Join us at Flamig Farm for Earth Day
On April 12, 2022 by adminKris McCue will be tabling at the Flamig Farm Earth Day. She will have her table of seeds set up so stop on by to get some for your garden. Read more […]
Soil Heath Discussion in 2 Parts: Thursday February 10 and 24, 2022
On February 3, 2022 by adminJoin Faith Reeves, the new BFA agronomist for an in-depth look at the best practices to build your soil health. Faith is a microbe-loving, soil-smelling, tree planting, weed studying soil health enthusiast. Her path to becoming a soil health guide has been non-linear and full of trial and error. Her process has been: zero in on a topic of interest, study, experiment, observe, reflect, repeat.The wonder of nature has been a primary interest since before she could talk. She started developing a foundational Read more […]
Dan Kittredge 2 Day Course Available Online
On January 7, 2022 by adminMany of us have taken Dan’s 2 day course, The Principles of Biological Systems, in the past. I took the class in 2016 and remember the thrill of being in a room with a group of people all interested in human health through improving soil health. At that point in my farming career I felt that I knew a fair amount of the logistics of how to bring a crop to harvest, the timing of planting, the benefit of mulching, and the need for irrigation. I was a complete novice when it came to balancing soil minerals. Read more […]
January 2022 Winter Book Club
On December 29, 2021 by adminI hope you’ve had a chance to look at Ben Raskin’s book. I am about two thirds done with The Woodchip Handbook and am enjoying it. My own experiences with woodchips have been aligning with his observations and I’ve picked up some new ideas too. One technique that I saw was to capture the heat from composting woodchips in a germination table setup for starting spring seedlings. I welcome you to join us for the Book Club on Saturday January 29, 2022 at 2:00pm to share your own thoughts on woodchips. As Read more […]
Let’s Talk Woodchips
On December 29, 2021 by adminI have a passion for woodchips. It all started a number of years back when I watched Paul Gautschi’s film Back to Eden. Paul was getting incredible results with his years of using woodchips. In the film you can see how biologically and fungally active his soil is and how, once established, it seemed a low maintenance method. (Here’s a link if you have not seen the film. I highly recommend it. FYI, the film is a bit religious so if that is not your preference, Read more […]
Gardening: It All Begins with the Seeds!
On February 25, 2019 by adminWhat’s so great about a seed? By nature a seed’s whole purpose is reproduction: it is programmed to create a plant with the best taste/ nutrition, color/ appearance, and fragrance as possible to attract pollinators and consumers who will, in turn, help disperse and fertilize the seeds to create more plants and seeds. What happens to a seed in nature, however, varies greatly from what often occurs in “civilized” farming. In nature, for example, vernalization (a period of cold) and dormancy Read more […]
What is The BFA?
On March 24, 2017 by adminHow do you explain to friends and family what the Bionutrient Food Association [BFA] is about? Or are you new to the Hartford-Area Chapter and not quite sure what we are about? Here is a great overview, thanks to the Southwest New Hampshire BFA Chapter. The BFA is an educational non-profit organization that teaches a set of principles and practices that support growers in building a high functioning biological system in the soil that grows their crops. We identify five Read more […]
A Gardener’s Year by Kris McCue
On March 9, 2017 by adminBelow is a calendar of what should be done, and when, during the gardener’s year. I found this version at Rodale’s Organic Life, written by Amy Goldman in 2010, which I am going to reproduce here as an edited version. I am adding my own comments [in brackets with BFA first]. Here is a site where you can type in your zip code and it will calculate your customized planting and seed starting dates: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/what-to-plant-now-zl0z0903zalt From Read more […]
Search for Seed Quality and “Seed Test Weight”
On January 6, 2016 by adminI’ve been on a quest for the highest quality vegetable garden seeds that I can find among the seed companies I have patronized over the years. As recommended by David Forster at the first BFA meeting I attended in January 2015, and Nigel Palmer at our September 2015 BFA meeting, and also Dan Kittredge, BFA Founder, on multiple occasions, I have been contacting numerous seed companies to inquire about their “seed test weights”. I have had email and phone conversations with the following: Baker Read more […]
Using a Refractometer & Sap Press
On June 29, 2015 by adminAt Thursday’s Chapter meeting at Flamig Farm, Dan Kittredge gave us a brief lesson on using a sap press and refractometer to measure food quality. It was towards the end of the meeting and was past daylight so a little difficult to see the numbers in the refractometer. I thought a review plus some links were in order. I would also like to encourage you to get your children and grandchildren involved in food quality testing. On Friday I had my 8- and almost 3-year old grandkids over and we Read more […]
