Why Flywheel?

The farm name of “flywheel” came to me one evening when pressing cider. The cider press itself utilized a flywheel. A concept that I realized later is utilized often. The most tangible form in my experience was in ceramics class in college. The heavy disk at the foot of the potter’s wheel acts as a flywheel for throwing clay.

I was taken with the idea of it. The ability to store rotational energy, to give uniform rotational speed. It seemed to me appropriate for the goals of farming. To take the bounty and abundance of summer and use that energy and light to hold us through the dark days of winter.

Its a lofty goal —to maintain a balance through the seasons. Farming flowers here in Maine there is not much to harvest from December-April. But the same is true for vegetable farmers. Sure there are super sweet greens growing under layers of row cover, but the majority of local produce that sustains us through the winter months is in the form of storage crops.

I wrote a holistic goal in the second year of the farm that was something like, “to have a farm that provides work and a lifestyle that is in rhythm with and a celebration of the seasons”. I envisioned starting the season harvesting tulips and ending the season collecting evergreen boughs for wreath making. I envisioned eating peas in the spring, tomatoes in the summer, brussel sprouts in the autumn, and potatoes in the winter. I envisioned clearing snow off tunnels in the winter, transplanting in the spring, long days of harvest in the summer and putting the fields to bed in the autumn.

I was smitten with the idea of it all. And it has all for the most part come to fruition. I suppose the thing I was not prepared for is how I thought that the work itself was seasonal. And the physical labor is seasonal. But I find the winter is full of equally important work. Winter days are filled with planning and scheming. Looking at cash flows to determine which debts payoffs will be prioritized. And just as much as the work of harvesting and caring for the flowers in the summer maintains the farm through the winter. These planning sessions are important to sustaining the farm through the summer. Taking the time now to say wonder if it will be worth it to host a workshop in the middle of June or deciding to start that late round of snapdragons, makes for a clearer path come the growing season.