Community Agriculture Blog - Grafton County

Written by Heather Bryant, Agricultural Resources Extension Educator

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May 22, 2012

Saturday was the annual spring work day for the memorial gardens at the Grafton County Complex, a beautification project that is a collaborative effort between Grafton County Master Gardeners and the Grafton County Commissioners, Maintenance Department and Nursing Home.

As perennial plants in a garden grow and mature they can tend to take over, so much of the work done so far this season by both Master Gardeners and Maintenance has centered around pruning and relocating shrubs that have gotten too big. 

Spring is also the time to weed and check for invasives.  In the past two years, Japanese knotweed has made an appearance, but the Master Gardeners were pleased to see it has not yet come back this season.  Quackgrass, however, has started to invade the gardens so a significant amount of time was devoted to getting that under control.

When the gardens were originally installed, small signs identifying individual plants were also put in, but overtime the signs have become sun faded and several new plants have been added.  Therefore, the Master Gardeners have identified updating those signs and creating a map of each bed as a major goal for the summer.

It’s still a little early to add annual plants but look for that in another couple weeks!

Master Gardener, Tabitha Coykendall maps out

the newest bed in the Memorial Gardens.

 

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May 8, 2012

I’ve been getting lots of questions lately about whether or not it’s safe to start planting this year’s vegetable garden.  There’s a joke about Extension that our stock answer to everything is “it depends” and in this case it really does.

Different plants have different requirements and cold tolerances.  Tomatoes and cucumbers for example really can’t handle frosts and should not be planted outdoors until the danger of frost is past.  Other “cold hardy” crops like peas, lettuce and broccoli can handle light frosts. 

Here in Grafton County there is a danger of frost until at least the last week of May or the first week of June, depending on location and the microclimate of your particular site.  See this chart for more details (http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource001470_Rep1995.pdf)

You can’t tell by looking out the window, but it’s still only May 8th.  If you are like me and can barely wait to get started, focus on planning, soil prep and the cold hardy plants but leave the tomatoes indoors.  We will thank ourselves later.  

For more information on specific crops, check your seed packets, catalogs or this factsheet (http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000616_Rep638.pdf) on planting and maturity dates.  Just keep in mind that this publication was prepared for a statewide audience.  Here in the northern half of the state we are on the later end of the spectrum.  

 

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April 30, 2012

For me one of the events that signal spring is the Grafton County Conservation Districts’ annual plant sale fundraiser.  The sale includes a variety of conservation plants, small fruit and tree fruit.  They’ve been running this program for years and by buying in bulk they secure high quality products.

For the week before pick-up Pam Gilbert works with a small army of volunteers to package up all the orders.  Friday and Saturday are pick-up days at Windy Ridge Orchard and the volunteers come back to answer questions on planting and caring for the new purchases.

And on Friday Windy Ridge owner Dick Fabrizio hosted a tree planting and apple pruning workshop in collaboration with County Forester Dave Falkenham.  It was cloudy and windy with the occasional snowflake this year, but about 25 intrepid souls ventured out for the workshop.  All in all, it was a great way to welcome spring even if the weather didn’t completely cooperate.

If you’d like to get on the mailing list for the order form for next year’s sale call Pam Gilbert at the Conservation District at 353-4651 ext. 103.

 

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March 27, 2012

What a difference a few days make.  Last week it was in the 80’s and the ice cream store down the road had a steady stream of customers, this week we are back to more average March temperatures.  In fact it got down to about 18 °F at my house last night.

Still, spring is coming, and I’m starting to get more and more questions from growers and gardeners as they gear up for the season.  Here’s a good example.  “In the sweet corn section of the catalog there are a lot of codes (sh2, se, su, etc.) What do they all mean? Can I plant a sh2 variety from one catalog next to a sh2 variety from another catalog leftover from last year?”  Actually that’s a pretty multifaceted question, but here goes.

First of all you can absolutely plant seeds left over from a previous year, but they are likely to have a lower germination rate than fresh seed.  In some cases they may not germinate at all. 

The codes in the catalogs indicate different genotypes.  “su” is also called “normal or sugary” and due to a genetic mutation these varieties will contain about twice the sugar found in field or “cow” corn. 

“se” and “se+” stands for sugar enhanced and these varieties have a gene that leads to higher sugar levels in either 25% of the their kernels (with the “se” varieties) or 100% of their kernels (“se+”).  “su”, “se” and “se+” can all be grown together,  but growing them separately will lead to sweeter kernels for the “se” and “se+” varieties. 

“sh2” varieties are “super sweet”, that is they have been bred to be twice as sweet as the other varieties and to convert sugar to starch slowly after harvest.  This means, once picked, they will hold their quality longer than the other three types we talked about earlier.  In order, to take advantage of this, “sh2” varieties have to be grown in isolation – planted far enough away from the other types in either space or time that they do not cross pollinate.

A fourth type, synergistic or “syn” are varieties where 75% of the kernels are “se” and 25% are “sh2”.  To get best results with these varieties they need to be isolated from “sh2” and from popcorn.   

Pollination is necessary for good production and planting the corn in blocks of at least 4 rows will improve pollination.  For a small home garden, planting just one type per year is probably the easiest option.

 

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March 12, 2012

It feels like spring outside today, but in my world that is not all good news.  Lack of snow cover and/or early warm spells followed by cold spells can lead to winter injury on certain kinds of plants.  So what do we need to look for in terms of symptoms over the next few months?

On evergreen plants, some needles may turn brown and die.   Of course there are a number of problems that could cause symptoms like that, but a good indication of winter injury is if the damage is seen above the snowline.  Raspberries are another crop to watch.  The symptoms here will be dead canes or dead tips of canes.  Winter injury on lawns will look like wilted blades of grass that then take on a water soaked appearance and turn whitish brown and later dark brown.

Pruning is the best response to winter injury on evergreens and raspberries, but for turf you may need to be prepared to reseed.  Fingers crossed it won’t come to that!

 

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January 10, 2012

Most of us are familiar with the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model.  There are a number of variations out there, but in general a farm offers memberships or subscriptions.  Members join by buying a “share” at the beginning of a season which entitles them to a weekly allotment of produce and/or products from the farm.  It’s a great opportunity for the farmers who get an infusion of cash at the beginning of the season when they have to buy supplies.  And it’s a nice option for members who want to support their local farmer, learn to eat seasonally, or just like the regular supply of fresh food.

A newer take on the CSA model that we’ve seen more of in recent years is the multi-farm CSA.  In this model a group of farms get together and offer one collective share.  The advantage to the member is a wider variety of products than a typical farm produces.  For the farmer this can mean the ability to share marketing and organizational tasks and draw from a wider customer base.  And in the larger scheme it’s an opportunity to make or strengthen ties between farms and between farms and the public in the hope that these stronger ties will ultimately lead to a more vibrant agricultural economy and community.

Grafton County now has a multi-farm CSA based in the Plymouth area.  D’Acres, a non-profit organic permaculture farm and educational homestead, is taking the lead on the organization and there are 6 participating farms altogether.  The shares will be available to customers from February 1 to April 4 and are a combination of storage vegetables, meat, milk, cheese, and bread.  For more information please visit their flyer. 

 

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December 29, 2011

Seed catalogs are in!!  I picked up a bunch at the conference earlier this month, and more are arriving in my mailbox every day. 

I sometimes get asked, “There are so many varieties, where do you start?”  I always start by planning the garden itself.   What crops am I going to plant? Do I want organic or conventional?   Do I want to save seeds? If I just flip through a catalog and make a wish list, it’s like going to the grocery store before lunch, I’ll bring home more than I can use.

Plan in hand; I start with catalogs for seed companies located in New England. They may not have the cheapest prices, but they do have valuable information on what grows well here and how to grow their seeds.  Once I’ve narrowed it down to a few choices I can shop for deals in my catalogs from companies further away.  It also keeps me from losing my mind having 6 catalogs open on the table at the same time trying to keep track of all the options.

But what about the specific criteria?  Of course it’s subjective, but I start with the days to harvest or dth; the smaller the number the earlier the produce will ripen.  This area of NH has a pretty short growing season, so mid or late season varieties of warm weather crops like tomatoes or peppers may not ever ripen up here even if they do in the Southern part of New England.

I also have a mental list of features I look for in specific crops. For example, with tomatoes I love a variety of colors. In pumpkins I look for varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew and have bush growth habit that doesn’t take over my garden as much as the vining varieties. When I want to try saving seeds, I look for open pollinated varieties. Personally, I like a mix of varieties that I’ve had luck with before, as well as things that look appealing or a friend has recommended.  If your garden is small you may have to settle for one or the other.

Finally, I try to only buy what I want for this year, because the seeds won’t germinate as well next year. If I have extra I use them to trade with friends who may have something I’ve never heard of before.

At the end of the day gardening is a lot of work and the seeds are cheap compared to the value of your labor, so make sure you get what you want!

 

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December 21, 2011

Last week was the New England Vegetable and Berry Conference and Trade Show.  It’s a three day event held every other year in Manchester, NH where researchers, and farmers get together to hear about what is new in the world of vegetable and fruit production in New England.  It began in the late 1970’s and is sponsored jointly by New England farmers and Cooperative Extension programs.  It attracts businesses from all over the region and the country that come to set up booths in the trade show. 

The educational presentations are usually a half hour long and are a mix of farmers presenting something new or particularly effective they are doing on their farms, and researchers reporting on their results or presenting ‘getting started’ information for people who are thinking about adding a new enterprise to their farm.  There are also farmer to farmer sessions that give farmers a chance to share experiences in an informal group discussion setting. 

Attendance this year was high, setting a new record and the weather even cooperated!  Thanks to the organizing committee who did another excellent job putting this together.

 

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November 21, 2011

Last Thursday we held our 3rd annual Crop Meeting at the Bath Congregational Church.  The purpose of the meeting is to provide research updates and other information regarding corn and hay production.  This year’s topics included a research update on bedstraw control in hay, and using small grains as an early season forage crop; the advantages and disadvantages of wide swath vs. narrow swath mowing in hay operations; and using knowledge of weed ecology to minimize the need for pesticides.

Every year, the Bath Church provides us with a great meal for this workshop, and they include little touches that will appeal to our audience, such as milk instead of soda and butter instead of margarine.  This year they told me that they use the proceeds as part of the church’s annual donation to Heifer International.  I thought that was particularly fitting as Heifer International provides livestock and training to farm families around the world who use those resources to make themselves more self-sufficient and food secure.  Thanks again to the ladies and gentlemen of Bath who make us feel welcome and add value to what we do!

 

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November 10, 2011

Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who share their love of gardening with their communities through educational programming and projects.  This year Master Gardeners in Grafton County gave 1,160 hours of their time teaching workshops, answering questions, writing newspaper articles, and providing technical support to community gardens and public gardens.

One project in particular received a special thank you last night.  In 2005 a group of Master Gardeners created the Grafton County Beautification Garden Project in response to a request from the County Commissioners.  The garden is designed to be a restful space for anyone who visits the complex, in particular nursing home residents and their guests. The five multistoried beds in the garden act as buffers against the noise of traffic on Rte. 10, and include elements that appeal to all 5 senses.  It was designed to be a low maintenance sustainable landscape showcasing native plants.  This year saw the installation of a new “Memorial Garden” bed and a beautiful spruce tree dubbed “Fat Albert”.  Many of the plants that were added this year were donated in memory of loved ones.

The project is meant to grow and evolve along with the complex and the needs of the residents so no one is saying it is finished, in fact long range plans include a wheelchair accessible pathway through the garden so that more people can explore it.  However, the Grafton County Commissioners wanted to pause a moment and thank the Master Gardeners for the hard work on this project over the last 6 years.  And they did just that last night with a surprise presentation of letters of thanks to all the Master Gardeners involved in the project over the years.

 

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November 4, 2011

This week is Bird Health Awareness Week.  In 2004 the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) launched an awareness campaign to educate farmers and backyard poultry flock managers about biosecurity.  Biosecurity simply means protecting your flock from disease.  Here in the northern half of NH it might help to amend that to protecting your flock from disease and predators.

APHIS has developed a website with a video game, word search, You-Tube videos, information resources and free educational materials for educators and youth leaders (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/birdbiosecurity/).

If you are considering establishing your own back yard flock, take a look at our poultry website (http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/AGDLEP/PoulRab.htm) and call the office at 787-6944 to get on our mailing list for workshops.  We offer a backyard poultry flock management workshop every spring and would love to see you there.

 

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October 12, 2011

Grafton County’s Master Gardeners spent Saturday morning putting the memorial gardens to bed for the winter.  This is a yearly work event for the Master Gardeners involved in the project.  They pulled weeds and trimmed back dead flower stalks, edged the beds, and took note of how different plants did over the season so they can start to plan for any needed updates for the spring.

One nice surprise was that the annual flowers are still blooming.  Due to the proximity to the river, the site didn’t get the hard frost most of us saw last week.  The flower heads are a bit smaller than usual, but we still have festive summer colors in October.  Since no one had the heart to pull out plants that still look nice, they are still there for you to enjoy – a least for a couple more weeks.

 

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September 13, 2011

If your garden got flooded during Hurricane Irene or the rain that arrived the weekend afterwards you will want to read this press release from the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food and the Division of Public Health.  http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/media/pr/09082011crops.htm

To summarize, before reaching your garden, flood waters could have traveled through landfills, industrial sites, urban lawns, roadways, farms, sewage treatment plants or a variety of other places where they may have picked up pathogens such as bacteria or viruses, heavy metals, agricultural chemicals, or other chemical pollutants.  Thus it is recommended that garden crops whose edible portions came in contact with flood waters be considered contaminated.   NHDAMF and the Division of Public Health recommend these crops be removed from the garden and disposed of in a manner that will not allow them to come in contact with food that was not contaminated.

For anyone raising backyard livestock, there are also special considerations if you have pasture or hay land that got flooded.  Please call our office at 787-6944 for more information on these issues.

If after reading this depressing information, you feel the need for a smile, check out a blog entry from the Canillas Community Garden in Lebanon.  Flood waters just missed their garden and brought in some temporary new neighbors.  http://canillasgarden.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/strange-sounds-in-the-garden/

 

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August 29, 2011

Late blight was discovered in a home garden in the northern part of Grafton County this past week.  The disease had been found previously in Northern Vermont and Eastern Maine and as this is the time you would expect to start to see late blight normally, this was unwelcome but not unexpected news.  Thanks very much to one of our Master Gardener Volunteers for recognizing the problem in time for us to warn our commercial growers before two big storm systems hit at the end of last week.

If you aren’t familiar with late blight you can learn more by checking this website (http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/LateBlight.htm) and if you think your tomatoes and potatoes may be infected, please call our office at 787-6944.

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August 22, 2011

After more than a month of dry weather it finally started raining a little over a week ago! Here at my office we have gotten nearly 3.5 inches of rain in the last two weeks.  The only problem is that at this time of year if it rains too much at one time, some of your garden produce can develop stress cracks.  Tomatoes seem to be the most susceptible, but I’ve seen this happen with potatoes and even melons and pumpkins.

Cherry tomatoes and large soft tomato varieties are the most susceptible to this problem, and the open wound it causes can lead to secondary disease issues.  But if the cracks are small enough the fruit will heal over and still be perfectly fine to eat.

In addition to heavy rainfalls, stress cracks can also result when your fruit are growing too quickly, so to minimize this problem mulch your plants and avoid over-fertilization.

 

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August 8, 2011

“Keep Growing” is a collaborative initiative aimed at growing a local food movement in the North Country of NH and the Northeast Kingdom of VT, and last night they held a kickoff event in Bethlehem.  It was sponsored by the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust (ACT), The Colonial Theater in Bethlehem, the Littleton Coop, and Meadowstone Farm. 

The event was timed to coincide with Eat Local Month (http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/nheatlocalmonth/) and featured all-local refreshments provided by 6 participating local farms and food businesses.  For anyone participating in this week’s Eat Local Challenge it was a good way to start the week and pick up some last minute ideas on what we can eat in the next 7 days. 

First we watched two short films; “Ladies of the Land” documented the challenges and rewards for four women farmers in Pennsylvania and the second film recently shot by ACT, told the stories of farmers and the local food economy in the North Country.  The evening closed with a speech by UNH Professor John Carroll and a panel discussion with local farmers.   

Thanks very much to the organizers for an enjoyable and thought provoking evening – with great food!

 

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August 1, 2011

Have you ever entered anything into a fair?  For the last couple of years I have been participating in the North Haverhill Fair as a judge.  This year I judged 4-H entries of vegetables and eggs.  Despite a challenging season so far with too much rain early on and too little this past month, there was a great deal of diversity in the entries.  There were eggplant, zucchini, radishes, carrots, beans, beets, and white, brown, and green eggs.  Another week of good growing weather, and I expect I would have also seen tomatoes. 

I could tell yields were generally high as well.  The fair rules ask participants to collect anywhere from 1 to 6 examples of each vegetable or egg depending on what it is, and the examples have to be uniform, true to type, and free from damage or disease.  It is much easier to comply with those rules when you have lots of ripe vegetables to choose from and when your chickens are laying well.

Of course the 4-H’ers entered a lot more items into the fair than just vegetables and eggs, and while I was searching out the items I was supposed to judge I got to take a good look at the rest.  I saw photos, scrapbooks, clothing, furniture, a robot, baked goods, and some really beautiful art projects.  One of the most eye catching were the cement lily pads made by the Pemi Valley River Riders 4-H Club.  They used rhubarb leaves as patterns, and the lily pads helped the club win a Commissioner’s award for their overall display.  Very creative and attractive, thanks to all the 4-Hers for sharing your projects with us!   

 

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July 27, 2011

Last week Meadowstone Farm in Bethlehem hosted a twilight meeting.  Meadowstone is a diversified family farm producing vegetables, meats and cheeses, so there was plenty to see and learn. 

The photograph shows what I thought was the most interesting part of the evening.  Our hosts are demonstrating a Japanese paperpot transplanter.  It was originally designed in Japan for transplanting rice.  However, a growing number of American farmers have discovered that it also works for small vegetables like onions and greens and may be a good solution for farms too small to need large scale equipment and too big to plant everything by hand.  The seeds are planted in paper plant pots and when ready they are placed on the transplanter which feeds the transplants out one by one.  To see it in action type “Japanese paperpot transplanter” into YouTube.  Thanks again to Meadowstone for hosting, and for letting us all see the new transplanter in action.

In other news, it is so nice to have some rain and a break from the heat.  So take advantage of the weather and enjoy the North Haverhill Fair that starts tonight! 

 

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July 5, 2011

What a beautiful weekend.  All the plants in the winter squash trial and in the display garden for the Summer Gardening Workshop Series took a huge leap forward because of the sunshine.  The winter squash are starting to run which allows them to outcompete the weeds and the tomatoes are almost as tall as the trellis.  The beet greens and tatsoi are almost ready to harvest, and the marigolds are looking better than any we’ve had since we started the display garden 3 seasons ago.  The only dim spot is the rutabaga.  About half of it is gone – bitten off about 1.5 inches above the ground.  I can’t find any tracks so I suspect woodchucks.  (Click for more information on nuisance wildlife.)

Your local farmer has been seeing much of the same crop growth, so keep any eye out for more local farm stands to start to open for the season.

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June 27, 2011

This past week I attended a Field Walk at Highmowing.  Highmowing is an organic seed company in Wolcott, Vermont and each year in addition to their seed production activities they also trial a number of new vegetable varieties.  Many companies schedule public tours multiple times throughout the growing season and it is always exciting to see what kinds of things are likely to be on the market in the next year or two. 

Variety does matter.  Plant breeders spend entire careers developing varieties that will do well in a certain geographic region or appeal to a certain segment of gardeners or commercial growers.  People develop their personal favorites, varieties that have grown well for them and appeal to their taste buds.  I love ‘sungold’ tomatoes, my friend Chris can’t wait for her first ‘diva’ cucumber of the season, and one of our local growers is trying to save seed from a hardy white pumpkin he found growing in his compost pile.  During the field walk, I heard a couple raving about a new cherry tomato variety from Highmowing called ‘bing’ that they tasted last year and loved it so much they added it to their farm this year.

So if you’ve been disappointed in the performance of your garden lately, try participating in a tour at a local seed company or farm and see if you can pick up some new variety suggestions.

 

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June 6, 2011

Grafton County’s Master Gardeners were back at work on the gardens at the Nursing Home again on Saturday.   They finished installing the new Memorial Garden bed, which is the final bed in the original plan for the gardens.  In the older beds, the weeding is nearly finished, and annual flowers have been planted to provide a little splash of color for the summer.  As with all new perennial beds, the Memorial Garden has a little growing to do before it looks the way the Master Gardeners designed it to look, but it’s already beautiful.  Please stop by and take a look, and we hope your summer gardening activities are off to an equally satisfying start.

 

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May 31, 2011

Saturday was the first farmers’ market of the summer in Bethlehem, and the weather was perfect for ushering in the season.  It’s still too early for the kind of farm produce the market generally has, but Pinestead (see below) and Meadowstone Farms were there with seedlings and rhubarb.  Meadowstone also had some of their goat cheese available for sale and sampling; it was excellent!   Also offered were local baked goods, made to order omelets, crafts and jewelry.     

We at Extension are also pleased to be able to bring back the “Ask the Master Gardener” table for this season.  A three person team of Master Gardeners will take turns being there to answer your gardening, insect, disease or weed questions, or just to chat with you and exchange tips.  Please stop by and say hi.

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May 23, 2011

This past weekend was a busy one here at the County Complex.  On Saturday, the Master Gardeners had their first garden cleanup day of the season.  This is the time when volunteers weed out the beds in the Memorial Garden at the Nursing Home, prune anything that is getting too tall, and assess what other things might need to happen in the garden over the coming months.  The picture below shows Master Gardener Dick Flanders getting ready to plant one of several new perennials donated by the Ornamental Horticulture department at UNH.

The other big event was the 4-H Sheep Shearing Day.  Each year the River Valley Shepherds 4-H Club sponsors a sheep shearing fundraiser/community service project and the County Farm provides the barn and parking space for the event.  Finding a shearer who can come to your farm to shear your sheep can be very difficult and expensive especially if you only have a few animals, so the River Valley Shepherds invite a shearer up to North Haverhill for the day.  All the small operations in the area can get their sheep professionally sheared, the club earns a little money, and everyone has a good time meeting other sheep owners and sharing management tips.

 

   

 

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May 2, 2011

What a beautiful sunny weekend we had!  It rained a lot last week so the rivers were high and several roads were closed starting on Friday, but if you didn’t need to cross any rivers and you could just stay home and enjoy the sunny 60°F days, it was gorgeous.

It was a weekend full of signs of spring, starting with the plant sale pruning and planting demonstration which was attended by intrepid land stewards in rain coats.  Then on Saturday, folks who had placed orders went to Windy Ridge to pick up their plants, and pick over the extra plants that were on sale.  Sunday found the willow’s at the County Complex inundated with 3 different species of native pollinators and a herd of antique tractors plowing up a corn field just down the street in North Haverhill.

The antique tractors were part of the Northeast Two-Cylinder Club’s annual plow day event.  Antique tractor enthusiasts from all over New England get together every year and plow a corn field owned by Richard and Leila McDanolds.  The McDanolds rent this field to a local dairy farmer for corn production, so the plowing done by the Club doesn’t go to waste.  The photo on the right shows a father giving his daughter a driving lesson.  Kristina Vaughan, the photographer and antique tractor enthusiast, was close enough to the action to hear that the driving lesson included the history of each of the tractors at the event and what was innovative about each new design.

 

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April 26, 2011

Every spring the Grafton County Conservation District organizes a plant sale.  Sometime in late winter a flyer comes out with all the options for the species and varieties available.  For backyard food producers there are native trees like elderberry and fruit varieties adapted to our region like ‘Pioneer Mac’ apples, and ‘Wendy’ strawberries.  Residents with an interest in good land stewardship can choose wildflowers and shrubs for preventing erosion or attracting wildlife.

By collecting the orders in early spring, before the rush, and buying in bulk, Pam Gilbert, the District’s office administrator, can obtain high quality plant stock at reasonable prices.  She also turns the plant pick up into an educational opportunity, by organizing a tree planting and pruning demonstration at Windy Ridge Orchard the day before pickup.  She recruits Master Gardeners to be on hand the day of plant pick up to answer any  questions clients may have about how to plant and care for their purchases.

If you missed the ordering deadline, feel free to come to the demonstration anyway.  You can learn about planting and pruning from tree fruit grower Dick Fabrizio and forester Dave Falkenham, and you can put your name on the mailing list for next year.  It’s at Windy Ridge Orchard in North Haverhill from 5:30 to 7pm on Friday, April 29, 2011.  Please call Pam at 353-4652 to register so that she has enough handouts for everyone.

 

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April 18, 2011

Valley Food and Farm, a program of Vital Communities, held their 10th annual Flavors of the Valley event in White River Junction on Sunday.  As usual it was packed with people, food and information.

Flavors of the Valley is a trade show where farmers, restaurants and organizations with an interest in local food can display their products and educational materials.  Previous experience has taught me that if you want to beat the crowds so that you can talk to people you have to get there early.  So I made sure I was there as soon as the doors opened.  By the time I left the place was packed, and everyone was having a great time sampling all the food.

The booths represented businesses and organizations from Grafton, Sullivan, Orange and Windsor Counties.  The Upper Valley Coop made dandelion juice in a bicycle operated blender, there were wool producers, greenhouses showing off their Easter flowers and bedding plants, local cheeses, ice cream, frozen yogurt, sausages and bacon, breads and candy.  Organizations like the NH Department of Agriculture and NOFA Vermont were there and there was an information booth on the farmers’ markets that will be opening up around the region in just a few more weeks.

Just what we all needed to remind us that spring is here and the growing season is heating up, even if it doesn’t feel like it yet.

 

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April 12, 2011

Animal Science Day

The County Complex was hopping this past Saturday.  In addition to the normal complement of cows, pigs, and chickens that live at the Grafton County Farm, there were llamas, rabbits, steers, a horse, and a lamb.  The 4-H program recruited them to be part of “Animal Science Day”. 

Animal Science Day was designed to teach children about livestock.  There was a working steer demonstration, stations where children could learn about basic livestock care, and species specific stations where children could learn about caring for specific animals – in this case llamas, cows, rabbits, a lamb and a horse.  The program was spearheaded by Becky Colpitts, our Volunteer Management Program Assistant, and was supported by a number of volunteer presenters including several teenage 4-Hers, 4-H leaders and parents.  In all, 36 youth and 12 adults attended this exciting event.

As you can imagine several children were overheard to say they wished they could have animals like these at their houses; the parents just sighed and smiled.

Photo to the Right: Volunteers Erika and Hana Krauss (not pictured) brought 2 of their llamas and taught the kids about grooming and feeding.

 

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April 8, 2011

A Season for Workshops

Spring is a great time to participate in backyard food production workshops.  This spring we’ve dealt with apple pruning, attracting native pollinators, backyard poultry flock management, gardening in a small space, and just recently, apple grafting. 

Grafting, it turns out, is a very popular topic.  We were originally anticipating about 20 participants, but we ended up with 30 including several married couples and one father son team who ended up having a great time learning a new skill together.

Bill Lord, a semi retired fruit specialist with Extension, taught this workshop on how to graft apple seedlings.  The response was so positive Bill agreed to host a second workshop in May on grafting older trees already in your orchard.  Keep an eye on this site for upcoming details on when and where the event will be held.

 

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March 14, 2011

On Saturday I attended the NH Vegetable and Berry Growers’ Association’s annual meeting.  It’s a time for the growers to get together before the busy spring season begins and conduct the business of the association, as well as find out what is new and interesting in the vegetable and berry world.

This year the meeting started off with some bad news from George Hamilton, our Agriculture Educator in Hillsborough County.  There is an invasive insect which has been causing problems for fruit and vegetable growers in the Mid-Atlantic states.  It is called the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and it was found in one location in Portsmouth, NH last fall. George is hopeful that it won’t become a problem for NH for a few years to come, but if and when it does it is likely to cause real economic damage to crops and create a nuisance for homeowners when it tries to overwinter indoors.  Researchers at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are working on management options now, so stay tuned.

From the bad news, we moved on to happier topics.  Becky Sideman, our Sustainable Horticulture Specialist, gave us an update on the results of her research in Durham.  We also met two relatively new faces.   Piera Siegart, State Entomologist with the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food, told us how scientists research pheromones to find new ways to manage insects.  UNH Professor, Rich Smith, talked about research currently being done on ecological weed management.  We heard from two familiar faces as well; Alan Eaton, Entomologist with UNHCE, talked about managing birds on your farm, and Agricultural Educator, Seth Wilner, talked about how to use a new spreadsheet program for planning out your growing season.  We also had a presentation from Bill Spiller, a fruit and vegetable farmer from Wells, Maine who talked to us about how he and his wife and son grew their pick-your-own operation and farm stand.

All in all it was a very good day and was packed with useful information.  If you had hoped to attend but couldn’t make it, click here for the proceedings which should be going up over the next few days.  http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/NewHampshireVegetableBerryGrowersAnnualMeeting.htm

 

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March 8, 2011

We all keep hoping spring is right around the corner.  The sugar makers in the northern part of the County are hurrying to finish getting in all their taps, because the sap might start running this week.  And I have been getting calls about pruning fruit trees.

Pruning is a big topic for backyard food producers and commercial growers alike.  When do you prune, how do you do it, what do you need to do differently after a year like last year where we had a lot of frost damage, what do you need to do if you just want to grow fruit to attract deer?  At Extension, we try to address these questions by running at least one pruning workshop in each County each spring.

Grafton County will actually have two this year.  One will be co-hosted by UNHCE and the Rocks Estate in Bethlehem.  It will be on March 19th from 10:00am to noon and will focus on managing fruit trees for food and wildlife.  A second one hosted by the Grafton County Conservation District will be held at Windy Ridge in North Haverhill.  That workshop will on April 29th at 5:30pm and will discuss both pruning and tree planting.

For a full statewide listing of workshops click here.  Spring has to come sometime and you want to finish pruning by the end of April if you can, so please bring your questions and join us for one of these outdoor workshops which will include discussion and practical demonstrations by experts.

 

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March 3, 2011

Did everyone have a chance to watch our new video of a calf being born?  If not watch the video first http://extension.unh.edu/Counties/Grafton/birth-of-a-calf.htm and then come back and read this week’s blog for an update and some background on Mom, Diamond.

Diamond is a 9.5 year old Ayrshire.  Ayrshires are a Scottish breed of dairy cattle that have been around since the late 1700’s and most likely arrived in the US in 1822.  They are red and white and were bred for efficient grazing and milk production in Scotland’s climate.  Mature cows often exceed 1200 pounds which makes them slightly smaller than the Holstein which averages 1500 pounds at maturity.

Diamond lives at LizDick Farm in Newbury, VT and has a fascinating personal story.  LizDick is a third generation dairy farm and is currently run by Kristina and Lucas Vaughan.  Prior to Diamonds’ arrival LizDick was home to Holsteins exclusively.  Diamond, however, was an engagement gift from Lucas to Kristina, and appropriately, she has gone on to create quite a legacy.

Diamond had her first calf at the age of 2, and has had 9 calves altogether, 7 singletons and one set of twins.  Five of her calves were heifers and 4 were bulls.  Three of Diamond’s heifer calves and 2 of their heifer calves have grown up to become part of the milking herd.  Additionally, 4 more heifers including a daughter, 2 granddaughters, and a great-granddaughter are growing up at LizDick Farm. 

It is now a few weeks since Diamond gave birth and she is currently producing about 60 pounds or 7.5 gallons of milk a day.  Milk production changes over time.  Lucas and Kristina expect Diamond’s production to steadily increase for the next month before it levels out and then starts to slowly come back down again.  Diamond’s milk will “dry off” or stop about 2 months before she has her next calf.  I would say we will check in on her again when she next calves, but cows generally go about their deliveries without giving much notice to their farmers.  Lucas was lucky to be on hand to film this delivery, and thank you to him, Kristina and Diamond for sharing the event with us.     

 

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February 22, 2011

Did you know that compared to other states New Hampshire has a high percentage of farms run by women?  In fact, according to Gary Keough of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), we are ranked second in the country. 

So it seems reasonable that these women farmers might want to get together, and this past Saturday, Carl Majewski from Cheshire County and I cohosted UNHCE’s second annual Women in Agriculture Conference.  Carl dreamed this project up last year and I liked it so much I jumped at the opportunity to join him this year.

Our theme was ‘agriculture and community connections’ and we invited farmers and organizations from all over the state to share with us how they connect community and farm.  We had two beef producers and two vegetable farmers talk about their community connections, from directly interfacing with the community members who buy their products, to offering events to both market their products and provide a fun learning experience for families, to hosting workshops and trainings.  We also heard from organizations that help farmers interface with the community to address mutual issues of interest like obesity and the availability of local products.  Along the way we ended up sharing tips on marketing, business management, being a generous supporter of local causes without ruining the bottom line, and how to tap into the information resources out there for farmers and would-be local food consumers.

It was a fascinating day, and we hope it leads to a 3rd annual Women in Agriculture Conference!

 

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February 15, 2011

 

As you may have noticed from reading this blog,winter is not the easiest time for finding agricultural,local food or backyard food production related events to tell you about, but this past Saturday I did find one.  David Falkenham, our Extension Educator for forestry, organized a Backyard Maple Syrup Production workshop. 

Dave brought in Steve Roberge, another Forestry Educator from Cheshire County with a long and happy relationship to the subject, to teach the workshop.  Steve walked us through the science of the entire process from correctly identifying maples without leaves, to boiling the sap, to canning the final product.  He also gave us a little of the historical background of the maple industry in NH including some great pictures of what backyard maple production looked like in the 50’s.

We ended the day with a trip to Gary Peter’s farm in Bath.  Gary has a sugar house and a small commercial sugar bush (several acre plot of maple trees set aside for maple production).  Gary explained how his evaporating equipment works and gave us a little of the history of how he got started in the project. 

All in all a good day, thanks Dave, Steve, and Gary!

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February 7, 2011

One of the nice things about this job is that my work tends to go in seasons.  This time of year is a good time for workshops because those of us who like to try to grow or raise our own food are trying to combat cabin fever by going into planning mode for the coming season.

In response, we have an interesting batch of workshops coming up.  First my colleague in Forestry, David Falkenham, is working on a maple sugaring and sugarbush management workshop for this coming Saturday the 12th.   Next I’m teaming up with NRCS and the Conservation District to host a pollinator workshop on Feb 23rd (for people who want to attract native pollinators to their gardens and orchards).  Next month, we will hold a fruit tree pruning workshop on March 19th, followed by backyard poultry production on March 23rd and apple grafting on March 29th.  Check our events page for more details.  We look forward to seeing you there!

 

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January 24, 2011

So my thermometer read -20 F this morning.  The number -20 F caught my attention, because I am thinking about planting raspberries in my garden this spring and I know most of the varieties I have been looking at are only supposed to be able to tolerate temperatures of -20 F and above.  If I had planted my raspberries last spring would they be dead now? 

Fortunately, the answer is no.  In addition to the cold weather I also have a foot of snow on the ground and that provides both the plants and the soil with a fair bit of insulation which will protect the plants from short term cold snaps like this one.  Good news for me.

But what about the people who make their living off what they grow or raise, what happens for them when it gets this cold?

The ones struggling the most with this weather are probably the people raising livestock or trying to keep a greenhouse heated.  When it gets this cold, machinery doesn’t work properly and water pipes freeze.  If your chicken coop isn’t insulated well enough your eggs or even your chickens may freeze.  And like the furnace at home, the one that heats your greenhouse needs more fuel on a day like today.  For growers who heat their greenhouses with outdoor wood furnaces, that means going outside more often to load it.  So if you want to give a nod to your local farmer today, go home and make a cheese and tomato omelet!     

 

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January 19, 2011

This weekend I finally caught up with my friend Holly.  We have been trying to get together since the holidays to exchange belated gifts.  Mine was a copy of a cookbook she and a friend of hers had written in 1972, “The Eatgood Revival” by Holly Finlay and Judy Wallace.

My favorite part so far is the introduction.  It was written almost forty years ago but it could have been today.  Holly and Judy talked about a growing interest in the return to healthy foods cooked with natural ingredients and a move away from processed convenience foods.  These are the same theme’s I hear today when I visit farmers’ markets or listen to colleagues who develop programs on how to combat childhood obesity.

I was particularly impressed to see that there was a recipe for kohlrabi. I can’t wait to try out some of them.  I’ll let you know how it goes.   

 

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January 11, 2011

I’d like to use this week’s blog to welcome our new Volunteer Management Program Assistant, Becky Colpitts.  Becky’s long and complicated title means that she is helping us manage the large and talented group of volunteers who work with us in the Agricultural and Youth Development (4-H) programs.

For Agriculture, this means she coordinates with our Master Gardeners.  The Master Gardeners are gardening and botany enthusiasts who agree to participate in a semester long training program on a wide range of gardening topics.  Once the training program is over they volunteer with Extension.  Master Gardeners can choose just about any project that interests them as long as it is connected with gardening and has an educational component.  For example a group of Master Gardeners in Plymouth are working with children on a summer vegetable gardening project that teaches kids to garden and provides food for families in need.

Becky comes to us with a BS in Education and almost 10 years experience managing an educational program staffed entirely by volunteer teachers. She grew up on a small diversified farm and has experience with livestock and veggies -- she still has a flock of sheep and a vegetable garden. She is a 4-H leader and a former homeschool teacher. She has lots of energy, and a commitment to volunteerism.  Welcome Becky!

 

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January 5, 2011

One weekend I hosted a sleep over for my nieces and a nephew and after their bedtime story I told them “sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite”.   Mistake -- these kids are master stallers and I played right into their hands.  “What is a bed bug?”  “Is it real?”  “Do you have any?”  “Does it really bite?”  To get them to let it go, I had to promise to Google it for them.

Bed bugs are real and they do bite.  If you have never dealt with them that is a good thing because they are masters at hiding and can go months without eating.  This means you can put lots of time into getting rid of them only to have them pop back up like a weeble wobble. 

Bed bugs have also become a lot more common in the last 10 years or so and there are a number of theories as to why.  Alan Eaton, our UNH Cooperative Extension Entomologist, says that increased movement of people and materials may be one cause, and another could be the reduced use of pesticides in homes and public buildings.  Another possibility is that bed bugs are simply developing resistance to pesticides, but that has not been well studied yet.  Whatever the reason, these tiny little annoyances are on the rise, particularly in places where people move in and out a lot, such as hotels, motels, dorms and large apartment buildings.

To learn more check out this recently updated factsheet http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource001724_Rep2410.pdf or watch this video for tips on how to protect yourself from picking up bed bugs while you travel. http://umaine.edu/ipm/blog/2010/10/21/how-to-look-for-and-avoid-bedbugs-in-hotel-or-motel-rooms/      

 

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December 30, 2010

I had a conversation recently with a friend who lives in Oregon about the relative merits of real Christmas trees and artificial ones.  I’m a big fan of real ones on purely emotional grounds – they smell nice, they look nice, and they are my family’s tradition.  My friend grew up with artificial trees, so she is emotionally attached to them -- they always fit in the space available, they don’t drop needles, and you don’t have to de-decorate them before storing them.  However, she married a logger and he WILL NOT hear of artificial trees or trees under 16’ tall. 

So now, like the rest of us in the real tree camp, she is left with the issue of what do you do with the tree once the holiday is over?  My friend says in her area people send them to the chip plant to be turned into mulch or donate them to streambed erosion prevention projects.  That has an environmental appeal if the option exists in your area.  I’ve reclaimed the needles to make scented sachets for my car.  I had fun with that project, but the scent didn’t last long, and I was still left with a lot of tree to dispose of.  In the end, the best idea I’ve heard of came from one of the farmers I work with – he feeds them to his goats.  So if you live near someone with goats, give them a call!

 

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December 20, 2010

Grafton County has two winter farmer’s markets; one in Lebanon and a new one in Littleton.  This past Saturday I went to visit to the one in Littleton.  I was expecting something small, but it was actually quite large.  In fact the parking lot was nearly full a half hour after they opened so I would say the market is off to a good start.

The vendors filled a large room at the Littleton Opera House with agricultural products and crafts.  There were frozen poultry and meats, goat’s milk soaps and lotions, wreaths and kissing balls, a wide selection of wooden and knitted crafts, jewelry, Jamaican food, and a yummy display of chocolates. 

The majority of products were from within about an hour and a half radius of Littleton, and I talked to one customer excited to do some “local holiday shopping”.  I found a gift for someone on my list, but I won’t tell you what incase the recipient is reading the blog.

In addition to gifts, I was looking for squash and apples, but I didn’t find any.  The local veggie farm in attendance doesn’t grow apples and had run out of squash a few weeks ago – good for them, bad for me.  But good justification for building low cost storage facilities on farms, an issue that is creating a fair amount of discussion in the vegetable farming world these days. 

For a list of the dates of our two local winter markets and our on-line farmer’s market, click here http://extension.unh.edu/Counties/Grafton/CommunityAgGC.htm and happy shopping!

 

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December 13, 2010

I sat down to write this week’s blog and found myself without a topic.  It’s the beginning of winter and things are winding down on the green and growing front.  The seed catalogs have just come out and there is a new variety of outdoor tomato being marketed as late blight resistant.  That’s interesting, but I don’t know if it works yet – nor am I hoping for an opportunity to find out.  So basically, I had nothing. 

Out of desperation, I got onto CNN and went shopping for a topic.  I found this. It’s an article on animals who farm – yes, really. (click here to view the article)

I won’t ruin the whole article for you, but I will give you an example.  We’ve all seen the nature videos with clips of leaf cutter ants taking chunks of leaves back to their nests.  Those leaves actually become the substrate for growing a fungus that the ants eat.  Fascinating stuff.  Check out the article to read about the other six featured farmers.

 

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December 9, 2010

According to the American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1,538 farm workers died in tractor rollover accidents between 1992 and 2007.  That works out to approximately 100 fatalities a year nationally and contributes to making farming one of the most dangerous jobs in America.

Manufacturers added rollbars or roll over protection devices (ROPS) to new tractors in 1985.  This equipment saves lives in about 70% of accidents, 99% if the driver also wears a seatbelt.  However, tractors are sturdy, long lived pieces of equipment and pre-1985 tractors are still valuable pieces of equipment on farms. 

In an effort to make these older tractors safer the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) created a pilot program offering rebates and information to farmers in NY who were interested in retrofitting older tractors with ROPs.  The program was successful and NYCAMH received funding from the Center for Disease control to expand the programs to other states.  Locally, NYCAMH has teamed up with the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food, the NH Farm and Rural Education Fund, UNH Cooperative Extension and a number of local businesses to launch a rebate program here.

Last week several meetings were held for farmers interested in the program and one was hosted at Blackmount Equipment here in North Haverhill.  The program will refund up to 70% of the cost of retrofitting one tractor up to $765 per farm and also provides technical information on installation.  If you have a tractor you would like to retrofit, you can call toll-free 1-877-ROPS-R4U or visit www.ropsr4u.com for more information.

 

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December 1, 2010

BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies has declared this week (11/26 - 12/5) it’s 8th annual Buy Local Week.  It is planned for the first week of the holiday shopping season in order to give businesses an opportunity to work together on increasing the impact of the season on the local economy.

One year, a friend challenged herself to buy only local gifts for everyone on her list.  She has a fairly large family and it was before Buy Local became popular.  As you can imagine it was a pretty big challenge, but she pulled it off. 

Today it’s a bit easier because so many people have tried it and shared their ideas.  For example, Valley Food and Farms has posted an ideas page for gift givers who would like to support local agriculture and a searchable database on where to find such gifts. 

I’ve been looking around during my travels here in Grafton County this past week to see what types of local products are being offered offline and out in public and of course the single biggest example is Christmas trees.  I’ve seen signs for Choose and Cut Your Own Operations.  Also, in the last week temporary tree lots have sprung up in a variety of places around the County.  Some of them advertise a chance to use your tree budget to support not just local Christmas Tree Farms but also community groups that purchase those trees and resell them as a yearly fundraiser.  What a nice idea!

 

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November 22, 2010

The second annual crop meeting in Bath went off without a hitch!  This meeting is actually a workshop aimed at dairy farmers who grow their own feed and the topic changes from year to year.  This years’ main topic was corn silage selection.

Farmers have a vast array of silage corn varieties to choose from each spring when it’s time to plant the corn.  Guest speaker, Dr. Greg Roth, from Penn State discussed some of the factors farmers need to take into consideration such as days to harvest, and nutrient content.  He also talked about pest management in corn. 

UNHCE dairy specialist Pete Erickson also came up to talk about how to adjust a feeding program in a difficult cropping year – information you hope you never need but want to have in hand anyway.

And finally, Carl Majewski, Ag Educator in Cheshire County discussed responsible management of biotech crops.  Biotech crops are becoming more and more common on the market which makes the need for information much more critical.  This is because biotech crops need to be managed differently than traditional crops if the farmer wants to avoid weed and insect resistance to pesticides.

As with last year, we held this workshop at the Bath Congregational Church.  With most venues I must have a long conversation with them during the planning process if I want to request local food or menu items that will appeal to my audience.  One of the things I love about working with this Church is that it’s in an agricultural community and I don’t have to ask.  They just know that when you have dairy farmers in the room, you want butter instead of margarine, and milk as a beverage choice.  So thanks to the folks in Bath for once again making it easy!

 

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November 15, 2010

Saturday UNHCE teamed up with NRCS to host a workshop on installing high tunnels.  You may not have heard of them, but you have probably seen them around, because they have been gaining popularity on vegetable farms in the past decade.  More recently NRCS has launched a program designed to help farms invest in tunnels.  

The tunnels are basically low tech greenhouses.  Often they don’t have heat or electricity and their main purpose is to extend the growing season.  With an unheated tunnel growers can plant cool season crops like tomatoes 3-4 weeks earlier and harvest them 3-4 weeks later as well.  There is also some really interesting work being done, using these tunnels to grow cold season crops like greens, carrots, and broccoli through the winter.

This first workshop was focused on how to build the tunnels.  They come in a kit growers can either hire someone to put together, or do it themselves if they have some carpentry skills.  The next workshop is going to be held in Plymouth on December 3rd  and will focus on crop production in the tunnels.

The workshops are happening at the Common Man Inn and Spa.  As with our recent Fruit and Vegetable Seminar, we chose the location based in part on the Common Man’s interest in local foods.  The chef was able to include local squash in the menu, and Common Man staff agreed to speak with the growers at this first workshop about the potential and the challenges of providing local foods in restaurants.  Thanks very much to the Common Man for providing a great location for the workshop and for being willing to enter into this dialog!

There’s still time to sign up for the next workshop, click here to see the flyer. 

 

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November 8, 2010

It was freezing rain when I woke up this morning.  Much as I might wish to deny it this is yet another sign that winter is on its way.  Pretty soon the ground will freeze.  So if you grow fruit trees it’s a good time to think about voles – I have voles on the brain today not just because of the weather, but because I did a radio spot about them this morning.  Since the info is still fresh in my mind, I will share it here.

In this part of the state we are primarily concerned with meadow voles which tunnel through the grass and feed on the bark at the base of your trees through the winter.  If the voles are hungry enough they can do some serious damage.  You can slow them down by installing a tree guard according to the instructions in this fact sheet http://extension.unh.edu/resources/representation/Resource000565_Rep587.pdf or you can use snap traps baited with apples.  The best time for trapping is mid October to the end of November because your strategy is to decrease the population before they get settled in for winter.

If you find the traps and guards don’t give you complete protection, another strategy is to make your yard unattractive to the voles.  In the summer time the voles will eat grass, grains and fruit.  They also look for areas with tall grass that will hide them from birds of prey.  By keeping your grass trimmed and removing the drops you limit their food source and hiding spots and hopefully they will choose to go somewhere else next winter!

 

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November 1, 2010

Last week Steve Turaj, Extension Educator from Coos County, and I hosted the North Country Fruit and Vegetable Seminar and Trade Show.  This is actually a project of Steve’s from years past that he had suspended for a few years because his original location was no longer available.  But this year he found a great new location – The Mountain View Grand (MVG) – and we resurrected the seminar.

We had speakers on marketing, managing bird damage in crops, and growing fruit trees in cold weather, as well as an update on vegetable research being conducted at UNH.  The trade show included representatives whose companies sell everything from equipment to fencing to seeds, companies that can help growers with marketing, insurance and credit, and representatives from the National Agricultural Statistics Service and the Farm Service Agency.

Aside from providing useful and timely information Steve and I wanted to try to use the seminar to begin a dialog on the issue of eating local.  One of the reasons we choose the MVG was their commitment to local agriculture and they did not disappoint.  The owner started us off with a brief presentation on the ways MVG offers their guests an opportunity to explore New Hampshire’s agriculture and the chef made us a great soup out of winter squash grown right here in Northern New Hampshire.

The final total number of people who participated was 157, which blew past Steve’s goal of 101.  Thanks to everyone who came and made the day such a success and thanks to the MVG for sharing our interest in strengthening New Hampshire’s agricultural economy!

 

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October 26, 2010

Have you ever eaten a purple Kohlrabi?  I ate my first one last night and I would highly recommend it.  It was offered up at a meeting by Lisa Ford, a colleague who is working with children and families to explore healthy food options on a budget.

Kohlrabi is a vegetable in the brassica family – think cabbage and broccoli – which is one of the few vegetable families still growing in Northern New Hampshire at this time of year.  It can withstand hard frosts and like the other brassicas, it is actually sweeter when grown in cold conditions.  It comes in both purple and pale green, but they taste the same to me.  Depending on the variety it can be anywhere from the size of a baseball to a volleyball.

You won’t find it in most supermarkets, but you can grow it yourself and you might find it at local farm stands.  This is because it has gained popularity among New England vegetable growers in the last few years as it is still fresh when most other local vegetables are no longer available.  Kohlrabi is a sweet crunchy vegetable with a slight broccoli flavor.  I like it raw, but I have also heard that it is good stir fried with other vegetables.  So if you see it, try it and encourage your kids to do the same.

The photo shown here was taken from: http://theperfectbite.blogs.com/my_weblog/2006/07/profile_kohlrab.html

 

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October 18, 2010

Halloween is right around the corner, and of course that brings Jack-o-lanterns to mind.  As a child my mother was not much into Jack-o-lanterns.  She is a very practical woman and she didn’t like the idea of spending money on a food item you would destroy by putting a candle in it.  She also didn’t like the risk of setting the porch on fire – fair enough.  So one year my sister and brother and I convinced her that she could buy a pumpkin, let us carve it up, and in return we would save the cut outs and use a flashlight instead of a candle.  That way after Halloween she could use the jack-o-lantern to make pie.

Seemed logical enough, but the pie wasn’t very good.  It turns out that plant science gives us decorative pumpkins bred for size, appearance, and longevity after harvest, and sugar or pie pumpkins bred for taste and easier processing.  So if you want the decoration you have to live with the destruction of something that looks like it should be food, if you want a pie you need to look for a “pie” or “sugar” pumpkin.  Or like my mother, the diplomat, you can buy a pie pumpkin and paint it.

For a lower fat and sugar pumpkin pie recipe click here.

 

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September 27, 2010

If you have a hay field that is producing less and less every year or your garden didn’t perform as well as you would have liked, it may be time to think about getting your soil tested.  The test will tell you if you have a problem with pH or nutrients which are the two most common causes of poor or declining performance in a field or garden.   

Fall is a good time to do it for several reasons.  First the lab isn’t as busy at this time of year so you will get your results faster.  Second, if you do need to add lime to adjust your pH, you can go ahead and do that now.  Lime is slow acting and giving it the extra time to do its job will yield you benefits next season.  Finally, you will know what, if any, fertilizer you will need for the spring and can be ready. 

I don’t recommend that people add fertilizer at this time of year because your plants aren’t actively growing and don’t need the nutrients right now.  Also, unless you plant a cover crop, the rain and snow we get between now and spring will wash nutrients out of your soil.  This could cause water quality problems and would certainly minimize the benefit you gain from the fertilizer -- wasting your time and money.   

If you are thinking now is the time to do a soil test, click here for more information http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/AGPDTS/SoilTest.htm

 

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September 20, 2010

Fall officially starts this week, and this morning’s weather report included a possible frost for low lying valleys or cold spots.  I’m not particularly concerned as it sounded somewhat unlikely and it is getting towards the end of the season anyway so I have less to protect than I would have a couple weeks ago.

If you are not quite ready to say goodbye to your warm season crops like tomatoes go ahead and cover them.  Just remember that you are using the ground like a heat source so make sure whatever material you use covers the entire plant as well as a couple feet of soil around it.  Other crops like carrots, beets, and potatoes will be fine until you have the time to harvest them.  I am also going to harvest my pumpkins, gourds and winter squash today.  The powdery mildew has just about killed the leaves so I can now see where the fruit are, and they will store better if they have not been frosted.

Early fall is also the time to keep your eyes out for local eggs.  Many of the baby chicks that were purchased in the spring are just starting to lay their eggs now and consequently we are seeing more eggs available at farm stands and farmer’s markets in the area.

 

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September 13, 2010

It’s starting to look like the early stages of fall.  The first of the leaves are starting to turn, and one of last year’s backyard bears is back because the crab apples are ripe.  Dairy farmers have just started chopping the first of the field corn for cattle feed.  Plus this past weekend was the harvest festival in Haverhill, and the farm stands and grocery stores have started selling pumpkins.

I imagine one of those signs of fall is what prompted my neighbor to ask where she could find pick-your-own apples locally.  Of course last May’s frost damaged much of the apple crop in our part of New Hampshire, so the pick-your-own orchards have had to come up with alternative plans.  Most of them will be picking the apples for you (cold air sinks so the frost damaged the fruit lower on the tree and left the fruit at the top of the tree unharmed) and/or bringing in fruit from orchards outside the frost area so that we can all get our fall pie and cider fix. 

Disruptions for apple growers excepted, it is gearing up to be a beautiful fall and a good harvest for farmers and gardeners!  Enjoy these last weeks of the growing season.

 

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September 7, 2010

RSVP, a volunteer organization working in the Upper Valley, is going to be hosting an Autumn Festival on the Haverhill Commons this coming Saturday, September 11th.  While not specifically an agricultural event, because this festival focuses on fall and community and because this is Grafton County, it will have some hints of agriculture in it.  It also just sounds like fun.

The festival will have music, a book sale, crafts and local produce for sale, antique displays and more.  Given the season we have been having so far, this may turn out to be a good opportunity to buy pumpkins for your fall decorating needs.  Hope to see you there! 

Also, on the subject of pumpkins, many of us have started to see powdery mildew move into our gardens.  It looks bad, but don’t worry, your plants will survive for weeks with this fungal disease.  While you normally harvest pumpkins after the plants die on their own, if you see powdery mildew beginning to move from the leaves into the stems or handles of your pumpkins, you should harvest them right away.  If powdery mildew gets into the handles it will likely cause them to rot before Halloween. 

 

 

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September 3, 2010

Late blight was identified in a home garden on the Connecticut River side of Grafton County on Wednesday.  It actually took far longer for the disease to get here than anyone anticipated, which is great news.  A very big thanks goes to the amazing weather we’ve been having this season, which has made it hard for the disease to take hold, and also to the vigilance of growers and gardeners who didn’t make it easy either.

For now we all need to keep a close eye on our tomatoes and potatoes.  As with last year, if you have questions or see anything suspicious in the garden, please feel free to contact me. 

Infected tomato plants should be bagged up and sent to the landfill.  If your potato plants get infected, you may be able to save them.  Remember that the disease goes into the leaves at the top of the plant first and then moves down to the tubers.  Therefore, if you catch the disease early, you can cut the plants off at the soil line, and leave the potatoes in the ground for 2-3 weeks.  This will stop the fungus from spreading, allow the spores at the soil surface to die, and allow the potato skins to toughen up so that when you do dig them up you don’t risk infecting otherwise healthy potatoes.

For more information on late blight please see the following website http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/LateBlight.htm

 

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August 23, 2010

Next weekend is the Passport to Local Foods event.  It’s part of the NH Eat Local month of activities hosted by the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food in collaboration with local businesses, individuals and groups.  Fifty seven NH farms including 9 farms in Grafton County are opening their doors to visitors on August 28th and 29th.  Visitors will be able to learn about the diversity of agricultural products in their backyards and enter a prize drawing.

Grafton’s participating farms grow vegetables, berries, flowers, and Christmas trees, raise beef, bees, pigs, goats and chickens, produce maple syrup, offer educational programs, and make cheese, ice cream and yogurt.

For more information including the addresses of the participating farms and a downloadable “passport” (that you get stamped in order to enter the prize drawing), check out the following website http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/nheatlocalmonth/passport-to-local-farms-weekend/ and enjoy a weekend of farm fun! 

 

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August 16, 2010

This past week was the first harvest in the pepper variety trial.  The trial is partially funded by SARE, the USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program and partially funded through Grafton County funds. 

This spring, we planted 13 varieties of bell peppers at the County Farm and covered half of them with floating row cover.  The floating row cover increases the temperature underneath it by approximately 3ºF and is intended to help seedlings get established faster and protect them from insects.  When the plants began to flower, we took the covers off so that the flowers could get pollinated, and we hope to put the covers back on in the fall if the plants haven’t finished producing before the first frost. 

The objectives of the trial are to compare the performance of the 13 varieties and to determine the impact of the row cover on pepper yields.  The results of trials like this are useful to growers who are trying to choose from the wide array of varieties out there.

So far so good.  We harvested 142 lbs of peppers and after recording all the data, we found good homes for them.  Some were given to County employees who agreed to provide us with consumer feedback, and the rest went to the Horse Meadow Senior Center, the County Nursing Home and the Newbury Food Shelf.  We anticipate weekly harvests for the next month, and we plan to post the results on this site after we finish analyzing the data so stay tuned!

 

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August 9, 2010

My favorite part of the gardening season is here!  The outdoor tomatoes have begun to ripen up.  It’s still a little early, but I am not complaining.

Thanks to the nice warm summer we have had so far, many agricultural products are early this year.  Hay, strawberries, blueberries, potatoes, and now tomatoes were all early.  Raspberries are likely to be early as well. 

Of course, the down side is that some things have been finishing up early as well.  Blueberry season is almost finished for a couple of the pick-your-own operations in the County, so if you are planning an outing with your family you might want to call your favorite pick-your-own farm to get an update on their crop. 

If you are planning to try to can some of the produce from your garden you will want to move up your time table as well.  To that end, please join us at the Horse Meadow Senior Center on Wednesday for a canning workshop.  Deb Maes, Family and Consumer Resources Educator will be teaching us how to make and preserve salsa.      

 

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August 2, 2010

The North Haverhill Fair went off without a hitch, or at least the people who put it together made it look that way to those of us fair goers.  Thanks for putting together such a wonderful event.

As always, I wandered through the barns to see all the animals, checked out the displays in the exhibit hall and ate some junk food while studiously ignoring the contradiction I feel eating junk food at an event celebrating agriculture.  I also went to the Lumberjack Contest.  I like to watch the lumberjack events, but I don’t always have time, so this year I decided to make time. 

Our County Forester tells me there were a record number of people competing this year and I could see for myself that they put on a good show.  A 12 year old and a 13 year old amazed everyone by keeping up with the adults, and a decorated competitor in his 80’s showed off his aim.  I especially liked the team events, you can imagine the practice it takes to learn to do anything in tandem, let alone do it fast.

Seriously though, you have to imagine the day that someone first decided to throw an ax at a tree, and ask yourself, why?  Trees don’t run, we have no poisonous snakes; there are easier ways to kill a squirrel.  With all the other events I could see the connection to practical skills important in the lumber industry either now or in the past, but ax throwing?  Perhaps it’s the 1800’s version of the video game.

Purpose aside, it was a lot of fun to watch, so if you haven’t seen it, put it on the list for next year.   

 

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July 26, 2010

           

Open Barn Day here at the County Farm was a huge success!  It was a beautiful, sunny day and attendance was even higher than expected.  The cows, chickens and pigs were a great hit with the kids, and of course everyone loved the ice cream complements of Granite State Dairy Promotion.  WYKR broadcasted live from the event. 

Often, we don’t realize from looking at the buildings how extensive the farm really is, so to give us a better idea two farm tractors ran hayrides all afternoon and our County Forester hosted a tour of the forested land that makes up more than half the total farm acreage. 

Thanks to the volunteers and County employees who rearranged their summer schedules to help make this event a success!

And naturally, it whetted everyone’s appetite for this week’s North Haverhill Fair!  The fair starts Wednesday, July 28th and runs through Sunday, August 1st.  Featured events will include a woodsman’s contest, horse pulls, a rodeo, concerts and of course 4-H exhibits.  For more information go to http://www.nohaverhillfair.com.

 

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July 19, 2010

Hello readers!  This week, instead of talking about something that has already happened I’m going to tell you about an event you might want to check out this weekend.

The Grafton County Commissioners are hosting an Open Barn Day at the County Farm on Rt 10 in North Haverhill on Saturday the 24th.  It’s open to the public and includes hay rides, a chance to see the farm animals, tour the forest, check out my pepper trial, visit the flower gardens at the nursing home, learn about soils in NH, and see what educational materials are available to schools (and home school parents) interested in teaching agriculture.  You can try your hand at making butter, eat free ice cream and ask all the questions you like about your County Farm.

There is no entrance fee, but for $1.00 per person you can have a barbecue lunch.  There will also be a raffle for a number of prizes including firewood, a piglet, vegetables, pumpkins, hay and potatoes.  All proceeds will go to the Grafton County 4-H Leaders’ Association.  Hope to see you there!

 

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July 12, 2010

This past week we held a twilight meeting on blueberry netting.  Butternut Farm in Rumney offered to host the meeting and owners Maggie Brox and her husband Brian showed us the system they set up a couple of years ago.  The relatively simple net prevents birds from getting into the planting and eating the berries.  It has increased their yields by as much as 40% in a good blueberry year.

The net slides around the perimeter of the blueberry field much like a shower curtain would.  There is also another piece of netting that slides over the top of the field leaving just enough room for a tall person to walk without ducking.  Maggie told us that the process of installing the posts and wires was time consuming, but that the yearly process of getting the net in place for the picking season is very simple and well worth the effort.

In addition to the demonstration, Bill Lord, retired fruit specialist, and Alan Eaton, entomologist, were on hand to discuss other pest problems in blueberries. A very interesting point they made is that bird damage is one of the most difficult to assess and frequently underestimated sources of yield losses in blueberries.  Donna Doel was also on hand from NRCS to talk about funding opportunities for commercial growers who would like to invest in a system like this one.

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July 6, 2010

This past week was a good one for agriculture in Grafton County.  A number of farm stands opened up for the season and the variety of fresh produce at the farmers’ markets is increasing.  This week I saw garlic scapes, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce and other greens, radishes, and herbs. 

What I haven’t seen a lot of is strawberries.  Due to the warm spring, the season started early for some of our growers and consequently it’s ending early for them too.  A few growers also battled high numbers of tarnished plant bugs (TPB) this year.  TPB are the insects who cause the fruit scarring you see in this picture.  For more information on the TPB check out this fact sheet (http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000555_Rep577.pdf). 

Due to the heat, I expect this coming week will see even more expansion of the diversity of offerings at your local farmers’ market or farm stand.  For those of you gardening for the first time, however, keep a close eye on soil moisture.  Here at my office we haven’t had any appreciable rain in a week, and in general your garden needs an inch of rain a week.

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June 28, 2010

What a difference a couple of days make!  The plants in the variety trial and the display garden at the office took a huge leap over the weekend.  Unfortunately so did the weeds. 

We are trying wool mulch this year in the display garden for weed control and ground cover.  Some contacts in the 4-H program mentioned that they take the unusable bits of wool left after they shear their sheep and use it as mulch in their gardens.   The idea was appealing from a resource conservation perspective and since 4-H had held a sheep shearing day here and had a lot of leftover wool, it was the perfect opportunity to try it.  I like it so far.  The wool is less attractive than straw mulch, and like straw, grasses do seem to be able to grow thru it, but it definitely cuts down on the need for weeding which is excellent.

If you are interested in taking a look at what else we are trying in the garden this year, come for one of our Wednesday evening workshops.  Click here for the schedule http://extension.unh.edu/Counties/Grafton/Docs/VegSeries.pdf

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June 21, 2010

Happy first official day of summer!

Unfortunately, I got word over the weekend that late blight has been discovered in southern CT.  That is still a fair distance from us, but as we learned last year, late blight can travel up to 40 miles in a storm so it pays to be vigilant.  Here are my recommendations:

• Go to one of the following web sites to remind yourself what the symptoms of late blight look like.

• Slide Show (takes time to load) http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/Media/Late-Blight2010/Late-Blight2010.htm
• Information Page that will be updated throughout the season http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/LateBlight.htm

• Check the site of last year’s potatoes and kill any “volunteers”.  (Volunteers are potato plants that grew on their own from tubers accidentally overlooked during harvest last fall.) 

• Monitor your potatoes and tomatoes for symptoms and call me if you see anything suspicious (787-6944).

• Keep checking this blog for updates should late blight be found in NH.  Meanwhile, enjoy the season!

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June 14, 2010

Rebecca, our Summer Assistant, Arianne and I spent a good part of last week dealing with cutworms, and from what I’m hearing a lot of others around the county are as well. 

Cutworms look like fat caterpillars; they can by white, tan, grey or black and they often curl up in the shape of a ring.  They live in the soil and they climb up the stem of the plant at night, feeding on it until they cut the stem in half.  The ones here have then been dragging the top part of the plant underground to feed on it, but sometimes they just feed on the cut off portion of the plant and then leave it behind when they go back to their burrows.  The bad news for gardeners and farmers alike is that young tomato, pepper, bean and corn plants are some of their favorite foods.

I’ve read and heard about a number of control options this past week, but the old standby paper cup collar seems to be working for us.  In this area, most cutworms will have only one generation and will transform into moths in the early summer.  For a fact sheet on cutworms including a photo, click here. http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000547_Rep569.pdf

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June 7, 2010

Five years ago, the Grafton County Master Gardeners’ Association sponsored a project to put in flower beds at the Grafton County Complex, about halfway between the nursing home and the courthouse.  The beds are designed to show off native plants and include a sensory garden in raised beds that can be easily enjoyed by sight, touch, or scent without needing to bend down.

Saturday was the annual Master Gardener workday at the complex.  The day gives the Master Gardeners an opportunity to check on the health of the perennials after winter, monitor pests, weed, prune and plant annuals. 

I’m happy to say the gardens are looking great.  An invasive insect called the viburnum leaf beetle has killed a few Viburnums, but the normal growth cycle of other perennials has helped to fill in the gaps. The only other pest in evidence was the rose chafer, but it doesn’t appear to be doing any serious damage so far.  Meanwhile the chives are blooming, the birches are looking great, and the annuals give an early splash of color.  Please come and check them out!

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June 1, 2010

Three farmers’ markets started up in Grafton County this past week.  Plymouth was first on Thursday, Bethlehem on Saturday, and Canaan on Sunday.  According to one market organizer, the slightly earlier than usual start was a request from the participating growers. That bodes well for those of us who like to shop the farmers’ markets.

As you might expect there weren’t a lot of fresh vegetables but I did see lettuces, beet greens, bok choy and rhubarb.  There were also eggs, meats, cheeses, breads, jams, pickles, maple syrup, wool, a wide variety of seedlings for your gardens, jewelry and crafts.  Bethlehem even had a guitar player providing entertainment. 

I like to eat rhubarb plain and in pies.  One farm selling at the Canaan market wanted to send the message that rhubarb is more than just those old standbys.  Their display had fresh rhubarb along with a selection of canned items made from rhubarb including rhubarb steak sauce.  They enjoy it on steak, and pork, and have heard from customers that it’s also good on chicken.      

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May 24, 2010

 

I spoke with on of our Grafton County farmers on Friday who has already had some volunteer potatoes sprouting up in the field where she grew her potatoes last year.  I also got an email saying that isolated cases of late blight have been confirmed in Maryland and Pennsylvania.  What that means to you is that if you grew potatoes last year it’s time to take a look at your garden.

One possible way for late blight to come back this year is if unharvested and infected potatoes from last year’s crop managed to survive the winter buried in the garden or field.  If they did survive the winter and manage to sprout up this spring, those plants could be infected and could send spores out into the air to attack this year’s new crop of tomatoes and potatoes.  This is the most likely cause of the isolated cases seen in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

There are two things you can do for your garden in the next couple of weeks.  First - watch for volunteer potatoes and pull them out and bag them up if you find them.  Second - do not plant any tomato seedlings or seed potatoes that have symptoms of late blight.  The photos will remind you of what those symptoms look like.

If you would like more information please take a look at this website http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/LateBlight.htm 

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May 18, 2010

This past week we hosted our annual Conservation Field Day event which invites 5th graders from around the County to come to North Haverhill and learn about a variety of topics related to conservation and agriculture. 

This year the weather was absolutely perfect for the event, and over 250 5th graders, their teachers and chaperones came to spend the day learning with us.  The kids move from station to station throughout the morning learning about a different topic at each.  This year’s topics included fire safety, soil science, beekeeping, seed starting, safe animal handling, NH wood products, fish biology, tree planting, dairy nutrition and more.  The stations are created by volunteers from Extension and our partner organizations.  (Personally, I suspect the fish tank brought by NH Fish and Game was the most popular station.)  The kids wrap up the day with a picnic lunch including milk, cheese and ice cream donated by the Granite State Dairy Promotion, AgriMark / Cabot / McCadam, and the Soil Conservation District in conjunction with Aldrich General Store. 

This event is one of the highlights of our spring season, so thanks again to all the staff, volunteers, teachers and chaperones who make it possible.

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May 10, 2010

I woke up Sunday morning to snow!  Yes, snow.  In fact it was spitting snow most of the day.  It melted as soon as it hit the ground, but still…I decided it was a good day to hop in the car and head south. 

Not very far south of course, because I had to work the next day, but I made it as far as Contoocook for the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival.  It stopped snowing as soon as I got south of the Notch, but it was still very VERY cold.  That was actually a good thing for the Festival vendors whose hats, mittens, slippers and sweaters looked even more inviting than they would have on a hot day.

Chilly weather not withstanding it was a really nice festival and a good day.  In addition to the items for sale, there were workshops related to crafting and animal husbandry, and people demonstrating a variety of spinning wheels, spinning techniques, and how to shear sheep and alpaca. 

I think my favorite part was the three ladies simultaneously knitting the 2010 festival shawl.  They had three sets of knitting needles and three balls of yarn, but they were knitting a one piece shawl – I am still a little unclear on how they made that work, but it was fascinating to watch.  Members of the public were also welcome to substitute in for a while and knit a few rows.  Last year there were 40 volunteers altogether who worked together to complete 2009’s shawl.  2010’s shawl will be raffled off at the festival next year, so if you missed it you will get another chance.  The festival is an annual event held Mother’s Day weekend.

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May 3, 2010

Our Gardening Workshop Series had its official kickoff on Saturday, May 1st.  The four hour workshop included information on starting your garden, from site selection to spatial planning and planting, and ending with a panel discussion with experienced gardeners.  Thanks very much to our 4 Master Gardener presenters who helped make the day an informative one.

The regularly scheduled portion of the series starts up on Wednesday, May 19th.  Click here for the schedule.  Unless otherwise stated the workshops will be held in the evenings from 5:30 to 7 at the UNHCE greenhouse at the Grafton County Complex located between the nursing home and the courthouse.  The series is for gardeners and aspiring gardeners of all ages and experience levels and will feature concurrent workshops – one for kids and one for adults.  You can come to all of them or just the ones that are relevant to your hobbies and interests.  So bring yourselves, kids, grandkids, parents or grandparents and join us to learn about gardening. 

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April 26, 2010

Thursday, April 22nd was the annual Flavors of the Valley trade show open to the public and sponsored by the Valley Food and Farm program.  It was held at the Hartford High School in White River Junction and it was for vendors and consumers in the Upper Valley interested in local foods.  Grafton is one of 4 NH and VT counties in the Upper Valley and was well represented at this event with 5 farms, 5 restaurants and businesses, and 3 organizations.  This event is open to the public and is held every April.  Attending events like this is one of the perks of my job.

I walked up and down the aisles, stopped and talked to a couple of Grafton County’s farmers, and met representatives with other organizations interested in our local food system.  And of course, I got to look at and taste the variety of local foods available in the region.  Garlic mustard pesto was offered up in order to draw participants’ attention to this invasive weed.  Yummy and effective (click here for the recipe).  I also tasted beefalo, all kinds of jams, pickled beets, bread, cheese and of course my favorite – ice cream!  Sadly, I somehow missed the table with the roasted tomato basil soup – guess I’ll have to go back next year.

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April 19, 2010

I spent Saturday with several of Grafton County’s Master Gardeners.  If you haven’t met a Master Gardener, they are a group of volunteers with an interest in horticulture who help us (Cooperative Extension) extend our reach in terms of providing educational programming to backyard gardeners and community groups.

Saturday was the statewide Master Gardener “Welcome Spring” Symposium in Concord.  I carpooled down with a couple of Grafton’s newest volunteers and we had a very profitable day.  The Master Gardeners’ Association hosts an event like this twice a year as a fund raiser, an educational event open to the public, and a continuing education program for their members.

The keynote speaker was an author and ecosystem planner named Dave Jacke, who talked to us about the benefits of forest gardens.  Then we each choose 3 out of 9 workshops to attend.  I chose wine grape production, vegetable gardening, and container gardening.  I choose the first two workshops because they sounded interesting and the third one because I was shopping for ideas. 

I have gotten a number of questions lately about container gardening, so I want to add a couple of examples to this summer’s demonstration garden at the County Complex.  Rhonda Locke, the workshop presenter gave me a bunch of great ideas including one for a low-cost homemade earthbox container.  If you want to see how it works out, come to one of the workshops in the Summer Gardening Series (click here for the event flyer).    

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April 12, 2010

The President of UNH came to Grafton County for a visit last week, and we hired the local 4-H Teen Club to cater the hors d’oeuvres.  It would have been an easy job for them, except we also asked them to make the theme local food. 

Being that it is April, there were a few people who expressed qualms, but here in the office we knew they could do it.  We gave them a list of local farms who could sell them ingredients and I’m happy to say they took the theme and ran with it.  The end result had more diversity, flair and taste than even I imagined possible.

The club served local milk and apple cider along with the only non local hold outs -- coffee and tea.  They made meatballs, the best bruschetta I’ve tasted, quiche, cheese and cracker platters, and maple tarts, and served locally made fudge.  They even made the bruschetta with locally baked bread and baked the crackers themselves from flour that had been milled locally.  Along the way they patronized 10 local businesses and impressed all in attendance. 

Thank you 4-H Teen Club!

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April 5, 2010

I don’t know about you, but this past week I got my first sunburn of the season!  I actually don’t mind, because for me it is a sign of spring.  It’s also a note to self to put my hat in the car so that it maybe won’t happen again.

The sunburn occurred during Thursday’s apple adventure.  I had invited Bill Lord, a retired fruit specialist with UNHCE, to come and visit a couple fruit farms with me and then be the guest speaker at a grafting and pruning demonstration hosted at Cardigan Mountain Orchards.

The weather started a little gray and then turned off warm and sunny – which is great except unseasonable weather always makes growers a little nervous about how it could affect the crops.  In the case of apples, if the warm weather makes them flower too early they could get damaged in a late spring frost. 

As usual, Bill mixed sound scientific information with useful and tongue-in-cheek tips such as how not to slice up a finger while grafting a tree.  All in all a great day!  Thanks very much to Cardigan Mountain Orchards for hosting and Bill for driving up. 

If you wanted to come and couldn’t make it, the Grafton County Conservation District is planning another pruning demonstration which will be hosted at Windy Ridge Orchard in North Haverhill on April 30th.  Call Pam Gilbert at 747-2001 to reserve a spot.

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March 29, 2010

Welcome to the first edition of our weekly community agriculture blog.  Last summer was my first as your Ag Educator and in a bid to learn more about the agriculture here in Grafton County, I set a goal for myself to visit every farmers' market in the County.  (Did you know there are 11 altogether?)  After a couple missteps I located all of them, met a lot of farmers, talked about late blight a fair bit, discovered a food item I had never heard of before (garlic scapes), and generally accomplished my goal of better educating myself about Grafton’s agricultural offerings.

This year I intend to do more agricultural exploration and use this blog space to take you with me -- from farmers' markets, to community events with agricultural themes, to workshops and twilight meetings.  Let’s see what there is to see, and along the way perhaps we will learn more about the topics that matter to you, farms, farmers and our food and food system. 

Since the title is Community Agriculture I want to hear what kinds of agricultural events and topics you want explored.  Send your ideas for blog topics, questions and comments via email to heather.bryant@unh.edu

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