Our Farming Practices

Philosophy

Green String farming defies categorization: because it always refers back to the land for guidance, it is necessarily a local endeavor and one which will be different depending on the farm and the farmer. The primary focus of what we do here is on growing food for people while simultaneously improving the land we grow on.

By staying in step with natural processes, we are able to produce beautiful food crops with very low input; this works because plants that grow up without the influence of outside or artificial assistance learn how to fend for themselves by creating or attracting substances in their bodies which are equally beneficial to our bodies (things like vitamins and minerals, as well as all-important anti-oxidants).

Secondly, by maintaining an important balance between crops grown for human consumption and crops grown to improve the soil, Green String farmers always give back to the earth the same amount the earth gives to us. Unlike conventional produce which is grown in conditions specifically designed to put out the highest and fastest possible yields (and without room for anything but the food crop), Green String produce grows under more natural conditions, with the help of farmers who are listening to what their land tells them throughout the year.

Practices

Cover Crops

We live and grow by the motto, "one for humanity, one for nature"; anytime we plant a food crop at Green String, we plant at least one soil improvement crop along with it. Cover crops improve the soil by adding structure to it and by bringing in minerals. In general, the higher the number and diversity of crops we grow, the better chance each crop has of thriving. This is because each plant requires good soil structure to grow, and good soil structure depends upon the introduction of organic matter.

The soil here in Petaluma has a very high clay content and, because of past use for large-scale dairy farming, much of the farmland here is extremely compacted (meaning it holds a lot of water, and doesn't let much air in). Cover crops represent one tool we use to create a balance between air and water in the soil, and to add minerals. When we let cover crops grow to maturity, die, and then reintroduce themselves into the ground, these crops add much-needed nitrogen, while also providing the root structure that holds the soil together. Some examples of cover crops we use are barley, wheat, triticale, fava beans, and clover.

Another aspect of farming with cover crops is time space sharing: by planting a variety of crops with a variety of maturing times in one space and letting them grow up together, the Green String farmer achieves a steady food supply and soil improvement all at once, and uses less land in doing so.

Soil Supplements

To keep input low, we stimulate soil biology using compost. Compost is the microbial counterpart to cover cropping: when it comes to soil improvement, no one can do it better than the beneficial microbes (bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa) found in healthy soil, and nothing does a better job getting them there than compost.

We use various types of compost at Green String, each with its own specific blend of mineral and nutrient-giving components. By employing the microbes to get that nutrition deep into the soil, we save time and money and do a much more thorough job than we could do without their help. While they're at it, the microbes also build soil structure by making space below the surface for air and roots.

In addition to straight compost, we also use compost tea at Green String, a liquid extracted from steeped and aerated compost. This exponentially increases the number of beneficial microbes supplied by the original compost, and makes them much more easily applicable to plants and soil.

We also use some mineral supplements when necessary: some examples are gypsum, crushed volcanic rock, and oyster shell.

We find that our plants are strong and resilient when grown according to these ideals, and that as such they don't need much additional pest control (both because they are well equipped to defend themselves and because most pests are attracted to weak plants and not to sturdy ones). When we do require extra defense, we use concentrated applications of compost or minerals.

Competition Control

Every plant improves soil structure by spreading out its roots and tunneling through the dirt, and in a natural setting, plants interact with a number of beneficial microbes -- particularly certain kinds of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa -- to get the nutrients that they need. In this symbiotic relationship, plants literally feed the life in the soil by excreting food for the bacteria and fungi through their roots. Thus, the presence of any plant is a boon for the overall quality of soil. And because each plant has a slightly different niche, having many different kinds of plants leads to imroved balance in soil ecology.

When we realize this, we must change the way we look at so-called weeds. If every plant helps, then what are weeds but nature's cover crops? Instead of fighting against these persistent plants, we let them grow up alongside our planted cover crops and our food crops.

When the nature crop grows so vigourously that it threatens to impede on the food crop's share of sunlight, it's time to manage the competition. In an orchard or vineyard, cover crops are flattened with a heavy roller pulled by a tractor. In vegetable fields, the tall plants are mowed or scythed down so that they are shorter than the food crop. We also employ sheep and goats to graze in certain fields. The key is to control the nature crops without killing them.