High Desert Farmers

These happy plants enjoy some unexpected late May drizzles. Last year at this time it was inches of snow.

[Notice the off-shoots to the left of the farther plants. The in-row weed control methods I will be exploring this season will work around these rather than cut them away.]

Just how much hand weeding will be necessary this year to maintain a healthy, clean crop of Navajo tea greenthread? That depends on which other organic weed control methods are put to use, and this summer’s work inculdes a project funded by Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education to try three promising methods and compare their effectiveness. I will be posting on this blog as a way of making my findings available to other growers, so check back often for updates.

This little gallery shows the progress the plants are making in my field of greenthread, this being the spring of the second season. Navajo tea in rows may look a little strange to those of you who know it in the wild. They start out that way on my farm, but I won’t try to keep them. I am working on organic weed control techniques for this perennial plant that will allow it to multiply from rhizomes rather freely.

Several rows of greenthread Navajo tea in May of season 2.

Greenthread breaking dormancy in the second season.

Dormant greenthread plants in March of season 2.

There being international customs, exchange rates, and shipping issues, I feel I have something to brag about when greenthread gets all the way to the Slovak Republic safe and sound. Thanks, Peter, of Bratislava, for your order and your confidence in the process:

well done, we have already drunk first cups of your quality. Its very nice…
Thanks a lot and all the best.
Sincerely
Peter

The plants are dormant in their rows along side the coyote tracks and rabbit nibbled grasses at the greenthread farm. Spent an hour counting and averaging estimating the number of plants, testing the water, the soil.

Not much else to do at the farm right now so it is time I posted some of the feedback I’ve been getting this winter as more people find out about this herb. Here’s a quotation from a customer’s email I received today:

I want to tell you that my wife brought home a box of your tea bags a couple of years ago, which I ignored for months before giving it a try. I came to love the tea for it’s subtlety and friendly nature, and hoarded that one box for a year, indulging only in special (or needful) moments. I think your project of cultivating this herb is great, and wish you the best at it. Looking forward to a nice cup …

Best
Adam

More testimonials to post . . .