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It's Warm and We're All Buzzing...
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While most of the country is blanketed in snow and ice, here on the farm the first signs of spring are already evident. Like the bees buzzing all over the flowering California Lilac bush (Ceanothus) in front of our house, the warm weather has jump-started a flurry of field activities. The record warm temperatures have the plums and apricots breaking dormancy; the buds are swelling and some have even started to open - about two weeks earlier than last year. We have been busy pruning the plums, quince, apples, pears, and grapes. Seedlings of broccoli, kale, cabbage and cauliflower got transplanted into freshly prepared fields. The first field sowings of arugula, mustard greens, radishes, spinach and sweet Japanese turnips have all germinated, and sugar snap peas, carrots, and beets are surely all going to emerge through the warmed soil surface this week. The sheep and chickens got rotated to new blocks of lush green pastures, and welders and grinders are busy repairing implements and tractor parts. The new greenhouse is coming along nicely; it should be finished just in time to shelter the thousands of seedlings we will be propagating for early spring planting, when all danger of frost is behind us. Four hundred bare-rooted Warren pear trees are waiting in the cooler to be planted. The soil of the new pear orchard, a heavier clay-loam, should be dry enough to time the planting with the next arrival of rain, forecast for this weekend. And the potato seeds came in. We like to sprout them before planting, however it's very tempting to put them in the ground now, to give them an early start. Maybe our best option is to plant the red potatoes now and save the other varieties for planting later in March.  

- Tom

Creating Balance between Wild & Cultivated Land
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After years of farming, working, walking, and observing the land one gradually develops a "knowledge of place" and a bond to the landscape. No matter how many times I walk the same path or work the same field, I am always discovering something new, whether it's airflow and temperature variations, differences in drainage and soil types, areas where water seeps and should be left undisturbed, or subtle changes in the vegetation depending on the direction the landscape is facing (exposure to sun).

The longer I farm, the more I recognize that land stewardship is a lifelong learning process, one that requires balancing the many diverse relationships between the cultivated and non-cultivated environments around us. In the last few years we have been very fortunate to work closely with Sam Earnshaw from Community Alliance with Family Farmers, and Jo Ann Baumgartner, director of Wild Farm Alliance, both of whom bring passion, experience and that necessary understanding of how wilderness and farming are mutually supportive. Sam was kind enough to describe the collaborative projects we've engaged in here on the farm, and to reflect on the importance of the work we are doing. If farmers everywhere could have inspiring mentors such as Sam and Jo Ann, I've no doubt that the role of farmers as land stewards would receive a more deserving recognition in society.

- Tom

Farming in Nature/Nature in Farming
by Sam Earnshaw

When you come to Live Earth Farm, have you ever wondered about all of the native shrubs, trees and grasses growing in profusion within and around the fields of your crops? Have you ever noticed that some have been there a long time and others are recently planted? These outgrowths of vegetation are all part of Tom and Constance's vision for a farm that incorporates all of the benefits and values of nature. In more formal terms, they can be called "conservation plantings" and they provide what is known as "ecosystem services". These services include pollination, pest predation, soil stabilization, and weed replacement, among others. That all sounds very scientific, and in fact, nature and biology are at the heart of Live Earth Farm.

A little bit of history: In 2007, Tom and Constance began talking with Jo Ann Baumgartner from the Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) and Sam Earnshaw from Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) about habitat restoration. Tom knew Jo Ann and Sam from the 1980's and 90's when they had their own 10-acre farm, Neptune Farms, from which some you may have bought produce at Farmers' Markets and local stores (remember Community Foods and Stapletons?).

Tom and Constance wanted to increase the farm's biodiversity so that it would not simply be crops, crops, crops. They were concerned as well about areas that were formerly farmed - areas very steep and prone to serious soil erosion. Some of the land management resource options include hedgerows, grassed filter strips and waterways, and willow plantings.

Hedgerows can have multiple functions: they serve as habitat for beneficial insects, pollinators and other wildlife; provide erosion protection and weed control; serve as windbreaks; stabilize waterways; reduce non-point source water pollution and groundwater pollution; increase surface water infiltration; buffer pesticide drift, noise, odors and dust; act as living fences and boundary lines; increase biodiversity; and provide an aesthetic resource. Diversity in hedgerow species, especially when using natives, assures a range of attributes, such as multiple kinds of insects and wildlife attracted, positive effects to soil and water resources, and success of individual plants under site-specific climatic and other environmental conditions.

Grassed filter strips and waterways hold the soil, prevent erosion gullies from forming and provide cover for insects, spiders and other small wildlife. Willow plantings on the steepest slopes help to anchor soils in place with their network of extensive roots.

So, with much input from Tom and Sam, Wild Farm Alliance applied for and received a restoration grant from the Wildlife Conservation Board to design and implement conservation plantings on many areas on Live Earth Farm.

Tom and the team developed and are constantly refining an overall restoration plan for the whole farm, and together, with help from the Live Earth apprentices and farm workers, many areas are being planted to trees, shrubs and grasses. These plantings are increasing the biodiversity of the farm: bird life, beneficial insects, pollinators, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, the whole range of biological life of a Central Coast mixed evergreen forest and grassland ecosystem with a functioning farm throughout.

The diversity of activities, educational projects, people, crops and events happening at Live Earth Farm is truly inspiring, as perhaps you have felt. This diversity carries over into every part of the farm and farm goings-on. The farm is an embodiment of how nature and agriculture can coexist in a healthy and productive way.

Instead of planting crops from fencepost to fencepost and up to the very edges of roads and streams, at Live Earth Farm, Tom is increasing the amount of natural habitat in order to prevent soil erosion and increase wildlife habitat. Above, we are planting a filter strip, June 2009.

Same filter strip, three months later.

Here we're planting native trees and shrubs on a steep slope for both soil retention and habitat, August 2009.

CSA Delivery Schedule
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I'm going to keep this in the newsletter so folks always have it for reference ;-)

Week 1 - December 2nd

Week 2 - December 9th

Week 3 - December 16th

<3 week break over Christmas/New Year's - happy holidays everyone!>

Week 4 - January 13th 2011

Week 5 - January 20th

Week 6 - January 27th

Week 7 - February 3rd

Week 8 - February 10th
Week 9 - February 17th
Week 10 - February 24th - last winter CSA!

<no deliveries the entire month of March>

The 2011 Regular Season then begins Weds/Thurs April 6th/7th

 

Please spread the word about LEF CSA
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We still have plenty of space for new CSA members for the season which starts this coming April, so please feel free to let friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers know about us. We would be happy to mail you brochures for giving out to people, or you can simply direct them to our website... just remember to inform them that we are at "live earth farm dot net" not "dot com" [i.e. www.liveearthfarm.net ] ;-)

Thanks!

Oh, and if you haven't renewed yet yourself, you do so by "joining" -- just go to our website and click on "Join" or "Become a member" and look for the "Sign up!" button. Or just click here to go directly to our signup wizard now!

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