August 2, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

Meadow’s Mirth Farm in Stratham has been featured in this month’s NH Magazine. There’s a lot of great nuggets in there, including a great part about their participation in the RAFT program. (It’s the one with the dentist on the front, if you want to pick it up)

You could say that farmers Josh and Jean Jennings know their beans. On their 150-acre Meadow’s Mirth Farm in a suburban area of Stratham, the couple and a few employees cultivate 10 acres of produce — offering their goods to local restaurants and the public at the Seacoast Farmers Market and the Exeter Farmers Market. At their booth, you will find all the usual seasonal vegetables plus a nice selection of heirloom tomatoes and heirloom beans — all organically grown.

The beans are a specialty crop for the couple. “They are not a great money maker for us because the harvesting is done basically by hand,” says Josh. The plants are pulled in August and September after they have dried on the vine.After drying for an additional day, they are threshed with a couple of sticks fashioned by Josh from a photograph of early American tools. The beating separates the beans from the pods. The plants are then winnowed by a big fan that blows the chaff away, leaving the precious beans.

Jean loves how the heirloom varieties look like “little jewels.” “The flavor of these beans is incomparable, “ says Josh. Fresh dried beans may seem like an oxymoron, but he explains that most beans in the supermarket could be two or three years old. Besides, when the beans are in their full bounty, he brings them to market in their pods before they are dried. These “shell beans” cook faster and have the most flavor. Jean plants several heirloom varieties each season and many have historical ties to the region.

Read the full article >

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August 2, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

From UNH Cooperative Extension:

Small Fruit and Vegetable Twilight Meeting, Stratham, NH

UNH Cooperative Extension announces a meeting and workshop on growing small fruit (blueberries/raspberries) and vegetable on Thursday, August 20, 2009 from 5:15 pm till 7:30 PM.

The event will be hosted by Ron and Lois Laurence, Blueberry Bay Farm at 38 Depot Road, Stratham, NH

Topics are:

-Integrated Pest Management

- Transitioning to Organic farming

- Cultural practices

- Update on Insect, diseases on blueberries, raspberries and mixed vegetables

- Organic, natural pesticide and alternatives

- Biological control

- Bird and netting control

Sponsored by: UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County, Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA-NH), NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Speakers from UNH Cooperative Extension are: Alan Eaton, Entomology and Integrated Pest Management Specialist, Becky Grube, Sustainable Horticulture Specialist, Cheryl Smith, Plant Health Specialist, Nada Haddad Agriculture Extension Educator and Janis Connor, Agriculture Inspector with the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food. The meeting  was approved for 2 (two) pesticide re-certification credits (Private and Commercial)

The twilight meeting is open to all and there is no cost to attend; registration not required. Rain or shine

For more information call UNH Cooperative Extension: Deb Stevens or Nada Haddad @ 679-5616 or visit www.extension.unh.edu Persons requiring special accommodations should call two weeks prior to the event so that proper consideration can be given to the request.

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