2019 December Issue
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Gratitude
As we all strive to create a vibrant future in which our food, medicine, and necessities are crafted in harmony with-- instead of at the expense of-- our living environment, we look to those in our communities who carry the skills and knowledge to help us on this path. It is with deep gratitude that we turn to our Winter Conference presenters, who serve in so many ways: as watchdogs leading the charge against Monsanto/Bayer; as experienced farmers with intimate knowledge of soil, water, and the changing seasons; as medicine-makers and medicine growers; as foragers and wild plant knowledge-keepers; as scientists and change-makers; as landscape planners and nut growers and grass growers and tree planters; as tenders of our soils and our souls. We are grateful for the burgeoning understanding of the connections between the soil and the gut, between the earth and the atmosphere, and for our collective work restoring the health our families, ecosystems, and ourselves.
No matter how early I think about adding fall amendments, this job always falls to the bottom of the to-do list below some bigger priorities. Harvesting crops remaining in the field prior to frost, bagging up all the row covers, and removing all the poles and trellises, for example, all take precedence over the spreading of fall amendments.
Fortunately, this year I sent my soil test into Logan Labs in October, so after receiving the results, all I had to do was calculate the amendments I needed to order, order them, pick them up, and broadcast them on the fields. If you have a Logan Labs soil test result, NOFA/Mass will analyze it and give you soil recommendations. You can see the details of that program here or check out this article to calculate your own amendment needs. You can order a variety of soil amendments through the annual NOFA Bulk Order.
Soil test results are the key to planning your soil fertility program. Adding the right amendments in the right amount can dramatically improve your plants’ health and your garden’s productivity. But once you have your test results, it can sometimes feel daunting to figure out how much of a particular amendment you need to add to get to your goal--and I say that as a former math and chemistry teacher!
In this article, I will try to greatly simplify that process with a few conversion factors and formulas. With these, you should be able to use your results to easily figure out what you need to order—from the NOFA bulk order or elsewhere—and apply your findings to fine tune your garden’s fertility.
Healthy Soils and Pollinator bills move after packed public hearing, farmer input needed!
We have a lot to be thankful for this month. In this month’s Policy Update:
1. The Healthy Soils Bill and the Pollinator Protection Act have been passed by the Agriculture committee!
2. Advocates filled the hearing room on Nov. 12th to “Stop Pesticides!”
3. Are you a farmer? We need to hear from you on climate action and land access.
Join NOFA/Mass, Toxics Action Center, Regeneration Massachusetts and Carey Gillam on Friday, January 10, 2020 for a Full-Day Activist Training on Glyphosate Reduction at Worcester State University.
Have you heard the success stories of entire communities banning the use Glyphosate on their public lands? The list is surprisingly long: Seattle, WA, Miami, FL, Austin, TX, and towns across California are just the beginning of a powerful trend of public empowerment. Closer to home, Warwick, MA has a ban in effect and other Massachusetts towns such as Falmouth, Chatham, Wellesley, and Eastham have strong restrictions in place.
For those of us who aspire to make sustainable and regenerative consumption decisions, the holidays are an Olympic-level event! With so many gifts, decorations, and food items to buy in so little time, it can seem overwhelming to think carefully about each purchase.
If your family buys a Christmas tree, you might want to give it just as much thought as your other holiday purchases. According to Beyond Pesticides, “The pesticides that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registers for use on conventionally grown Christmas trees are linked to numerous adverse health effects, including cancer, hormonal disruption, neurotoxicity, organ damage, reproductive/birth defects, asthma, and more.” And less than 1% of the Christmas tree market in the United States is organic, so it can be very hard to find a tree you can be sure was grown without harmful sprays. Also, when you consider that the leading Christmas tree producing states are Oregon, North Carolina, Washington and Michigan, you might start to question the impact of your tree’s ecological and carbon footprint.
We Need Your Recommendations
The NOFA Summer Conference Request for Proposals is open until 12/31/19 and we hope you’ll recommend your favorite farmer to present at next summer’s conference. Send us your recommendations or forward the link to them so we can highlight their work next year. See below for specific needs we have and read on for more information.
The Current State of Affairs
As much as we would prefer not to admit it, here we are, staring down 2020. Perhaps some of us are facing it with trepidation? Nay, most of us? An unstable political climate is reflected in an unstable environmental climate, and every day it seems our world is at a greater risk than yesterday. How can we present a path for mitigating destabilization across the board? Fundamentally, every organism on this planet eats to live. And humans, well, we all live to eat.
We are so pleased to announce that we have hired Andrew Laurion, urban farming entrepreneur, for the position of NOFA/Mass Bioremediation Project Coordinator!
Andrew brings to this position his deep connections with the urban farming community in Springfield, a passion for regenerative urban gardening and small-scale farming, an entrepreneurial spirit (he runs his own urban farming and edible landscaping company called Urban Resources * Garden Economics) and enthusiasm for the cause of creating healthy soil. Through his work at URGE and through his connections with Gardening the Community and NOFA/Mass Food Access programs, Andrew has hosted workshops at gardens across Springfield teaching youth about soil science, building raised beds, composting, and other regenerative agriculture topics.
Accreditation Course in Organic Landcare, Amherst, MA, January 6-9, 2020
As we go about our daily lives, we might not consider the myriad functions of the landscapes we inhabit. The way that the landscapes that surround us are managed have an impact on our wellbeing and the function of our larger environment. How a landscape is managed impacts our air and water quality, our exposure to systemic toxins, the insect, bird, and other wildlife the landscape supports, the amount of water the landscape absorbs and the amount of carbon that the landscape emits or absorbs and stores, along with many other functions.
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NOFA Summer Conference
NOFA Summer Conference with keynote Tim LaSalle
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Organic Certification
We can help with your Organic Certification
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Raw Milk Network
Buy fresh, unpasteurized milk from a local farm.
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Soil Carbon Restoration
Read our Soil Carbon Restoration white paper
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Soil Technical Assistance Program
Help with soil balancing