Granny’s Farm
Larry Warnberg and Sandy Bradley, Member Spotlight, November 2011
Larry Warnberg, child psychologist-turned-oyster farmer-turned farmsteader, is truly a man of all trades. Larry and his wife, Sandy Bradley, own and run Granny’s Farm on 100 acres in the Willapa Valley. After only three years, Granny’s Farm is bustling with chickens, donkeys, steer, pigs, sheep, goats and an abundance of family and friends. Amidst the hubbub, Larry finds time to produce fruit wines, goat cheese and even new farmers through the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms organization, affectionately known as WWOOF. Other pursuits include offering butchering and canning workshops, setting up a green cemetery and establishing a small lumber operation on 80 acres of their wooded land. The farm’s diverse components reflect Larry’s affinity for permaculture, farming intensively, foraging and integrating local resources into your food system. As to the farm’s future, Larry says, “we plan to continue growing a lot of our food and help others to do the same.”
Who has been inspirational to you?
Helen and Scott Nearing of Maine are heroes in terms of living simply. My favorite quote is from Masanobu Fukouka “the best fertilizer in all the world is the footstep of the farmer.”
Any advice for those new to the farming profession?
I think it’s important not to get too specialized. I’ve always been a generalist. Sandy has a wide range of interests too. I think a lot of credit should be given to our college education. It’s a shame that this opportunity is becoming out of reach for many as tuitions rise. We really appreciated the broad view given to us by our liberal arts education at the University of Washington; it prepared us to tackle the challenges of modern life.
Was it difficult to transition to farming the land after so many years on an oyster farm?
It was natural. Farming traces way back to my ancestors. I was born in Minnesota and even though I moved to Longview with my parents when I was only three years old, I spent quite a few summers back in Minnesota baling hay and doing farm chores with relatives. We also had a garden growing up in Longview—everybody had a backyard garden then— I raised chickens and rabbits and have pretty deep roots with growing food. Even when I had the oyster farm and lived on a boat, I had a small garden on shore. And when I had the oyster farm, I foraged in Willapa Bay for crabs and fish and clams. Now that we’re inland, I still forage for fish and mushrooms
You recently went to Finland to talk about toilets?
I’ve used a composting toilet for years. I got into promoting dry composting toilets as a way to reduce the nutrients floating in estuaries. Summertime algae blooms are triggered by the high nutrient content in Hood Canal and can devastate shellfish production. It’s pretty well known that 60% of the problem is the septic systems around the Puget Sound. Living on the boat next to my oyster bed, I had the Joe Jenkins composting bucket model that he promotes in his “Humanure Handbook.” I had a garden on shore that could take the compost, but then I developed a campground for kayakers and bicyclists to stay for free and I needed facilities beyond what I had on the boat. I built a solar toilet that had a larger capacity for groups. One thing led to another, and somebody saw it and ordered one, and then two, so I took pictures and put together a construction plan. I get requests for the plans from all over the world, like Italy and England. They are also very popular in dry areas like Arizona, or in freezing climates where people have trouble with plumbing in the winter. A few years ago I went to the first international dry toilet conference in Finland to present my model. Sandy and I boxed up our tandem and flew to Amsterdam. It was pretty interesting to meet people from thirty different countries all working on different aspects of composting toilets
What is your favorite piece of farming equipment?
Generally I prefer tools that are manual rather than gas or diesel fueled. If I can walk, bike or paddle, I’ll take that over a car any day—I haven’t had a driver’s license in 28 years. I like to use the bow saw or handcart before the chainsaw or tractor. My favorite tool is probably my hand weeder. We don’t do any plowing or rototilling, but since we do mulch and spread compost, there’s a lot of weeding involved. That’s where my hand weeder comes in.
What sort of feed do you use for your animals?
We grow oats, rye and hay, and we sometimes buy grain from the feed store. Sandy has recently started buying organic chicken pellet for the meat chickens. It’s about double the cost of regular feed, but we know there is probably GMO corn or soybeans in the commercial feed, so we try to minimize the amount that we use. Doing as much pasture foraging as possible goes in line with our permaculture philosophy. We’ve recently reduced our goat herd because they require so much feed, whereas the steer are happy to live on pasture without much outside input. After three years on the farm, we are gradually learning what will work best for this land.
What is your favorite crop to grow?
Probably potatoes, because they are such a versatile food. They store well and grow well here.
Why are you members of Tilth Producers of Washington?
We’ve been members for a long time. Our interest in growing our own food is supported by Tilth; the goal is shared. We enjoy the annual conference and newsletters – they’re a great source of information and inspiration for us. I think Tilth is a very important organization now, and in the foreseeable future, as our food production system is creeping toward an industrial agriculture approach. I think we are wearing out the earth. There is a major shift coming, and Tilth is showing the way.
Learn more about Granny’s Farm at http://potluckfarm.wordpress.com/.