Willow Maintenance

Expected longevity for willow trellis panels in Mid-Northern California: 8-12 years, without any

maintenance. This is dependent on many factors but more support (like conduit or beams on the

trellis) will help with longevity.

Maintenance: Any substance applied to the willow (stain, water seal, fire retardant) should be

applied at least three months after the panels have been fabricated. The willow should be dry.

Water seal (clear Thompson’s water seal works) can help with longevity if applied yearly.

Color: The willow will eventually fade to a light gray. The greens and yellows will fade to a red, to

a dark brown, dark grey and then light grey. Applying a water seal will likely lead to the willow

staying a reddish brown for longer. Sometimes, clients prefer the panels when they have turned

grey. Just something to consider when adding a sealant.

Cleaning: Initially the panels are sturdy and can be brushed down with a broom or sprayed

down with a strong spray nozzle on the hose. As the panel gets older and the willow becomes

more fragile, lightly brush off or hose down.

Fire retardant: Fire retardant can be applied to the willows. Fire retardant must be applied by the

contractor or a professional. The Willow Farm cannot be held responsible for the effects

(negative or positive) of the fire retardant. Again, this is best applied when the willows have lost

their moisture.

With any substance applied to the willow, be aware of the patio, deck, stone or furniture beneath

the trellis as fire retardants, water sealants, and wood stains can leave marks or stains,

particularly after rain, mist, or fog.

Our Operation

We grow over one hundred and fifty different varieties of willow on the property, all chosen and planted by my parents and a small group of guys over the last thirty years. I’ll have to admit that I have not actually planted a single one of these trees! I know how to, technically, put them in the ground and water them. My green thumb has, only recently, developed in planting a small garden in my back yard. See Burt here, helping. It has taken a few years but we did have an abundance of veggies this year.

IMG_8644.jpg

Our crop fields have shifted, aesthetically and functionally, over the last few years. As we introduced more livestock, the rows of willow turned into groves of willow. The pigs and the sheep are run through the fields to weed, rootle, trim and fertilize all the while, changing the landscape. Our animals are loosley managed with permanent fencing, a daily check in of food and water and birthing assistance, if needed. We don’t run animals through our young trees so they can develop strong “trunks” and root systems after a couple months of irrigation and a couple years of coppicing.

To coppice simply means to cut back, instead of cut down, a tree. Many of our trees are twenty or thirty years old and continue to provide usable stems. The trees are planted close together to promote straight limbs and grow well in our area. Over the last few years, larger orders have become more frequent. We planted fifteen more rows of trees this year to keep up with the growing amount of orders.

The next step is harvesting. Manuel and Octavio know these grows like the back of their hand. They planted most of the trees on the farm and can wade their way through the messier groves to find long, straight stems for weaving. The little green truck in the photo is no longer with us. She was a 1995 Ford Ranger and the truck in which I learned how to drive a manual vehicle. She was bumpy, tattered, and falling apart but only had 25,000 miles to her name. I think if you learned how to drive stick with her, you can drive anything.

Following the harvest, is the trimming. I’ve spent a decent amount of time trimming willow and after about a hundred stems, I had blisters between by thumb and forefinger. I’m always amazed at how quickly and adeptly the guys process the willow. Years of practice and calloused hands help but there is fluidity to their movement that is difficult to copy. I would try to pitch in when we had a big order and a deadline but I could tell my clumsy, slow trimming was slightly frustrating…although, it could have been better with some practice!

IMG_1565.jpg

Weaving is not as easy as you think. Again, I’ve tried this a few times and it wasn’t so pretty. Like everything, this takes practice and these guys have been doing this for thirty years. They layer thin and thick, long and short stems together to make beautiful woven screens. Willow tapestries. It takes some planning, strength, and a bit of artistic vision. Wattle fencing has been around for over six thousand years and is mostly seen in England. My parents did not invent the idea but their adaptation of it here in the states is something I’ve always admired. I took over the business from my parents about four years ago and when the schedule is tight and I’m a little, or a lot, stressed, I can remind myself that I’m selling something I’m proud of.

Benefits of the Willow Tree

They really are a tree that is too good to be true. Willows are so good for the ecosystem and for our bodies. I want to give a little summary of why these are such incredible plants. Our goal, on the farm, is to balance the regeneration of the land with our economic productivity. The animals and plants that we have on the farm all serve a purpose in improving our ecological systems and at the same time, providing beautiful, natural products for people to enjoy.

The standard “benefits of trees” apply here: Willows sequester carbon through photosynthesis, improving our air and soil quality. Carbon sequestration, soil and water health, and regenerative farming practices are a whole other conversation! We grow over 150 different varieties of willow and thousands of trees. Our property borders the Pescadero Marsh so we do flood, occasionally, during the winter. It is really the perfect crop to grow for this landscape. We use our livestock to trim, weed, and fertilize crops.

We live about two miles from the ocean. Our property used to be a conventional artichoke farm. It was very windy and flat and the soil quality was poor. My parents started planting trees in 1992 when I was born and we continue to plant more, twenty-eight years later.

IMG_1081.jpg

The trees are an excellent windbreak. The trees at the back of this photo were all planted about 25 years ago and protect us from the coastal winds. Our original business was selling trees, under the name “Austree”, as windbreaks and fire breaks. These go hand-in-hand, slower wind, slower fire. Willow does not burn the same way other trees do, due to their high water content, about 50-55%. The CZU Fire Complex 2020 surrounded the town of Pescadero and we felt confident that our property was safer, in large part, because of all the willows and grazed land surrounding our homes.

These trees naturally grow along creek beds and are frequently used for habitat restoration and erosion control. They are able to filter toxins, grow quickly, and establish strong root systems. Our bird/wildlife on the property is unlike any of the surrounding populated areas.

Willows de-contaminate soil and water. Initially, this was helpful in cleaning our soil of fertilizers or pesticides, used by the conventional farmers before us. Our well water is clean and our soil is rich. The willows serve this purpose in the neighboring marsh. Marshes act as a buffer between the creeks and the ocean, like one big filter, made up of many different plants and animals that can process the water before it flushes out to sea.

Willows are fast-growing and relatively easy to propagate in areas with good soil, water, and organic fertilizer. We have a high volume of orders and need a plant that produces stems rapidly. All of our willow trees are coppiced meaning we do not kill the tree when we harvest; we cut off a limb and it grows back after a few months. “Willow water,” willows soaked in water, is used to assist in propagating other trees. When the willow is steeped for long periods of time, salicylic acid and Indolebutyric acid are released. These hormones stimulate root growth.

Willow is used medicinally. It’s an area we would like to explore more within our business. Here’s a short list of some health benefits:

  • Pain relief

  • Anti-inflammatory

  • Acne control

  • Gastrointestinal relief

  • Fever Reducer

  • Better Kidney Functionhttps://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/willow/.

I would recommend doing your own research and using holistic medicine at your own discretion.

In future blog posts, I will elaborate on some of these topics, including how our livestock interact with our trees. My parents completely transformed the landscape of this forty-acre plot of land. Every tree was planted with the intention of adding beauty and bio-diversity. Our trees are sterile males and do not interfere with the native varieties of willow that surround us.

These were my resources:

-https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/home-made-plant-rooting-hormone-willow-water/

-https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/willow/

-https://www.permaculturenews.org/2019/09/20/why-i-love-to-research/






Local Revolution in Pescadero, CA

If you have the time and want to learn a bit about farming, food and local business…I highly recommend listening to this show! So, far there are seven interviews up. This show is on KPDO 89.3, our local radio station in Pescadero. https://kpdo.net/local-revolution/. The show is hosted by Aaron Murphy from The Mushroom Farm in Pescadero.

A little bit about the people and the farms:

Aaron Murphy of The Mushroom Farm - https://www.themushroom.farm/story

“Seated on a pristine 753 acres of California coast, The Mushroom Farm is transforming the former Campbell’s Soup mushroom production facility into a  system of abundance to serve generations to come. We are a 100% certified organic farm, incubating businesses in regenerative agriculture, renewable energy and experiential education.”

Daniel Theobald - founder of Twisted Fields - https://www.twistedfields.com/

Twisted Fields is an educational farm in San Gregorio. From their website: “127-acre farm on the California coast supplying fresh produce to local community through farmer's markets, small business, and our farm sharing program.”

Nicole Sillapare - owner of Sunshine Pescadero - https://thesunshinepescadero.love/about

From her website: “We are a small but mighty grab-and-go + pantry located in beautiful Pescadero, CA.  We have outlandish intentions of offering our community and its many visitors, inspirational and healing meals and snacks that highlight what our beautiful coastal terroir has to offer, and also to be leaders in a much-needed industry; fast-ish food. “

Leyla Curry (that’s me!) - The Willow Farm (that’s us!)

I talk about our farm and regenerative agriculture. We get into economics, politics, and culture. I had such a good time talking to Aaron!

Nina Berry and Ash Colin of Pie Ranch - https://www.pieranch.org/what-we-do

Ash is the Food Education Programs Coordinator and Nina is Events and Programs Coordinator at Pie Ranch. From their website: “Pie Ranch's founding partners shared a vision to create a regenerative farming and food system education center to build community; provide a space for healing our relationships with ourselves, each other and the earth; steward the land and the environment; sequester carbon through climate-friendly farming techniques; empower young people; train new farmers; make healthy food accessible to Bay Area communities; leverage privilege to address systemic racism and oppression; and build strategic partnerships.”

Adria Arko of the San Mateo Resource Conservation District

Adria serves dual roles as Climate and Agriculture Programs Manager and San Mateo County Agricultural Ombudsman.  As Program Manager, she manages the Carbon Farming, Waste Reduction, and Urban Farming Programs. As the Agricultural Ombudsman, she serves as a liaison between agricultural producers and County officials, helping farmers and ranchers navigate County permitting and assisting the County with improving its agricultural permitting process.  - http://www.sanmateorcd.org/about/staff/

Kathy Webster - Food Advocacy Manager of TomKat Ranch - https://tomkatranch.org/who-we-are/

From their website: “TomKat Ranch is an 1,800-acre grass-fed cattle ranch in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our team of ranchers, scientists, and advocates look to nature to guide our landscape management in support of our values. Over the next five years, we want to have inspired the transition of one million acres of California rangeland to regenerative management.”

I had the pleasure of being an intern at TomKat in 2016 and I’ve known Kathy for most of my life. I have a strong connection with the people and the place that is TomKat. They taught me most of what I know about regenerative agriculture and how to educate others about regenerative agriculture.

Ken Armstrong - Owner and Founder of Ouroboros Farms - https://www.ouroborosfarms.com/

“Experts in Aquaponics, Ouroboros Farms and Education Center is one of the largest commercial aquaponic farms in the U.S.  We offer farm tours, aquaponics classes, produce and aquaponics supplies.  We also host farm-to-table dinners and other events at our events center.”

There will be more to come! Tune into KPDO 89.3 or listen on the website. KPDO also hosts other programs, all on the website.

 

"The Willow Farm" Sweatshirts

We, after many years, are excited to announce that we have Willow Farm Sweatshirts. The Willow Farm used to be called Willow Mania. We had hats for Willow Mania for sale but after we changed the name, we never really felt the need for promotional merchandise. We’d reached a stage in our business where we weren’t advertising, doing site visits, or having people visit the farm. Our business was coming solely from word-of-mouth and the ordering process is quite simple through email. So, there was no need for promotional material, including clothing. We were in the middle of a shift in our business model as we had to accommodate for more, larger, projects with a very small staff. So, “swag” was the last thing on our minds.

IMG_1921+2.jpg

The name change was also a brand change. We wanted a more refined aesthetic as opposed to the playful aesthetic of Willow Mania. Willow Mania sold furniture, decorative screens, wreaths, bouquets, and panels. After we got our first big architectural job at Hotel Healdsburg, we rebranded to The Willow Farm, selling mainly to architects, contractors and designers and focusing on larger projects. We love small, creative, custom projects but those efforts have been directed toward one-off sculptures and huts.

Alex, my boyfriend, is an artist. You’ll see his work in our newsletters under “The Resident Artist” and he designed our new logo. As we begin to open up our farm for tours and design meetings, we wanted to have something that represents us and sets us apart, particularly, from other farms that share our name. This new logo embodies the “we grow, we make it” slogan we’ve used for many years.

Screen Shot 2019-07-21 at 3.31.46 PM (2).png

We already have post cards and note-cards with the logo. After a lot of discussion about color, placement and style, we’ve ordered our first set of sweatshirts, for sale, on the website on June 1st. The sweatshirt is modeled by the artist himself, Alexander Rohrig.




COVID - 19 Safety Response Planning 

We are still in business. As farmers and manufacturers, there are necessary tasks that still need to be completed on the ranch: ranch maintenance, animal care and crop management. We are still taking and fabricating orders but we’ve taken the following steps to ensure the safety of ourselves, employees and clients. 

STAFF/FAMILY:

  • We are a family farm so we and our few employees, along with my partner, have taken on more ranch duties. 

  • Our staff are always six feet apart. This is now a requirement, but the nature of the work and our business has always allowed for this. 

  • Family members and employees cannot exhibit any symptoms of sickness at work, regardless of whether or not they align with COVID-19 symptoms. 

  • All meetings held between any staff or family member must be done outside, six feet apart. No more than three people can meet at once. 

  • Each staff member has his/her own set of tools. Shared machinery must be sanitized. 

CLIENTS:

  • All orders/inquiries must be placed over the phone or by email.

  • No tours, site visits or meetings at this time. 

  • Any documents that require a signature must be scanned, not mailed. 

  • Deliveries can still be scheduled. However, the necessary amount of people and/or tools must be on-site. One person will be sent to deliver and he/she may not assist with taking things off the trailer/truck. For example, if the panels require two people to lift, two people (who are capable of lifting at least 30 lbs) must be on site. If the panels are too large and require more than five people, a forklift or tractor must be on site. Our freight broker and shipping companies are still operational and their employees must follow the guidelines set for them by the state and/or company. 

  • Unfortunately, we can still only accept checks or direct deposit at this time. Please use your own discretion here. We can accept PayPal or Venmo for small orders/deposits but this is case-by-case basis.

We hope you are all staying safe and healthy. We are fortunate that our business allows for us to comply easily with the shelter-in-place laws. We understand this isn’t the case for everyone. We are doing our best to keep people employed, safe and healthy. It is important to support small, local businesses at this time as they are being affected the most. 

 

If you are in the bay area, here are some local business that have shifted more to online ordering and delivering their products:

August 2019

Intern Program

We started an official intern program. We've had interns in the past but now, we will be consistently offering Winter and Summer Internships at the farm. The internships will be centered, mostly, around our livestock. Jenna and Kendall both want to own livestock and run their own farms one day. So, their internships focused heavily on the animals. However, we are a tree farm involved heavily in the landscaping and architecture world. Depending on the season and the applicants' resume, each internship will be a little different. Please contact info@thewillowfarm.com if you are interested!

IMG_6622.jpg

Events

We hosted two weddings this summer. The Willow Farm is a private, special place and we want to keep it that way but, we will start to have more events at the farm. For inquiries about tours, dinners, weddings or other events, contact: willowfarmbookings@gmail.com.

Screen Shot 2019-01-24 at 5.19.29 PM.png

The Resident Artist

This piece is titled " Water Lane" by Alexander Rohrig. This was on view at Four Barrel Portola in San Francisco. If you want to understand what it's like to run a farm, this painting gives you a pretty good idea. Alex designed our new logo, the Pescadero magnets and our new cards. Alex and Leyla live on the farm together. Leyla runs The Willow Farm business so any event, willow or farm inquiries go to her! Alex gathers his inspiration from his surroundings and we love how he captures the feeling of our farm. Artistic inquiries: a.rohrig@gmail.com

Screen Shot 2020-02-24 at 10.54.53 PM.png