Farm & Garden Education Update

A first draft of the MFCC Farm and Garden Education Toolkit was presented to a small group of teachers, parents, school staff, farmers, gardeners and students at Antioch University New England on December 3, 2009.

In addition to viewing a slide show of photos from the toolkit’s ten case studies, the group offered feedback and next steps for strengthening young people’s connections to local food and farming.

One suggestion was to post the case studies and other sections of the toolkit onto a blog – to share the information and initiate more networking and discussion.  This is the first of many postings!

Please feel free to share your questions and comments.

Farm & Garden Education in the Monadnock Region Slideshow

Building Our Local Living Economy

Who is missing?

These local organizations, businesses and community groups are already contributing to our local economy and community in diverse and important ways.

Contributions such as:

• Encouraging charitable giving
• Paying staff to volunteer for local agencies
• Purchasing local products, when possible
• Giving incentives for walking or biking to school or work
• Offering support to local businesses
• Supporting farmers and a healthy regional food system
• Encouraging citizen participation
• Growing a community garden
• Marketing local events and products
• Developing community-wide health education initiatives
• Supporting smart growth policies
• Contributing to our community’s guiding documents (master plan, land use regulations)
• Setting policies and guidelines to support our local economy
• Promoting conservation of our natural resources
• Providing jobs and contributing dollars to the local economy through a locally-owned business
• Bringing people together to network and solve local problems

This collage of logos continues to grow!  If you are a business owner or leader of a non-profit or community initiative and would like to be added to this collage, please send an electronic version your logo (JPG) to jen(at)hannahgrimes.com.

Feel free to forward this announcement to other businesses, non-profits and community initiatives helping to build the Monadnock Region’s local economy and community.

What Does a Local Living Economy Mean to Us?

In November 2009, a group of community members gathered to explore the concept of a Local Living Economy.  The BALLE Network has its own definition, but what does it mean to us – citizens of the Monadnock Region?

Here is a small sample of ideas to describe a Monadnock Local Living Economy – What would you add?

The Monadnock Local Living Economy is a place where:

• All citizens can have a great quality of life.
• Our basic needs are met within our community and region.
• Individuals realize that they are beyond the worth of their jobs.
• Leadership helps identify common ground and overarching community goals.
• Citizens are creating a new definition of what our needs really are.
• Individuals and banks are investing in social capital.
• We are working cooperatively and collaboratively.
• All citizens are engaged and feel included.
• Celebrating our community.
• We are thinking of our community as a system.

What’s the Yarden of Eatin’ Blog About?

image by Wordle: http://www.wordle.net/

Monadnock Buy Local Grows Regional Effort to Support Local and Independent Businesses

Monadnock citizens and local business owners are invited to help grow a grassroots movement in our region: Monadnock Buy Local (MBL).

A MBL Steering Committee is forming and current members are reaching out to towns beyond Keene to make this truly a regional effort.  For more information, contact MonadnockBuyLocal@gmail.com.

Monadnock Buy Local’s roots lie with the Keene Buy Local Initiative – a project of the Keene Downtown Group.   The Keene Buy Local Initiative launched a 10% Shift Challenge the week of July 1-7, 2009, to coincide with other nationwide celebrations of “Independents Week”.  For more information visit http://keenelocal.com.

The Keene Downtown Group is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to insure the vibrancy and vitality of Downtown Keene: http://keenedowntown.com.

Start Small: Plant a Polyculture Patch

If you are like me, you move often. As a renter, you may not have a yard of your own – but regardless, you can put down some roots by planting a polyculture patch.

Unlike a monoculture, you create a polyculture by planting more than one plant species or variety in an area. I planted just one patch, instead of an entire garden, to make the project more manageable in terms of time commitment and cost.

Thanks to having a great landlord, I planted the polyculture in my back yard. If your relationship with your landowner is tenuous, consider guerilla gardening.

The inspiration for our polyculture was a recently donated apple tree and I bought a few complimentary plants:

• Yarrow to attract beneficial insects, act as ground cover, and use medicinally.
• Sorrel, also to attract beneficial insects and act as ground cover, with the added benefits of being a biodynamic accumulator and just plain yummy.
• Anise Hyssop, once again, to attract the good insects and make a delicious tea.

The quick version of my process: I laid out each plant, planted them appropriately, added sheet mulch (newspaper and cardboard), compost, and wood chips, and watered.

Within a half hour, with no tilling, I had my polyculture patch.

Planting this way not only reduces the time commitment; it also increases the likelihood that the tree will survive. Thanks to the ground cover, it will cut down on the erosion my backyard tends to suffer from, while someday providing us with apples, salad greens, and medicinals.

This year, as my friends divide their perennials, I will add more supportive plants to this polyculture patch and build a new patch: pawpaws…

Forest Gardening in a Nutshell

What comes to mind when you think of a forest garden? Here are two quotes that sum up forest gardening in a nutshell:

“Forest gardening is an idea whose time has come. We can consciously apply the principles of ecology to the design of home scale gardens that mimic forest ecosystem structure and function, but grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, ‘farmaceuticals,’ and fun….Edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting plants together in woodland-like patterns that forge mutually beneficial relationships, creating a garden ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts. You can grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, other useful plants, and animals in a way that mimics natural ecosystems.” Edible Forest Gardens – Dave Jacke with Eric Toensmeier, http://www.edibleforestgardens.com

“The idea behind forest gardening is that natural forests produce an abundance of food. People the world over have harvested food from the forest, reaping where they did not sow. Forest gardeners imitate the forest’s natural structure to take advantage of this abundance, but they increase yields even further through careful planning and management. The result is a productive fusion of garden, orchard and woodland…One of the main differences between a forest garden and the typical food garden is that forest gardens rely on perennials.” Plant an Edible Forest Garden – Harvey Ussery, Mother Earth News (August/September 2007), http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2007-08-01/Plant-Edible-Forest-Garden-Permaculture.aspx

Forage or Grow Your Own: Three Links

Forage For Mushrooms
New Hampshire Mushroom Guide
By Devin Starlanyl
Posted by the Chesterfield Conservation Commission

Let’s face it, treasure hunting is fun. There is nothing I know that resembles treasure hunting as much as foraging for wild mushrooms.

*Another great resources for foragers: The Forager’s Wild Food and Mushroom Forum.

Grow Your Own Mushrooms
By Barbara Pleasant
Posted at Mother Earth News

Two of the best reasons to garden are to grow things you would otherwise have to pay too dearly for at the supermarket and to grow great-tasting things you cannot buy at any price. Mushrooms often fill both bills.

Terra Fructi is Walpole’s Newest Farm

Terra Fructi will be growing all-natural gourmet and medicinal mushrooms and anticipates having several varieties ready for sale in December 2009. They are passionate about sustainable agriculture and supporting local farmers and food systems, and hope you feel the same. Terra Fructi’s mushrooms are grown in 100% organic cottonseed hulls and are never treated with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or other harmful substances. For more information, visit us at http://www.terrafructi.com.