This year we are making a concerted effort to get in some early cover crops of peas and oats, and sometimes daikon, ahead of crops that will be going in the ground late May or early June like potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, etc. We tarped the areas that will be accepting early crops, but for these later crops, there is a real opportunity to build biomass, keep the soil covered in green growing plants, and keep the microbiology at the kitchen table, rather than starving.

The worms are happy too, and these fast growing crops will provide a lot of good tilth to the soil so that our transplants can hop right into a good growing situation. When it is time to make the switch over from covers to vegetables, we will mow the crops down, make holes for transplants, pop them in and then mulch the soil.

Prepping the garden for oats and peas

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NOFA Podcast with Suzie Flores

Season 5 Ep. 1 Tools and Practices of Ocean Farming Kelp

Opportunities from MHOF

Now is the Time to Join the CSA

We had a good bite from the College of the Holy Cross this week. They might sponsor a CSA pick up site for their staff and students. And a number of small shares came in too. We are still in an uphill climb for memberships. With $13,700 in the kitty, we still need to attract another $54,000 in CSA sales to make budget for 2022.   Now is a good time to invest in our farm and in your good health – a win-win. Expenses run high this time of year. This week we dropped $2,000 for fertility. See Below for a helpful link for signing up for the CSA.

August 30 Large Share, 2021

Sign Up Now for MHOF 2022 Meat

Some folks mentioned that we have not yet announced that our meat offerings for 2022 are available. Well, they are.

You can pre-order meat birds for August 28, pork for late November and turkeys for the week of Thanksgiving.

Pigs resting on August 27, 2021

All of our meat is certified organic, which out of the starting gate means that they are eating GMO-free feed. But we also carefully range them with daily moves for all of the poultry, on hay pastures or end of season garden beds. For the pigs, they move through the woods and woods edges with a biweekly move to a new location. Our meat is of the highest quality, and taste. See the link below to read more and to place an order.

Little turkeys on pasture August 18, 2021

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Purchase MHOF Meat

Jobs at MHOF

We hired Christy Bassett this week. Christy and I first met back in 2017 when she interviewed for the NOFA/Mass membership coordinator position. I was impressed during her interview that she very nicely pointed out how we could be doing a better job of membership outreach. We hired her and then she rose through the NOFA hierarchy into the role of communications director. She has really smartened up all of NOFA communications.

Jennifer and Christy going over the transition

When I left NOFA in 2020 Christy was one of those folks who I was unhappy to lose in a close collegial relationship. But when Jennifer found it necessary to focus more on her own business, I reached back out to Christy, and she was game for this gig. She is hard at it already and will soon have us dressed up like nobody’s business. Welcome Christy, who, handily, lives across town and has been a shareholder for several years.

Other Opportunities

Good Local Maple Syrup

From Travis Knechtel

“Our syrup is a small family operation. We primarily tap in West Orange along the Millers River Valley.  We currently have syrup in tins, quart mason jars, plastic, and 1/2 liter glass jugs.

Tins and quarts – 20 each

1/2 liter jugs – $10 each.

We have all grades in stock from fancy to dark.

Folks can call or text me to make arrangements to purchase syrup:
978-660-8137
tknechtel1@gmail.com“