In their last meeting, the Willits City council decided that the city enter Stage 1 Water Rationing. The Little Lake Valley is experiencing a drought and is about 20 inches below average for precipitation in 2007. Since the reservoirs are at alarmingly low levels a Stage 1 Water Ration has been initiated. Stage 1 rationing is more or less a voluntary curtailment of water usage. Stage 2 is much more severe and mandates all watering of landscaping and gardens be discontinued. The recent Stage 1 declaration (and potential Stage 2 mandate) may prove to be an obstacle for the evolving mini-farm at Brookside Elementary and is an added incentive for us to drill a well sooner than later.

This type of predicament is not new-since there has been the possibility for irrigation there has been the fight for water and the rationing of scarce supplies. In the future I can even imagine that the energy cost of powering an irrigation system might become prohibitive for some. In this case, farmers have (and may choose) to turn to a dry-land farming method which relies on the natural patterns of rain to provide moisture for germination and the hope that a couple of later storms arrive to secure early plant growth. In addition, proper selection of drought tolerant crops is a key consideration in this type of agricultural system.

At the Willits Energy Farm we are growing 2880 Sq Ft of legume and cereal crops. These crops are being grown dry-land and will eventually be used for compost and animal feed. I must admit that this is not a true dry-land crop because we watered the area after drill seeding it with the Earthway seeder. The water was minimal, as we simply added moisture to the soil to aid germination of the seeds-an impatient simulation of a moderate March rain two days after sowing. Who knows, if this wasn’t a “drought” year we might have actually received precipitation! After this initial watering we have not added any more water and are allowing nature to provide the rest. For the last couple of weeks the plants have been in a crucial stage of development where moisture helps establish them and provides the early growth that will be useful as the plant grows taller and produces seed heads.

On Wednesday and Friday we received some precipitation. Before the rain on Friday we replaced the 1204 Sq Ft area of Hard Red Spring Wheat (which failed to establish itself) with Crimson Clover. The clover is an example of sowing dry-land crops ahead of anticipated rain. We will see if the 0.4 inches of rain in the last two days is enough to get the clover germinating and the spring grains growing strong.

Dry-Land Legumes and Cereal Crops After the Rain

Cover Crop of AC Baton Oats

A "Before" Shot in November of Cover Crop in the Compacted Infield

An "After" Shot of Infield Cover Crop that Remained Over-winter