Reflections ►
For the Love of Hemp !
Growing Hemp 101 by Dolores Halbin , contributing writer
Part Two
The Zumwalts with their hemp bails .
Over the past year , as The EVOLUTION Magazine has covered the birth of the hemp industry in the Midwest , over and over , folks have asked us , “ What do I need to do to grow hemp ?” That question comes from corn and soy farmers to folks with a few acres wanting to convert .
The past few weeks , I ’ ve traveled the old 71 Hwy corridor , from Cleveland to Harrisonville to Garden City to Adrian , asking Missouri hemp farmers , “ How ’ s it going , and do you have any advice ?”
Last month we talked about the importance of dirt , not just for hemp , but for all our food crops . Our world ’ s topsoil is in critical condition , and growing hemp is the quickest way to restore homeostasis to our dirt , along with leaving the leaves and composting our organic waste . Good dirt grows better hemp .
First Advice
Daryl Poindexter and his family are going into their 5th year of farming hemp for CBD . I wrote about Rural Route Hemp and the family in the December issue , including a picture of the crew in front of the ginormous plants in the lower field .
“ The difference is the dirt . The dirt on the lower field is near the creek bank , which occasionally floods and deposits all that rich soil ,” explained Daryl .
Ahh ! My first bit of advice . The bottom lands grow better plants .
The upper fields were planted in mounds and rows . The Poindexters use a Blue Ribbon Mulcher that makes the mounds and lays the plastic . They start the plants in the hothouse , move them to the greenhouse , and in early June , use a standard tomato or onion transplanter to plug them into the mounds . He also cautioned — use white plastic on your mounds ; the black plastic heats up too much .
The family planted 2.6 acres this year , down from 10 when they started five years ago . “ And we will do less this year ,” Daryl explained . “ You have to have buyers .”
They harvest by hand , with Luke Poindexter wielding the ax . I was privileged to be part of the hemp harvest crew last fall and look forward to doing it again .
“ There is magic in those fields ,” Vince Zumwalt said as I sat across the kitchen table from him and his wife , Vicky ( photo above ). This was their first year of hemping for fiber . I recognized the look on his face when he said “ magic .” The only time I feel “ high ” is standing in the hemp fields with plants over my head , just breathing in the terpenes . It is magic .
The Zumwalts are third generation farmers in Cleveland . “ I know corn , soy , hay , cattle , but hemp is different . I had never done this crop before , and it was scary .” Vince said . “ I had to go down to RR Hemp and buy him CBD from the Poindexters to calm him down . He was a wreck ,” laughed Vicky .
First , they had to figure out how to plant the seed . Hemp seed must be planted on the surface with just a skiff of dirt cover . Modern tractor seeders have settings for other crops but not hemp . “ I was talking to Daryl about seeding , and he asked me , didn ’ t I still have that old 1950s Ford Tractor out in the barn ? Well , I sure did , and lo and behold , that 1950s seeder has a setting for hemp ,” Vince grinned .
The seed is thrown , then rolled so surface rains will rearrange . Hemp grown for fiber can never be a row crop . At harvest , Vince started with the sickle . “ I had to stop every 20 feet to clean out the sickle bar . Then I saw video of Randy [ Batts ] out with his disc . So , I switched to the disc , and it worked just fine . Raking was pretty awful and labor intensive , but hemp bails better than hay .”
“ We would set out on the porch in the evening just to enjoy the smell and watch it grow ,” said Vicky .
“ Everything out there loved the hemp ,” Vince chimed in . “ After harvest , I have never seen so many birds , geese , wild turkey , and deer in a field . The cows even love the smell . They would gather on the fence line closest to the fields . Some evenings after feeding the cows , I would just pull over next to the field and breathe .”