May 12 Reading, Point Reyes Station, California
Photo by Jan Beaulyn On May 12 Patricia Damery will read from Farming Soul: A Tale of Initiation and her just published novel, Snakes, as a part of Soul Food Series. Both books address the impact of the end of an agrarian culture and the rise of the industrial and technological age on the human… Read more »
More “Inconvenient Truths” —About Our Wine and Food by Donald Harms As you may well expect these days, this is yet another inconvenient truth: My wife and I are grape and lavender growers in the Napa Valley. Some may think wine and lavender are not food but we think of them as ‘food for the… Read more »
The Ride Down Perhaps one of the most important moments during the Napa County Board of Supervisor’s hearing for a neighbor’s proposed hillside vineyard happened just as the meeting adjourned. Presentations had been given by both parties, piles of copies of opposing hydrology reports thick as War and Peace circulated. Frustrations were expressed. Members of… Read more »
In the next weeks, we will address some of the issues that are confronting many of us and concern our relationship to the earth: land use issues, property rights, stewardship, and pesticide use. The following is a letter to the editor that appeared in the Napa Valley Register on Friday, February 18, 2011. Letter to… Read more »
Snakes and ” The Light of Nature” Where we live in northern California, late March into April is the time large gopher snakes come out of hibernation. This year, with the cold, wet spring, they are late. We have yet to find them laying in the sun in the gravel or in the mowed grass… Read more »
On Boundaries: Good Will Fences Each year when our certifier asks about the buffer zone between our vines and a southern portion of our boundary shared with two neighboring properties, we say we have a “good will buffer.” This means that we have the good fortune to have… Read more »
BC Prep and Radiation: Bring Balance in Hard Times :calcium will help mitigate harm from any possible radiation.
Photo Art by Bill Fulton BC Prep and Radiation: Bring Balance in Hard Times In consulting with the Josephine Porter Institute this morning, I learned that calcium will help mitigate harm from any possible radiation coming our way. One way to get this is through the barrel compost,… Read more »
Spraying
Using evergreen branch to “spray.” There are several ways to spray the biodynamic preps, depending on the quantity of spraying that you have to do. In the garden we simply take an evergreen branch or a clean paintbrush to swish the stirred prep onto the ground or into the air around the plants. In the vineyard… Read more »
Stirring
Stirring to create vortex. Stirring Stirring affords an intimacy with the land. When we stir, as many of us as possible participate. We each are unique in the way we stir, so it is important to have the imprint of each of our energies in the stirred preps. When we stir, we throw the water… Read more »
Stirring Equipment
Stirring “510” in 12 gallon crock at sunrise. The stirring equipment needed depends on how much you will be spraying. For an acre or less, a 10-12 gallon crock or small wooden barrel or wooden bucket works well. Get one that has never had chemicals in it. We use a wooden dowel or stick to… Read more »
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