6 months in

 We were sitting yesterday afternoon, heat-exhausted and tired from a few hours work on the farm, talking about just how much longer we can do this.

Not that we did that much - she mowed the plot perimeter and trimmed the edges of our main 1000 square foot plot. I watered the beds and dropped some clover seed and some straw on a small part of the newly cleared field. We had a pop-up tent and plenty of cold water, took plenty of breaks.  We managed to get out by 3, the hottest part of the day. It was still too much. The high was 92 yesterday. 

 It feels sometimes that it might kill us, with the extreme heat and our vulnerabilities. We need to be morning people. We need a helper. We need storage so we don’t have to haul equipment. We need to get that rain shed up and working. We need it to start raining, actually.  Lots of needs. Not enough energy.

So while we were talking in our exhausted states, I talked about my 3 year plan. I had thought it could be done in 3 years, have most of the infrastructure in and a small but viable business in willow. Maybe even the utilities that would allow us to stay there during harvest and planting seasons, so much more efficient. 

And, as I posted previously, it has been a year since I made an offer on the property. But, I remembered, it has only been 6 months since we’ve had access to the land. Only 6 months. The driveway was finished in mid January of this year. It feels pretty remarkable, given the time and the obstacle of weird weather, that we’ve got some pretty healthy willow growing and are still, so far, wanting to plant more. 

We have busted our old lady asses to get here. Still standing though. C’mon, 2 1/2 years.

Summertime and the willow is high?

Lower bed on left - 7wks; Upper bed on right- 4 wks

Lower bed at 7wks

Look how great this year's babies are doing! The lower bed is at 7 weeks now and the upper bed is at 4 weeks. The prize for the overachiever of the lot is still Jaune de Falais, nearly 3 ft tall at 7 wks old. Even with the dry weather, I haven't lost any plants and only a few in pots are showing yellow leaves, so I am feeling more positive that they got enough spring rain to get a good start on the summer.

Jaune de Falais

Americana 1 yr

Now that the new stalks are establishing, all they need is regular watering. We can start cleaning up the area, weeding and finally paying attention to the 1 year plants. Some are doing particularly well, some are just hanging on. Below is a group of 4 Americana stalks I planted together in a larger pot last year and it is now almost 6 ft tall (I am 5'7"). Long, almost straight rods, while the other two-each pots are smaller and bushier. All are about 8" apart. Significant? Don't know. I have several over-performing individuals from last year, hopefully ready to pollard in the fall. I will try to get some landscape fabric and mulch down in that bed this week.

And this week will be a scorcher. They are calling highs near 90 this week, and working on a property with no shade is punishing. Heat exhaustion is a real possibility at our age. Even though we got the new trimmer mower last week and have mowed the immediate planting area, the other 80% of the property still needs to be mowed. It's going to be a challenge to get to the farm early enough in the day. Neither of us are morning people, and we're an hour away.

We are still going up every other day to hand water everything during this stretch of hot, dry weather. We are currently filling a dozen gallon jugs and an RV fresh water tank that is one day destined to be installed in our project Airstream. We can get about 30 gallons in it, and with a jury-rigged spigot, we manage to soak our 25 ft.x35 ft bed in about a half hour.

The 1 yr bed is getting cleaned u

It would be really nice to not have to drive up and back every other day, and the cost in gas (not to mention water) is rising and it's only June! The long term irrigation plan is in the works, but it will take at least 2 weeks to get it in place, if not more in this heat. Social media has provided a short term idea, but that will take a bit of prep too. Until then, taking a drive in beautiful weather to a mountain valley every other day is hardly torture! But yeah, there are many loose ends to tie up.

Last night we talked about

• A siesta schedule, taking off from noon to four every day. Not sure if we can actually do this.
• Taking the camper over to a campground, 15 minutes from the farm, and spending cooler mornings and evenings on the farm and afternoons at the campground, plugged in and AC blasting. The only negative is $$ - campground fees + sitter fees for 3 kitties in need of food and attention.
• A storage shed again. Right now, loading and unloading our trimmer mower takes a fair amount of time, and we need some secure storage. Horse trailers are again being searched on Craigslist. Pro: no foundation required. Con: Expensive, if they are in shape enough to actually tow. What can I get for $1500 or less?
• Some of the short term irrigation supplies will also be needed for the permanent system, Probably anything I find at Home Depot or Lowe's will be crap so I'm researching online. Dripworks.com looks interesting.

Funny how many solutions require money.

First Beds are in!

We have finally gotten all the purchased willow stalks in the the first bed, and after a good week of rain, they are mostly thriving. Our working area has been mowed and our first planting is done. Mostly. 

I keep talking about digging holes for our 1 year willows still in pots, but we are finding that shoveling more than 2-3 holes at a time is too much for us and too few for the job to get done. More holes for landscaping and fencing are in our future too. Similarly, we have found that our mower is not up to the job of taking down the wild grass and brush on most of the farm. The solution to both is better equipment. A digging auger and a  trimmer-mower are being researched. 

The one year old potted willows slowly added
to the bed. Spindly, but surviving.

I ordered a “grill gazebo” last week which will be a perfect turnkey water shed. It’s just an open structure with a slanted roof. I probably paid more than needed, but the likelihood of us building a structure from scratch in a timely manner is small, so a turnkey kit is the best solution. We’ll add a gutter and piping into a rain barrel, (eventually a 300g water tote) for the summer droughts sure to come. 

Seems unlikely this minute, with the weather calling for 5 days of rain. I can’t believe we were hand watering just a few weeks ago. 

On a personal note, my trauma around rain has virtually disappeared. My house used to flood every time the rain was heavy or prolonged, and my anxiety would shoot up at the sound of it. I used to try to get ahead of the rising water, but it was too much for me. Now that the house is sold, and I have a field of thirsty willow, prolonged rain is… can I say good? Even great! Just getting rid of the house is cause for celebration!

2 days later

We've missed the window for spring camping at the beach, all the parks on the ocean are booked til next fall. We should be looking at mountain getaways anyway, but really, we need to put in a foundation for the water gazebo, mow and dig some more holes. The rain chances have disappeared again. Irrigation is again top of list. 

It’s been a year

4/29/24

… since this project started. I put in a bid on this property around this time last year 

 I offered the asking price, but they got 5 other offers and two offering significantly more. The owners went through due diligence through two of the top offers, but the property failed the perc test required for a reasonably priced septic system so the deal fell through. I found out in early July that I was the last one standing.  

Lucky for me, I only wanted to plant water-loving willow on it. I had started half my cuttings by then and was looking at other properties. 

It took til August 1st to close and because I was simultaneously fixing up my house to sell and recovering from a concussion, I didn’t get a driveway into the property til January. 

So here I am as May begins, and summer is starting early here in WNC, still in planting mode, though the weather is not cooperating. We are driving up to the farm and hand watering every day during a 2 week stretch of dry weather.  “DO NOT LET THEM DRY OUT!” Echoing in my head. We are behind, as in all things, in getting the irrigation system set up. 

I should mention I am 72, my partner is 65. And we live a good hour from the property. I say those things not to complain, but to acknowledge that the plan is not going to plan.  I love ambitious plans, but this one is really testing the 35 year old in my head and my 72 year old back.

All that said, we are just barely keeping up with the watering (skipping cloudy days), and it is supposed to rain today, knock on wood. And, even better, three days of rain this weekend. That means we can plant the last 70 cuttings for this year. And maybe get the water barrels in place.

Has anyone ever mentioned how like surfing this is? Catch a wave (of rainstorms) and you’re sitting on top of the world. (Boomer ref)

4/30

I was up there yesterday with the day’s water rations and decided to prune back a few of the 1 year pot-birthed willows that have gotten bushy. I will want to pollard anyway, so keeping a central rod is my goal. And now, I actually have enough to make a tiny tension tray, the first of my own willow. 

The weather report keeps changing. Fewer days and less chance of rain. Better get on those rain barrels. Planting tomorrow or Saturday. 

5/4

We got the last 70 cuttings in the ground and spread out the last bales of straw to mulch the beds. It spit some rain but held off til we were done. Relief! And it rained almost an inch yesterday - Yay! When timing is right, it’s golden. I wanted to do a few more things, like spread some cover crop seeds and wildflower mix in the open fields, but the unplanted field is getting out of control. We are now talking mowing, in a few days. A rain catchment plan, in the works.  Borrowing an augur from the Tool Library to finish planting the pots. We are also talking vacation. Much needed. 

Hoping to share new growth photos next time!

Music credit: John Scofield, "Down D" Intro