The Artistry of Agriculture at Paul’s Produce: Found Objects, Farming and Creative Ingenuity with Paul Wirtz
Written by Lauren Papalia
Lauren Papalia is the Cooperative Engagement Coordinator at FEED Cooperative, part of FEED's Marketing Team and a sometimes writer.
Photo Credit: Lucy O’Dea
On a pleasant afternoon during this unseasonably cool early summer, Paul Wirtz has agreed to meet me at his Sonoma Valley farm. I am eager to see how the crops are moving along and what will be available in the coming weeks. We cruise along in the farm truck, hopping out at intervals to check the almost-ready-to-harvest. Along the extensive rows, each organized, compact and efficient, there’s broccolini, cauliflower, chicories and celery, some of which is destined for FEED Cooperative’s aggregate CSA box, or FEED Bin. A producer-member of FEED, Paul’s Produce sells roughly 45 percent of what it grows through the Co-op–everything from shelling peas and lemongrass to artichokes and onions. Paul’s Produce is well known in Sonoma County for its exceptional quality and consistent market presence. Folks have long raved about Paul’s carrots. But, for me, it’s the celery that is particularly noteworthy. Requiring consistent care over a long growing period, celery is the finicky mirepoix diva. I snap a sweet stalk off the nearest crown and make a mental note: next time bring a Brix meter.
Photo Credit: Lauren Papalia
Some adjectives that have been used to describe Paul and the food he grows: venerable, masterful, even, famous. None of that is hyperbole, but that’s not the only reason I’m here. When I made my first trip out to Paul’s last November, I was wowed, of course, by the quality of the vegetables in the field, richness of the soil and overall organization and beauty of the ten acres in cultivation. But there is another element to Paul’s trade, honed over decades of farming in Sonoma County, that contributes to his success. Adding depth to the notion of sustainability, Paul has found myriad ways to creatively improve, use and repurpose found objects, tools, implements and machinery for ease of cultivation. He has the artisanal ability to see something once meant for a particular purpose and have it serve another. I have mentioned to Paul that this is a particular interest of mine, and I’m looking forward to our imminent detour. We take one last peek at some little gems, heading up nicely in near-perfect rows. “Ok, enough of that," Paul says wryly. “Let’s go look at junk.”
Photo Credit: Lauren Papalia
Toward the back of the farm’s acreage stands yards of covered corrugated shelving that house what Paul calls his metal library. There are various lengths of pipe, fragments, fixtures and other parts I cannot even begin to identify. But I do not think naming the parts is what matters. The important thing is to see them for what they could potentially be. A skilled welder, Paul has constructed or transformed countless objects with heat and metal. “Here’s a good shot”, Paul beams, lifting a vintage-looking implement off a nearby hook. “I’m very, very proud of this tool.” Paul shows me where, just yesterday, he fused a piece from his library onto an old Planet Jr. wheel hoe head to keep it from straying out of the furrow when weeding lettuce. Another hoe has been retrofitted with parts for reaching underneath taller chicories. In the nursery, a third contraption of Paul’s is put to use: a hedge trimmer connected to a vacuum for “mowing” the sea of seedling flats. But why the buzz cut? Employing a technique originally gleaned from Head Start Nursery, lettuce, brassicas, even melons, are cut back to a uniform height. Paul does this, he explains, to keep any one plant that gets ahead from out-competing the others for water and light. The uniformity makes the mechanized transplanting flow smoothly and without interruption. The veggie starts usually get cut at least twice before they’re planted, a process Paul used to painstakingly do with scissors before the hedger allowed for the job to be done in a single pass.
Photo Credit: Lauren Papalia
The days for a farmer are long and hard. If one can avoid it, it is important to avoid doing lots of extra steps. Streamline is the word that comes to mind. An eye for detail and subtlety and a knack for creative troubleshooting certainly help. I ask Paul what he’s most proud of, what he thinks is important when it comes to successfully growing food for people. He talks about organization within the farm. That means tools, maintenance, and planning for future crops, investments and changes. “I’m super proud of the crew I have, and how well everyone works together”, he says. It makes perfect sense. It’s about taking the different parts and putting them together to form something else, something better. It’s about creating what is needed with just the right kind of alchemy.
Photo Credit: Lauren Papalia