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.
What the Bees Are Up To This Week
Honey Bees in Flowering Rosemary What the Bees Are Up To This Week The honey bees are very busy this week augmenting their winter honey storage and making a new queen. The plum tree, which popped into bloom on Saturday, sounds like a swarm, as do the rosemary bushes by the house. The native pollinators… Read more »
Boundaries and Water This time of year storms pummel us with wind and rain; we watch the ditches along our long gravel driveway like hawks. One branch or clump of leaves stopping up the ditch can wash out the road in a matter of minutes. Donald has resisted asphalting our driveway. We think of the… Read more »
Dasher
Dasher walking the eastern boundary. On Boundaries Each year this time when we receive our certification renewal papers, we are asked to describe what is happening along each section of the boundary of our property. There are two reasons for this. In Demeter Biodynamic/ Stellar Certification Services organic farming we are required to have buffer… Read more »
Pruning: January is the time for pruning grapevines and fruit trees when it is not raining, & tying the canes of the pruned vines to train them.
Pruning Pruned chardonnay vine Pruning In January Natalio begins pruning the grapevines and fruit trees when it is not raining, then ties canes of the pruned vines to train them. Each year he is anxious to get started, always competitive with himself on how quickly he gets done. Still, he is patient once he begins. He… Read more »
Crystallization:from January 15 to February 15 is the Crystallization Period, the time when the earth is fallow & most receptive to energies of the cosmos.
Crystallization In biodynamics the period from January 15 to February 15 is called the Crystallization Period, that time when the earth is fallow and most receptive to the energies of the cosmos. It is said that any application applied at this time will do nothing until after February 15, so it truly is a period… Read more »
Two Blessings of 2010: Wesley and Dasher
Two Blessings of 2010: Wesley and Dasher We start 2011 contemplating the blessings of 2010, including the birth of our grandson, Wesley, and four new goatlings. Donald and I (Patricia) live on a small, Demeter certified Biodynamic® ranch on the lower flanks the western mountain range of the Napa Valley, California, raising grapes, lavender,… Read more »
© 2025 Patricia Damery.
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