Weed Pressure and Mycelium

01. As the farm strides forward into August, the daily work of harvesting, watering, and planting, has become rhythmic. One aspect of our weekly routine is weeding: the sun shines, we weed, we weed some more. Over the course of the season, many of us have asked ourselves, “why so many weeds?!”. If one of the benefits of no-till farming is a dramatic decrease in weed pressure, why then are we facing an onslaught of unwanted vegetation from every corner of the farm?

The answer, as we all begrudgingly remind ourselves, is time. During the first several years of transitioning to a no-till system, a farm will still experience all of the old challenges associated with tilling, minus the easy fix that tilling allows. What we are experiencing now in terms of weed pressure is the germination of a seed bank that has been added to over years and years; of course it will take time to flush out.

In the meantime, I am thinking about the history of this farm, this piece of land that we are privileged to tend to each day. In a way, the weeds form a timestamp of seasons past, a living memory of what plants grew where and when (mugwort by Poppy’s garden, purslane in the tomato beds, sorrel sprinkled everywhere). The act of weeding is the act of engaging with time: past, present, and future. Though it may be tedious, it is humbling to look forward and know that the care being poured into the land now will be held there for years to come.

 Aside from weeds, I have been noticing more mushrooms than ever popping up all over the farm. Ink Caps in the cabbage, thick mats of mycelium under our mulched walkways. The resurchange of fungal microbiology is a telling sign of soil regeneration; it shows that though we still have a ways to go, our current farming practices are promoting a system of symbiosis, diversity, and resilience.

—Beatrice Scott

02. Peak of the season seems to be in full force as August begins. We’ve been putting more effort into bed prep and direct seeding which seems to be paying off with our best looking beds of baby kale, greens mix, carrots and radishes popping up. The kale transplants have also benefited from putting a row cover on to deter the rabbits.   

—Seth Miller, Farm Crew

03. With August finally here the farm has reached a kind of fever pitch.  All of the crops (and the weeds) are growing faster than ever, and each demands its own kind of attention: Tomato plants need to be pruned and trellised, shallots harvested and cured, spinach seeded for the fall.  Every day is a new kind of frenzy.

As it normally does, the warm weather seems to have driven away many of the pests that lingered around the farm throughout the spring and early summer.  The potato beetles, aphids, flea beetles have all made themselves scarce for the time-being.  

—Robin Hackett, Farm Manager