Return to the Farm

I recently returned to an incredible place I discovered last year. Exactly one year and four days after first finding Lisa’s eclectic farm, I came back to follow up on one woman’s adventures in farming over the last year, how the COVID-19 pandemic challenged her farm--and how it revealed an unexpected silver lining.

My second visit to Lisa’s farm was on a warm Friday afternoon similar to the sunny day when I first met Lisa. So much has changed in twelve months, but some things remain the same. And perhaps a farm is the ideal place to reflect on this duality, because plants keep growing, unaware of the pandemic. The sun rises and grows plants, the rain falls, the bees pollinate, the sun sets and Earth keeps spinning. Even when the whole world seemed to shut down, plants kept growing. Nature reminds us that life continues.

If you read my January 2020 post about Lisa’s farm, you know that I met her through her online post asking for volunteers to help set up her farm, which is an edible maze. Lisa’s farm is close to the US-Mexico border and only a few minutes from Interstate 5. It’s near the city and yet somehow a world away, with its dirt roads, horses and ranches.

When I visited a year ago, Lisa had been developing her farm for six months. At the time, she was seeking volunteers to help make raised garden beds. I love growing things and I wanted to learn about how one operates a farm, so I emailed to volunteer. I helped her for a few hours and peppered her with questions about how and why one starts a farm in retirement. If you missed the first post, you can read it here:

https://frecklefacedwordwoman.blogspot.com/2020/01/a-delightful-day-in-dirt-at-lisas-farm.html

When I left Lisa’s farm that day a year ago, I was pleasantly sore from hauling wheelbarrow loads of compost, I was intrigued by Lisa’s plans, and I looked forward to visiting again in six months to see her progress.

Fast forward two months and the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I sheltered in place, as most people did. Although I kept in touch with Lisa by email, I did not visit the farm because I was nervous about COVID and was taking seriously the orders to stay home. Months passed. And now it is a year later and I am following up with the farmer and her farm. We sat at the same table where we sat a year ago. It was a warm, breezy day, much like the day we met. We talked about her farm, and we watched farmers work in adjacent farms. In many ways our first and second visits felt similar.

Ah, but so many things have changed. This time we sat at least six feet apart, wearing masks. Now we have had almost a year of pandemic living under our belts. Last time, we did not know how much life was about to change all over the world. The virus we had heard about in January 2020 was overseas—it was troubling but seemed like a distant issue, literally. 

This visit was social, a check-in. I did not haul compost and my questions for Lisa were more conversational than they were during our interview last year. Still, some of Lisa’s answers surprised me, which goes to show that COVID has affected all of us in both universal and individual ways.

Artichoke

Calendula

When I arrived for my follow up visit, I said to Lisa, “I don’t know where to start. There is so much to see!” Lisa invited me to walk the perimeter of the farm and then investigate the middle. The perimeter is lined with artichoke plants, at least three different varieties. They are enormous—more than six feet in diameter. Their textured, silvery-green leaves overlap their neighboring plants, giving the border a lush, abundant feel. There are rows of broccoli, cauliflower, kale, beets and Swiss chard. Lisa says that in the summer, the tomatoes, sunflowers and corn were so tall that the farm became a secluded oasis for times when she wanted privacy. 

Lisa’s goal in starting the farm was to grow enough food to share with people who truly need it, volunteers and friends, and now front line workers. Her not-for-profit farm will be funded by patrons who subscribe to the numerous garden beds and individual plants. Patrons will be welcome to visit the farm for picnics, cooking demonstrations, exercise, birding or just relaxation and fresh air. 

This year Lisa grew a lot of vegetables, herbs and ornamental plants, including calendula, forget-me-nots, nasturtium and geraniums, some of which are edible. She is adding more fruit, too, including strawberries and raspberries.

Forget-Me-Nots.

 

So much is flourishing, but still, 2020 was a year of unpredictable difficulties. Given this, I asked Lisa what the biggest challenges have been for her and the farm in the last year. A mix of physical and mental ones, she says. The pandemic has shaken all of us, of course. Feeling worried about the virus and feeling isolated are some of the mental challenges. But running a farm has no shortage of physical challenges, too. Sometimes the weather is a giant challenge if frost kills plants overnight or when the warm wind dries out the farm faster than she can water it. An injured shoulder slowed Lisa down for a while but she says it is much better now. Farming is full of the unknown, like life itself. Sometimes Lisa has to slow down for a while, or implement Plan B, C, D or E. Flexibility is key. Lisa postponed her patron subscription program, but hopes to introduce it by this spring. Hit a roadblock? Don’t give up. Forge a new route. 

I asked Lisa what the biggest surprise was for her as a farmer in 2020. Two thoughts came to her mind. 

The biggest surprise was cats. Months ago, Lisa noticed a calico cat darting around her farm and neighboring farms, hunting. The cat looked very malnourished, so Lisa began to feed her. Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as a free lunch, so the cat stayed. Lisa named her “Cali” because of her calico coat. Lisa soon realized that having an animal around not only gave her someone to talk to, but it also helped with the rodent problem. Cali caught rats, mice, rabbits and gophers, uninvited guests who chomped on Lisa’s plants as if at a midnight all-you-can-eat salad bar. One morning, Cali emerged from under a huge volunteer tomato plant, followed by a tiny crew of four adorable kittens. “The cats saved my farm,” Lisa says with wonder. 

These unexpected mascots helped curb the rat population and soon set up a den in Lisa’s heart. As we chatted, two of the kittens timidly tiptoed toward me. I held out a hand, hoping they would let me pet them. One finally did—for a microsecond—before darting off to walk the grounds. “I love talking to and watching the cats. They bring smiles to my face,” Lisa says, and they love farm life. Lisa has made a cozy home for them in a greenhouse she ordered online and set up with the help of two volunteers. 

Lisa says the second biggest surprise are her volunteers. Yes, the shelter in place order slowed the flow of volunteers at times in the last year. But other times, she had loads of volunteers. She sees her farm as an outdoor gym, and when traditional gyms were closed, people came to the farm to get a full-body workout, shoveling compost to distribute to raised beds, weeding, transplanting, and harvesting. Lisa loves the energy that volunteers bring, and the conversation. Making and sharing gourmet meals with volunteers is also important to her, and her dishes range from vegan to venison. When so many places were closed during the spring of 2020, the farm was open and welcomed volunteers. It gave them something positive to do during a time when many of us felt helpless. The outdoor setting allowed visitors to be active and productive while maintaining social distance and wearing masks when close to one another. Lisa adapted to the COVID guidelines and her volunteers follow safety measures. COVID-19 has been no picnic, but it did not end Lisa’s farm—in fact, it provided an unexpected silver lining: a growing volunteer crew and new friends. 

During my second visit, a frequent volunteer named Lala arrived. The three of us sat and talked as the bamboo wind chimes provided background music. I chatted with Lala about her experience at Lisa’s farm. Lala first visited the farm with a friend, a woman who frequently came with several family members to work at the farm. When I ask Lala what her favorite thing to do at the farm is, she enthusiastically says, "Everything!" She does it all, from schlepping compost to harvesting seeds. It feels good to get out of the house, Lala says. She loves the change of scenery and being outdoors. Lala is from the West Samoan Islands and Lisa's farm is a connection to her island plantation, where her family still grows all of their own vegetables and fruits. The produce Lala's family cultivates includes bananas, coconuts, taros, tamu taro roots, avoka (avovados), sugar cane, pineapples, peas and various greens. 

For Lala, a vegan and an animal lover, a visit to Lisa's farm is like hitting the jackpot. The farm brings together her favorite things in life. She enjoys the organic greens, the volunteer work and smiling at Cali and her fur babies as they play or peek out from under vegetable shrubs. Lala says the dynamics of the farm are "a beautiful surprise, a breath of fresh air and an added value to the peaceful, amazing, sustainable, ever-growing farm!"

I asked Lisa what her plans are for the coming year. To keep growing, she says. Like anyone with a newish endeavor, she is learning as she goes. Lisa has learned that the plastic netting she first used for fencing on the perimeter of her farm was not a good idea. Animals got stuck in it. She replaced that with chicken wire, but it is rusting away. She plans to install a more expensive and durable steel fencing material next. Lisa also has plans to add more cylindrical vertical gardens around three sides of her farm, like the one below, which supports gourds:

Lisa has dozens of varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs but wants to try new ones, too. She plans to plant cardoon, plants similar in taste to artichokes but with edible stems. 

Sitting in the shade of an umbrella, I saw a hawk circling overhead and a hyper hummingbird zooming through the farm. Lisa told the story of a brief spell of fame on her farm last autumn. Birders love the nature reserve in which Lisa’s farm is located. This preserve is where 340 native and migrating bird species can be found. One day a famous birder told Lisa that she has a rare bird at her farm, the tiniest known hummingbird in North America, called Calliope. Soon, many birders flocked to her farm to see this hummingbird that had flown off course heading south for the winter.

As we talked, Lisa mentioned red-winged blackbirds, roadrunners, magpie jays and crows. She loves birds and being within the nature preserve is another benefit of having her farm. Last year, a giant great horned owl was caught upside down in the netting next to artichoke plants. With the help of a neighbor, Lisa freed the bird and sent it on its way. Lisa also has rescued more than a dozen huge gopher snakes who became trapped in the original netting. Every day presents new wonders as well as new challenges. No two days of farming are alike.

During my brief visit to the farm, I feel like I am transported to a different world. The leaves rustle in the breeze and a cat rests in the shade. Lizards scuttle underfoot while bees dart into the cabbages. It’s quiet and I’m surrounded by things that are growing. Here, my worries drift away, at least for a while. The farm is a living, changing kaleidoscope of green. 

As Lisa sends me off with a large harvest of fresh vegetables, I tell her I will be back again to see how the farm continues to change. There is hope on the horizon, with the arrival of vaccines for COVID. And when you are on a farm, you feel hope all around you. Growing something involves planning and work—but also hope. So perhaps it’s no surprise that Lisa’s farm endured and flourished in 2020. While other parts of society slowed down, the farm continued to grow. Surviving the stress of 2020 means one can survive almost anything. Both the farmer and her farm have triumphed.

I can’t wait to see how this dream of Lisa’s continues to grow.