I wanted to let you know that the Farm Store at the Kingsbury Farm is opening today.  The Store will be open Wednesday through Saturday noon to 7pm.  The farm is being run by Aaron Locker with the help of his brother John Locker and wife Suzanne Slomin – it is a true family farm.  Suzanne is also running the farm store where you will be able to buy fresh produce including Suzanne’s amazing salad mix, farm-made soups, a variety of cheeses, simple sandwiches and tarts and Suzanne’s fabulous naturally leavened breads and pizza shells.  Suzanne is a professionally trained chef and baker and is one of the best cooks I know.  I am sure that everything that comes out of the Farm Store kitchen will be excellent.

In a time when many families cannot afford fresh, healthy food, the practice of gleaning is taking off across Vermont as an exciting approach to food security. Gleaning, the act of harvesting surplus produce from farms, celebrates our local food economy while increasing access to nutritious food. In 2009, we piloted a gleaning program at the Waitsfield Farmer’s Market, and were able to collect well over 500 pounds of produce for local food shelves just in the second half of the market season. Farmers and food shelves enthusiastically supported the program, and are clamoring for its continuation in 2010! For the gleaning program to continue, volunteers are needed. If you are interested in building food security and supporting our local farms, and can donate a couple hours of time at the Waitsfield Farmer’s Market (even if it’s only for one Saturday), please read on to find out how you can participate!

Volunteer Responsibilities:
Gleaning a farmer’s market is a simple task. Volunteers pick up recycled wax boxes from the Shaw’s in Waitsfield and bring them to market 15 minutes before it ends. Each produce vendor will fill a box with vegetables, and then volunteers deliver the boxes to 3-4 locations in Waitsfield and Waterbury. The whole process takes just 1-2 hours.

The first Waitsfield Farmer’s Market in 2010 will be on May 22nd, 2010. I will be running a training at this market for anyone interested in volunteering for a subsequent market. If you can’t come, it’s not a problem – I can easily describe what needs to get done at a later time. The market runs through October 23rd, 2010 – that is 23 Saturdays that need gleaners!

Sign-up online now
Fill in your name as the Gleaner or Alternate Gleaner. You can edit the field by hitting Enter or by double clicking the box. Sign up for as many days as you would like. Hopefully, if everyone tells their friends and co-workers, we will find enough people to fill all of the days.

Here is the link to the online calendar to sign up

http://tinyurl.com/gleaning2010

Questions?
I am willing to act as the coordinator for the 2010 growing season, and will happily answer any questions from farmers or volunteers. However, since I have moved out of Washington County, I will not be available to physically glean throughout the season. Thank you so much for your support, and please feel free to contact me with questions, or if you’d like to sign up. My email address is corinne.almquist@gmail.com, and my phone number is 377-1435.

Happy Growing Season!

Corinne Almquist

Gleaning Coordinator
2009 Compton Mentor Fellow
(802) 377-1435
corinne.almquist@gmail.com

It’s potato planting time! Over 6,000 years ago, the Incans are said to have worshiped potatoes as a sacred food source. High in fiber, a good source of vitamin C, a versatile comfort food and with good storing capacity, you’ll worship your home-grown, hand-dug potatoes too!

High Mowing sells nine varieties of organic seed potatoes – early, mid and late season – in many colors – red, blue, white, cream – suitable for storage or for fresh-eating as tender “new” potatoes.

Spanish soldiers carried them on ships to prevent scurvy. Brought to America , by way of Irish and Scottish immigrants, these tubers are now the world’s fourth largest food crop. But no need to dip into the commodity pool to get your potatoes – growing your own can be easy and fun!

Start by designating a decent sized space in your garden space. Choose an area where the soil is fertile and not heavy with clay. Manure or compost are suitable fertilizers. Plant the potatoes anywhere from 2-4 weeks before the last frost date in your area. The earlier you plant, the more attention you will want to pay to the overnight temperatures. Cover the potatoes well if a frost threatens.

Sow the potatoes approximately 3-6 inches below the soil and cover well. Seeds should be 10-12 inches apart. Make sure that there is at least one eye, if you are cutting larger potatoes into pieces for seed to bud. For a more substantial crop, 30 feet of row length will produce 200 good spuds and then some. A larger crop will ensure that you can enjoy your crop from approximately mid-July until it is time to harvest for storage.

Once the buds have emerged from the soil, you need to hill the potatoes, building soil around the plant and leaving the top of the plant exposed for more growth. Then after 3 weeks or so, hill them again. After about 7-8 weeks, you can dig up new potatoes. These tiny baby potatoes are tender and delicious, roasted or grilled. When the plants begin to die back in September or so, you will want to harvest the potatoes within 2-3 weeks. Cure potatoes for several weeks in a cool, dry and dark place, particularly somewhere they won’t freeze. Store them in a root cellar or in a dark room that is between 38-40 degrees so they won’t soften and sprout.

Your crop of potatoes can last for (at the very least) nine months, therefore eliminating the need to purchase store bought potatoes that are shipped in from thousands of miles away. If you have some decent potatoes left in April, you may want to plant them for seed the following season. Your ambition will reward you with a tangible and edible treat and perhaps even something to honor when eating on a cold winter night.

For more information on planting potatoes, as well as info on pests and diseases, check out the High Mowing Organic Seeds resource section on potatoes.

Several varieties of organic seed potatoes are available from High Mowing Organic Seeds for immediate shipping or pick-up at their warehouse in Wolcott , VT. Order on line at www.highmowingseeds.com or call (802) 472-6174.

Join with Vermont Certified horticuluralist Zach Leonard for a day of exploring, maintaining, and diversifying the edibile forest gardens at Prospect Rock Permaculture.

Build your skill and knowledge hands-on while we prune pears, plums, and apples; ‘top-work’ new varieties onto 8 year old seedling apples, and propagate plums and hazelberts. In addition, we’ll talk about orchard maintenance in general, and review some favored tools and their appropriate use.

Our workshop will respond to the weather, plants needs (and leaf-out status), and the interests of participants.

Zack Leonard has been the Nursery Manager at Elmore Roots Nursery for over 10 years. He also runs High Hopes Tree Care, a branch of High Hopes Farm- where he has been homesteading off the grid his family and establishing their own nut and fruit orchard since 2000.

Prospect Rock Permaculture is a near budget-less (yet debt-free) permaculture project along the Lamoille River. For the past 9 years, we have been experimenting and trialing northern hardy fruits, nut trees, berries, vines, and perennial vegetables. We work to connect people with their food and wild ecology through restoring, reforesting, and regenerating a formerly damaged riparian ecosystem to produce high-value, nutrient dense foods.

Workshop is by suggested donation of $40- sliding scale. No one will be refused for lack of funds.

Bring a picnic lunch, and we’ll have snacks and drinks to share.

For more information or to register, please email earthsurfing(at)yahoo(dot)com, or call (802) 734-1129

Stay tuned for more workshops this spring, summer, and fall- including beekeeping, natural walls and insulation, etc.

http://transitionvermont.ning.com/events/pruning-grafting-and

The University of Vermont Libraries are celebrating the creation of a new Maple Syrup Research Website (http://library.uvm.edu/maple) with a week of programs, exhibits, and food, beginning March 28^th, 2010.  The website is a comprehensive subject guide in the field of maple syrup, including historical publications and photographs related to maple syrup research at the University of Vermont .

Cook Maple, Win Prizes
 
A Maple Cook-Off will be held at UVM’s Davis Center on March 28^th, from 4 to 6PM, featuring a buffet of maple delicacies, music by acoustic trio The Growlers, maple displays, children’s activities, and prizes of gift certificates to local eateries (awarded by food critics, activists, and producers).  The event is free and open to the public.  For more information or to register: http://maplecookoff.eventbrite.com 
 
A Party in the Woods
 
John Elder, a Professor at Middlebury College, will present “A Party in the Woods: Sugaring, Community, and Celebration Under a Changing Sky,” on maple sugaring as a traditional rural lifeway that both illuminates contemporary challenges like climate change and exemplifies the need for celebration within environmental thinking today.  The talk will take place in Bailey/Howe Library’s Special Collections on March 31^st, at 5:30 PM, and is co-sponsored by Special Collections and the UVM Libraries.
 
Elder’s talk will follow a 4:30 PM reception to celebrate the launch of the Maple Syrup Research Website in the Bailey/Howe Library lobby.
 
Maple Exhibits
 
Maple exhibits in the Bailey/Howe Library include images of sugaring-off parties, historic recipes, the story of Helen Nearing, and much, much more.  The exhibits are located in the Bailey/Howe Library Lobby and in Special Collections.  They will be on display through June 2010.
 
For more information, please call 802-656-9980 or e-mail selene.colburn@uvm.edu

See the Bailey/Howe Library on a campus map: http://www.uvm.edu/map/?Page=MAP&Building=51
 
Information on visitor parking at UVM: http://www.uvm.edu/tps/parking/?Page=visitors.html

 The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation will award 5 grants each month for the next 5 months :
http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/Plant/Index.

Go to VERMONT, find Waitsfield’s proposal, and VOTE!  You don’t need to be a  Waitsfield resident to participate. Votes will carry over month to month until all the grants are awarded.  You can vote as often as once a day between March 15th & August 31st.  Votes from your work e-mail and your personal e-mail addresses count as separate votes.

THE OPPORTUNITY
We are in competition with 100 communities across the country for a fruit orchard through the Communities Take Root program.  The program is funded through the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation and Edy’s Fruit Bars.  On-line voting will determine the 25 communities that will receive complete fruit orchards.

WHAT
Flemer Green, the site for the municipal orchard, is seven acres of former pasture located in historic Waitsfield Village, just steps away from the Waitsfield Elementary School, Mad River Community Health Center, the Mad River Garden Center, and residential neighborhoods.  The orchard is proposed to be located in a linear area along the western boundary of the property and will complement the Green’s primary uses for recreation and civic events.

THE GROUP
The Flemer Green Orchard is a collaboration of the following diverse, multi-generational, public, business, non-profit, and educational organizations, all with direct interest in ensuring the success of the orchard:

* Town of Waitsfield (http://www.waitsfieldvt.us)
* Waitsfield Elementary School (http://waitsfieldelementary.org)
* Mad River Valley Localvore Project (http://www.vermontlocalvore.org)
* Mad River Garden Center (http://www.madrivergardencenter.com)
* Valley Futures Network (http://valleyfutures.net)
* Harwood High School’s Vermont Youth Conservation Corps
* Whole Systems Design (http://www.wholesystemsdesign.com)
* Yestermorrow Design/Build School (http://www.yestermorrow.org)
* Central Vermont Beekeepers’ Club

HOW THE ORCHARD WILL HELP OUR COMMUNITY
This orchard will add to our local food production and provide a hands-on horticultural classroom for the partner organizations and the community to learn how to raise, care for, process, and share the local fruit and berry produce (e.g., fresh fruit and its products will be donated to the Valley Food Shelf, and the elementary school intends to incorporate the orchard into its curriculum as an extension of its already successful and staffed school garden program.)

WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR THIS ORCHARD
Waitsfield, a small and vibrant community located in Vermont’s Mad River Valley, has a long tradition of conserving land and reinforcing agricultural activities that provide a wide variety of locally grown products. The Flemer Green Orchard will be a highly visible extension of this tradition, yielding long-term learning, health, sustainable  food production, and community engagement.

Please visit http://www.communitiestakeroot.com/plant/index and vote as often as once a day between March 15th & August 31st.

“Kingsbury Farm Plans” with Aaron Locker – Wednesday April 21

Straw bale Composter Workshop with Master Gardeners – Saturday May 29

This year the summit will feature Keynote Nora Goldstein, Editor of BioCycle Magazine. She will address organics recycling issues from the national perspective with an emphasis on the challenges and opportunities for rural areas and small cities.

VORS will offer six workshops to further organics diversion and composting in Vermont. Featured workshops include: “Closing the Loop” an overview of the Close the Loop Vermont! Campaign to increase the diversion of food residuals from landfillng to composting; a demonstration on how to use the new Vermont Compost/Biogas Data Finder; Community Planning for Diversion and Composting; Compostable Packaging: Sorting Through the Hype; Uses of Compost for Stormwater Management and Erosion Control, and; Carbon Credits and Organic Diversion: What’s the Connection?

Register online at http://regonline.com/VORS2010.