Sign the petition! Decentralize access to local meat in Washington State.

The State of Wyoming recently passed an ‘animal share/herd share’ law that will allow Wyoming consumers to buy any amount of meat from a local livestock producer instead of having to buy a quarter, half or whole animal. This is good for the rancher who may now sell direct without having to transport the animals to a USDA inspected processing facility. It will also make livestock producing more accessible and profitable for smaller-scale producers. It will be good for families who include meat in their diets by allowing them to buy direct, obtain really fresh meat products and support their local food system.

Governor Inslee could enact this much needed change by executive order since it is merely an interpretation of existing USDA regulations. This way, the practice could be begun in the state now, during the COVID-19 pandemic that has so severely impacted the centralized meat processing industry, rather than waiting for the legislative process to run it’s course. This way, the benefits to farmers and eaters could commence immediately.

Please sign this petition asking Gov. Inslee to issue this executive order. Here’s the link to the petition:

https://www.change.org/WA-local-meat-now

Here’s an article on Wyoming’s new ‘animal share/herd share’ law that would allow consumers to buy any amount of meat from a local livestock producer instead of having to buy a quarter, half or whole animal, although those quantities are allowed as well. This is good for the rancher who may now sell direct without having to transport the animals to a USDA inspected processing facility. It will also make livestock producing more accessible and profitable for smaller-scale producers which can begin the process of decentralization of the meat processing industry. Obtaining smaller quantities would likely involve consumers partnering up to purchase, receive and process their meat so it could be distributed among them proportional to shares purchased.

It’s reported as an amendment to Wyoming’s ‘Food Freedom Act,’ but I believe any state could pass a similar law without having a Food Freedom Act or similar food sovereignty-type law. In fact, I believe it could be enacted by a governor through executive action since it is merely an interpretation of existing USDA regulations that specifically exempt animal or herd owners from USDA inspection.

I think, as we experience meat shortages from COVID-19-impacted industrial meat processing plants, that Washington State citizens could petition Governor Inslee to execute such an executive order. This way, the practice could be begun in the state now rather than waiting for the slow legislative process to run it’s course and the benefits to farmers and eaters could commence immediately.

https://www.wlj.net/top_headlines/new-wyoming-law-to-allow-ranchers-to-sell-meat-directly/article_9b8f8fc2-80c5-11ea-a6cf-93097893a422.html

Can We Do Something to Diversify the Housing Options Available to Farmers and Farmworkers in WA?

Good example of siting tiny houses on the edge, so to minimize loss of arable land.

Folks,

If you like the ideas expressed here, contact your Washington state legislators and let them know: Find Your Legislators

A bill just passed in the WA Senate legalizing “Tiny Houses” and “Tiny House Communities.” It was introduced by Republican State Senator Hans Zeiger, 25th District (Puyallup).

Here’s the bill’s definition:

“Tiny house” and “tiny house with wheels” means a dwelling to be used as permanent housing with permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation built in accordance with the 2018 International Resident Code Appendix Q.

Appendix Q relaxes various requirements in the body of the code as they apply to houses that are 400 square feet in area or less. Attention is specifically paid to features such as compact stairs, including stair handrails and headroom, ladders, reduced ceiling heights in /offs and guard and emergency escape and rescue opening requirements at lofts.
https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2018/appendix-q-tiny-houses

http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5383-S.E.pdf

A lot of real-estate and planning jargon has been added to the bill since it was first introduced which I get pretty lost in. Generally I think I favor the concept of having legal provisions that can assist folks in downsizing their lifestyles while making housing more accessible to those of minimal means. That said, I think all housing should be sited in such a way that it doesn’t spoil natural resources or convert arable land.

But my interest in this really stems from my firm belief that one path towards a future where we have a re-localized food system is to make provisions for working farms to be able to provide adequate housing, seasonal or year-round, for the people who are directly involved in farming and their families. 

Currently, Washington has a program that’s administered by the State Department of Health for temporary/seasonal farmworker housing. The Health Dept. can issue building permits that supersede county zoning rules (except setback, bldg. height and road access). In other words, temporary farmworker housing can be built in excess of, say, the one dwelling per 10-acre ag-zoned property limitation which is in place for much of the zoned agricultural lands in Spokane County. There are a lot of regulations that a farm must adhere to when it opts to build housing under this program. Those regulations are there primarily to protect health and safety of the farmworker residents of the seasonal housing. I would like to see an educational program put together by someone (Tilth? Health Dept?) to assist small-scale farmers in understanding the temporary housing program better and assisting in implementing it for farms that desire to go that route. Note that my understanding is that temporary housing means housing that’s lived in for no more than 9 consecutive months.

https://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/FacilitiesNewReneworUpdate/TemporaryWorkerHousing

Office of Rural & Farmworker Housing

https://www.orfh.org/

In light of the fact that food system relocalization is a priority for combating climate change as well as for improving food security, public health and the regional economy, as well as the fact that many families with a history of seasonal farmwork have attained the financial ability to purchase their own farms, I also suggest adjusting the current concept of farmworker housing to include permanent farmworker housing and using the Tiny House Bill as a vehicle to codify such a modification. For example, a ten-acre working farm with one main dwelling and several small dwellings where farmworkers (could be partners, employees, a co-op or collective, non-profit, etc.) live and farm year-round has, in some cases, much greater chance of being economically viable than without the extra live-in labor. It’s going to be a long time before small-scale local food production for local consumption pays well enough for most farmworkers to be able to afford off-site housing and the expenses of commuting to work on a farm. Plus, who’s going to be on-site when the sprinklers need to go on at 3am to avoid frost damage or the nanny goat needs assistance kidding or to pull snow off the hoophouse?

I wonder if the tiny house bills could be amended, in committee or on the floor this session.  Or could we organize a push to modify them next year to make provisions for permanent farmworker housing blending the concepts in the Health Dept. program and the Tiny House bill, if it passes.

How about having the Tiny House bill also amend these sections of the Temporary Worker Housing Law, Chapter 70.114A RCW like so (Note: While this law has “temporary” in its title, its preamble reads “The legislature finds that there is an inadequate supply of temporary and permanent [emphasis mine] housing for migrant and seasonal workers in this state. The legislature also finds that unclear, complex regulations related to the development, construction, and permitting of worker housing inhibit the development of this much needed housing. “).

Please note the use of underline and strikethrough below. Also available as a PDF. Link at bottom.

70.114A.050
Housing on rural worksites. [rural is not defined]

(1) Temporary worker housing located on a rural worksite, and used for workers employed on the worksite, shall be considered a permitted use at the rural worksite for the purposes of zoning or other land use review processes, subject only to height, setback, and road access requirements of the underlying zone.

(2) Permanent (Year-round) worker housing located on a worksite that also meets the definition of Farm and Agricultural Land as provided for in RCW84.34.020, and used for workers employed on the worksite, shall be considered a permitted use at the worksite for the purposes of zoning or other land use review processes, subject only to height, setback, and road access requirements of the underlying zone.

70.114A.065
Licensing, operation, and inspection—Rules.

The department and the department of labor and industries shall adopt joint rules for the licensing, operation, and inspection of temporary and permanent worker housing, and the enforcement thereof. These rules shall establish standards that are as effective as the standards developed under the Washington industrial safety and health act, chapter49.17 RCW.

70.114A.081
Temporary and permanent worker building code—Rules—Guidelines—Exceptions—Enforcement—Variations.

(1) The department shall adopt by rule a temporary worker building code in conformance with the temporary worker housing standards developed under the Washington industrial safety and health act, chapter 49.17 RCW, and the following guidelines:

(a) The temporary worker building code shall provide construction standards for shelter and associated facilities that are safe, secure, and capable of withstanding the stresses and loads associated with their designated use, and to which they are likely to be subjected by the elements;

(b) The temporary worker building code shall permit and facilitate designs and formats that allow for maximum affordability, consistent with the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary housing;

(c) In developing the temporary worker building code the department of health shall consider:

(i) The need for dormitory type housing for groups of unrelated individuals; and

(ii) The need for housing to accommodate families;

(d) The temporary worker building code shall incorporate the opportunity for the use of construction alternatives and the use of new technologies that meet the performance standards required by law;

(e) The temporary worker building code shall include standards for heating and insulation appropriate to the type of structure and length and season of occupancy;

(f) The temporary worker building code shall include standards for temporary worker housing that are to be used only during periods when no auxiliary heat is required; and

(g) The temporary worker building code shall provide that persons operating temporary worker housing consisting of four or fewer dwelling units or combinations of dwelling units, dormitories, or spaces that house nine or fewer occupants may elect to comply with the provisions of the temporary worker building code, and that unless the election is made, such housing is subject to the codes adopted under RCW 19.27.031.

(2) In adopting the temporary worker building code, the department shall make exceptions to the codes listed in RCW 19.27.031 and chapter 19.27A RCW, in keeping with the guidelines set forth in this section. The initial temporary worker building code adopted by the department shall be substantially equivalent with the temporary worker building code developed by the state building code council as directed by section 8, chapter 220, Laws of 1995.

(3) “Tiny houses” and “tiny houses with wheels” built in accordance with the 2018 International Resident Code Appendix Q shall be allowed.

(4) The provisions of this section, so much as they are applicable, shall also apply to permanent worker housing as provided for in 70.114A.050(2).

(4)(5) The temporary and permanent worker building code authorized and required by this section shall be enforced by the department.

The department shall have the authority to allow minor variations from the temporary and permanent worker building code that do not compromise the health or safety of workers. Procedures for requesting variations and guidelines for granting such requests shall be included in the rules adopted under this section.

Download a PDF of this article.

What a Pickle We are In

A few comments about this interesting article, A Texas lawsuit hinges on this question: What, exactly, are “pickles”?, New Food Economy, July 26th, 2018, by Baylen J. Linnekin

Cottage Food Laws, passed by states, allow people to process certain foods and sell them to the public from their home or farm kitchens with minimal licensing and facilities requirements. States are usually very reluctant to pass such laws and many of the laws that have been passed have ended up being too restrictive to be much good. Some limit the income allowed to be generated by such operations in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to make more than pocket change as revenue. Others limit the types of foods allowed to be produced to the degree that many who might otherwise benefit from such laws give up on them, not seeing the freedom to be able to create marketable products.

State governments commonly argue their reasons for being restrictive are based on concerns of food safety. What isn’t talked about is how political considerations play a role. I remember when, back in the 1990’s, Washington State wanted to change its food laws in such a way that most food that folks might want to share with friends and neighbors at Pot Luck Suppers would have to be prepared in licensed kitchens, not at home as had always been the practice. Well, we fought back against that in a campaign that startled the Washington State Department of Health with the numbers of comments we generated against the plan (with the bulk of comments coming from church groups and Grange members). Even food and farm commentator Jim Hightower weighed in with mention of our campaign during one of his radio spots at the time. In the end, we got what we demanded: No regulation of Pot Lucks and freedom to advertise public Pot Lucks– but not until after an attempt was made by a statewide restaurant association, in a closed-door session, to derail our effort. The Health Department wanted to yield to the powerful trade group, so we fired up the grassroots machinery again and defeated the effort. That was pure politics. It had nothing to do with food safety. Looking back, it was pretty crazy for the restaurant association to be worried that unregulated Pot Lucks that could be publicly advertised presented any threat to their industry since that’s exactly how Pot Lucks had always been handled in Washington and the restaurant industry flourished anyway.

Granted, Cottage Food Laws are different than Pot Lucks, but the politics are similar.

This story is about one Texas couple wants to take advantage of the state’s cottage food law by selling pickled beets, carrots, and other vegetables they grow in their market garden, but the Texas health department says that’s only legal if they want to sell pickled cucumbers. The science says that a pickled beet is just as safe as a pickled cuke, so why is the Texas health Department defending its narrow definition of ‘pickle.’

According to the Department of State Health Services, a “pickle” is a “cucumber preserved in vinegar, brine, or similar solution, and excluding all other pickled vegetables.” In case that leaves any room for doubt, the agency makes things very clear in the FAQ posted on its website: “Only pickled cucumbers are allowed,” it says. “All other pickled vegetables are prohibited.”

The author asks the questions, but does not attempt an answer. He writes “Why, for example, is the sale of mustard permissible in Texas [under the state’s cottage food law] but the sale of ketchup (which can have a similar or even lower pH [a measure of food safety]) is not? Why does California[‘s cottage food law] enumerate (and therefore permit the sale of) dehydrated vegetables, dried vegetables, and dried fruits but not dehydrated fruits?”

I surmise the answer to those and many similar questions that come to mind as one studies the myriad restrictions that states put into their cottage food laws are political in nature. I suspect that pressure on state lawmakers and regulators comes from the industrial food production sector. The pressure can be direct– industry trade associations defending their turf like in the Pot Luck example, or indirect– many officials within government whose job it is to regulate food come from the food industry and often return there when their government stints are over. Their biases and allegiances come and go with them.

One thing is certain: The industrial food sector is highly intolerant of any change that puts the right and the power to produce and sell food into the hands of ordinary, every-day folks like you and me. Don’t doubt that cottage food laws are perceived as a threat by this sector. Industrial food has consolidated its hegemony over our food system and it will view any dollar generated by a home food producer as a dollar stolen from it. It no doubt already sees cottage food laws as a threat and will work tirelessly to maintain the unreasonable restrictions written into most of the state laws even when science clearly negates the food safety concerns used to shoot down most attempts to amend cottage food laws.

What we need to remember is, the food system belongs to the people, first and foremost. Over generations, we have abdicated our role. We the People used to be the food system. Now, because capitalism, addicted to growth and consolidation, is the way in which human needs have been commoditized for corporate profit (and what human need is more fundamental than food), we find we have lost control over our food. One way to fight back is to advocate for less restrictive cottage food laws and to organize for laws that recognize our rights as people to feed each other in our own communities without government requirements that only deep-pocketed big-business ventures can afford to finance (see Maine’s Food Sovereignty Law as an example). We have the science and technology to decentralize food production and provide safe, locally-produced foods on a small scale to local customers. It’s time for the food dollars that over the past decades have gone out of our communities and built the mega-food conglomerates that now threaten our health with their over-processed, chemical-laden foods; that threaten our environment with the poisons of industrial agriculture and its major contributions to climate change; that exploit food system workers so profoundly in its relentless pursuit of profit– It’s time for those food dollars to come home. Buy local, but first, put the rules in place to allow you to.

Chrys

Commentator and Progressive Populist Jim Hightower Praised Spokane Tilth’s efforts to de-criminalize potlucks

Commentator and Progressive Populist Jim Hightower Praised Spokane Tilth’s efforts to de-criminalize potlucks in the following column:

THE SPOKANE TILTH GANG
3/21/2003

In the world of serious crimes, there are muggings, murders, rapes – and then you’ve got: Potluck Suppers.

Chrys Ostrander didn’t set out to be a criminal, but like so many others, he fell in with the wrong crowd – in this case, a gang called “Spokane Tilth.” It’s a wiley group of farmers around Spokane, Washington, that openly encourages sustainable, organic, and locally-grown food systems. Chrys himself raises organic produce and flowers – so you can see the danger they pose.

Last October 26, this gang was going to pull off a caper in Spokane called : Fall Harvest Celebration and Community Potluck Supper. Luckily for all of us law-abiding Americans, the keen-eyed cops at the Washington State Health Department were on the alert. Just one day before the Gang struck, they quashed the potluck, declaring it to be an illegal supper, since the food would not be prepared in licensed and regulated kitchens. They threatened the potluck perpetrators with prosecution..

Henceforth, potlucks would be kaput. Except that the people refused to swallow it! The Spokane Tilth Gang immediately organized a statewide campaign around the rallying cry, “Decriminalize The Potluck!” Calls were made, a big coalition was drafted, hell was raised – and their thunder rolled all the way to the state capitol.

Suddenly, the health department was listening, holding grassroots negotiations, and slowly bending. Still, the authorities balked agreeing to exempt potlucks–but only if they didn’t last longer than two hours. Chrys fired back that potlucks aren’t timed meals like at a restaurant, but occasions where “people get together to talk, argue, sing, quilt, and any number of other things” that can’t be squeezed into a time limit.

Finally, the sheer weight of common sense and the people’s will prevailed…and potlucks in Washington State have now been freed from the clutches of the regulators – thanks to all those “outlaws” who wouldn’t be cowed.

[Jim Hightower used this as one of his radio commentaries and it was also printed in The Progressive Populist, April 1, 2003]

2018 Permaculture Apprentice Opportunity at Heartsong, Tumtum, WA

Heartsong is a beautiful, 8 1/2-acre former retreat center nestled in a forest-ringed meadow just 20 miles northwest of Spokane, Washington. The owners are accepting applications for apprenticeship positions for the growing season which will begin in April, 2018 and last through October, 2018. Applicants may apply for one or more one- to three-month periods during the season. The Heartsong families seek motivated, neophyte permaculturists willing to commit to 4 hours of work and study, five days per week. Room and board provided in exchange. One apprentice will be invited per period. All periods will be filled in advance of the season.

Plans for 2018: The apprentice will work and study under the guidance of Heartsong’s caretaker who is a certified permaculture designer. The caretaker and apprentice will be tasked with implementing an ever-evolving work plan, including enhancing and maintaining the 8000 sq. ft. polyculture garden (including weekly harvests and distributions), maintaining a flock of laying hens, tending the goat herd, re-establishing a honeybee colony, seed saving, woody plant propagation, food preserving, developing a pasture management plan and continuing with planting the food forest. In addition, other general site maintenance, upkeep and improvements will also be included in the work plan as determined from time to time.

Work/Study: The apprentice is expected to perform a minimum two hours of study per week which are included in the 20 hrs./wk. work requirement, following a lesson plan provided by the caretaker. The lesson plan will cover a broad range of topics related to permaculture with emphasis on subjects that apply to the work at hand. The apprentice will keep a journal and complete a written final project.

Who’s being sought/What’s being expected: The apprenticeship is designed to be an immersion in living a lifestyle of a permaculture homesteader. Each day there is work. Some of the work is tedious and repetitive. Some of the work is physically taxing. Some of the work is a learning experience. Some of the work is fun. Some of the work is just work. At times, it feels as if there are too many tasks to accomplish, and there are. Since a person can only effectively do one task at a time, a skill to learn is how to choose the most appropriate task from all the options. Heartsong is looking for an apprentice who tends naturally to be busy and finds an outlet for creativity through work.

Life at Heartsong can feel very isolated. Often it is only the Caretaker and the Apprentice on the property. The nearest town is 20 minutes away and the city of Spokane is about 40 minutes away. Some people yearn to get away from the rat race, thrive on nature and find enjoyment when there’s lots of physical space and fewer humans around. The Heartsong families are looking for a responsible person who enjoys quiet focus and is self-reliant in terms of putting time to its best use, on or off “the clock.”

To fill out an application, please go to:
http://tinyurl.com/heartsong-application

Questions? Contact: Chrys Ostrander – 7034C Hwy. 291, Tumtum, WA 99034
Email: farmrchrys@gmail.com

Inland FoodWise Online – Newsletters and Action Alerts for the Inland Northwest Foodshed

It’s high time the Inland Northwest region had its own web portal dedicated to reporting on issues related to building a sustainable local food system.

We all eat, and we all have a stake in what goes on in our foodshed. Not only that, but because food is so fundamental to our existence on so many levels (our health, productivity, economic well-being, quality of life, sense of community… where does one stop?), the intention is for this project to be a vehicle that informs as well as activates its subscriber base to take positions on food policy and push our decision-makers to refine their perspectives and make the right choices.

Please have a look at the Premier Edition of the Inland FoodWise Newsletter on the Inland FoodWise Online website. The newsletter, edited and published by Chrys Ostrander, will include interviews with local food activists, farmers and gardeners, profiles of local food businesses and non-profits and write-ups about current food policy issues. The newsletter’s approach will be one of unabashed advocacy journalism with a strong point of view founded on the values of the original organic food movement, progressive sustainable agriculture and permaculture principles.

In addition to the newsletter, in between published editions, subscribers will receive timely email “FoodWise Action Alerts” informing them of actions they can take to help craft a more sustainable and equitable food system. You will not be deluged by emails from us, but the ones we do send be selected because your voice will make a difference in some of the most crucial issues facing our region today.

The newsletter is starting out as a quarterly journal that will be available as an email subscription as well as on-line. It will always be a free publication. In addition, you may also choose to register a user account on the Inland FoodWise Newsletter website, which will enable you to engage in conversations by commenting on the articles posted there. We hope that you like what you see.

http://inlandfoodwise.online/

Here are the titles of the articles featured in the premier edition. Look for our second edition coming out Sept. 1.

Chasing Toxic Herbicides Out of Washington State
Chrys Ostrander

Eastern Washington Farm Receives Grant from West-side Foundation for Solar-powered Drip Irrigation System
Thom Foote

Getting Flame Retardants Out of the Food Supply
Erika Schreder

Rural Roots: Healthy Farms, Healthy Foods, Healthy Communities
Karen Chojnacki

The Inland Northwest Food Network Celebrates our Region’s Food System
Teri McKenzie

The Permaculture Conservation Trust
Deborah Berman, Suvia Judd

The Soil Food Web: Life Beneath Our Feet
Jefferson Edward

What’s Wrong with Organic
Chrys Ostrander

Wild Foods of Spring: Nettles and Morels served up with some musings!
Carol McFarland

Subscribe!
http://newsletter.inlandnorthwestpermaculture.com/lists/?p=subscribe

Thinking About a New Greenhouse for Heartsong

Folks,

The little greenhouse here at Heartsong, I’m going to call it the Garden Greenhouse, is falling apart.

I put together some ideas about what might be done so I could present them to the Heartsong Families so we can plan for the coming season. But first, a little background:

Permaculture Apprentice Opportunity at Heartsong, Tumtum, WA

Work/Study in Exchange for Room and Board

Heartsong is a beautiful, 8 1/2-acre former retreat center nestled in a forest-ringed meadow just 20 miles northwest of Spokane, Washington. The owners are accepting applications for an apprenticeship position which will begin in April, 2017 and last through October, 2017. They seek a motivated, neophyte permaculturist willing to commit to 4 hours of work and study, five days per week. Room and board provided in exchange.

For more details and to fill out an application, please go to:
http://tinyurl.com/heartsong-application

Plans for 2017: The apprentice will work and study under the guidance of Heartsong’s caretaker who is a certified permaculture designer. The caretaker and apprentice will be tasked with implementing an ever-evolving work plan, including maintaining and expanding the bee-keeping operation, enhancing and maintaining the 8000 sq. ft. garden (including weekly harvests and distributions), designing and constructing rainwater catchment, building an outdoor oven, putting up raspberry trellises, establishing a blackberry patch on a folding trellis, maintaining a flock of laying hens, tending the goat herd, seed saving, food preserving, coming up with a pasture management plan and continuing with planting the food forest. In addition, other general site maintenance, upkeep and improvements will also be included in the work plan and determined from time to time.

Work/Study: The apprentice is expected to perform a minimum two hours of study per week which are included in the 20 hrs./wk. work requirement, following a lesson plan provided by the caretaker. The lesson plan will cover a broad range of topics related to permaculture with emphasis on subjects that apply to the work at hand. The apprentice will keep a journal and complete a written final project.

Who’s being sought/What’s being expected: The apprenticeship is designed to be a semi-immersion in living a lifestyle of a permaculture homesteader. Each day there is work. Some of the work is tedious and repetitive. Some of the work is physically taxing. Some of the work is a learning experience. Some of the work is fun. Some of the work is just work. At times, it feels as if there are too many tasks to accomplish, and there are. Since a person can only effectively do one task at a time, a skill to learn is how to choose the most appropriate task from all the options. Heartsong is looking for an apprentice who tends naturally to be busy and finds an outlet for creativity through work.

Life at Heartsong can seem isolated. Often it is only the Caretaker and the Apprentice on the property. The nearest town is 20 minutes away and the city of Spokane is about 40 minutes away. Some people yearn to get away from the rat race, thrive on nature and find enjoyment when there’s lots of physical space and fewer humans around. The Heartsong families are looking for a person who enjoys quiet and focus and is self-reliant in terms of putting time to its best use, on or off “the clock.”

Contact: Chrys Ostrander – PO Box 1255 Tumtum, WA 99034 Email: farmrchrys@gmail.com

Photo by Estar.

No-till & Woodchips Gardening

Asanga Jayasinghe, a journalist from Sri Lanka who reports on agriculture posted a question on the Regrarians Facebook page:

I have read that Zero tillage is a good practice, so how do I cultivate annual crops without tillage? How do I make growing beds, how do I mix organic matter without tillage? Please help me to understand the Zero tillage concept.

On a grey and snowy morning in the woods, I had a little time to respond.

You are correct, Asanga, zero tillage is a good practice. How you actually go about it depends on your scale. It depends on what machinery you have available or how much you are dependent on hand labor. It also depends on what kinds of organic matter mulches you can grow or are available in your area. The terms “zero-till” or “no-till” can be somewhat misleading. What we are really trying to achieve is “reduced tillage” agriculture– greatly reduced tillage. When I garden no-till-style, I consider any soil disturbance deeper than 4″ to be tilling, but that does allow me to practice hoeing or surface cultivation when appropriate, like when you are preparing a fine seed bed, without going against the principal of reduced tillage. In nature, soil is most often built by adding nutrients to the surface. There is no need to “till in” composts and manures. Often you can distribute these on the surface and leave them there. Mulching afterwards is always best when feeding in this way, or using a shallow cultivation, no deeper than 4″, to mix the amendment in, putting the amendment in greater contact with the soil. My aim is to allow the majority of the topsoil layer and upper subsoil to remain undisturbed for as many seasons as possible. A major key to all this is to eliminate all sources of compaction whether it comes in the form of foot traffic or machinery. A soil left to its own devices will develop a texture like a loaf of bread. This arises in multiple ways: In reduced-till growing, often spent plants are cut off at ground level and their roots are left in place in the soil to decompose. As the roots decompose, the channels they have formed remain to facilitate air and moisture movement and provide pathways for soil flora and fauna to use when traveling. The channels left by worms and the like will also serve these functions if they are not destroyed by tillage.

Sometimes tillage occurs anyway like when you dig potatoes or other root crops that might require it. You can plan your crop rotations to include one time in several seasons when the soil in any given location is more deeply disturbed, but the elimination of tillage is always the goal. Carrots and the like that are often dug out with much soil disturbance, I don’t dig out. I use a garden fork to loosen the soil only and pull them out vertically leaving the soil in place as much as possible. Whenever possible, I use mulch. It is said that nature abhors bare soil and uses many different methods to make sure there’s always something on top, protecting the soil. For instance, I will prepare a fine seed bed for carrots which might lie bare for several weeks, but once the carrots are tall enough, I will place mulch between the rows. The carrots can be harvested without removing the mulch (in fact you will discover carrots to be so much easier to harvest in the pliable, loose soil that’s always found under a good layer of mulch).

Transplants can be planted into the mulch for a follow-on crop. Just make a well in the mulch and plant your starts right in. You can try this: Do an ample feeding and a shallow cultivation on a bed where you will grow potatoes. Take your seed potatoes and place them on top of the soil where you want the plants to grow, possibly pressing them in so they’re half exposed. Now cover the entire bed with a think mulch. A minimum of 8″ of wood chips (any kind, it doesn’t matter). You can put on 12″ to 16″ of wood chips if you have enough. I would use a minimum of 18″ of mulch if straw or a similar, looser material is used, 2 feet thick or more if available. It will settle some. The potatoes will grow under the mulch. No light should reach them if mulched well. You won’t need to hill the potatoes. Just make sure when you harvest them that you pull off all the mulch first. A layer of course organic material on top of your soil protects and builds your soil without any binding up of nutrients. Soil fauna rise to feed on the mulch where it touches the soil and they carry the nutrients obtained deeper into the soil. It’s when you mix your mulch into your soil that your nutrients get bound up. Remember, even if this does occur, the binding up lasts only as long as it takes for the organic matter to fully decompose. Then your soil will be richer than when you started. Weeds that make it through mulch are always easy to pull out because the soil under the mulch will be loose. They can be pulled without disturbing the mulch.

If you are transitioning from a tillage system to a no-till system, often there is much soil compaction to overcome. Again, depending on your scale, there are different ways to mitigate this. On a broad scale, using a deep shank subsoil ripper is often used. Some people utilize the “Keyline” system when doing such subsoiling using a “Keyline Plow.” The Keyline system is a way to increase the utilization of water within a system and also as a way to restore tilth to abused soils. I’ve never really liked the use of the word “plow” when talking about Keyline. To me, to plow implies something gets turned, or rolled over. A Keyline plow is really a proprietary version of a “deep shank,” “ripper” or “subsoiler.” The idea being to fracture the soil without turning it in order to aerate it, break up hard pan (also known as plow pan) and compaction and facilitate deep water absorption. Chisel plows utilize shanks, but they are often arranged in relatively close-spaced gangs. They are usually spaced so close that there really is a huge amount of soil disturbance even if the soil isn’t being turned over excessively. This amount of disturbance results in much death and destruction of the soil biome which, like all tillage, results in a flush of available nutrients in the short-term, but robs the soil of its long-term fertility and structure (also known as “tilth”). In Keyline plowing the rips are often made by pulling a single shank with passes many feet apart, leaving large volumes of undisturbed soil between them. So it’s useful to run a deep shank through soil that has been badly managed as a one-time mitigation measure to start one on the road to no-till. From then on, you eliminate sources of compaction. This often involves laying out permanent pathways between permanent beds. In my gardens, my permanent beds are four feet wide and my permanent paths are two feet wide. No feet (or knees) on the beds is a strictly enforced rule. Often much plant wastes end up in the paths (although you should get into the habit of leaving weeds that have been pulled on the surface of the bed as mulch). Your pathways become nutrient reservoirs and will become a source of nutrients to your beds by virtue of the nutrient mobilization that is occurring under our feet every day. Deep rooted cover crops also assist in mitigating compaction and maintaining low compaction. A good example are fodder radishes. These can be grown in combination with other cover crops and green manures. The difference in no till situations is you will not be tilling your cover crops in. You will be cutting them off at soil level, leaving their roots in place and carrying the top growth to the compost pile or using it as mulch. The deep taproots of the radishes poke holes right through soil compaction and their decomposition adds to the bread-loaf texture that you are trying to encourage in your topsoil and upper subsoil.

On a smaller scale, soils transitioning to no-till can be prepared for a future of no-till with the use of deep broadforks. I use a long-tined (16″ to 21″) broad fork (U-bar) on soils where I sense there is more compaction than I like (these are the best ones I know of: https://meadowcreature.com/broadforks ). I ride the broadfork into the ground with both feet on the crossbar, rocking back and forth as my weight lowers the tines all the way into the ground. I needn’t exert any more force than my weight affords. U-barring is enough work just moving the tool from one spot to the next and pulling back on the handles to add extra exertion by jumping up and down and forcing the tines in. They are just as happy to slide in on their own with the assistance of gravity. Then I only pull the handle back to about a 45 degree angle. I don’t lift the soil up and shake it through the tines. I’m just cracking the soil open but leaving large chunks intact. A well-managed no-till soil might never need to see a broad fork.

After a couple of years of not tilling, you will see positive results.

For larger scale no-till information, you might find this website of interest:
http://rodaleinstitute.org/our-work/organic-no-till/

One of the other comments someone left pointed me to a pretty good article on wood chip gardening.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/gardening-techniques/building-garden-soil-wood-mulch-zmaz10onzraw.aspx

The suggestion to till chips mixed with a high nitrogen source into the topsoil is intriguing. Certainly this would give a boost to very poor soils. If you already have good fertility from composting and you want to try wood chip mulching, you’re good to go without that. Go ahead and spread them. Thick is good. Just try to keep the mixing of topsoil and chips to a minimum so you have distinct layers– soil and chips. The critters in your composted soil know what to do with the wood chips. There should be a lot of wood chips available considering the recent wind storm.

So, that is that. Next time, maybe sheet mulching.

New Year – Different Path: What Lies Ahead

The “Birdhouse” at Heartsong

It’s the third day of 2015 as I write this new post on my renamed WordPress blog. I’m sitting at my desk in my new home– a 400 sq. ft. “tinyhouse” called “The Birdhouse” on a beautiful, 8 1/2-acre parcel in Tumtum, WA known as Heartsong (formerly known as the Heartsong Retreat Center). For the past three years the land has been under new ownership. Three very friendly and progressive families purchased it from its former owner who had developed the facilities as a retreat center more than 20 years ago. In fact, I attended a strategic planning retreat of the Washington Sustainable Food and Farming Network here back in 1999. Back then, I felt a strong connection to the place and if I was accepting of metaphysical phenomena (which is a condition in me that comes and goes), I’d say that feeling was one of reverse déjà vu (I’ll be here again). And so, here I am.

The 2014 Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild’s 2014 Convergence at Heartsong.

I’ve joined the community as live-in caretaker. It all came about as a kind of spin-off from my involvement in helping organize the Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild’s 2014 Convergence which took place here back in September. The Heartsong Families had decided they wanted a live-in caretaker and since they knew that I am pretty good at getting word out about such things to a wide audience, they asked me if I would spread the word about this job opportunity, so I said “sure.” Thinking about it for a day or two, I said to myself “maybe I should apply for this.”

So why would I, securely ensconced at my homestead at Tolstoy Farm, leave that to become a caretaker somewhere else? Primarily, the water shortage at my Tolstoy homestead, which has been a perennial issue since moving there in 1990 and despite the sinking of two wells, was only getting worse. My garden withered and died from lack of water last summer with the well taking more than a week to fill my small 1500 gallon tank. For someone like me who doesn’t just want to garden, but needs to garden (to keep sane), it just wasn’t working.

In my new role as caretaker I am happy to apply my skills in permaculture design, gardening, building, goatherding, cheese-making (once kidding season comes and goes), event coordinating, photography, group dynamics and community building… and hopefully more regularly, blogging. I am looking forward to reviving the newly enlarged garden here and growing crops with adequate water for a change. Even at the Pine Meadow farm where we had a half-acre garden, I lived with a water shortage. I am putting together, with input from the Families, a nice big seed order to augment the many seeds I brought with me and a garden plan that I’m finding really inspiring.

I am also looking forward to beginning to establish an extensive Food Forest here. The existing orchard and the fruit trees that are interspersed around the property are healthy and productive. There’s an abundance of sub-soil moisture on the land that allow trees and shrubs to grow well un-irrigated once they’re established and plans call for establishing new plantings of fruit, nuts, berries, fodder hedges and associated guilds which will be an exciting project that could take up a good portion of the up-coming decade.

Other plans for the near future include building another greenhouse, a composting outhouse, a goat shelter and goat “tractor,” an outdoor kitchen, refurbishing a small yurt on the property that’s used as guest accommodations, keeping up the existing buildings… There’s no shortage at all of ways to be creative and engaged here.

And it looks like hosting periodic events here related to permaculture and community-building, like last September’s Convergence, will be an on-going feature. In fact, word just in is that the First Spokane Herbal Fair and a two-week, residential Permaculture Design Course taught by Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski will be happening here in May and June. I had a blast at the Pine Meadow Farm Center hosting groups who were eager to learn agrarian and simple living skills and everyone remembers fondly the warm feelings of closer community we shared at the INPG Convergence last fall. I am looking forward to helping to facilitate future successful similar events here at Heartsong.

And, last but not least, in response to several folks at the 2014 Convergence expressing their desire to come out to Heartsong and volunteer their time and skills working alongside me improving and beautifying this great community resource– and getting the garden and food forests going strong– I will be having regular work parties here every Tuesday and Thursday starting March 3rd. We’ll start mornings at 9am or so. Folks will need to bring food and drink to eat and/or share, dress for work and being outdoors (we’ll not be using any indoor facilities except the bathroom building, nor will there be any overnight stays). If you’re interested, drop me an email at farmrchrys@gmail.com. I’ll eventually set up an email listserve made up of folks who are taking part so folks know what work to expect to be doing and so that I can know who to expect to come on any given work day. Please no showing up without contacting me prior.

We will also be hosting, every now and again, work parties on the weekends. The first one of these will be on Sunday, March 8. These will definitely include potluck lunches. Again, please contact me at your soonest opportunity to let me know you will be coming. Drop me an email at farmrchrys@gmail.com.

This is a big adventure for all of us here at Heartsong and everyone for whom this magical little power spot holds a charm. Heartsong is a private home owned by some very generous and community-minded families who recognize the value of this space as a retreat and learning center benefiting the community and the planet. Together we can create a unique and sumptuous permaculture sanctuary. Let’s get started!