Conservation

One of our first activities after renting our farm land was to partner with the land owner and the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District to develop a three year Conservation Plan for the entire piece of property.

The goals of our conservation plan include improving soil tilth, establishing and maintaining a riparian corridor along Gordon Creek, eliminating non-native invasive species, enhancing wildlife habitat, and reducing the amount of irrigation water drawn from Gordon Creek.  To meet these goals we are utilizing a number of conservation activities.

Irrigation Water Management

One of the most important elements of our conservation efforts is the use of Dry Land Farming techniques for growing as many crops as we are able.  Not only does this technique significantly reduce our water use, it also yields some of the most flavorful produce imaginable.  Find out more on our Dry Land Farming page.

Additionally, we installed a new irrigation system designed to reduce the amount of water we draw from our irrigation source, Gordon Creek.  Our old system had two settings, on and off.  And, the entire field had to be watered at one time.  This meant that some items did not get enough water while others received too much.

The new irrigation system is an energy efficient, dual use system designed to allow us to drip irrigate as little as ten beds at once or to overhead irrigate a large swath.  The system has decreased our water and electricity usage, improved our vegetable crop, and greatly facilitated our ability to make use of summer cover crops.

Improving Soil Health

Researchers have found that ground beetles play an important role in soil ecosystems in the Willamette Valley.  Unfortunately, the beetles don’t care for disturbed soil.  Consequently, we have developed Beetle Banks which serve as a refuge and transportation corridor for the beetles.  Now the beetles are able to get from one end of our farm to the other, in both east/west and north/south directions without being disturbed.

Another important factor in improving tilth is returning nutrients to the soil.  We’ve enlisted thousands of worms to help us with this task.  Subscribers are encouraged to recycle their kitchen scraps back to the farm.  We even provide buckets and lids.

We feed the scraps to the worms.  The worms munch them up and turn them into wonderfully rich castings that are spread in the fields at the beginning of each season.  For information about what may be included in your worm bucket, please see the FAQ page.

In addition to the worm castings, we purchase and spread several tons of compost in our fields every year.

In 2010 Artisan Organics erected several bird houses in our fields. The bird houses do double duty.  They provide a nesting space for native blue birds.  And, they mark the location of the irrigation hydrants so that I don’t hit them with the tractor when I’m mowing a tall cover crop.

Enhancing Wildlife Habitat

In 2011 we continued our bird friendly activities by installing four raptor perches along the edges of our field.  These provide a place for native hawks, kestrals, and other birds of prey to sit and scan the fields for gophers, voles and field mice.  Rodent control at its finest.

Our plans for 2012 include installing raptor houses and building a hedgerow along Davis Road.  The hedge row will first be planted in native shrubs and small trees to provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds.  After the native plants are well established, we will add ornamentals to create a pretty and functional barrier hedge between ourselves and the suburban neighborhood across the street.

Finally, when you drive by the farm you might notice patches of flowers in the middle of the vegetable fields.  My excuse is that they provide sources of nectar for native pollinating insects.  But in truth, I do it because seeing flowers in the field makes my heart sing.