July 15, 2010 by Heather.

In the June issue of Amber Waves, Timothy Wojan and Dayton Lambert wrote about the findings of a recent USDA Economic Research Service-supported study, which found that “about half of all farm input and equipment expenditures were made locally in 2004.”

The study analyzed the location of the farms, rural or nonrural, and the potential impact on local economics. Although the study found that where the farm was made a big difference, these authors concluded that “roughly half of all farm purchases were made locally.”

Read the entire article at http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/June10/Findings/FarmExpenditures.htm.

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July 6, 2010 by Sara Zoe.

NASAP Famers visit Meadow’s Mirth Farm

Reprinted with permission. Learn more about the fantastic programs of the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project, Cultivating Community, Somali Bantu Community Association of New Hampshire, and Meadow’s Mirth Farm on their websites!

On Saturday, May 22nd, one Iraqi and 14 Bhutanese refugees from Manchester visited Meadow’s Mirth Farm in Stratham, NH to meet young farmers Josh and Jean Jennings and learn about organic vegetable production.  Unprompted, and immediately upon stepping off the bus, the group noticed the field of greens and began hand weeding the rows.

The Bhutanese will quickly tell you that they are farmers and are excited to be starting new lives here in New Hampshire.

Meadow’s Mirth Farm is a certified organic farm that Josh and Jean have been running since 2004.
They’ve been successfully growing alongside Berry Hill Farm in Stratham and offer a wide array of unique herbs, vegetables, flowers and delicious berries.  Jean Jennings could only smile as she came to greet her guests and found them pulling weeds.

After introductions, Jean brought the group down to the lower field to show them recently transplanted onions and explain their method of planting.   The plastic used is made from a corn starch raw material and is 100% compostable and biodegradable.  Similar to the straw mulch seen in the garlic rows to the right, the plastic is used as a mulch to minimize weed competition and helps the soil retain heat and moisture.

The group is part of the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP), first initiated in Maine by the Portland-based non-profit Cultivating Community.  In New Hampshire, NASAP has been administered by the Somali Bantu Community Association of New Hampshire (SBCA-NH) since 2008 with a growing number of refugees and immigrants from Manchester excited at the opportunity to grow food again.

Over flats of onions, Jean then discussed how to gently remove the onions from the trays and trim the tops and roots before planting.  Each tray can have hundreds of onions and when started in a greenhouse in early spring, you ensure a hearty harvest.

Known as “pyaj” in their native language of Nepali, the group was eager to help get the onions in.  The trimming helps strengthen the stems and roots and helps force a new layer of growth on the bulb.  You then simply make a tiny whole in the soil below the plastic and plant the bulbs an inch or so deep.  Josh and Jean run a tubing under the plastic known as “T-tape” that drips water into the soil when turned on and the result will be thousands of delicous organic onions at harvest.

All of the vegetables grown at Meadow’s Mirth Farm are planted and harvested by hand at the
peak of ripeness and sold fresh and delicous at various farmer’s markets, through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares and at their farmstand in Stratham, NH.

Before Jean let the group help out with some planting she explained their method of laying the plastic.  It can be done by hand by simply digging a shallow trench alongside the rows.  You rake or hoe soil away from the row to get the trench and as you begin to roll down the plastic you cover up the edges of plastic in the trench on both sides with the soil you’ve pulled away from the row.

Jean explains that with a tractor the process can be a bit faster.  Set to the width of the plastic, two discs turn the soil on the edge of the rows as the tractor is driven forward and the plastic unrolls.  Then two other discs follow the plastic and turn the soil back over the edges of plastic, making the process much faster.  Josh and Jean also are able to simultaneously lay their drip irrigation tubing under the plastic as the tractor moves up the row.

After the tractor discussion, the group went to  work planting onions.  With fourteen people planting beside Jean, her farmworker Bridget, the Nepali translator Radhika and Agricultural Coordinator for
Southern New Hampshire Services, Ken Dearborn, the planting went quickly and was full of laughter, pleasant chit chat and occasional song sung in Nepali by one or more of Jean’s guests. With most of the group planting and a few others pulling onions from flats and trimming, the work went quickly.  In no time at all, the group had planted more than two full rows of onions by hand and took a break for lunch that Jean genoursly provided consisting of fresh salad from the farm, a heap load of rice and black beans and four cheese pizzas.  Afterwards the group accompanied Jean on a short farm tour to learn about the rest of the farm.

This season, Meadows Mirth Farm has two new high tunnels.  Jean first lead the group to the back of the first high tunnel and made sure to point out more than just the tomatoes growing in straw mulch inside.  This tunnel has 8 wheels with cranks to jack the entire structure off the ground.  “It’s mobile,” she said to the Nepali interpreter. As the group gathered around the back of the high tunnel, Jean explained that the waist high lush growth was a cover crop known as Vetch.  Vetch is planted intentionally and is also known as a “green manure” because of the nutrients it provides to the soil simply by being grown.  Many New England farmers have come to know the benefits of vetch in crop rotation because of its ability to provide a substantial amount of nitrogen into the soil to benefit certain crops planted afterwards. “This is why the tunnel is mobile,” Jean explained, “tomatoes are growing in the tunnel now, but later we will mow and harrow in this vetch and roll the entire structure over the new area to make use of the new nutrients. As a green manure, the vetch helps minimize inputs and need for additional fertilizers not produced on the farm.  Because of its heavy spring and summer growth, almost no weeds will grow up among the stand of vetch and it also prevents any soil erosion from the open field.

Everyone had a great time visiting Meadow’s Mirth Farm and learned a great deal about how
Josh and Jean operate a successful organic farm.  Before the group returned to Manchester, Josh and Jean brought two bags of fresh greens from their farm to give to the group as well as three trays of onions for the group to plant in their gardens this season.  NASAP farmers would like to thank Meadow’s Mirth Farm for a great day and the Derryfield School for allowing use of their small bus to make the trip possible.

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July 5, 2010 by Heather.

This summer, the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA-NH) will be holding the 2010 Summer Organic Garden & Farm Tours series. There will be six tours throughout the summer, the first tour taking place on July 15 and the last of the season on August 31. The tours are $10 for NOFA members and $15 for nonmembers, while children under 18 are free. Preregistration is requested but not required.  

Tours include Two Dreamer’s Homestead, Canterbury; Tracie’s Community Farm, Fitzwilliam; Sawyer Park, Kensington; Blue Ox Farm, Enfield; Bible Hill Farm, Bradford; and Tuckaway Farm, Lee. Each tour has a different focus.

To read about the tours, find out about the potluck dinners to follow the tours, and for more information in general, please go to the NOFA-NH website or see the 2010 Summer Organic Garden & Farm Tour flyer.

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July 2, 2010 by Heather.

At the Porstmouth Farmers’ Market tomorrow New Roots Farmwill have its pasture-raised, heritage breed sausages available for the 4th of July holiday. New Roots is also introducing its nitrate/nitrite free smoked kielbasa, frankfurters, and mini-bratwursts, alongside the perennial all-natural favorites that include chorizo, fresh kielbasa, Italian sausages, breakfast sausages, and more.

For more information about New Roots Farm and its offerings, don’t forget to visit the website, www.newrootsfarm.com!

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June 30, 2010 by Heather.

As with many other berry farms, this year things are ripening early at Berrybogg Farm in Strafford. Blueberry season will kick off this Saturday!

Greetings from Berrybogg Farm! We are excited to announce our opening for blueberry picking this Saturday, July 3, at 8am. The crop looks great and is about 10 days early this year due to the unusually warm spring. This year we have new hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 8am to 5pm; Thursday 8am to 7pm and closed on Mondays. Please check out our website at www.berryboggfarm.com or call 603-664-2100 for current conditions, directions, and recipes.

So get out there and pick for the Fourth of July weekend!

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May 13, 2010 by Debra.

As you head north on Route 4 into North Berwick, there’s a point in the road where you find yourself along a ridge. The view from the road opens up and is enough to make one stop, pullover and take in the landscape. These pastoral lands are the subject of a recently launched campaign by Great Works Regional Land Trust to help conserve Deb-Tone Farm:

Great Works is excited to announce that the permanent protection of another local farm is underway. Most of you know Deb-Tone Farm, even if the name doesn’t elicit an immediate image. Nestled at the top of Cabbage Hill on Route 4 in North Berwick, Deb-Tone Farm has been home since 1954 to Marion & Kenney Goodwin and their prize-winning “Milking Shorthorns.”

This 20-acre farm represents a ‘keystone’ piece in the 500+ acre complex of fields that is Cabbage Hill and is part of our strategic plan to protect our regions’ working landscapes. This fact coupled with the predominance of agriculturally significant soils on the property made the conservation of Deb-Tone Farm eligible for partial (50%) funding from the Federal Farm & Ranchland Protection Program.

Now we begin the exciting work of mobilizing our community to raise the remaining 50% of the funds necessary to purchase a conservation easement on Deb-Tone Farm. The first step toward raising the local match ($115K) needed to make this a reality began on  April 10th, when the citizens of North Berwick voted to allocate $40K from their Open Space Fund to this project. 

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May 11, 2010 by Debra.

Blueberry Bay Farm in Stratham has joined the farms now open for the season. They offer pick-your-own vegetables, in addition to fruit in season. If you’re starting your own garden or have children, it’s a great place to learn about how vegetables grow and when they’re ready for harvest:

We are excited to announce that we are now open weekends (Sat/Sun 9-4) for spring produce.

Lettuce (4 kinds), spinach, kale, parsley, rhubarb, and chives are all ready for picking.  Blueberry plants, raspberry plants (red and black), blackberry plants, natural fertilizers, and soil amendments are also available for sale.

In June we expect to have strawberries, spring flowers, radishes, and swiss chard available for picking.  And finally, we will open for the blueberry season (7 days per week) on July 3rd.

We really appreciate your support and hope you are as excited for spring (and the opportunity to eat fresh picked produce) as we are.

To learn more about Blueberry Bay Farm, please visit their website.

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May 11, 2010 by Heather.

New Roots Farm in Newmarket will be opening their new organic greenhouse this weekend. They will be selling organic seedlings in the same varieties as they grow to sell as vegetables at farmers’ markets. Additionally, they will have organic compost from Ideal Compost of Peterborough, seeds from High Mowing Seed Company, and bulk organic soil amendments.

To see the current list of seedlings available click here.

To learn more about the new organic greenhouse at New Roots visit this page on their website.

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April 30, 2010 by Heather.

Hickory Hill Farm, 281 Back Road, Dover, will be having an open farm on Saturday, May 15, 2010, from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. There will be many great opportunities for family events, from picnicking (bring your picnic basket and blanket) to all the animals, including baby chicks, piglets, sheep, and horses.

Visit the farm’s website, http://hickoryhillfarm.org/, and if you’d like more details about the event, give them a call at 603.742.0553.

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April 27, 2010 by Heather.

Berrybogg Farm will again be selling two-year-old blueberry and raspberry plants on May 1, 2, and 8, just in time for Mother’s Day. The plants will be for sale in their parking lot from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be Patriot and Blueray blueberries, which are both excellent cold hardy varieties.

This year they will not be taking phone or e-mail orders so arrive early for the best availability.

Be sure to check out their website www.berryboggfarm.com for more information.

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