Spring Gardening Workshop

Newbury's New Eden; First Parish Church cultivating community within its organic gardens By Sonya Vartabedian The Daily News

Carol Blake — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:37:36 -0400

First Parish Church in Newbury first planted the seeds for its organic garden three years ago when the congregation adopted its new mission as "Stewards of Earth and Spirit."

But like all good gardens, it's taken time to cultivate. From its humble beginnings, the church's garden has grown into an ongoing experiment on sustainable community that has extended well beyond the parish doors.

This year, the effort, dubbed the New Eden Collaborative, is anticipating a bumper crop. The community garden has been expanded to include 35 separate, 150- and 400-square-foot organic community garden plots. They will be tended by area residents, with the resulting crops available for their own enjoyment.

The church has also partnered with the local group Pennies for Poverty: Two Cents for Change to plant a 1,200-square-foot "Common Cents" garden. The fresh produce from that garden will be donated to area food pantries and soup kitchens.

The parish's Sunday School has a 400-square-foot pumpkin patch in the works. And volunteers are planning a children's cottage built from recycled materials on the property for kids to enjoy.

Organic gardening workshops, sustainable cooking classes that will cover canning and pickling, a seed exchange, garden community potlucks and more are also on tap.

"Three years ago, it was a pathetic little garden. There wasn't the energy or knowledge to do it properly," said parish deacon and gardener Erin Stack. "Last year, people got excited. This year, between the economy and people wanting to go back to basics, I think people are slowing down and realizing this is something their family and kids can do."

The New Eden Collaborative is a combined effort between First Parish Church and Greater Newburyport Community Supported Agriculture, the Green Artists League eco-artists collective and local organic victory gardeners.

Stack said the overall goal is one of healthy community building. She envisions the garden becoming a social hub through the fall, with the season culminating in October with the parish's annual harvest festival. The event will be similar to an old-fashioned agricultural fair, complete with competitions for best zucchini, apple pie and more.

"It's about going beyond our own to build lasting relationships," Stack said. "The whole thing is about how can we sort of take care of everybody."

In addition to the $65 fee that will funnel back into garden materials and upkeep, everyone who has signed on to tend to one of the garden plots has had to commit to an organic approach. Pesticides are not welcome in New Eden. Neither are genetically modified plants. And organizers are encouraging as much of the gardening as possible to be done by hand.

"It's about becoming more conscious of what you do affecting everyone else," Stack said. "For example, if you don't weed, you can cause disease in other people's gardens."

Stack said she's already seeing plenty of cooperative spirit within the New Eden Collaborative. One man has donated his time and tiller to prepare the land. Another parishioner is putting in bushes and plants to attract butterflies to the property. The gardeners have pitched in for a bulk order of organic compost, and Corliss Bros. in Ipswich has donated some seeds for the project.

Although it's early in the season, Stack said excitement is already growing, and even though all of the community garden plots are taken, there is a waiting list for those who are interested.

"There was a woman out there on Sunday in 44-degree temperature laying stepping stones in her plot," she said.

To arm participants with some expertise, First Parish Church has been hosting organic gardening seminars. In recognition of Massachusetts Organic Gardening Workshop Day, the Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter is sponsoring a workshop on Saturday at the church (see related box).

On Sunday, the Rev. Nancy Haverington of First Parish Church will bless the garden plots during the third annual Interfaith Blessing of the Earth ceremony at the church. And nondenominational outdoor services will continue under the trees around the gardens on Saturday afternoons throughout the season.

Stack, who was the youngest member of the National Herb Society as a girl almost 40 years ago, has been enjoying her return to gardening. This year, she's getting a hand with her 400-square-foot plot from a fellow parishioner, a resident of the James Steam Mill in Newburyport who grew up cultivating vegetables and knows how to pickle them.

In keeping with Stack's artistic roots, their garden will feature a variety of "pretty colors," including fava beans, red beets and prized green zebra tomatoes that taste almost like kiwis.

Stack said the community garden is inspiring her artwork as well. The founder and co-director of the Green Artists League, she is collaborating with her fellow members on a mural inside the church based on the ideals of sustainable community. The artists group is building family totems to put in the gardens as well. Eventually, the church hopes to create a formal labyrinth within the gardens for the public to explore and enjoy.

"I think the whole thing is so rich and community driven," Stack said. "What I think I love about it is it touches so many lives."

PLANTING SEASON

A workshop on how to start and maintain a successful organic garden takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at First Parish Church, 20 High Road (Route 1A), Newbury.

Rita Wollmering and Brooke Finn, who grow vegetables and herbs at their HERB FARMacy in Salisbury, will lead the program. Topics to be covered include seed starting, organic soil fertility and amendments, mulches and cover crops, and what to plant when.

It's being presented by the Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter as part of the second annual Massachusetts Organic Gardening Workshop Day aimed at the recent resurgence in backyard and community gardening.

The workshop cost is $20, $17 for NOFA members. It is open to the public. Visit www.nofamass.org to register.

NOFA Massachusets Press Room

ORGANIC GARDENING SKILLS OFFERED IN STATEWIDE EVENT

Carol Blake — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:35:29 -0400

Mattapan, MA – On April 18, the Northeast Organic Farming Association/ Massachusetts Chapter (NOFA/Mass) is holding three simultaneous workshops across Greater Boston on how to start and maintain successful organic gardens. The event is part of the Massachusetts Organic Gardening Workshop Day, which is designed to meet the recent resurgence of energy and action for backyard and community gardening. Similar events will be held in 10 other towns and cities throughout the state.

“Lots of people want to start gardens, but the one thing they need first is the confidence that they can succeed at it this season,” said Ben Grosscup, the event organizer. “With this event, we're offering the public an opportunity to learn from experienced gardening educators basic skills they need to get started.

Mattapan

One workshop takes place from 9am-12pm at City Natives in Mattapan on 30 Edgewater Drive, with instructo Jean-Claude Bourrut, farm manager at Serving Ourselves Farm. Bourrut, whose work at the farm involves running a vocational organic farm program for homeless men and women, says he feels passionate about the benefits of organic backyard gardening. “I'll be teaching the organic way of gardening. I can show people who are looking for an alternative to using chemicals in their gardens how to control weeds and pests without using anything toxic,” said Bourrut.

“I think a lot of people are looking for ways to increase their knowledge. I hear more and more people turning their front yards and backyards into productive gardens. With the ecological and health concerns so many people have, most of this new energy is steering toward an organic approach.”

Natick

The second workshop will be held from 10am-12pm at the Natick Community Organic Farm in South Natick on 117 Eliot Street. The Farm's director, Lynda Simkins, will be teaching the workshop. Simkins, who currently serves as president of NOFA/Mass' board of directors, has been farming and gardening and running agricultural education programs for all ages for 30 years. She says the workshop will empower participants to take more control of producing food for their families.

“We have seen a great increase in people interested in producing their own food during this economic downturn. There is a great empowerment and enjoyment from eating the food you produce,” said Simkins. “Whether you have a window sill or you are growing in a backyard, this is something that you can do with your children that is fun and rewarding but doesn't cost you hardly any money to do.”

Cohasset

The third workshop will be held from 9am-12pm at Holly Hill Farm in Cohasset on 236 Jerusalem Road. Hannah Hobbs and Ben Wolbach, who manage the farm, will provide instruction. Hobbs said, “We'll be addressing questions of beginning gardeners by demonstrating some growing basics. Experienced gardeners will also learn techniques for getting as much food out of a small space as they can. For example, we do a lot of season extension at the farm that allows us to harvest 9 months out of the year, and many of these techniques can be applied at home.”

“There are few farms left on the South Shore, and our farm has far more demand than we can supply, so it is vitally important that more people learn how to supply their own, especially when you take into account the ecological, health, and economic problems of our industrialized global food system.”

Topics that will be covered at each workshop include: starting garden beds, seed starting, organic soil fertility, organic soil amendments, mulches and cover crops, weeds, disease and pests, what to plant when, crop spacing, and succession cropping. Workshop participants are also strongly encouraged to bring their own questions to the workshops.

“Growing our own food is an excellent way to save money, lessen our carbon footprint, improve our health, and connect with neighbors and nature. Whether you are a newcomer to gardening or you just feel that you could use some brushing up on growing skills, now is as good a time as ever to learn how to plant a garden and make it productive throughout the season,” Grosscup said.

Workshop organizers say that the level of interest in gardening has never been as high as it is now in their own living memory. In 1943, however, in the midst of shortages related to World War 2, nearly a third of all the vegetables consumed in the United States came from Victory Gardens, which were small plots planted in neighborhood spaces.

Julie Rawson, NOFA/Mass executive director and leader of another workshop in Worcester, said, “Sharing the knowledge people need to grow their own food has been the mission of NOFA since it began more than 30 years ago. Today, with the economic and ecological crises that we're in, I think a lot of people are once again turning toward backyard gardening as more than a hobby; it is also something essential for our well-being.”

In addition to the Boston area events, workshops are also being held in the following communities: Newbury, Middleboro, Worcester, Barre, Winchendon Springs, West Springfield, Wendell, Chesterfield, Great Barrington, and Pittsfield. For information on how to register, visit www.nofamass.org, or contact Ben Grosscup 413-658-5374 ben.grosscup@nofamass.org.

NOFA Massachusets Press Room