PLANTING DAY 2023

Welcome to my classroom | Reflections on Community Planting Day

There was a sign above the door of my son’s kindergarten classroom, “Center as you Enter.” It’s a reminder to take a breath and become aware of one’s physical body and intentions upon entering the classroom. On the morning of Planting Day, our gathered group of volunteers benefited from a masterful “center as you enter” field meditation led by Mary Giles. Mary is one of the leaders of The Common Table, partners with Honoré in our field work. She reminded us to be aware of our feet on the earth, the sound of the birds and farm animals, and visually take in the breathtaking beauty of the farm, as the morning fog lifted for a crystal clear spring day.

Further making the connection to becoming aware, Mark Squire, co-owner of Tara Firma Farms, shared how he is constantly learning about his farm through close observation. For example, he pointed out the crop of Hourani wheat, planted last November, next to the field where we were about to plant new seed. Three quarters of the Hourani crop was treated to a thick layer of compost before planting. It was easy to see what he was describing. The plants tell the story. Those without the compost are literally half the height and the heads of wheat are smaller than the side with compost. The difference is dramatic. Fittingly, as he left us to our planting he said, “Welcome to my classroom.”

Everything Honoré does requires teamwork, and our Community Planting Day is a good example. Before we even arrived at Tara Firma on Saturday, Jake Daigle, a skilled farmer I met a dozen years ago while studying Principles and Practices of Organic Farming at The College of Marin, prepped the soil. This is saying something because Jake already has a full time farming job elsewhere. When he enthusiastically agreed to help he told me he wants to invest himself because he’s inspired by the work Honoré is doing and wants to see this year’s crop succeed. A week ago he tilled the soil and created the planting beds. I can’t underscore how much work this is. Anyone who attended last year’s Planting Day will remember we didn’t have a farmer to do this prep work. Last year, we were the ones sweating and catching our breath while removing large rocks, breaking up heavy clods of earth, and raking off dried clumps of dead weeds. It is hard and humbling work.

This year, we not only benefited from Jake’s prep work, Luis Alcatraz, a beloved farmer whom we worked with at HomeFarm in Healdsburg, taught the group how to properly prepare the seed beds and plant the seeds. The soil we began with already looked great, but with the additional help of our large and invested volunteer group, the seed beds became perfectly mounded and smooth as velvet with straight furrows dug with Mark’s handmade “furrower.” By the time we got to planting the seeds, laying them on the earth was a joy.

We planted Jaljuli, the second (along with Hourani) of the two varieties of wheat discovered during an excavation of the Masada Fortress in the 1960s. Depending on the temperature over the next few days, we should see sprouting by the end of this weekend.

I’m grateful for the conviviality shared and investment made by everyone to accomplish the task of planting. Our work is the embodiment of community; each person doing a little to accomplish something no one could do on their own. And, I’m especially grateful to our Teacher and Partner, Mother Earth.

Thank you again to our hosts, Jen Jones and Mark Squire, we love Tara Firma Farms! Thank you to Tom Giles for emceeing, to Adam Willner for the hot coffee, to Andrew Atwong and David DeRuff (affectionately known as “The Snack Man”) for taking photos, to Craig Ponsford for the welcome treats, to Noelle and Andrei Goga for welcoming everyone and to the dream team Henry DeRuff, Ry Storey-Fisher and Janelle Shiozaki for getting everything set up.