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CT NOFA writes cover article for Edible Nutmeg

Click here to read Dina’s article.

Our partners at edible Nutmeg are holding off on physical distribution due to the pandemic  –  but they have released our article electronically.  Get to know the story behind the Ecotype Project and then answer the call to action – we can transform landscapes on farms and in residential and community lands into beneficial insect habitat and secure the future of our food system.

Many thanks to Dana Jackson, editor of edible Nutmeg for his support.  This article originally appeared in edible Nutmeg #44, Spring 2020

Thanks as well to Mary Clay Fields for photography.

 

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Planters Choice and Wilton High School team up for an Ecotype Project Plant Sale

The Wilton High School Organic Garden is proud to offer a selection of native wildflower species for sale by preorder in partnership with Planter’s Choice Nursery of Newtown. Plants will be available for pickup at the WHS Organic Garden’s Annual Spring Plant Sale.

Cost per plant: $2.50 with $1 going directly to support WHS Organic Garden’s programs and initiatives.

Due dates:
Orders must be submitted by May 1, 2020 at 11:59pm.
Pickup will be Saturday, May 16, 2020 between 9am and 3pm at The Hickories Organic Farm in Ridgefield.

Payment is due in full at the time of placing your order. Payment must be mailed to…

Wilton High School
ATTN: Jim Hunter
395 Danbury Road
Wilton, CT. 06897

 

Order Here

 

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Winter Seed Saving for Kids

Sefra Alexandra, from CT NOFA’s Ecotype Project, taught the basics of seed exploration/seed hunting with the February kids camp at Wakeman Town Farm. After discovering seeds in our everyday foods, the group went on a walk through the pollinator garden, discussing the importance of native plants to bugs and how to save/ clean/ broadcast seed in the wild.

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Bulk Order Due Date Extended to Feb 9

The NOFA Bulk Order was one of the very first programs of NOFA, the parent organization of all of the NOFA State Chapters. It began in 1971 with a bulk order of rock phosphate for organic growers. Today, many state chapters run their own bulk orders, and NOFA/Mass organizes the Tri-State Order on behalf of CT NOFA, NOFA-RI and NOFA/Mass. Our Executive Director, Julie Rawson, has been hosting a bulk order pickup site at her farm since 1984!

Connecticut’s Bulk Order Pickup for 2020:

Meriden, CT:  High Hill Orchard, 86 Fleming Rd, Meriden, CT

Coordinator: Deb Legge, 203-676-0742, debct55@gmail.com || Saturday (3/14) 8am – 12pm and Saturday (4/11) 8am – 10am

Order today by clicking here!

Join us.

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Life in the “dead” of winter – High Tunnels alive and well in CT

An update from NOFA’s technical consultant and “embedded” reporter, Monique Bosch

During this ‘dormant’ time of year, it’s refreshing to see cold season crops flourishing in high tunnels across the state. Some of the healthiest food we’ve seen this winter have been in high tunnels that are practicing ‘no-till.’  Let’s take a tour together above, and below ground, to see what’s living.

First stop; The Hickories in Ridgefield CT.

Farm manager Jaci Slattery gives us a look inside her high tunnel, where delicious chard, spinach, and romaine are growing well.

This high tunnel has been no-till since it was built, about 5 years ago. Broad-fork and surface rake have been the only tools used. Keeping plants growing year-round ensures the biology thrives. The space goes through several iterations through the year; propagation house in spring, followed by salad mix, summer tomatoes then winter crops. This particular high tunnel is on a slope. Jaci has found that keeping roots of plants such as tomatoes in the ground to decay helps stop erosion during heavy rains.  This past year Jaci added two new inputs; beneficial nematodes, to help with flea beetles, and compost tea. We found one of the nematodes when viewing a soil sample under the microscope:

 

Jaci spoke about some of the challenges of no-till:  “Weed control is the biggest challenge. We manage it with frequent surface tillage and some hand-weeding. This coming Spring, when tables are above the beds holding seedling trays, we are considering a cover crop below. We think buckwheat might be a good choice, with little regrowth and excellent residue after cutting to act as mulch.”


 Next stop; Massaro Community Farm in Woodbridge CT.

Farm Manager Steve Munno and Executive Director Caty Poole gave us a tour of their high tunnels, producing delicious winter crops with no-till methods.

We took a soil sample from the high tunnel growing a cover crop of peas/vetch/oats. It had been mowed the day before. The plan is to open the high tunnel doors as outdoor temperatures drop, resulting in a ‘winter kill’ that will speed up decomposition. The ground should be ready for sowing in early March.

Like butter, the soil lifted without a fuss, releasing a luxurious forest smell

 

Under the microscope the sample proved to be just as rich, with aggregates full of bacteria, a nice balance of fungi and plenty of flagellates consuming the bacteria:

Growing food year-round in the high tunnel is an optimal environment for no-till. Under these controlled conditions leaving the soil undisturbed has several advantages:

  • promotes a healthy soil food web
  • fewer pests, due to the healthy micro-ecosystem in and above the soil
  • reduces weed populations:
    • bacteria/fungi balance is maintained
    • less exposure of dormant seeds

Andrew Mefferd has traveled around the world to connect with farmers and researchers about no-till farming and soil conservation. In his book he talks about growing no-till in high tunnels: “We can grow nutrient-dense foods, reduce and eliminate inputs and consequent negative outputs, and pull carbon out of the atmosphere while reinvigorating the hydrological cycle that has been so disrupted by thousands of years of over tilling, overgrazing, deforestation, and soil compaction.”

For many farmers ‘no-till’ sounds like a daunting experiment.  John Kempf, founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (https://www.advancingecoag.com/john), doesn’t think it has to be an ‘all or nothing’ approach: “We need to change the conversation. Instead of ’tillage’, we might consider ‘soil particle management’.  Finding ways to nurture the soil and the microbes who inhabit it will produce resilient plants, healthier food and as a result, benefit us all.

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Deadline is January 22nd for nominations for the 2nd Annual Bill Duesing Organic Living on the Earth Awards

This award is for a recipient who has demonstrated the advancement of organic living on our earth with a project, innovation, action or lifestyle that supports the continuation of the life work of Bill Duesing – for all to live on this earth in a society in harmony with nature. The accomplishment must contribute to the advancement of organic living in Connecticut in a demonstrable way and be a current or recent accomplishment that reflects Bill’s devotion to organic living and his wish that this critically important work be continued by his friends and colleagues. Award recipients can be one of the following:

• Organic farmer/farm (example: added new revenue sources to secure the farm’s future; expanded availability of organic food in the community)

• Organic land care professional /business (example: transitioned from conventional to organic land care)

• Organic advocate (example: spearheaded a change in their local school system, or worked to promote organic legislation)

• Organization (example: farmers market became 100% organic; the advancement of farmworkers’ rights; created organic-based social media group)

• Educator (example: developed new ways to add organic food and agriculture to school curriculum)

• Mentor (example: developed process for passing along organic knowledge and skills to new farmers or land care professionals)

Award recipient(s) will be recognized during the Keynote Session at CT NOFA’s 2020 Winter Conference on Saturday, March 7th at Wesleyan University in Middletown.

Click here to nominate

Click here to print mail-in form

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2020 Winter Conference Request for Proposals

CT NOFA’s 38th annual conference will be held on March 7th, 2020 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.  This new location will allow easier access to this event for people from all over our state as well as guests from Massachusetts and Rhode Island and New York. Our keynote speaker is Niaz Dorry of the National Farm Family Coalition and the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance who will be bringing her innovative perspective on movement-building to her keynote speech. To round out this wonderful day we are requesting proposals for workshop sessions, each will be 1.5 hours in length. CT NOFA is looking for inventive, inclusive, and diverse topics, as always.

 

We welcome all submissions for workshops that capture CT NOFA’s mission of fostering the organic movement in Connecticut.  This year our conference priorities are: 

  • Climate Change, and Resilience, and Conservation Agriculture
  • Regional Economics and New Farming Economies
  • Land Access
  • Beginning Farmers 
  • Equity, Ag Justice, and Food
  • Emerging Markets (ie; kelp, hemp, cannabis)

 

The deadline for workshop submissions is  January 15th. Applications will be subject to review and presenters will be notified of their acceptance by January 24th.  

 

At the Summer Conference workshop on Fermenting Social Justice Values in the NOFA Culture,  the guidelines that the NOFA Domestic Fair Trade sub-committee holds were reviewed and it was agreed upon that information about dismantling racism in farming be included with our RFP.  This gives our presenters the chance to consider these ideas when they design their presentation. Please see ‘Dismantling Racism and Integrating Race and Equity for NOFA Presenters at Conferences‘ document.

 

Please follow this link to our online workshop submission form.  

We look forward to seeing you at OrganiConn 2020!

 

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Organic No-Till Farming Research Initiative: An Update

From NOFA’s technical consultant and “embedded” reporter, Monique Bosch

Under the Microscope at Assawaga Farm

We visited Assawaga Farm in late September to take a peak at how microbes are handling the ‘no-till’ environment up there. For the past 2

years Yoko and Alex have worked tirelessly on their 2 acre intensive farm to ‘push the envelope’ on no-till farming techniques. They are growing a wide assortment of vegetables, incorporating no-till with succession planting, cover crops and holistic farming practices to grow the healthiest food possible.

We took a look at their soil under the microscope and discovered excellent microbial life and soil structure. Below is a movie showing microscopy from one of their beds, growing a cover crop of field peas and oats in a bed that has not been tilled for the past 2 years…

Notice the amount of aggregates, large dark bundles of bacteria, resulting in excellent soil structure.

 

Yoko and Alex both felt that the microscopy gave them a much better understanding of what is going on inside their soil. They now have a

new set of eyes for soil, and have a greater appreciation for the life therein. Yoko explained how this will change the way they farm:  “This will certainly make us think harder about how to treat the microbes, like keeping the soil covered at all times and have as much growing through the year as possible. We’re going to interplant around our main crops, to add diversity and cover as much soil as possible with living plants.”

No-till allows the soil to establish communities of fungal networks, aggregates of bacteria, and a constant stream of nutrient cycling between

plants and microbes. Alex talked about some of the challenges they face with no-till:

“We have a  paperpot transplanter that does a great job planting seedlings. When we have residue of, tomatoes and peppers it’s difficult to get the planter through there. It’s much easier to have a newly tilled bed, but the rewards of leaving the roots to slowly decompose and add organic matter and food for the microbes gives us a much healthier next crop, so its worth the extra effort.”

We took another look at soil that was probably the least disturbed over the past two years, the garden bed growing ginger. Amazing how many fungal hyphae have developed in that short amount of time. See this for yourself below:

 

Fungal hyphae dominate this sample, and  fungal dominant soil is preferred by ginger so it’s a perfect pairing of “right crop, right soil biology”.

 

Alex and Yoko shared with me a photo of one their success stories that came from no-till farming. These basil plants were planted at the same time. The right bed had been bare for about a year, the left bed had residue of celery with basil interplanted between the harvested crop:

The takeaway from our visit to Assawaga is that no-till is working in ways that the microscope can show:

  • better soil structure
  • more diverse life in the soil
  • balance of fungi to bacteria

 

Our deepest thanks and appreciation for innovations in organic agriculture go to our partners at Assawaga Farm, as we at NOFA continue to explore ways to grow the healthiest food possible.

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Journey Person Program Relaunches in 2019

CT NOFA Invites Beginning Farmers and Land Care Professionals to Apply for the Journeyperson Program. Applications Due on October 15th. APPLY HERE

The Journeyperson Program strives to provide committed beginning farmers and land care professionals with the opportunity to learn skills and gain the experience they will need to succeed as farmers and business owners. 

 

The Journeyperson program strives to support land stewards in the education gap between apprentice and independent business owner and to provide resources and opportunities for prospective new farmers/land care professionals who have completed an apprenticeship to further develop skills they need to operate independently.  The program is shaped by the interests and goals of individual participants. New land stewards are able to gain advanced experience, skills, and perspective in a supportive environment while also becoming part of a sustainable professional network.

 

Each Journeyperson, once selected, is matched with a mentor.  These arrangements are flexible and are shaped collaboratively by the journeyperson and the mentor.  Some mentors also offer access to land, equipment, and support so a journeyperson can operate independently.

 

Additional resources/requirements for journey people include:

  • attendance at an Organic Land Care accreditation course (full scholarship included)
  • educational/capital stipends up to $2,000
  • attendance at 2 NOFA Winter Conferences – CT and one other (full scholarship included)
  • if applicable, organic certification assistance (4 hours of consulting with a USDA inspector)
  • completing a full business plan
  • attending regular mentor meetings
  • check-ins with CT NOFA staff about progress

Timeline for 2019-2020 program:

Sept 13, 2019: Application open

October 15, 2019: Application closed

October 25, 2019: Decisions published

November 11-15, 2019: OLC Course Attendance

March 7, 2020: CT Winter Conference Attendance

Spring 2020: Entrance interview and mentorship pairing

Spring/Summer/Fall:

  • Mentor meetings
  • NOFA check-ins
  • Stipend disbursements

November 1, 2020:

  • Full business plan submitted
  • Exit interview

 

Learn more here

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