Staking a Field

In the last article I talked about the baby lavender plants, all cozy and warm in their wood stove heated nursery just a few mile north. January is well underway, and it's time to start thinking about preparing a home for the children. Last week I agreed to come out today and start staking out the new fields... with none other than lavender stakes of course! But that was before I saw the weather. I woke up this morning, and yikes! She was really letting loose. I put on my hat and jacket to feed the chickens carrying an empty bucket with me. When I arrived at the coop, the bucket was full. That was how hard it was raining. I broke out my oil slicker and rubber boots for what promised to be a WET day!

The new field is going to be integrated into a functional landscape. And the terrain is not completely flat. So the field planning is a bit more complex than a simple rectangle with north-south running rows and irrigation. The first order of business is to determine exactly where the lavender are going to be planted. In this case, the landscape design company has provided me with some CAD renderings of the fields, but it is important to verify exactly where the fields are going to be, and take measurements for developing the field and irrigation plans.

Now, I have friends who's family farm cattle, corn, and wheat in Kansas. And they to a lot of their planning via satellite. In fact, it's amazing how much is done these days with technology. All those millions of dollars spent during the cold war to try to see where the nuclear missiles were going, are now helping farmers plan and manage their crops. Real whiz-bang Buck Rogers stuff. I suppose someone is still looking out for the missiles, but it's nice to know technology is being used for something constructive nowadays.

But there is nothing better than working right on the ground. At least for me. So I broke out my really high-tech farming gear. Satellites ain't got nothing on a good measuring wheel and compass! They might not be fancy pants, but they git er done.

The work will be done in two stages. First, the field measurements. Second I'll draft up a set of field plans. Since I'm a visually oriented person, I like to have a map with me in the field while I'm taking the measurements. So I sat down this morning at the kitchen table with the CAD renderings and drew up a crude field map. I'll use this as reference. Then I hopped in the car and drove down to the site.

Now, remember the rain. Yeah, well, I'm not a duck. More importantly, without the proper writing instruments and laminated maps, trying to take notes in the middle of a biblical deluge is kinda tricky. So I have to admit, I sneaked a peak on the satellite, even though I was trying to be so Luddite. I could see that the front coming in off the ocean to the west was petering out. My estimates, I could go now and get soaked. Or wait an hour and get there during a break in the rain. Excellent. That was just the excuse to take one more cup of tea.

When I arrived, the storm tail was just passing. So I waited 10 minutes in the car for it to pass, and then got out and started my work. Using the map as reference, I picked obvious landmarks, labeled the map and took measurements. Namely distances and directions using the measuring wheel and compass. I recorded all of these for each field area on the field map.

The nice thing about being on the ground like this when marking the field is that you get a real feel for the soil and terrain. You can make adjustments for tree shade, drainage (helpful to notice when it has just rained!), buried utility boxes and sewers, as well as slope. Things that are just not present, or more difficult to feel on the satellite images. And more importantly, you get to be outside on a beautiful (albeit wet) day, wind in your face, enjoying the deer meandering by, birds, turkeys, cool mushrooms, and squirrels. Well, maybe not the squirrels (see my previous post on ground squirrels here). But you get the picture. Life couldn't be better.

Once the data was collected, I packed up the gear and headed home. Even with the rain gear, I got a bit wet. So I started a fire, took off my wet socks, and warmed up with another cup of tea. Rain started again. That's okay, we can use it.

Baby Lavender

Last month, I took a trip up to Watsonville to visit my new babies. Lavender babies of course.

This year I am partnering with a local resort to plant a brand new lavender field in Carmel Valley. This is an amazing opportunity. Not only is the lavender going to be absolutely stunning, because the field will be located on a property with regular visitors, it is going to provide a real hands-on way to share the amazing experience of growing and distilling lavender with the guests. While I enjoy sharing what I do through the website and blogs, I am looking forward to doing the same work face to face.

Well, back to the babies. This is going to be a substantial field. Several thousand plants. Here you can see some of the little plants in the greenhouse, where they will grow before they are taken into the world and planted out.

This close-up taken in December shows the baby plants in the pots where they will develop their roots. This type of lavender (grosso) is propagated through cuttings. Cuttings are taken from the mother plant, and placed in a special soil mixture, where they form roots. Once the cutting has its first roots, it is now a baby plant. These plants are then transplanted into the pots you see them in the photo. Here in these pots, they will be kept warm in a greenhouse all winter so they can develop more extensive root systems and be ready to grow big and strong in the spring.

To assure they grow to their full potential, the greenhouse is kept

warm. Obviously the sun does a lot of the work with the clear canopy of the green house. Soil activity also contributes to the warms. And this greenhouse has an added helper, wood burning stoves. Here in this photo, you can see one of the wood burning stoves used to heat the greenhouse on the colder winter days. Pretty low tech, but it does the job. Standing next to the stove, I was actually starting to sweat!

It will be fun to check back in a month and see how our babies are doing.

Winter Bee Check

Today I made a quick winter check of the bees.

Usually in the winter, I don't worry too much about the bees. Hopefully if things were done properly in the fall, they would have stored enough food to survive. In the cold weather, they are usually balled up in the hive, and I don't like to disturb them.

Yesterday I heard from a neighbor that she had lost her hive already. The hive autopsy sounded like starvation, but there was still frames with honey in the hive. And the temperatures have been quite mild, save one or two weeks in December. So I went and sat by some of my hives. It was kind of chilly yesterday, and I did see a few bees, but not many. Today it was warmer, so I decided to take another look.

There was much more activity today. Here you can see one of the workers entering the hive. And she's FULLY LOADED. Wow. Seems to be finding plenty to eat. Look at the pollen on her hind legs.


It surprised me to see so much pollen. So I made a quick survey of the surrounding area. There were indeed flowers on many of the plants. The rosemary had beautiful blue blossoms. And the bees seemed to make right for it. Here you can see one of the little ladies drinking from a nearby bush.

The fava planted back in October is also blossoming. There were bees foraging on them as well.

A couple of hives did seem to have reduced activity, compared to the others. I think those might require a closer look. I may check back tomorrow, but if they didn't make it, there really isn't much that can be done until springtime anyhow. So I suppose I might as well let them bee.

Bees are sensitive creatures. It occurs to me that I am going to have to get used to losing hives (though it still makes my heart sink) and follow an annual plan that restores the lost colonies on a regular basis. The troubles do make the honey difficult and costly. But when you taste it, I think you agree it is worth the effort.

Thanksgiving Early

Today was a special day. One for which I have been preparing for some time. Living on a small farm is about getting intimate with the Earth. To build a connection. Or rather to live the connection to the Earth explicitly. Modern life has in many ways removed us from a basic truth, that we are bound to her. Our life comes from her soil, and from her water, and from her air. Modern life brings us food in a store, water in plastic bottles, and yes, I have even seen "oxygen bars" in the city where air comes in cans too. This world is an illusion. It is not real.

Meet Hec-ace. He is in the photo to the right. Hec-ace blessed our farm today with a visit. When he arrived, he said I was blessed for I was living a dream. I agree. And in some ways, the modern life is the real dream, and this is reality. Where life and strength come from the Earth, not from a plastic box.

Hec-ace (which means Mountain Lion) came today to bless the farm and the people here with a saging ceremony. Just, as he describes, to say "Thank you" to the Earth and the people for giving us the gifts that we need to live. He burned sage, and purified everyone, because as he says, you cannot purify if you are not pure yourself. And then he said his thank you. We turned to the East, and thanked the rising sun on which Life depends. We followed to the South, and to the West, and finally the North expressing thanks for all the things we often take for granted: the water we must have to drink and for our crops, and the air, and the birds, and yes, the insects. They are all part of the system that brings us strength.

The ceremony reaffirms my commitment to using the land naturally, without chemicals and without pesticides. To respect the systems that have been here a thousand years before my short life, and will be here a thousand more after I leave. To draw strength from the land and take care of it, but not to exploit it. I like to think of it as living like the honey bee: to take what is needed, harm nothing, and leave the world better than before.

Responding to Hec-ace's words, the winter fava I planted a few weeks ago sprout tall now. Well, his words, and the light rain we had just last night. But that is what he said. Just as the Rolling Stones sing: you get what you need. We needed rain. This is true with faith.

Today I was doubly blessed. For after the blessing, there was a Holiday Faire amongst the olive trees in a grove on Carmel Valley Road. It was a wonderful event. What better life than to share the produce of the Earth with people who are happy?

Today, people celebrated. Us on Lavender Hill, and people in the olive groves. They enjoyed some lavender bread samples I had made earlier this morning. They enjoyed our essential oils grown and distilled right here on the farm. And they enjoyed our soaps. Interestingly today, they especially enjoyed our massage oil. A coconut oil base mixed with Carmel Lavender essential oil.

The perfect antidote for the tensions of our modern world.

Peace to you all this season.

Another Day in Life

Here is a little photo journal of today. Just one day in life on Lavender Hill.

7:00am - Time to rise. Days starting a bit later now. Day breaks around 7ish. Today after my morning tea, I was looking at all those zucchini that on the table and thought I would make a nice zucchini bread. So before I started my outdoor work, I mixed up some bread dough and got that into the oven. For the rest of the day, the house smelled like baking cinnamon. Mmmm.

8:00 - Outside making the rounds. First stop was the Chicken coop. I need to let the little ladies out into the run so they can pick at the ground. Every evening they get locked up in the coop for their own protection. We have had fox and skunk making the rounds lately and I don't want any "encounters". So when dusk falls, and the hens go inside to roost, I close the door.

Here in the picture, is one of the Araucana hens making her way down the gangway to the tractor run.

Next stop was the vegetable garden. I wanted to check on the veggies. Figure out "what's for dinner" tonight! Lots of summer veggies still in production. I hope it lasts though. Last year we didn't have a freeze until late November. However last night got down to 37. Burrr. We'll see how much longer we can go w/o a frost.

This vegetable collage shows some of the delicious food growing. Wonderful zucchini (we saw some of her sisters in the previous photos of the bread!), peppers, tomatoes, and pumpkin. You can see the photo of the grapes that the birds have ruined them. The peck them, and then they shrivel up into raisins. These are Cabernet grapes, so lots of seeds. You know I just had an idea while writing. The Chickens absolutely LOVE grapes. I wonder how they would like picking at these shriveled vines? Tomorrow I will harvest and throw into the coop. We'll see if they like these!

Looking at the mercury, I am a bit sorrowful to think that soon the summer produce will be gone. But every season brings rebirth. These last few weeks I have been working on my winter garden. It will begin as summer dies. I took a looksy. Not much going on yet. Just planted recently. Wanted to make sure the ground was damp and it didn't require irrigation. All was well. The weather has cooled down quite a bit these last few days, so the water it got a few days ago. If I can get a few more days without frost, perhaps the new spouts will be present to console me as the summer crops wither.

After surveying the vegetable garden, it was time to do a walkabout in the lavender fields. I had just irrigated the day before. Unfortunately I found one of the irrigation lines chewed clean through. Judging by the looks of the scat nearby, it was probably the skunk that has been hanging around lately. It was a simple fix, but the ground looked pretty damp. Those plants got a good watering that day I can tell you.

10:00am - I started working on a new field. This is a protected field that will be fenced in from deer and other critters. A safe place to grow crops like basil and other aromatics that need protection from munching deer. This soil is going to need a LOT of work though. It hasn't supported much more than weeds until now. It is very fine and hard. I'm thinking about growing a season or two of cover to build it up before I plant. We'll see. The field is a bit sloping. A bit precarious for the tractor. A little light shaping mades it a bit safer for working.

2:00 - Once the ground work was done, I started surveying the surrounding trees. Some of them could use some trimming. So I spent the rest of the afternoon trimming and clearing away the brush piles. Trimming trees is heavy work. That part I don't mind. But I don't particularly relish climbing. There is nothing like hugging a branch 20 feet above the ground with a running chain saw to make Mr. Newton and his musings seem relevant. I guess that's what you would call a real "tree hugger" !?

7:00 - I quit a bit early today. Had to get ready to head up to Santa Cruz. My neighbor and good friend Kelly is in radio. That's Kelly there at her control console. Today I was invited on her KUSP radio show Talk of the Bay to discuss genetically modified foods, or GMO. Click here to listend to the show.


I am working with a local group called GMO Free Monterey County. We are working to educate people about potential human and environmental health risks of GMO. You can find out more about this effort at http://www.gmofreemontereycounty.org/. There is a petition asking for a moratorium of GMO crops in Monterey County until adequate safegards and regulations can be established. Please sign the petition here. Hopefully the show will be posted on the website shortly if you wish to listen.

Ahh, time for sleep now.

Trip to the Village Blacksmith

Well, it's time to overcome those "technical difficulties" and get this chicken buggy moving again. If you recall from the last article, the Eagle was grounded after her maiden voyage. Well those chickens have completely pulverized every last weed underneath the tractor in about three days. It's time to move the tractor down a length, but we're going to have to get those difficulties resolved first.

We actually had two difficulties, one with the coop, and the other with the tractor. Both were going to require metal work. As I don't have the equipment for that on the farm, I needed to pack up the broken parts in the truck, and head on down to the village blacksmith. Well, I guess Bob is a black smith. The sign says Live Oak Forge. Bob makes some pretty amazing stuff. His shop is full of cool little forged pieces of metal from fire irons with dragon faces, to metal signs, fire place screens with spider webs and weeds. The last time I was in there he was making an amazing iron gate with a sunburst, white oak leaves and acorns. This thing was a true work of art. I like to joke that the stuff I bring him is like asking Picasso to paint your bath room. Oh well, he helps me out! :) And I appreciate that.

On the tractor, the wheels deploy by pulling a lever that rotates the wheel forks down, lifting the tractor off the ground. That tractor is heavy, and there is a lot of force acting on the cam and the lever hub. While positioning the tractor, the force was apparently just too great, shearing the lever shaft right where the bolt attached it to the cam. CRASH! The whole thing came down with a bang snapping one of the 2x6 beams right in half.

The lever shaft needed to be redesigned with solid tool steel instead of the drilled hollow pipe that sheared. Here you can see a photo to the right of the new design. Now THAT ain't going anywhere. The bolt will shear before that goes! We even made up another lever for the other side to take the stress off the one side during transit.

On the coop, the tongue that attaches to the tractor bent. It was a case of a very heavy coop, and a trailer frame from China. It was supposed to handle up to 1475 lbs. Well, you know what they say, you get what you pay for. Well in this case what I got was a broken chicken coop. The metal just folded right in half, and the front end of the coop was dragging on the ground. If you look closely in the picture from the previous article, you can see the front of the coop jacked up on jack stands.

After straightening out the metal frame, we welded a 12foot piece of 2x2 steel 1/4" thick right down the middle. I can attach this to the entire underside of the coop carriage. This way the stress will be distributed better and hopefully solve this problem once and for all. It will be nice to get that coop moving again. You can see the newly fixed part ready for installation in the photo on the right.

Hopefully this weekend I can get these new pieces installed and move the coop and tractor down a length. I'm sure the chickens would love to start pecking at some new dirt. But right now, they seem content to dig holes and take the occasional dirt bath.

And if you need any amazing metal work done, go visit Bob at Live Oak Forge!

The Chickens Have Landed

First, there is the romantic dream. When I thought about bringing chickens onto the farm, I had the idyllic image of flocks of feathered hens running around the yard, bringing life, happiness, and occasionally comedic relief.

But I wasn't completely naive. Everyone I know out here that have chickens have lost chickens. I know there are "bad guys" out there. Predators. Those who would see the new arrivals as the inauguration of the new neighborhood diner. So I enclosed the soon-to-be barnyard with fencing capable of keeping dogs, coyotes, and other predators at bay. Perhaps from time to time I might have to deal with a thief. But the other 364 days of the year would be bliss.

My naivete would last less than 24 hours after the baby chix arrived. Then, during broad daylight, and every day and night afterwards I saw them. The fox. Like a bad cartoon. The 6ft wire mesh fence isn't going to keep those guys out. Nor the skunks. Alright. Nice to meet you Mr. Reality. Time for Plan 9: the chicken tractor.

First I built the mobile coop. A veritable fortress on wheels. I don't know how many of you remember Super Chicken, but this vessel puts the Super Coop to shame. It has a double wire bottom, so the precious chicken poop can drop right onto the ground. The double wire is to prevent the nasties from eating the little chicken toes that protrude through the wire. Concerned about the wire on the little feet, I made 2x4 pathways so that the chickens (and I) can navigate the coop and hangout w/o having to always walk on wire. Built in nesting boxes with side access shutters allow easy egg removal w/o having to go into the coop and play "Who's Your Daddy" with Mr. Rooster.

But Alas, chickens love getting down and dirty. I would put some of them in a wire bottom dog kennel right on the ground and they would pick and dig and bathe in that dirt. If chix could smile, they'd be grinning ear to ear ever time I let them contact Mother Earth. So that's when the mobile tractor attachment was born. To the right is a photo of the partially constructed tractor with the wheels deployed. The wheels raise the coop off the ground so that it can be maneuvered into place, and then the wheels lower resting the tractor onto the ground providing a protective daytime pen or chicken park.

As usual, it took me way longer to build than I thought, including some welding and metal fabrication lessons from the local blacksmith. Sigh, my initial wooden landing gear would not bear the weight. But this week I finally "got'er done" as Larry would say, and positioned the coop and the tractor side by side in a virgin field. Note the three ports on the tractor. These align with corresponding ports on the coop and are connected with a protected gangway.


DAY 1: the chickens were... well CHICKEN. Man, what worry warts. I would open the coop, grab a hen and put her in into the tractor, and she would panic and run right back into the coop. Some of the chickens would get topside where there is a window and look down nervously at their new park. But nary a venture. Finally, one brave barred rock, Nelle Armstrong, the adventurer braved the gangway, and under her own chicken power, jumped down into the tall weeds under the tractor. Here I caught this historic event. One small leap for chicken, one sigh of relief for the man.

DAY 2: A few more ventured out. Up to a quarter of the flock could be seen in the tractor at any time during the day. In the evening, they all went back into the coop, though one fat hen clogged up the door, and two smaller hens were stuck roosting on the gangway. In the evening I gave them a gentle nudge and they got the courage to push their way past fattie and get inside before I locked them up safe.

DAY 3: Still about a quarter of the flock. The auracana's and barred rocks seem to favor outside the most. Occasionally a RI Red or a Buff Orpington would come out, pick around, and return to the coop. Amazingly in three days, they have reduced that weed filled space to COMPLETE RUBBLE. Bare dirt! Time to move the coop and tractor down a bit :)

TO BE CONTINUED: Well, unfortunately I can't move the coop and tractor right now :( during their maiden voyages, each experienced some "technical difficulties" which are going to require a few more lessons from the blacksmith. Oh well, at least the chickens are on the ground where they are happy until I get those parts welded back up again. The remaining weeds will have to wait.