I would like to thank everyone who came to this past saturday's open house; I estimate that we had close to 60 people show up throughout the day. Many people expressed excitement towards future volunteer days, foodscrap donations, and offered themselves as a resource; I would especially like to thank those people. If you were unable to make it to the event or missed our guest list and would like information in the future please contact me at joshpuckett@postcarbon.org.

Again, thank you for your support; it was great to see people in the garden.

Jason Bradford and I were invited to speak at the Willits Community Center as part of today’s Earth Day Celebration. We were the last speakers of the day and our topic…you guessed it, the Energy Farm at Brookside Elementary School. Our presentation lasted about 45 minutes. Jason wowed the crowd as he called for responsible and reliable agricultural practices, laid out the case for the relocalization of agriculture, and presented the need for increasingly smaller farms working as a network. I spoke about how Energy Farms seek to create local products for local users while reducing consumption of petroleum and reducing degradation of the soil, forests, and the atmosphere. I also reported on our unique toolset and introduced the philosophy of behind the five F’s of farming that we are demonstrating in Willits.

Many people approached us to say thanks for the work that we are doing in community. Some people who had listened to other presentations throughout the day were glad that our presentation ended the Earth Day Celebration because it was “inspiring” and “gave people a sense that groups like Post Carbon Institute are actually working toward change and making opportunities for people to get involved”. Other people wanted to know how to get involved and offered property to future projects and even their own labor as a volunteer at the farm.

Sparetime Supply,
a local nursery and garden supply store, has continued to donate plants and materials to the evolving farm project at Brookside Elementary. In late February
and mid March, Sparetime donated seeds, water hoses, and fruit trees to the
project. These contributions have been quite generous and have gone toward
establishing the permanent infrastructure of the site. When combined with their
January donations, it is
clear that Sparetime participates in making Community Supported Agriculture a
reality.

I want to also mention that Chuck Mansell (the principal at
Brookside Elementary) and the Willits
Unified School
District pitched in some funds toward the purchase
of a basic tool set. This covered the cost for the toolbox, hammer, sockets,
screwdrivers, pliers, measuring tape, file, and razor knife. It is fun to have Chuck visit the site because he is excited to see the previously unused baseball field transforming into a mini-farm.

Another donor that wished to remain anonymous contributed eight,
6 Ft fence posts and 100 Ft of fencing. This will be most likely be used to
create a chicken run along
the far western fence line. The fencing will separate the chickens from the
annual section.

I want to express gratitude for the support. It is fun to work on a project that the community deems important and is willing to support with time, money, supplies, and words of encouragement. If you have not yet visited the Community Support section please check it out and get an idea of how many individuals and organizations are involved in this demonstration.

Around midnight Monday the sky was clear, stars were easy to see, and ice was beginning to form on the steps near the entrance of the house. On Tuesday I woke to find it snowing with an accumulation of a couple of inches already on the ground. Jason and I headed down to the farm site to take some pictures of the occasion. Our onsite weather station recorded 1.29 inches of precipitation in January and 10.39 inches (not counting the current snow) in February. The table below shows data related to the average rainfall for the Willits area.

Source: WILLITS 1 NE, MENDOCINO COUNTY data derived from NCDC Cooperative Stations. 27 complete years between 1960 and 1995.

With the snow we are back inside waiting for our next opportunity to put some time in at the farm site. Once there is a break in the weather we are looking to transplant the peas that were sown on the 7^th of February. Another farm priority is the construction of a covered composting station. I visited Mendo Mill to get a price check on materials and it looks like it will be fairly reasonable to build the covered area. Under the shelter we will have room for multiple compost piles, and we are looking to get some straw bales to insulate the early piles in the cooler weather.

The Community Support page has been updated. Take a look to see the growing number of volunteers, local businesses, and organizations aligned with the Brookside Farm project.

Pan of the Farm Site Looking Northwest

Main Shade Tree On-Site (A Large Madrone)

Tree Collards Standing Up to the Snow

Snow Covering the Weather Station

Jason Bradford and I traveled down to Ukiah today to attend
a workshop related to Fish Friendly Farming (http://www.fishfriendlyfarming.org/).
Although the workshop and related certification is geared toward private
property owners of vineyards we thought that it would be useful to attend some
of the workshops since the Brookside Energy Farm is in close proximity to a salmon
spawning stream. The biggest concern that the workshop addresses seems to be
related to erosion. As sediment enters the stream via sheet-erosion or from overused
private roads the water shed and salmon habitat is severely disrupted. This
should not be a problem for us because we practice over winter soil management
techniques including compost tea and cover cropping to directly prevent erosion,
and we have no frequently traveled roads or vehicle traffic on site.

On the way down to the workshop we stopped at Ridgewood
Ranch, home of the famous racehorse
Sea Biscuit. The
Ridgewood Ranch property spans 5000 acres and contains an active intentional community.
We visited community member Ellen Bartholomew to pick up some seed, investigate
the garden, and drop off a "corn sheller" for her interns to use as
they separate the corn seed from the cob. Ellen manages the Golden Rule
Garden at Ridgewood
Ranch. This garden is a partnership with John Jeavons' group Ecology Action and
is both a demonstration and research site. At this time of the year there are asparagus
planted out and the majority of the beds are covered in fava (broad) beans and
a diversity of winter cereal crops. Some of these crops will be used for
biomass and others will be used to collect and test seeds. Ellen mentioned that
during the dry-spell in January she actually had to water her grain crops because
they were looking a bit stressed. She said that she had never had to water in
January and that this was an abnormally dry month.

In order to collect some seeds from Ellen and Bountiful Gardens we are responsible for
collecting our own seed from some of what we grow. A portion of the seed will
be given back to Bountiful
Gardens (Ecology Action’s
seed saving and distribution arm) so that they may uses it in other tests. This
is an exciting opportunity to collaborate and we look forward to sharing the
results. Visit the Ecology Action Homepage at http://www.growbiointensive.org/,
and you can also check out Bountiful
Gardens at http://www.bountifulgardens.org/.

The varieties of seed we received and will be responsible
for include:

• Golden Giant Amaranth
• Bean Mix (Jacob’s Cattle, Pinto, and Black Turtle Beans)
• Dale Sorghum
• AC Baton Oats
• Hard Red Spring Wheat
• Lavarus Spring Wheat
• Jet Barley
• Faust Barley
• Multi-Hued Quinoa

While I have been in Oregon the work at Brookside continues. We are very glad to welcome Rachael Adaire to the farm team in Willits, CA. She has pledged 120 hours of work to the site as part of Mendocino College’s Regional Occupation Program. This is a partnership between Mendocino college, the local 501c3 WELL, and the Brookside farm. Rachael has experience in two previous Community Supported Agriculture projects in Northern California and brings a good deal of agricultural knowledge with her.

Today Jason and Rachael started approximately 1000 pea seeds, in hopes of preparing the starts to be sown as soon as the weather permits. Jason and Rachael are also taking inventory of necessary seeds and are seeking donations from the community.

Peas Started in Flats

Pea Starts 2

Pea Starts 3

We have spent the last two days over turning sod at the Brookside Farm with two Toro rear-tine propelled tillers. There has been 0.9 inches of rain during the entire month of January. This has provided us the unique opportunity to over turn the sod and allow it to decompose during the final months of winter. As mentioned in previous blogs we were looking to overturn the uneven sod that was sure to be unsuitable for seedbeds. The sod was tilled for the first time at the beginning of November; since then, it has re-rooted and in some places began to grow again. Jason Bradford and I had been experimenting with methods of overturning the sod by hand, (cutting the top layer off and overturning it with a spade). We had allocated two weeks to complete the project with two people, doing 100 sq foot sections at a time and working fairly long days. If we waited to overturn the sod after the rains we would be pushing very close to the spring planting season and we might not have the opportunity to allow the sod to decompose enough to set seeds. After lengthy discussion about the use of petrol powered machines the choice was clear that we could incorporate the sod and allow it to rot over the winter in hopes that we could need minor raking and weed disruption to set seeds in spring.

Local business, Willits Rental, allowed us free usage of two Toro rototillers. The choice to use walk behind tillers was made for a couple of reasons. First, the tillers relive the soil of the compaction that can occur when one uses a tractor to address the soil. Tilling at a depth of approximately four inches, we did not create any undue compaction by driving heavy equipment over the soil and potentially compacting it below the fluffed-up top layer. Additionally, while it was possible to use a tractor before the perimeter fence was completed, it is no longer feasible to do so. The area that a tractor would need to turn around in to make its next pass was not enough without probably running against the tight confines of the perimeter fence. Needless to say we wanted to till as close to our walkways and boundaries as we could and not damage the fence at the same time. Finally, erosion by wind was likely to be less of a factor when tilling with the smaller, slower, rear-tine Toro machines. In this instance, the Toro’s served as intermediate tools allowing us to complete as much work as possible in the least amount of time and, we believe, with minimal petrol inputs.

We averaged a total of 8.5 machine hours on each tiller and a total of 5 gallons of unleaded gasoline for the entire project. The machines were used on approximately 16,000 sq feet (both the annual, perennial, grape, and orchard areas). As is standard we cross-cut the sod, with one machine moving east to west and the other tilling north to south. This practice helps the tilled layer to be uniform in depth and remove any ridges left by an incomplete pass. We noticed that there were two types of grass growing on the site, and one species was particularly rooted and hard to incorporate. At times we needed to make a second pass in order to insure that we had cut it. I fear that some of this grass has surely survived this tilling and we will have to deal with it in the early spring as we prepare the seedbeds. At present we feel ahead of schedule in relation to preparation of the land for seeds and starts. A project that was scheduled for two weeks has been completed in 2 days by two people and perhaps it is the last major machine cultivation that will be needed on the site.

Two Tillers Cross-Cutting The Soil

Pushing Tiller Through a Tough Spot

Breaking New Ground in the Orchard Section

Using Larger Toro Tiller

Shot of Tilled Soil

Jason Bradford and I worked outside on another sunny afternoon to bring the toolbox project one step closer to completion. We began the day’s tasks by sourcing plywood, hinges, and hardware from Mendo Mill [http://www.mendomill.com], the local lumber yard. Mendo Mill has pledged up to $250 worth of supplies and materials to support the Brookside School Farm. I extend a warm thanks to Mendo Mill for their donation; their contribution is helping to make this community farm a reality. I am impressed with the local businesses in Willits, California, as they invest locally and demonstrate their commitment to projects that will directly enrich their community.

After the trip to Mendo Mill, we set to work to install the plywood sides and bottom. The plywood was firmly attached to the frame with a number of two-inch wood screws. We made decent progress and need to finalize the box by attaching the lid to hinges and installing the security latch. The frame was already heavy enough, but after the addition of roughly five sheets of plywood the thing is going to be difficult to move. Now that the sides are on the box, it looks plenty big enough to hold just about anything we might need to store.

While building today, Jason was thinking that it would be great if community members or students at the school would want to paint the sides of the toolbox. I like this suggestion. Paint will not only beautify the project and allow for more community participation, but it will help to protect the wood from the weather. We will likely put on some type of wood protection product, and then allow people to paint over it.

Attaching Plywood to Frame

Toolbox Without the Lid

A View Inside the Toolbox

The community support continues to pour in for the Willits Energy Farm located at Brookside Elementary School. Sparetime Supply [(707)-459-6791], a local nursery and garden supply store has agreed to contribute tools, seeds, and fruit trees to the evolving farm project. Today, Sparetime made good on a portion of their pledge as Jason Bradford and I visited the store to gather a majority of the tools that are needed to make ready the orchard and annual bed infrastructure, prepare seedbeds, and manage the crops. Items donated include:

(1) Spade Shovel with Handle

(1) Full-Length, Round-Point Shovel

(2) Full-Length, Cultivation Hoes

(2) Digging/ Compost Forks

(1) Bow Rake

(1) Thatch Rake

(1) Diamond Hoe

(1) Hula-Hoe

(3) Hand Trowels

(2) Hand Hoes

(3) Pronged Hand-Cultivators

(1) Dibber

(2) Small Pruning Shears

(1) (4.5 gal) Backpack Sprayer (For applying activated compost tea)

I want to extend a sincere Thank You to Sparetime. Today’s donation demonstrates that Sparetime is an ally and member of the farm family. Furthermore, Sparetime has enriched the community by supporting the work of community participants and the Post Carbon Institute as we work together to develop solutions regarding food security and decentralized food production in Willits, California.