Our farm is the most beautiful place in the world. That’s a pretty grand claim, but for me it is true, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Both my parents came from farm families, and owning my own place has been a life-long aspiration. We bought Half Mile Farm in 2008, moved the nursery here from Hillsboro and then set to restoring a sad, run-down nursery and grass seed fields into something better. We carved off nearly half of our arable acres, planted them with all manner of native stuff and let the beaver go nuts in what was, in 2010, an annual ryegrass field. Here is the result, 15 years later:
No one has yet challenged my claim to hosting the largest beaver dam in the Northwest, which you can see if you come out for a visit (please call to schedule!). Since we planted willows and other beaver dam-supporting plants in 2020, the beaver have constructed a dam that is up to eight feet high and nearly 1000 feet long, right here on our farm. Along with dozens of other dam structures now on the property, all courtesy of a large and growing population of beaver, we have nearly 20 acres of open ponds and marshes that fill and dry down with every season, supporting an incredible diversity of ducks, wading birds and songbirds, none of which were here before. Another high note, every year we have more herons using these pond habitats, and with as much roosting as they are doing now in surrounding snags and trees I am hopeful that they will actually establish a rookery here. Here is a heron’s-eye view of how this place has changed since we started giving it some love:
BEFORE
AFTER
Note that Roderick “Creek” used to be a ditch, about 4 feet wide that dwindled to a trickle by July. It is now a 400-foot-wide flowing complex of sloughs and marshes. The natural form of Roderick Creek, once it hits the valley floor here at the farm, is not a creek at all in the traditional sense. It is supposed to be, and is again, a wetland, at least here on our farm. And it is wetlands like these that made the Willamette Valley the verdant paradise that it once was. So we have restored the critical functions of the Roderick wetland – filtration, phosphorus retention, aquatic diversity and most of all, water volume – that supports wildlife, fish and all of the needs humans have for clean, abundant water. All of the water that flows or falls onto this farm is filtered through this magnificent wetland, and it is much clearer and cleaner as a result. That’s what it’s all about, folks. This isn’t some cutesy little wildlife project, although we do have lots of muskrat here now, and they are definitively cute. But this is serious business. It’s about having enough clean water for our children and grandchildren. Water is life. It’s not cutesy.
Our work in restoring natural functions extends to our production areas as well. Here is what those look like:
This is the border of one of our production fields. There are over 2 million native plants growing in this field, at least 1.5 million of which will make grade and go on to restore local natural areas and streambanks. Here is a look at the interior headland of this field:
And the actual plants in production, in this case vine maple:
The vine maple that came out of this stand were absolutely gorgeous. And just look at all those weeds! Weeds are great if you are a bee, or a butterfly, moth, beetle or a bird. Diversity is what makes a place interesting, not just for humans, but for all of the other creatures around us. Many of these creatures are essential to human well-being, and we support them as best we can. There are no pesticides or other harmful chemicals applied anywhere on this farm. So when you buy one of our plants, you can know that there are no hidden pricetags or toxic residues. We are not contributing to groundwater pollution or ozone layer depletion, both of which are by-products of modern ag in general and nursery production in particular. You can be certain that the work we do here at the farm to provide you with beautiful plants is happening in a beautiful place that is making the world better.
That’s truly beautiful.
Thank you,
-George