extension events

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

ORGANIC FARMERS HOST SEMINAR ON MAXIMUM NUTRITION IN CROPS

Carol Blake — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:10:17 -0500

Barre, MA – When more than 100 farmers converge this February in Barre for a 3 day seminar, they’ll be focusing on a topic of serious concern to a growing number of consumers: the nutrition and taste of our food. The Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter has arranged for the worldwide farmer consultant, Dr. Arden Andersen, to give this intensive seminar to farmers on how they can increase the nutrient density, taste, and yield of their crops.

The approach Andersen teaches is widely known as biological farming. It involves applications to the soil of mineral nutrients such as calcium and phosphorous and a host of trace minerals, including selenium, iodine, and cobalt. Along with the minerals, farmers add inoculations of fungi and bacteria that can be brewed with a simple tank bubbler. The purpose of adding the amendments is to create a robust and healthy biological system in the soil that feeds crops for maximum growth and quality.

Julie Rawson, executive director of NOFA/Mass and co-owner of Many Hands Organic farm says that the nutrition people need really starts in the soil. “The best way we can get the minerals and nutrients we need is through the food we eat. To get those nutrients into the food, though, we’ve got to tend to the soil.”

In the last 2 years, Rawson has begun implementing biological farming principles on her own Baystate Organic Certified farm. “We’ve been on a steep learning curve. Implementing new approaches is challenging, but we persist, because we’ve already started seeing results in our crops. For us, the biological approach expands the meaning of organic to involve both growing food in a way that honors the environment and the farmers as well as measurably enhancing nutrition, appearance, and taste.

“For us, proper mineralization along with appropriately devised and timely sprays to our crops of fish and kelp fertilizers, along with inoculants and micro-nutrients, has brought dramatic results in higher yields and produce quality. We had not had a decent sweet corn crop, for example, for a few years. But on distribution day this summer, three CSA members called that night to tell us it was the best sweet corn they had ever eaten. We harvested hundreds more pounds of beans off our pole vines than ever before. One woman told me that she took her three heads of lettuce and arranged them on a tray and took pictures because they were so beautiful. At the Garlic and Arts Festival in Orange this year, upwards of 20 people came by our table to tell us we had the most beautiful produce (including flowers) in the entire festival.”

Ari Kurtz of Linden Tree Farm and his wife, Moira Donnell farm 11 acres of leased land in Lincoln, MA and both registered for the seminar. “I’m approaching this biological method of farming in an experimental way,” said Kurtz. In Spring 2008, he spread the minerals that were recommended for his soil on 2 acres, and this past Fall, he expanded the testing area to 4 acres. “I’ve seen some preliminary results with this new method that show an increase in quality after just one season. We’re convinced that the theory behind doing these amendments makes sense, and we plan to continue improving our system.”

Derek Christianson of Brix Bounty Farm in South Dartmouth has been working on transforming some marginal farmland he leases into more fertile soil using biological farming principles. He said, “I’m attending the seminar because, these opportunities provide farmers with a unique space to stand back from the busyness of the growing season and to delve deeper into the science that informs growing practices.”

Ben Grosscup, who is organizing the seminar for NOFA/Mass said that the process of bringing together the farmers from all over the Northeast has been an exercise in community building and self-reliance. “We felt that it was really important that we keep the costs down for this event while also feeding participants well, so instead of catering the event, we’re inviting people who can do it to bring the bounty from their winter stores. We’re also inviting our members in the vicinity of Barre to open their homes for a few nights to growers coming from out-of-town. Plans are shaping up well, because of the generosity of our members and because they value better nutrition and land stewardship, though we could still use a bit more help with the large number of registrants we’re expecting.”

The seminar is being sponsored by The Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter, Real Food Campaign, International Ag Labs, Lancaster Agricultural Products, Pike Agri-Lab Supplies, Inc, and Lookfar Agricultural Services. The following have made donations to the seminar: North Country Organics, Neptune’s Harvest, Texas Plant and Soil Lab, McEnroe Organic.

Information on registration and on Arden Andersen is available at www.nofamass.org under “Winter Seminar”. For information on the conference, contact, Ben Grosscup, 413-658-5374, ben.grosscup@nofamass.org.

NOFA Massachusets Press Room