Tom Evans, a small-time grower in northern Mendocino County, is framed by some of his marijuana plants in the backyard of his small rental home. "It used to be a contest to see who could drive the oldest pickup truck, " he said. "There's just been this huge influx of folks who have money on their mind, instead of love of the land."
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Longtime marijuana growers Andrew, left, and Anna plant their year's first crop on a small terraced slope near their home in northern Mendocino. They asked to be identified only by their middle names. "It used to be families all around us here," said Anna, 52. "Now it's seasonal people from the city."
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Marijuana grower Andrew, 56, tends to a freshly planted plant on his property in northern Mendocino. Though he and Anna are not complete back-to-the-landers -- they have a nice car, satellite TV and Internet access -- they keep their gardens relatively small, tucked in the trees throughout their property.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Andrew, left, and Anna stand next to several potted marijuana plants. The plants will be transplanted into beds on a terraced slope near their home.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Anna waters a marijuana plant that is part of this year's first crop. "Every night we hear helicopters now," she said. "It’s people moving big greenhouses and generators into the mountains."
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Pot smoke billows around Anna's head. Among their plants, she and Andrew post their own medical marijuana cards so that if they’re raided, it looks as though they’re growing under the aegis of state law.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Anna tends to the marijuana plants in the backyard of her home in northern Mendocino County. "These big commercial growers have really ruined our business," she said.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Andrew and Anna walk down a trail to a small terraced slope to plant the first of the year's marijuana crop. Until recently, life in the hills of Mendocino and Humboldt counties had changed little in the decades since hippies from the Bay Area began homesteading here. The pioneers initially grew marijuana for themselves and to make a little money.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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An early-morning mist settles over the hills of Garberville, Calif., where many marijuana growers have been raising their crops for years.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Grower George Unsworth opens the gate to his property in Covelo, Calif. In 2010, Mendocino County tried to regulate the marijuana industry and dole out permits. Residents could grow 25 plants if they bought a $25 zip tie for each one and let a sheriff's deputy inspect their gardens. Unsworth was one of 12 people to sign up the first year.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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George Unsworth makes sure that his marijuana hothouse in Covelo, Calif., is sealed properly.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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George Unsworth prepares to place marijuana plants inside one of the hothouses on his property.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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George Unsworth, left, places pot plants inside one of his hothouses. In the 1980s, cultivation of high-grade seedless marijuana opened the possibility for big money as it brought a higher premium. Many of the farmers cashed in. But many remained small and discreet to avoid attracting the attention of state and federal agents.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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George Unsworth walks down a dirt road on his property in Covelo. As competition drives marijuana prices down, even chamber of commerce types acknowledge that the North Coast economy is at risk.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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In the past, planting day was a time of great expectations, maybe for a vacation in Hawaii or Mexico during the rainy months or a new motor home to make deliveries around the country.
Andrew, 56, and Anna, 52, who agreed to be interviewed only if they would be identified by their middle names, live in a rambling house down a trail through tanoaks and Douglas firs. Their electricity comes from a windmill and solar panels, their water from a spring. They cook on a wood stove and use an outhouse with a composting toilet to conserve water for their crop.
