The following posts were taken from the website for Harms Vineyards and Lavender Fields, which we operated from 2010 until 2019. They offer a window into our lives on the farm and the ways the farm changed us. In 2018 we decided to end our lavender business but we continue to work with our land in ways that bring balance and health. Posts on this website will continue to follow our work.
I am always moved by the life force which goes on, regardless. This madrone may well be in its last season, infected by the same fungus that kills the coastal oaks: sudden oak death. Yet it pushes new blossoms. Will our biodynamic preps support this life to overcome the fungus, or are madrone simply moving… Read more »
Golden Flower Earth Day Week: Gift to Our Earth: An Important Way to Begin the Healing There are many compelling reasons to use Biodynamic preparations on your land, but one of the more important reasons involves the impact of Barrel Compost, or “BC Prep”. Maria Thun, a German farmer who has done a… Read more »
Using Thun calendar to schedule sprays on our work calendar. In March and April, I schedule our biodynamic sprays for the season using Maria Thun’s Sowing and Planting Calendar. In the spring we spray the aromatics with horned quartz (“501”) three times on moon sign flower days, once each in Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. The… Read more »
On Easter afternoon we hike past the wild honeybee trees. The bees are busy, in and out, and our grandson Wesley is in awe! Hole in oak that leads to wild honey bee hive. Then, as we pass the spot where the road enters the forest (where the mission bells are just finishing bloom), we… Read more »
One of my favorite wildflowers, shooting star, a member of the primrose family, is just finishing its bloom. This has been a light bloom year for it, the bloom beginning in February, making the flower ever more precious to come upon. Some years we have small meadows full of shooting star. Shooting Star on its tall, thin… Read more »
In Napa County we are so fortunate to have a free chipping program through Napa Communities Firewise Foundation. We clear underbrush and dead trees, e-mail the program, and the crew arrives, chips the pile, and leaves the chips for use on pathways and mulching. Last week they arrived and chipped a huge pile of brush we had… Read more »
Petunia at work clearing fresh shoots of poison oak. When the goat has been wading through tender shoots of poison oak! View Our Lavender Products
I know… it has the look of a grade school art project. Please forgive that! Over the last eight years we have kept rainfall records and this is one way of putting them together. Although this winter has been dry, the early spring has brought a lot of rain, 9.3 inches in March alone. Often… Read more »
Miner’s lettuce A few years ago Judith Lowry Larner consulted with us about the native plants on our land. We want to support their populations, as they provide important habitat for native pollinators, honey bees, and many other animals. As Biodynamic farmers we work for diversity, and our native plants are an important part of… Read more »
YES!!!! After a couple of weeks of storms, the greens sparkle, and the air is fresher than I can remember. We are more than happy for the storms and rain, and will be happy for more, but the morning’s blue is nothing less than Grace! Wild calendula in vineyard. California poppy in vineyard. View Our… Read more »
© 2024 Patricia Damery.
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