repairing leaks (whether with couplers or emitters), removing spaghetti hoses from establishes vines, and ensuring that the ends of each line were closed. The farm uses raised drip lines to reduce damage from tractors, foot traffic, and tool use, so many of the leaks were due to thirsty animals chewing through the lines to get water. We walked up and down each row, repairing leaks and removing hoses and ended the day by finishing blocks 2, 3, and 4.

Our next day began with fixing the riser that had burst. After cutting off the pipe that burst along with the other cracks in the riser we used an acetone cleaner and a PVC solvent to weld together a replica of the previous system. The part that was needed consisted of a straight 2 inch pipe, a T pipe to connect to the pressure regulator, the escape valve for air, and the Psi readout. After completing this we let it sit for a bit to allow the dissolved PVC to settle. We then repeated our previous checks on the final irrigation block before moving back to the main vineyard. There, we were assigned to dig a pit around the main line valve, where a connector pipe had broken. We used the cleaner and solvent to repair this piece as well.

On day 3 we started out by fixing the main relief valve for the estate vineyard. This repair was more simple but still required a lot of digging and some trial and error to get the pipe fitted on both ends. The digging took a good chunk of the day for us to finish. Our next step was to apply some nitrogen fertilizer to the prepared employee garden. We used pelletized poultry manure which had a 4% N content. For our rectangle of 13’x50′ we applied 18 pounds. After this, we rotovated the now dry compost and poultry manure into the soil. We decided to only do one pass of the tractor, despite the large chunks of sod still left in the soil. This decision was made to reduce carbon emissions, maintain some soil aggregation, and to not further propagate the no-longer needed grass. We then moved back to the estate vineyard and began to check the first out of six irrigation blocks on the lower/south side.

On the final day of work this week, we began by finishing out checks and repairs in the last 5 irrigation blocks in the lower estate vineyard. This vineyard differed slightly in the fact that we also had to turn on risers for each row. The risers operated with a ball joint and thus needed to be turned from the 45 degree angle (to reduce stress from winter freezes) to the full open position. After completing this we started making paths in the employee garden. We decided to move the soil and compost from where the paths were intended to go as we though putting mulch over it would be a waste of growing medium, this also would give us raised beds. After digging out the paths, we sheet mulched with cardboard and then applied a 2″ thick layer of bark mulch. After mulching, the paths were mostly level with the beds. We then tidied up the beds to be more uniform.

Readings:

This week I read the second chapter of Growing a Revolution, “Myths of Modern Agriculture”. This chapter discusses a departure from conventional agriculture. Main topics include: reduced use of agrochemicals and natural gas, GM crops, and myths that many believe about conventional agriculture. The author starts by discussing fossil fuel use and its effect on climate change, as well as how dependent conventional agriculture is on the use of these fuels (whether to power machinery, create plastics for use in a variety of everyday items, or to produce agrochemicals). This discussion leads into how climate change could affect global food regimes and the quality of life for the working class.

The next section of this chapter lists myths in agriculture. First, the myth that industrial agriculture feeds the world. This myth is easily disproven as the UN’s FAO states that family farms produce 80% of the worlds food. This fact is often overlooked as most people living in Western countries do not have a high amount of farmers per capita, while many global south countries do. This is largely due to how the the US (and other western countries) dominate the global food regime, enforcing consumerism on global south countries while extracting raw resources before processing them and selling for exponentially higher prices. Second, the myth of industrial agriculture being more “efficient”. Efficiency is often viewed as cost per unit output, but could be viewed as many things. How much of any input is being used to produce a unit? The monetary cost of an input could be low, but the environmental or cultural impact could be devastating. This myth is also backed by the idea that larger industrial farms produce more food per acre, which can also be easily proven wrong “According to a 1992 U.S. agricultural census report, small farms produce more than twice as much food per acre than large farms do.”. Third, the myth that intensive agrochemical use is necessary to feed a growing population. This argument is simply debated by mentioning that fertilizer use is already excessive and does not do much for already fertile land.

The next section of the chapter goes over GM crops and their perceived benefits and drawbacks including lack of change in yield, resistance to pesticides and herbicides, and the prioritization of soil health versus compensating for degraded soils with technology.

Week 1

On the first day of this week, my peer Nicco and I met with our field supervisor James Mantone to discuss what his plans and needs were for the near future during our internship. He identified the following tasks as more in-depth projects on the farm:

Starting a variety of natural sprays and applications to bolster grape health and feed soil microbiome. Teas need to be mixed twice daily.
- Harvesting stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) and starting the nettle tea foliar spray.
- Harvesting horsetail (Equisetum arvense), drying it, and making foliar equisetum spray.
- Collecting Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) duff from near one of the vineyards for use in a leaf mold compost tea.

Managing a field that needs more attention (compaction, weed pressure).
- Contacting WSDA to request parasitic insects for the biological control of knapweed (Centaurea spp.), and rush skeletonweed (Chondrilla juncea).

Redoing some parts of the irrigation
- Digging up old lines and making repairs.

Hand-hoeing weeds around young vines in the nursery.

Developing and maintaining an employee share garden.
- Picking a location.
- Clearing existing plants and debris.
- Contacting employees and developing a crop plan based on their wants and generally expensive produce.
- Purchasing plant starts and seeds
- Setting up drip irrigation, trellis, and possibly other infrastructure
- Transplanting annuals and perennials, direct sowing some annuals
- General maintenance as crops grow (i.e. weeding, irrigation, trellising, pruning, etc)

Locating areas for soil biology testing and collecting samples.

Waiting for the creek south of the estate vineyard to dry before integrating riparian rehabilitation.

Along with these specific projects, James also identified general farm tasks that would need to be completed:

Spreading compost for winter hardiness and organic matter (banding under vines and broadcasting in alleys)
Repairing/replacing drip irrigation and replacing irrigation boxes.
Monitoring weed pressure across the estate vineyards primarily thistles, knapweed, and skeleton weed. As well as weeding of these areas.

After this discussion we were assigned to collect the ingredients for the teas. We started with checking a nearby forest service parcel for Equisetum, but had no luck as it hadn’t sprouted yet. After this, we went to the Raven (one of the wineries vineyards near the estate) to collect Ponderosa Pine duff. We decided to work with a tree native to the area to foster IMO (Indigenous Microorganism) health. Most information about leaf mold teas describes deciduous leaves, but James worried about possibly introducing Armillaria root rot to the vineyards if we were to use white oak (another native tree) leaf mold. There is a concern for the chemical composition of ponderosa pine needles and bark, which contain caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin, and condensed tannins. These chemicals possibly inhibit nitrifying bacteria in the soil (1). We then dropped it off at the winery and drove out near Camas, WA to the Cape Horn trail area where we harvested stinging nettles.

Leaf mold is the decomposed remains of fallen leaves. Leaf mold compost is a commonly used form of composting that reduces waste in a society where leaf droppings are often bagged and sent to landfills. This form of compost is used in urban settings, but widely occurs in natural spaces as duff.

Stinging nettles are well known in the culinary world for their high nutritional value, containing an abundance of minerals, fiber, vitamins, polyphenols, and carotenoids. Stinging nettle also has antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, anti-infectious, hypotensive, and antiulcer characteristics (2). There is an abundance of this plant in many places across the U.S. and spreads very quickly through rhizomes.

On day two we met with James to discuss an area for the employee garden. The areas that were in consideration were on the hill northwest of the winery where the nursery is, a small grass patch next to the winery seating, or in the existing garden next to the Mantone’s house. While considering a location I asked myself: Which space would be most accessible to employees of varying abilities and schedules? What environmental conditions affect each location? Which location would be least damaged by/ benefit from having a garden space? The house garden sat on a plateau above a hill and cliff, and is buffeted by strong western winds. It is also not in an area that employees regularly go to, other than to store and move wine from a small cellar. The nursery is on a hill with a slight incline, where loess rests on a thick basalt layer. This hill could make maintenance more difficult, and was not entirely accessible to many folx. The area does get full sun for about half the day, with oak trees blocking morning sun and the hill itself blocking evening sun for the eastern-most rows. Making a garden on this hill might damage native wildflowers and require some basalt to be removed. The grass area gets full sun for three quarters of the day and rests on a flat lawn next to an existing ornamental garden used for seating. Employees could easily access this area, as it is nearby the center of operations, and has no incline. This area, like the rest of the vineyard/winery, is located in a semi-arid desert and needs to be constantly watered to keep the grass green. The lawn met all of our needs and having a garden replace some of the grass would actually reduce water usage, so it was fairly clear to choose.

After picking this spot, we measured the width and length that best worked for the winery. We decided on a 6 foot path on the west side to allow space for servers to access seating, and a 3 foot path on the east side to provide space for farmworkers to access grape vines. We ended up with a 13’x50’ field to work with, and began doing rudimentary maps. We decided on North-South rows. The space allowed for three 32” beds and two 20” paths. The paths on either side of the garden allowed more room on the west side, where I decided to put a 20” bed of flowers. This bed would provide a pleasant barrier between seating and the garden. Our next decision was how to deal with the preexisting grass. Our proposed options were to: rotovate the grass into the soil, use a sod cutter, occultation, solarization, or some combination of any of these.

After measuring and making simple maps, we contacted a local equipment rental company to rent a sod cutter which we then used to start removing the sod. The machinery did not enjoy the slight indent in the field where a main waterline sat underground, but after lots of trial and error we cleared most of the area. After this, we loaded sod onto a tractor and added it to a compost pile behind the winery.

On the final workday of the week, we began by making the finishing touches to the sod removal, hand trimming small sections that were missed, and making the last few passes on larger sections. We then hauled the sod to the compost pile and cleaned off the rental before returning it. Our next step was to begin the making of the fermented tea applications (nettle and leaf mold). We boiled potatoes (which would be used to feed the solution) until soft, and began making the teas. To start, we filled four leftover oak barrels previously used for wine with water and wrapped half of the duff in a cheesecloth which was then submerged. We repeated this step with another barrel before starting to mash the potatoes with our hands into the water. This was the first time the winery has made this tea, so it will be an experiment for everyone. We then took our bags of stinging nettles and poured them into the other 2 barrels of water. This preparation was much simpler, as all we did was take a few stakes and push the nettles under the water a few times before covering the barrels. The leaf mold tea was then moved into the barn, which would be warmer during the night and sheltered from the sun, and the nettle tea was moved behind the vineyard. Over the next few weeks, we will stir the nettle tea twice daily until it is ready for application.

Leaf mold compost is commonly used to bolster biological activity in soil and increase SOM (soil organic matter), though it takes a bit longer to decompose than green material due to its high carbon to nitrogen ratio. The leaf mold tea that we created was essentially a compost tea (brewed compost in water, fed with carbohydrates). The microorganisms that are decomposing the OM in the compost will feed on the carbohydrates (typically molasses) and reproduce, creating a more potent solution of microbes. In our case, we used potatoes, which James said could possibly have a slower growth of population rather than the burst that molasses gives. This hypothesis is due to the fact that the starch in a potato is a more complex carbohydrate and might take longer to break down. Compost teas are known to be beneficial for increasing plant and soil pathogen resilience and increasing beneficial soil microbes. Using no-turn compost or natural compost (duff if not fully decomposed or humus if fully decomposed) slows down the process of decomposition, but fosters an ideal environment for fungi, creating a higher fungi to bacteria ratio (3). Our hopes for making this tea are to increase native microbe populations in the vineyards in order to increase plant resilience, soil decomposition, and support the existing microbial populations (4).

Nettle tea is a plant extract, typically extracted in water over the course of 2-4 weeks. In a study by Maričić, Branka, et al. a short term extract (SE, 1 day) and a long term extract (LE, 2 weeks) are compared for their chemical compositions. Both samples contained nitrate, ammonia, phosphorous, potassium, and iron, with higher concentrations of NH4, P, K, and Fe in the LE samples. These chemicals are very beneficial in increasing the health of plants. The study shows comparisons with urea (a commonly used synthetic fertilizer in conventional agriculture). Urea only slightly increased stem height and diameter, leaf diameter, and total yield more than SE and LE (5). This study shows the possibility of using a much simpler form of nitrogen and other nutrient fertilizer that doesn’t require chemical processing and could be a much more holistic application.

Readings:

This week, I read the first chapter of Growing a Revolution by David Montgomery, “Fertile Ruins”. The chapter discussed the author’s interest and beginnings in researching soil, particularly soil degradation and regeneration. The author writes about the neglect of the value of soil, the issue of erosion surrounding tillage, farmers shifting to no-till practices, and the need for a new agricultural revolution. This heavily relates to the growing practices on Steep Creek Ranch, a farm that is constantly seeking to increase SOM, no-till applications, and holistic amendments. I feel inspired to continue my developing knowledge around regenerative practices in order to help my community and future generations.

Lodhi, M.A.K. and Killingbeck, K.T. (1980), ALLELOPATHIC INHIBITION OF NITRIFICATION AND NITRIFYING BACTERIA IN A PONDEROSA PINE (PINUS PONDEROSA DOUGL.) COMMUNITY. American Journal of Botany, 67: 1423-1429. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1537-2197.1980.tb07777.x
Bhusal KK, Magar SK, Thapa R, Lamsal A, Bhandari S, Maharjan R, Shrestha S, Shrestha J. Nutritional and pharmacological importance of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.): A review. Heliyon. 2022 Jun 22;8(6):e09717. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09717. PMID: 35800714; PMCID: PMC9253158.
Richardville, K., Egel, D., Flachs, A., Jaiswal, A., Perkins, D., Thompson, A., & Hoagland, L. A. (2022). Closing the loop in the city: Leaf mold compost reduces waste, improves soil and microbial properties, and increases tomato productivity. Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems, 7: e220022. https://doi.org/10.1002/uar2.20022
Mostafa, Mohsen & E., El-Baze & F., El-Wahav & Mostafa Omar, Asmaa. (2011). Using Different Sources Of Compost Tea On Grapes. J. Plant Production, Mansoura Univ., Egypt. 2. 935-947. 10.21608/jpp.2011.85627.
Maričić, Branka, et al. “Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica L.) as an aqueous plant-based extract fertilizer in green bean (phaseolus vulgaris L.) sustainable agriculture.” Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 7, 5 Apr. 2021, p. 4042, https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074042.