Can I ask for a bit of help from my friends here?

[Tumbulu]

I have been helping revive an heirloom wheat called Sonora since 2000. A wonderful woman got the 25 seeds from the seed bank and grew it up and then increased it on my farm. Her work is trying to get people to eat whole grains and she felt that the older heirloom varieties have better flavor as a whole wheat.

I fell in love with this wheat back then. I even bought my own grinder and began eating it exclusively. It tastes nothing like whole wheat and people with gluten intolerances can eat it without problem, even though it does have some gluten. It is a golden wheat, not a hard red high protein wheat. Turns out it was the first wheat variety brought to the new world from Europe by ships from Portugal before Columbus- apparently many ships sailed west and just stayed the only traces of the voyages are in the seeds they brought here.

It has the root system of a perennial which means that it is capable of producing a crop without any additional water or fertilizer and it sequesters way more carbon than the modern high yielding wheats. But it has the same low yield (high flavor) no matter what.

I took a big risk this year and decided to pay my neighbor to break up a very hard hardpan formed from when the farm was owned by other people (13 years ago) who grew alfalfa. It is costly, but something that I should have done when I first got the farm, but did not have the money to do it, plus I hoped that in time the soil would open up. My plan was to open the soil up, plant the entire 30 acres to this wheat, let my sheep graze it when it first came up and then allow the wheat to head up and have the grain crop.

But we are having a drought out here. The soil was prepared, we waited months for the first rain to let the weeds come up- my farm is organic, so no herbicides, this is how one gives the wheat plants a chance to grow without weeds competing. It rained at last, weeds came up, disced and then planted right after Christmas when a huge rainstorm was predicted.....but the storm gave us no rain....it finally rained Jan 21-23- a wonderful rain- the perfect rain, slow and steady and light at first, allowing the soil to absorb every heavy drop that came later. Since then the weather has been perfect for germination- downright warm somedays.

I look and look for sprouts, but there are very few, I keep hoping that they will come up, but now I worry that perhaps when we planted there may have been enough moisture in the soil for the seeds to have begun to sprout, but then without enough moisture, they died. Or the seeds were too close to the surface and birds ate them all......there are some sprouts, but not very many.....I also planted most of the seeds that I had.

And so I am scared that I will have lost this crop- and thus lost my seed line that I have had going on my farm for 11 years now....when things fail, it is hard to take ....and so, I am asking for help from my friend here. Can you send good energy to the seeds that may still have a chance to sprout? Those that have not been eaten? Any seeds that can still make it? Or if the crop is a failure, ideas of what to do?

I may still have time to try to broadcast more seeds before a small rainstorm comes next Tuesday......but is it time to just give up on it this year and save the few bags of remaining seed for next year and just plant a small plot and take extra good care of it? Did I do the wrong thing trying to open up the hardpan? It is a bit controversial, this deep plowing. I am generally against it and kind of got talked into it....It seems like a very rough thing to do, but compacted soil makes it very hard fro plants to grow in- even this tremendous wheat and my other crops.....

Everyday I say- maybe more will sprout today....but so far, they are still very few and far between.

On the good side- all sorts of people grow this wheat now. One of my customers bought tons of it from me and donated it to First Nation Farmers all over the southwest- and southeast as it was the wheat grow by their people. It is revived and there are over 30 people now growing it. If I lose it on my farm, it is only my personal loss as it is out and about again, which of course was the original goal.

But I love it and my chickens love it and I think that it is very good to grow on my farm.....anyway. That is it.

Thank you in advance for any prayers, energy, light, hopes and dreams.

[Howler]

1. Tumbulu

Not only will I keep your whole farm iin a protective and prosperous wrap of white light If you need any more substantial help please don't hesitate to p.M. me.

[Tumbulu]

2. Thank you!

This means a lot to me- I feel not so alone watching and waiting......

[Howler]

3. I love hearing about your farm and all your animals Tumbulu.

It feels like HOME to me and my favorite posts to read here on ASAH. So any help I can offer is only going to HOME.

[OneGrassRoot]

8. Oh, that is so lovely!

Tumbulu, I agree with Howler and BanzaiBonnie and everyone else. I greatly appreciate your sharings here, and absolutely send you and your farm lots of love and light!

Howler, what a warm, nurturing soul you are.

[Tumbulu]

9. Thank you so much!

you make me feel so supported.

[BanzaiBonnie]

4. May I pass this on to my healers group and the biodynamic farm group?

I'm betting they will have good ideas as well as supportive energy to send.

And I agree with Howler. I love hearing about everyone on your farm.

[Tumbulu]

10. Sure, BonzaiBonnie

My farm is almost biodynamic- it is just the preps that I need to be able to afford. I already follow all of the principles.

[yellerpup]

5. What a wonderful thing to do!

I grew up in the middle of wheat fields in Oklahoma, but I was an oilman's daughter. Wish I had advice, but I don't. I found your post really refreshing and uplifting. Good thoughts for whatever you need.

[Tumbulu]

13. Thanks!

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. I am wishing the very best

and I must point out my understanding that people with gluten intolerance ( I am one of them) CANNOT eat wheat gluten
( nor barley) no matter how old the wheat stock is, if it contains GLUTEN.

Your statement to the contrary needs documentation, please.

[Tumbulu]

11. gluten is a conjugate of two proteins

Gluten is the composite of a gliadin and a glutelin, which is conjoined with starch in the endosperm of various grass-related grains.

It is the structure of the proteins that make up the gluten in some of the oldest varieties that appears to be different.

Gluten simply describes the composite and not the actual structures or forms of the gliadin and glutelin.

It seems that these two proteins can have different shapes. These can be distinguished by gel electrophoresis. It seems that modern wheat breeders have selected for the forms of gliadin and or glutelin that make the strongest glutens. The older varieties have proteins that form a gluten structure, but those proteins are not the same- looking at gels of the proteins one can see the differences.

In the old spelts and in this Sonora wheat the proteins have one gel profile. In the modern wheats and in the modern spelts those proteins have another profile. Gel profiles are sort of like fingerprints of a protein.

And so this is my theory of why so many people who cannot tolerate regular wheat can enjoy this wheat, it has different proteins making this conjugate called gluten up.

I have no other theories of why the people that I know who cannot eat wheat for various reasons can eat this old variety. And dixiegrrrl this is only my observation- there have been no studies about this- heck there is hardly any of this wheat around- you have to know one of the farmers personally to even get it. And who has any money to run studies? But my guess is that something has happened to modern wheats- how is it that so many people are now gluten intolerant? Isn't it possible that something about the gluten has changed?

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. You are indeed onto something.

Which would explain "late onset" gluten intolerance in people like me, who had NO symptoms of gluten intolerance until the last 25 years.
It turns out, I have read, that "modern" wheat has been bred to have increased gluten, for "better" bread use.
I do not know the specifics, but it would make sense that the protein structure of modern wheat is indeed different.
All I know is my reaction to gluten changed around 1990, maybe a bit later.

Makes you wonder what other problems "modern" crops are creating.........

[Bluestar]

17. Thank you for explaining this

I always suspected that our corporate farmers had screwed with our wheat. As a celiac this makes me angry. There is a huge market for this among celiacs just like the farmers that grow non-gluten-contaminated oats.

I will say a prayer to the nature spirits and devas like I learned to do from Machaelle Small Wright in her book, Behaving As if the God in All Life Mattered. It's an oldie but a goodie.

Bless you for doing this work.

[Tumbulu]

21. I do not think that the farmers large or small

meant to hurt anyone. The mantra for the past 60 years has been "feed the world for as little money as possible- increase the yield per acre of everything!" and to do this the plant breeders selected for plants that put most of their energy into the salable portion- in the case of grains the seeds- and not roots or stems. This was a huge change. They also were trying to please the final customers- bread bakers, and so they selected for grains with the highest amount of the type of gluten that makes the bread really rise. But without the plant having the capacity to really thrive with a reduced root system, they need to be irrigated and fertilized. The old wheats produce maybe 1000 lbs of grain per acre. The new ones produce a good 4000 lbs + per acre. No farmer, large or small can stay in business selling their crop at the same price with such a vast reduction in yield. And can people pay 4x/the price? Is this sustainable? How was it once sustainable .... I sell this wheat to my coop and to friends, but I only grow normally 10 acres of it a year, this year I decided to put more in primarily to help the soil recover from the plowing done to break up the hardpan- this action that I resisted for so long.

And how about the soils- this mining of the soil to produce product that is removed and does not enrich the soil results in what we in the organic farming world call "soil mining". This is why people always want one to add more soil to the land- where does this soil come from? Is it appropriate to take soil from one place move it to another and then harvest the most of it and leave the soil depleted again?

One of the goals in biodynamic and organic farming is to farm in a way that the soil is improved, not mined. I do think that this wheat can be part of the way to do it. A plant with such a vast root system is a wonderful way to increase the organic matter in the soil and sequester a lot more carbon. If the sheep can eat the stubble (the stems after the grain has been harvested) and make that cellulose available to the soil microorganisms then topsoil can actually be produced.

It is the goal of many of us to produce topsoil in addition to a salable crop.

Thank you for sending blessings- I am grateful for all the comforting energy.

[Bluestar]

22. With all due respect

and gratitude for what you do, I am still convinced that there has been a concerted effort to increase crop yields without regard to the resulting effects on the humans and animals that consume it. There is something wrong with our food--otherwise we would all be vitamin-abundant rather than vitamin-deficient. I don't think it's unreasonable to conclude that the manipulation of crops and seeds have had damaging effects.

As to the increased cost to consumers--because of this manipulation of the gluten content, as a celiac I am forced to purchase a tasteless loaf of bread made of weird non-gluten grains at 3-4 times the price of a regular loaf. Gluten intolerance affects an estimated 1 in 120 people and is on the rise.

My post was meant to celebrate the work you are doing, not to criticize the farming community. If I offended you, I truly apologize.

[Tumbulu]

23. Oh my goodness I took no offense and thank you for your kind words of encouragement

It is just that I live and work within the farming community.

It seems that the same reductionist mechanistic type of thinking that gave to us the industrial revolution and mass production/assembly lines, etc infected the thinking of almost everyone involved in modern farming- trying to make it more efficient and cost effective and threw out most of the wisdom carried forth from the dawn of civilization.

I was only trying to say that these people who bred and commercialized these plants - that I consider so inferior in quality, however high in yield they are- thought that they were doing something good. I remember once being asked by a group of UC agronomists "how can organic farmers feed the world? And what about feeding homeless people- organic food is too expensive!" They really think that they are putting an end to starvation. And that using fossil fuels to make nitrogen fertilizers is a good idea. I am not kidding. They think it is the same.

And I do think that these breeders and researchers are motivated by doing what they think is best (however wrong I think that their idea of best is). The farmers are proud to be feeding so many people. I am just trying to express that the motivations of most of these people seem to be admirable. It is the result- the inedible grains, the grains high in testable protein, but not available protein.....foods without flavor, mineral poor and not capable of really giving energy to us- that we are left with.

I had a professor of nutrition here once and I asked him how the protein level in the wheat correlated to the ability of the animal to digest that protein. He said there are no such studies done. That they just test the protein- a rather quick chemical analysis. To see if the animal is able to utilize the protein long testing trials must be conducted and no one funds this sort of research.

And so it is left to people like me who hobble along trying to make sense of all this ourselves on our own farms with our own animals.

I started out growing spelt, as I cannot stand wheat, and was looking for the oldest spelt variety that I could find. The person I was buying the old variety of spelt from said that the protein level was low in this line- but he grew it for his livestock and they did much better with it than with the newer varieties that had a higher protein content......which got me wondering about accessibility of the proteins and then this led me to the woman reintroducing this Sonora wheat.

Another thing I have done is research how much people used to eat back when the food was low yielding, but highly nutritious. They ate way way less than we do. It is true, they were smaller than we are, but it is also true that they did a lot of work and ate far less. This is a clue to me that the food was far more nutrient dense than our current high yielding modern "wonders".

But again, I think it is motivated by limited linear thinking - and it infected agriculture in both the former Soviet Union along with the Industrialized West. There were only a few holdouts- Rudolf Steiner and Sir Albert Howard at the turn of the 19th Century, and we are still a very small part of ag the organic/biodynamic folk.

I am so sorry for everyone who suffers from these maladies created by an industry not humble enough, or who are pushed to commercialize things by the business folk when they are not ready or properly tested.

[kentauros]

7. Sending my greenthumb energy!

Whenever I've grown anything in the ground, it's always flourished. Not so successful at potted plants, but I still try

If you aren't aware of them (and I would think you would be) the Rodale Institute is a wonderful resource for organic farmers. I just watched a video on their Crops & Soil page showing how they do no-till organic farming with a cover crop. It's pretty fascinating, but would guess the machinery would be rather expensive, especially if you're already invested in a tiller.

You might also find a copy of the book "Secrets of the Soil". It's the second book from the authors that wrote "The Secret Life of Plants" and has plenty of information in it about the soil, biodynamic farming, and the "truth" about weeds. In fact, there's an online book on weeds and farming (with the same title as that chapter) called "Weeds - Guardians of the Soil". The hosting site has a good online library for small farmers, too.

I wish you good growing energy and more rain!

[Tumbulu]

12. Thanks Kentaurus

I only have a tractor and a disc, and it is a small one- no tiller. I have to borrow or rent everything else. I have been an organic gardener since the early 70's (one of my first magazine subscriptions was to Organic Gardening- by the Rodale Press) and I started farming organically in 1985. I have learned many things over the years, and hope to learn lots more, so thanks for the link to the online book on weeds

Thanks so much for sending the good energy and I hope more rain!

[kentauros]

15. Rodale is a great organization all the way around!

I used to sub to Organic Gardening, too, and still have quite a few of their books. One tidbit I learned from their editor back in the 1990s was about using mushroom compost. Back then, he was able to buy one of those long dump-truck loads for $100. I looked online and most of the prices for the average person go for $25 per half yard! Quite a change. I guess as more people learned they could use that sterilized compost, the suppliers bumped up the prices, just a little too much in my opinion.

I don't know what your resources are for compost, but there was one tool I learned how to use, at least for driving a pair of mules in pulling it: a manure spreader. It was turn of the 19th century era, mind you, yet it still worked. I learned that on a former working farm for demonstrations (part of a nature center south of here.) Of course, it would take more than a handful of farm animals to make enough manure for a sizable operation. You'd probably have to buy that, too.

One thing I learned from the man that taught those skills was for the organic gardener and/or suburbanite (as in "lawn care&quot to use sheep feed, or alfalfa pellets, as a form of organic "fertilizer". It adds all the nitrogen you need, plus it adds organic matter to the soil.

Do you happen to have a blog about your farming "adventures"? Because I'd like to read it, especially about whatever you have attempted with biodynamics. Oh, a couple more links, and I may bury you if you attempt to read it all!

Rex Research - Agriculture
Rex Research - Water

Just pick out the topics that seem the most pertinent. I know some of them probably don't work, or aren't feasible, but there's some good ideas in there, too

(edit - spailing airer)

[Tumbulu]

33. Thanks for more great finds!

I don't have a blog. I have been working on writing right here on DU. For a few years now I have been writing little posts. I am getting a bit more courageous now, so perhaps I'll write up more.

I have become very excited about growing topsoil with the help of the sheep. I remember something like 0.1" /decade can be grown if the sheep are properly managed. Hoping for 0.5" before I move to the next dimension.....

Wouldn't that be something? Produce half an inch of rich topsoil on 100 acres? That is my current dream.....

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks.

[kentauros]

39. It would be phenomenal to get that much new topsoil :)

I had to do a little calculation on what that half-inch means in terms of volume the rest of us can understand.

First off, 100 acres converts to 484,000 square yards. Now, I assume a one-inch layer (will divide by half later) to make it easier to understand. Most topsoil or mulch, or compost in the US is bought and sold in dump-truck or pickup truck-sized loads. That means it's sold by the cubic yard. So, it would take thirty-six square yards at one-inch thickness to equal one cubic yard in volume. The "average" dump-truck carries 16 cubic yards by volume. Thus:

100 acres = 484,000 sq.yds. = 13,444.4 cubic yards / 2 = 421 avg. dump-truck loads!

Those sheep better produce a lot of caca!

You're welcome for the links. I often research topics I enjoy learning about, and then saving what I find. I never know when someone will come along needing exactly that information.And if you don't have the books "The Secret Life of Plants" and "Secrets of the Soil" at least get the second one. More information than I could ever regurgitate

I was looking at that online-library link last night as saw their section for books on soil microbiology. Very important stuff, as are worms. But, I'm sure you know about much of that already. I would expect any farmer, no matter the size of their operation, to be well-educated about the soil and everything else associated. You certainly know quite a bit about the plants and seeds

[Tumbulu]

46. I LOVE Soil Microbiology

in fact I was going to get my PhD in it.....but the professor demanded that I take an oath that if I ever had a baby that I would not take any time off- get right back to work within 6 weeks. This was typical for that period of time. Very few women said no to this- I did though and then just began my solitary work of plant breeding for organic farming myself. It did break my heart- I loved that field of study.

I refused to take this oath and thus only have a MS in Entomology/Plant Path/Nematology- Crop protection Sciences . But I agree with you that it all starts in the soil. And soil is made by the micro and macro organisms with the help of ruminants predigesting the cellulose and pruning the leaves and encouraging the roots to slough off (making them available to the microbes) and then allowing them to grow larger and deeper again and again....... and I do believe that soil is the one of the most precious of our resources. Of the soil microbes I am drawn to fungi the most- they take the longest to become established, but have the most transformative abilities, I think. Anyway, that you for the wonderful discussion and encouragement.

One summer in the early 80's I interned at the oldest Ag Research Station in the world in England. There was an oat field there that had the same variety of oats planted on it year after year for 100 years. The soil nitrogen levels were adequate and they had stayed at this same high level without any inputs whatsoever all the years that they have been able to measure soil nitrogen. The soil folk were always trying to figure out how this could be- plant rotation in the foundation of good stewardship.......I got the idea about low yielding highly nutritious grains from this field as it was a low yielding old oat variety. It primarily produced plant materials- stems, roots, and some very nice oats, just not much of them compared to modern oats. But the soil was not being depleted at all. And there were no diseases of the plants either. And so I think it is a lot about what is taken away and what remains on the land as much as what the crop is.

I really try to keep my mind and heart open.

[kentauros]

50. If you're not aware of Paul Stamets,

you should be!

Some of this science is way over my head, yet I am still fascinated by it, especially with what mushrooms and fungus can do for us and the planet. He has a great site worth searching through, too: Fungi Perfecti

[MagickMuffin]

16. Good Advice on this thread

Did you add any other soils to mix with your preexisting soil?

Do you have any research on whether amending your soil with other soils that might hold water better would be beneficial?

It is important to do crop rotation, from what I've researched about organic farming.

I grew up on a suburban farm. 12 acres to be exact. We had a small barnyard area, and a small plot of land for veggies. The soil was very fine whitish sandy loam. When it was plowed, the deeper you plowed the more moisture it held, and the soil changed its color to a darker brownish color. It retained moisture really well and our garden produced great yields.

I think perhaps more research is needed and there are a lot of good ideas for you in this thread. I hope the best to you and your wonderful heirloom wheat.

I would love to try it, as I believe that I have or am developing a wheat intolerance. I haven't been diagnosed as I don't have the money for testing. However, I do know that I have developed an intolerance to peanuts and some varieties of corn. It causes my legs just below the knees to break out in a rash, sometimes this rash is tiny spots, other times it develops into a very large mass. It also causes swelling and pain. What really made me aware of this was I was eating Kashi cereal straight out of the box. I loved this cereal. Well after I figured out it was causing my legs to break out I had to give it up. So, I'm not sure what was in that brand of cereal that caused my reaction to it.

I will send Love and Light to your farm. Farms are so very important in our lives and I appreciate your giving your time and energy to producing food for yourself and farm animal families.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[Tumbulu]

31. Thanks so much MagickMuffin

12 acres is really big- how wonderful that must have been.

I am so sorry about your wheat intolerance. These old wheats may be the answer.

I have been working on improving the soil on my farm with cover crops and this wheat and of course the sheep. The goal is to produce topsoil - and it is really interesting how the hillside soils have improved. This row crop land was already lovely soil, just had the hardpan.....

Thank you for your help ! It mattered to me and the wheat, I think.

[GardeningGal]

18. If I had the space, I would love to try this heirloom wheat.

I'm interested because I've followed a cardiologist's blog that talks about how destructive today's wheat is due to the hybridizing that has gone on since the 70's. He wrote a book called "Wheat Belly" which talks about how different earlier versions of wheat was. Here is a presentation of his to a high school class. It's long (about 19-20 minutes each link) but really goes into detailed explanation of the history of wheat and the effect on health of all the changes made.

Edited to add that I will send light and healing energy to your farm.

&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

&feature=autoplay&list=ULWSDkJEF9aBY&lf=mfu_in_order&playnext=1

[Tumbulu]

30. Thanks for posting his presentation

it's a bit hard to hear, but I had read about his book and I am delighted to get a chance to see this.
I should have time to watch all the way through tomorrow.

Thanks again.

[Tumbulu]

44. What a fantastic pesentation- I am so glad that

you posted it and that I got to watch it. I highly recommend taking to time to view it!

Thanks GardenigGal

We are getting a light rain today and more wheat is coming up!

Thanks everyone!

[BlueIris]

19. Here are some prayers for your awesome sounding golden wheat...

Grow, grow, grow, Sonora...

[bigmonkey]

20. I'm keeping your farm in my attention, Tumbulu.

I took a turn away from an agricultural path about 30 years ago, but your description evokes such an affinity in my heart. Thank you for taking on the task of repairing your land, and growing and promoting that priceless heirloom wheat.

[Tumbulu]

24. YOU ARE WONDERFUL AND YOU HAVE HELPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I wrote this yesterday I was so down in the dumps and I was feeling quite desperate about the seeds.

The love and prayers and energy and all the other things that you good people have sent have made a difference.

I just got back from walking the field and there are indeed sprouts coming up- at long last! And they look good and healthy. We are supposed to get a little rain tomorrow, but even if we don't the soil is holding the moisture very well.

All the seeds did not die, all the seeds were not eaten. And now those that survived are coming up.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And thank you anonymous donors for all these hearts. I feel loved!

[Howler]

25. WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!

[bigmonkey]

49. Hooray!!!

May your crops thrive!

[BlueToTheBone]

26. Thanks so much for bringing up Sonora wheat

I never heard of it until your post.

Right away, I'm sorry you are struggling with this, but I can see you are on the right track. I found seed on the internet and wowsie! it sure is expensive. I can see why you are so concerned. But, keep trying. I found this article that might or might not be of help to you, but I thought it was very interesting. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46282123/ns/business-retail/

snip
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has set a goal of creating 100,000 new farmers in the next few years. Department of Agriculture programs target youth, women, Hispanics, American Indians and returning military veterans. It does not matter if the want-to-be farmers have agriculture in their background or have never set foot outside the city, there are programs to help them buy land and equipment and figure out what to grow.

Aging farmers
"The farming population today is aging rather rapidly," Vilsack said in an interview. "Over 30 percent of the current farm population is over the age of 65. We have a whole generation that is set to retire. The question is then who will take over those operations. We need generations of leaders in American agriculture to continue our position as the number one agricultural country in the world."

U.S. agriculture leaders say change is under way in Washington to support new farm practices and they say a rural renaissance is not only a way to add diversity to food production but also a means for bolstering the economy and reversing a decline in rural populations.

Beginning farmers are defined as anyone who has run a farm or ranch for less than 10 years. There are currently more than 450,000 beginning farms, about 21 percent of the nation's 2.1 million family farms, according to the USDA. But the government wants more.
More on Food trends

I'm going to order some Sonora wheat and Carolina rice from Anson Mills. http://www.ansonmills.com/products-page.htm

It says because of the low gluten it doesn't make great bread...what do you do to make bread? I'm gluten intolerant and need to make changes which are hard because I love wheat.

[Tumbulu]

27. Oh my goodness, that is who buys most of my Sonora wheat every year

and he is the one who gave so much of last year's crop to the First Nation peoples of the Southwest and Southeast (and to Native Seed Search) for planting seed. He also grows the Sonora on his farm as well, but claims that he likes the flavor of mine better. Which is very nice of him.

He has also generously supported Monica Spiller- she has an organization called The Whole Grain Connection
( www.sustainablegrains.org). She is the one who brought this wheat back with the 25 seeds from the seed bank.

I want to post some pictures of the field so everyone can see what happened in just two days of ASAH good energy.

[Tumbulu]

28. before and after ASAH (dial up warning) new amazing picture added

Last edited Sat Feb 11, 2012, 12:48 AM - Edit history (2)

[IMG][/IMG]
Saturday looking really hard for sprouts and seeing very few and feeling so discouraged!



[IMG][/IMG]
Monday after getting your help- beginning to pop up- very thin stand but WAY better than Saturday- I have hope now.



[IMG][/IMG]
And look at it this morning- 2/10/12- It is astounding!

[MagickMuffin]

40. Now that is looking GOOD

I believe that with ALL the ASAHers Love and Support your Wheat field will begin to grow thicker and you will have an abundance of wheat for the full season.


Go Wheat

Grow Wheat

Give me something good to eat

[Howler]

41. WOO HOO!!!

Just Look at all that GREEN!!!!!! Look out People I think she's gonna GROW!!!!!!

[Mojorabbit]

29. Sending birthing energy to your seeds.

May they sprout and grow strong and healthy.

[Tumbulu]

34. Thank you- they are- take a look at the pictures- I am so very grateful

for such a magnificent beginning!

[Ecumenist]

32. Prayers and green energy vibes on their way to you Tumbulu.....

I promise to pray everyday several times a day for you. A solemn promise.

[Tumbulu]

35. Oh Ecumenist

Thank you so much- the prayers are already working- did you take a look at the amazing before and after pictures? The love from this group is really making a difference.

Thank you sincerely

[Ecumenist]

36. Are you in California? We're in a serious drought out here and the date you gave for rain sound

familiar...

[Tumbulu]

37. Yes, northern Calif

do you recognize the hills?

[Ecumenist]

38. YES!!! It looks like the western gfoothills!! I'm in Sacramento ...

[Tumbulu]

43. yes they are- the Capay Valley

west and north of you- we are neighbors!!!! How wonderful is that?

[Ecumenist]

47. Wow!! We were actually looking to buy property there, I believe it was on road 75? I think..

We also looked at a home in Esparto. If you EVER need help and I mean that, (NO PAY) let me know. My husband grew up on a ranch of several hundred acres and is looking to get back into work ing with the earth in an organic, chemical free way. We're going to be looking for land in eastern Humboldt to begin an organic cattle ranch...if we can get enough land, produce too,.

[Tumbulu]

48. Thank you so much Ecumenist! That is amazing

that you came to look at properties here - this is such a beautiful valley, (but so darned hot in the summer). Eastern Humboldt county sounds wonderful- not too hot, and closer to the ocean.

I took a short course in Holistic Grazing that the USDA NRCS (this is the old soil conservation service) put on a few years ago and found it so inspiring. Perhaps while you are still in the area you could attend some of their events- they host workshops on hedgerows and native plant restorations and lots of those sorts of things that can be helpful. They even have money nowadays- to help people get back into ranching and farming. I am so excited for you!!!!!

Maybe sometime you can drive up and come and see the wheat field and meet the lambs.

I will look forward to it and in the meantime I am getting to enjoy this gentle rain, which is keeping me inside.

[TownDrunk2]

42. Mental imaging here for you: the biggest, burliest 30 acres of wheat ever seen by mankind :)

[Tumbulu]

45. Thank you!

It is beginning to happen!

[magical thyme]

51. I love what you are doing, Tumbulu

I would plant a small crop that you can tend carefully, in case you are headed into an extended drought. That will maintain your seed line. There is always next year for the 30 acres...

[Tumbulu]

52. Thank you magical thyme

it is now looking as though it will be a wonderful crop. I am so grateful for all the help from everyone here in ASAH. I updated the pictures of the field last night to show a picture from yesterday morning.

If the seeds had been lost this year, I would have followed your advice. And if something does go wrong with the crop still, I'll do the same.

Sending hope that the passing of your wonderful horse went as smoothly as it could have.