November 16th, 2024

Early on in our farming journey we learned how to prioritize tasks based on four categories: important/urgent, urgent/not important, important/not urgent and finally not important/not urgent. Because growing and harvesting vegetables organically for weekly distribution is so labor intensive we rarely get to any of the tasks that do not fall in the “important and urgent” category. However, with the mild weather this fall combined with a really great team of co-workers we have slayed the field clean up and harvest tasks and stayed ahead of the bulk harvests.

As a result, Jeff and I have been able to dedicate more time than usual to important but not urgent tasks. One of these tasks includes enhancing non cultivated areas at the farm. The non-cultivated areas provide habitat and food for wildlife and enhance the biodiversity of the landscape. These areas are always evolving. There are certain aggressive trees, shrubs and vegetation that we are attempting to keep from overwhelming these areas. We are committed to doing this without the use of chemicals, so this means cutting, pulling, mowing, and burning are our main tools.

 Our off-site 29 acres is surrounded by a “wall” of field stone and assorted deciduous trees. A spring-fed creek runs through the tree line which originates just a couple hundred feet north of the farm. The stream bed is unimpeded and crystal clear through the forested area, but the area further south that the stream flows through where the creekside was deforested and corn was grown (prior to our managing the land) is overtaken by reed canary grass. It's hard to imagine a trout fish being able to swim through that grass. Trees have been planted with hope that eventually the shade from the trees will discourage the reed canary grass.  A little further downstream(beyond the boundaries of our property) where the runoff from the conventional fields flow into the stream, the water is no longer crystal clear but instead overgrown with skummy green vegetative growth. Not much we can do about that since a larger paradigm shift in our agriculture would be needed to really clean up the waterways–an endless source of frustration for me. 

We have 4 acres of meadow that we are trying to enhance by diversifying the grasses and flowers to include a wider spectrum of native species. This has been an ongoing process and we are still experimenting to see what techniques work to accomplish this end.

At our 4 acre home farm we planted a small native prairie on the south side of our septic mound. Here is a video of us planting in September–it's 2 hours of work in 24 seconds. The planting has needed multiple weedings already since the fill used to make the septic mound was full of yellow dock seeds.

This work requires time and resources. So much more could be done to contribute to the greater good of the landscape and society. Jeff and I have often thought that this work would better fall under the wing of a non-profit so that it could be supported by people who also feel that it is important work. As it is, Jeff and I provide the resources to make it possible. So this is something that we will be looking at in the near future–should we form a non-profit? We both feel that there are aspects of our work that would better fit under a non-profit structure. These include: addressing food insecurity, regenerating the landscape, creating a healthy social and educational space for others to connect with the farm, and assisting future generations in this work through training opportunities and removing the economic burden of personal ownership of organic farmland by transitioning it to a land trust. If any of these topics strike your fancy, please consider reaching out to us. We’d love to have conversations to shape the future which will continue bringing these ideas into reality.

-Kelly