June 3, 2011 by Debra.

The Granite State Graziers, a statewide network for grass-based farming, is sponsoring a Pasture Walk at Bonnie Brae Farms in Plymouth, NH, on Wednesday, June 8th, at 4:30 p.m. These series of Pasture Walks focus on fundamental grazing skills, and new and innovative practices, and are free and open to the public:

Pasture Walk: Bonnie Brae Farms

Granite State Graziers

Bonnie Brae Farms, Plymouth, NH

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

4:30–6 p.m., rain or shine

Spend an afternoon in Plymouth at Bonnie Brae Farms exploring how grazing figures into the way Henry Ahern raises red deer. The walk will be held Wednesday, June 8 from 4:30 to 6 p.m., rain or shine.

 

Bonnie Brae Farms has been producing locally grown, farm-raised venison since 1994. The farm is owned and operated by Henry, who represents the third generation to farm the land. His first deer arrived in early 1994, and they have proven to be a perfect fit.

 

Fawns pose special challenges in the rotational grazing system used at Bonnie Brae Farms. Henry will also discuss some challenges that those of us with more standard-issue animals might face: pasture flooding and thistle. He’ll also show us a gravel pit that he’s reclaiming for grazing.

 

Bonnie Brae Farms meat products have no antibiotics, steroids, or added hormones. The animals eat grass and hay, as well as some grain, which is useful as a management tool. Roasts, steaks, burger, sausage and more are available at the farm, at the Concord Farmers Market, or by mail order. The farm offers breeding stock and their own velvet antler nutritional supplements. They are open year round.

 

Directions to Bonnie Brae Farms: Interstate 93 (Northbound and Southbound): Take a left at Exit 24 (Ashland) onto Route 3 N. Drive two miles. Deer farm is at red brick house and a barn on the right hand side of the road. Ph: 603-536-3880, fax: 603-536-2649; or email: admin@bonniebraefarms.com. Visit their web site: www.bonniebraefarms.com.

 

The pasture walk is free and open to the public. Donations to the Granite State Graziers will be gladly accepted at the event.

 

Granite State Graziers is a collaborative effort of the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and UNH Cooperative Extension.  For more information, contact GSG coordinator Bill Fosher (news@grazenh.com) or 399-9975

For more information: www.grazenh.com.

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June 2, 2011 by Debra.

Join Canterbury Shaker Village and NOFA-NH Herbal Network for a celebration of herbal traditions on Saturday, June 4th:

2nd Annual Spring Herb & Garden Day

Canterbury Shaker Village

288 Shaker Rd, Canterbury, NH

Saturday, June 4, 2011

10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Visit Canterbury Shaker Village this Saturday and learn all about the benefits of herbal medicine, holistic health, herbal self-care and more. Take part in one or more of the many workshops we will be offering throughout the day including Cooking with Homegrown Herbs, Growing a Tea Garden, Herbs for Pets, and even an advanced workshop on Holistic Health given by well-known Boston Herbalist, Margi Flint.

 

There will be food preparation demonstrations plus hands-on activities for the whole family. Make an Herbal Birds’ Nest, learn about Seed Starting, and help your child build a Fairy House out of natural materials. Take an Herb Garden Walk and stroll through the Market Fair where local vendors will have products for sale. Enjoy entertainment by Morris Dancing and a performance by Araba-Lon Drummers.

 

The day is FREE for NOFA-NH members. No pre-registration needed. $17 admission for non-members, $42 Family rate, Children 5 and under Free.

For more information: www.shakers.org or www.nofanh.org.

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June 2, 2011 by Debra.

With an emphasis on using local and organic ingredients, holistic health and wellness counselor, Tracey Miller, continues her cooking and wellness series with two new classes for June:

 “Nourishing Yourself” Cooking & Wellness Classes in June

 

There are two more classes in my spring series. I’m excited to have Steve Scaturro, Buzz Bomb’s World Spice Blends and Gluten-free Baked Goods join me for my gluten-free cooking class. Please email me with questions or to register at tracey@traceymillerwellness.com.

 

• Simple & Substantive Salads for Summer Meals (Tuesday, June 7)

Get inspired with simple summer salads with substance to enjoy this summer’s bountiful harvest that you can eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Try new recipes for fresh fruits and vegetables along with whole grains, beans and other local fare. Stock up with these simple recipes for salads and simple dressings and enjoy the summer!

 

• Gluten-Free Cooking (Tuesday, June 14)

Have you been diagnosed with celiac disease, or do you suffer from bloating joint aches or brain fog? One in 144 people also suffer from gluten intolerance which reveals itself in many ways. Learn how to celebrate and enjoy a diet free of gluten with healthier replacements and simple recipes that get the gluten out! We’ll make some gluten-free treats and some savory meals using alternative grains.  This session will also feature baker, Steve Scaturro, Buzz Bomb’s World Spice Blends and Gluten-free Baked Goods.

 

Each class includes dinner. The fee is $40. Location: 8 Wendell Drive, Brentwood, NH. Bring a friend and get $5.00 off.

For more information: www.traceymillerwellness.com.

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May 24, 2011 by Sara Zoe.

Join the Dover Cassily Community Garden’s “Growing Children” children’s garden program “Compost & Soil Safari” on Sunday, June 5, 2011. Come dig into the garden soil and compost pile and find out what makes up “dirt” (i.e.: bugs, organic matter, etc.)

This is the third in the summer long Growing Children Activity Series focusing on growing cycles, affinity for planting, caring for, harvesting and eating locally grown organic produce, community building, social interaction, exploration of nature, getting dirty and just plain having fun!

Children of all ages and families are welcome to attend free of charge. Much more information (including directions) is available at dovergarden.org or email Traci, Youth Outreach Coordinator, at the.mogget@yahoo.com. All programs will begin at 10am at the DCCG shed and run from about an hour to an hour and a half.

Directions from the Spaulding: Take exit 9 toward Rt-9/Dover/Rt-108/Somersworth. Turn left onto Indian Brook Drive. Turn left onto 6th St. Travel about 1.1 miles then turn right onto Hillside Drive.Directions from Downtown Dover: Take Central Ave. northbound. Take a left onto 6th St. Travel for about .5 mile then take a left onto Hillside Drive.Once on Hillside Drive, continue toward the ball fields, through the gate (the road turns to gravel). Pull into the upper parking lot on the right and park near the green DCCG shed.

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May 22, 2011 by Debra.

In his latest Pest Report for MOFGA, Eric Sideman is worried and now I am too. One of the results of this spring’s wet and cold conditions has “the fruit trees blossoming with no bees out of their nests….” Find out more about these essential pollinators at this week’s screening of Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us? at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, on Wednesday, May 25th. If you’re interested in learning more about beekeeping, a list of resources is included below.

Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?

The Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH

Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 7 p.m.

A profound, alternative look at the global bee crisis from Taggart Siegel, director of THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN. Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggles of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world including Michael Pollan, Gunther Hauk and Vandana Shiva. Together they reveal both the problems and the solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature. Followed by a panel-discussion featuring members of, and presented in association with, the Seacoast Beekeepers Association.

 

For more information and online tickets: www.themusichall.org.

Resources for Beekeeping:

• Beginning Beekeeping (1 day workshop), Greater Seacoast Permaculture Group, June 26th: http://www.meetup.com/GreaterSeacoastPermaculture/.

• Seacoast Beekeepers Association: www.seacoastbeekeepers.com.

• Pawtuckaway Beekeepers’ Association: www.pawtuckawaybeekeepers.org.

• York County Beekeepers Association: http://mainebeekeepers.org/york-county-beekeepers/.

• Bee Pride (beekeeping supplies), Lebanon, ME: www.beepride.com.

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May 20, 2011 by Debra.

Considering starting your own farm? New Entry Sustainable Farming Project is offering the free course Explore Farming! on Thursday, May 26th. If you’re interested in attending, please RSVP by emailing sanderson@comteam.org or calling 978-654-6745.

Course: Explore Farming!

New Entry Sustainable Farming Project

155 Merrimack Street, 3rd Floor, Lowell MA

Thursday, May 26, 2011, 4 – 6 p.m.

Free and open to the public, RSVP requested

New Entry Sustainable Farming Project’s next free Explore Farming! course is set to take place from 4–6 p.m. at our Lowell office, on Thursday, May 26th. Thank-you to those who filled in the survey to choose the date — you chose Thursday, so Thursday it is!

 

If you haven’t registered yet, don’t worry, you still have time — just click here for the registration form.

 

During the class we will discuss some of the challenges and rewards of farm ownership, as opposed to other means of satisfying your interest in farming. A primary goal of the course is to encourage you to think realistically about the financial feasibility of starting and growing your own farm businesses. Most of the participants have worked on farms for at least one season, and know that they love farming, but are interested in learning how to start their own farm businesses. Whether you decide to pursue starting your own farm business, or would rather continue farming in another way, we have lots of resources to help you move forward in your farming career.

 

Explore Farming! meets only once, is scheduled on a rolling basis, and is free and open to anyone who sends in a registration form. In addition to providing guidance for potential farmers who want to take the first step, Explore Farming! also serves as a introduction to our Farm Business Planning Course, a six week course for those serious about getting started in small-scale sustainable farming. With a new growing season on the way, this is a perfect time to check out Explore Farming! and decide whether you’re ready to get serious about starting your own farm business.

 

If you have any questions, please email sanderson@comteam.org.

For more information: www.nesfp.org.

Update: Explore Farming! has been RESCHEDULED for next Wednesday, June 1 (still 4-6pm). Please RSVP by emailing sanderson@comteam.org or calling 978-654-6745.

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May 19, 2011 by Debra.

This June, CoFed’s regional organizers are hosting two week-long summer retreats to train and empower the next generation of campus food cooperative leaders. CoFed is a national training program and research institute for students interested in creating ethically-sourced, cooperatively-run sustainable food storefronts and cafés on college campuses. If you’re a college student and you would like to learn all about how to establish a new food co-op at your campus, retreats will be held in California and New York. Application deadline for the East Coast CoFed Retreat is June 1st:

The East Coast CoFed Retreat

Hawthorne Valley Farm, Ghent (mid-upstate), NY

June 19–25, 2011

The West Coast CoFed Retreat 

Orella Stewardship Institute, Santa Barbara, CA

June 11–17, 2011

CoFed, is trying to reach students interested in food sustainability, food sovereignty, and food justice to come to our West and East Coast retreats this summer to find ways of bringing more student control into their campus food systems.

 

This summer, college teams from all over the country will converge on our East and West Coast retreats in mid-June to create or expand a student-run, cooperative, sustainable food businesses on their campuses. CoFed, provides support to students interested in food sustainability, food sovereignty and food justice in their endeavors to bring more democracy into their campus food systems. Each retreat will host programing all day, including professional development, business and organizing skills, and yummy sustainable food. We will be bringing in prominent figures within the local food and co-op worlds to give workshops. The East Coast retreat will be getting a visit by Bill McKibben!

 

Why do you want to come?

• To launch a student food co-op!

• Skill building

• Networking

• Professional development

• Learn about other projects and build on your own

• Yummy sustainable ethical Food

• A beautiful natural landscape

 

The application can be found here >. The cost for the week-long retreat is $250 per person. If this is beyond your means, please contact a regional organizer as we give scholarships on a case by case basis. Scholarship form can be found here >.

 

For more information: www.cofed.org.

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May 19, 2011 by Debra.

Join New Entry Sustainable Farming Project on Tuesday, May 24th, to learn how to set up a brooder and raise healthy chicks. Check their website for other field workshops in this series:

Poultry Workshop Series: Brooding

New Entry Sustainable Farming Project

Ogonowski Memorial Fields

126 Jones Ave, Dracut, MA

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

4 to 6 p.m.

New Entry’s next poultry workshop is coming up! Our Brooding Workshop is next Tuesday, May 24th, from 4–6 p.m., and it’s only $15 (free for New Entry graduates)—register now!

 

This field training will cover how to get poultry through the crucial first few weeks. We’ll go over equipment, setting up a brooder and preparing for the chicks to arrive; watching chick behavior and letting them tell you what adjustments to make; feed, water and grit; chick health concerns and what to watch for; predator control; alternate brooder designs; and moving the birds out to pasture. Best of all, the stars of the show will be our chicks — around 150 in all, and half of them will be less than a week old.

 

This is the third installment of our poultry workshop series. Click here to read about the rest.

 

To register online > Email lysisson@gmail.com or sanderson@comteam.org or call 978-654-6745 with any questions. Otherwise, we’ll see you next week!

 

For more information: www.nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu.

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May 16, 2011 by Debra.

Perennials are a great way to get a head start in the garden during spring, and there are many that can be grown for food. Learn more about perennial edibles this Saturday, May 21, at the presentation “Edible Forest Gardening: Perennial Food Production” sponsored by the Greater Seacoast Permaculture Group:

Edible Forest Gardening: Perennial Food Production

Durham Community Church, 17 Main St, Durham, NH

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Presentation 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.; plant & book sale, info tables 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Want to see permaculture plantings that work? Through images and discussion enjoy a thriving Edible Forest Garden that produces loads of fruits, roots, shoots, greens, seeds, flowers, mulch, eggs, knowledge and fun. Come learn how to use the plants (and other yields) from this permaculture paradise in your own garden.

 

Jonathan Bates runs Food Forest Farm Permaculture Nursery, a source for useful, edible, hard to find plants and seeds. He’s been studying, creating and working with rural and urban gardens in the Connecticut River Valley for the last ten years, and is a co-designer and inhabitant of an edible forest garden in Holyoke, MA. He works closely with Eric Toensmeier, author of Perennial Vegetables and co-author of Edible Forest Gardens. Visit Jonathan’s website at: http://www.permaculturenursery.com/.

 

We will also coordinate a plant preorder from him.  See what he has to offer at PermacultureNursery.com.  We’ll receive a discount for what we preorder.  See our message board to get in on that!

 

Open to the public. Cost: sliding scale of $5-15 per person.

 

There is also a separate Edible Forest Garden Install Workshop scheduled in the afternoon, following the presentation.

 

Co-sponsored by the North Shore Permaculture Meetup, NOFA- NH and the Peace & Social Concerns Committee of the Dover Friends.

For more information and to reserve a spot: http://www.meetup.com/GreaterSeacoastPermaculture.  If you don’t want to join the site (it’s free!) you can instead contact: amyla44@juno.com.

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May 14, 2011 by Sara Zoe.

The next Dover Cassily Community Garden’s “Growing Children” children’s garden program “The Three Sisters: Plant Buddies” will be on Saturday, May 21, 2011, 10am. Kids will care for existing plantings, talk about groups of plants that help each other grow better, and plant “warm” season crop seeds and transplants.

This is the second in the summer long Growing Children Activity Series focusing on growing cycles, affinity for planting, caring for, harvesting and eating locally grown organic produce, community building, social interaction, exploration of nature, getting dirty and just plain having fun!

Children of all ages and families are welcome to attend free of charge. Much more information (including directions) is available at dovergarden.org or email Traci, Youth Outreach Coordinator, at the.mogget@yahoo.com.  All programs will begin at 10am at the DCCG shed and run from about an hour to an hour and a half.

Directions from the Spaulding: Take exit 9 toward Rt-9/Dover/Rt-108/Somersworth. Turn left onto Indian Brook Drive. Turn left onto 6^th St. Travel about 1.1 miles then turn right onto Hillside Drive.

Directions from Downtown Dover: Take Central Ave. northbound. Take a left onto 6^th St. Travel for about .5 mile then take a left onto Hillside Drive.

Once on Hillside Drive, continue toward the ball fields, through the gate (the road turns to gravel).  Pull into the upper parking lot on the right and park near the green DCCG shed.

For more information, visit www.dovergarden.org

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