Newsletter
Welcome to the NOFA/Mass newsletter series
Each week we publish original articles on the topics we care about most.
Read about the latest policy issues affecting Massachusetts farmers and consumers in our “Policy and Advocacy” newsletter, get insider farming and gardening tips from expert growers in our “Be a Better Grower” newsletter, learn to do it yourself, from food preservation to building fences, in our “Practical Self-Sufficiency” newsletter and see how our community is working to improve the food system in our “Food Justice” newsletter.
2022 November
Lard and Butter Pie Crust
Christy Bassett2022-11-28T15:35:20-05:00November 24th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: November 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Christy Bassett, Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Making a pie is a special occasion for me, since we don’t typically eat a lot of refined flour or sweets. But once in a [...]
How to Minimize Irrigation Even in the Hottest of Summers
Christy Bassett2022-11-09T15:45:57-05:00November 9th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, November 2022|
By Christine R. Nelson, NOFA/Mass Intern Photo credit: Many Hands Organic Farm The height of the 2022 growing season will be remembered for the undesirable combination of heat and drought, with all areas [...]
Vote Climate, Vote Justice
Christy Bassett2022-11-03T14:56:15-04:00November 3rd, 2022|Categories: Action Alert, Newsletters|Tags: November 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director The following is an excerpt from our 2022 NOFA/Mass Climate Action Challenge educational content which is especially relevant as we approach election and voting day next week. To read [...]
2022 October
Bringing Together Farming Knowledge From Around the World with All Farmers
Christy Bassett2022-10-27T16:35:27-04:00October 27th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, October 2022|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Director Farmers learn to assess the health of their soil using a variety of observation techniques. All Farmers, an organization that supports refugee and immigrant farmers [...]
Growing Vegetables in a Perennial Clover Living Mulch: Part 2
Christy Bassett2022-10-12T19:56:31-04:00October 12th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, October 2022|
Sawyer Farm's Tillage Reduction Journey By Lincoln Fishman, Farmer at Sawyer Farm Lincoln Fishman headed to the fields. Photo credit: Akos Szilvasi. In the spring of 2020, we decided to do a small [...]
The Future of Solar in Massachusetts
Christy Bassett2022-10-07T11:51:30-04:00October 7th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: October 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
Policy Update October 2022 Farmers (and everyone): please weigh in on the future of solar in Massachusetts, letter to the next Governor Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director Hopefully everyone reading this is aware that we [...]
2022 September
Growing Vegetables in a Perennial Clover Living Mulch: Part 1
Christy Bassett2022-10-12T19:58:24-04:00September 29th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, September 2022|
Sawyer Farm's Tillage Reduction Journey By Lincoln Fishman, Farmer at Sawyer Farm Lincoln Fishman at Sawyer Farm. Photo credit: Akos Szilvasi. Sawyer Farm is located in the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. We've [...]
Soil Health and Herbal Medicine at Tapley Garden
Christy Bassett2022-09-22T14:42:26-04:00September 22nd, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, Food Justice, September 2022|
By Sis. Anna Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Director Left to right: Ruben Parrilla, Agnes Frias, Sis. Dora Miller, Sis. Anna Gilbert-Muhammad at Soil Health Day at Tapley Garden, August 30, 2022. In August [...]
Kombucha Brewing Part III: The Second Fermentation
Christy Bassett2022-09-16T14:22:52-04:00September 16th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Practical Self Sufficiency, September 2022|
By Ophelia Jackson, NOFA/Mass Intern Ingredients, left to right: ginger/kombucha puree, raspberry hibiscus preserves, spicy honey, Tazo lemon strawberry tea, Celestial Peppermint and Raspberry Zinger teas. Photo credit: Ophelia Jackson At once [...]
MA Legislative Recap
Christy Bassett2022-09-09T15:19:02-04:00September 9th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Policy, Policy & Advocacy, September 2022|
MA Legislative Recap: Progress toward Ecological Integrity and Justice By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director The 2021-22 Massachusetts formal legislative session ended over the summer. While many of our priority policies will need to [...]
2022 August
Kombucha Brewing Part II: The First Fermentation
Christy Bassett2022-09-16T14:25:12-04:00August 18th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Ophelia Jackson, NOFA/Mass Intern To the uninitiated, a SCOBY can certainly look a little strange—unappetizing, alien, grotesque even, belonging more in a Hogwarts classroom than their own home kitchen. Despite its appearance, though, [...]
Sharing the Pursuit of Biological Soil
Christy Bassett2022-08-11T17:39:44-04:00August 11th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2022, Be a Better Grower|
By Christine R. Nelson, NOFA/Mass Intern SEMAP's July 2022 event at Weatherlow Farms. Photo credit Christine R. Nelson. Growers interested in learning more about soil health converged at the beautiful Weatherlow Farms [...]
2022 Formal Session Ends
Christy Bassett2022-08-04T13:23:57-04:00August 4th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
August 2022 Policy Update By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director Formal session ends, hope remains for “non-controversial” priority bills As we head to Summer Conference, we’re still waiting for the proverbial dust to settle [...]
2022 July
Kombucha, a Love Story
Christy Bassett2022-09-16T14:37:05-04:00July 14th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: July 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Ophelia Jackson Listen to a recording of this article by the author Since I started brewing kombucha over three years ago, what began as a simple project in my mom’s [...]
Microbes, Microscopes, Soil Health and Food Access
Christy Bassett2022-07-29T14:58:02-04:00July 29th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, Food Justice, July 2022|
Youth Agricultural Scientists Bridge Soil Science with Food Security John Duke speaks to a crowd of youth agricultural scientists in Springfield, MA in July, 2022. By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Director [...]
Indigo as a Dyecrop in the Northeast
Christy Bassett2022-07-21T15:36:04-04:00July 21st, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, July 2022|
By Ophelia Jackson Yoko Takemura with fresh indigo plants. Photo credit: Assawaga Farm Indigo is the blue of Picasso’s Beggar and Child—of dreams, jeans, a peacock’s cheek—the blue of a black-furred creature [...]
3 weeks left to prioritize living landscapes and food justice: Call your Legislators!
Christy Bassett2022-07-07T13:55:10-04:00July 7th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: July 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director Watch a personal video message from Policy Director Marty Dagoberto regarding this month's policy newsletter article. Dear NOFA/Mass friends, It’s been quite a summer/year/decade so [...]
2022 June
Cooking With Mari: Making Sofrito with Tapley Court Apartments Resident Chef
Christy Bassett2022-06-30T17:57:35-04:00June 30th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, June 2022|
By Sister Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Director The Summer season for the Youth Agricultural Scientists at Tapley Garden started with a cooking demonstration from local chef Marylis. Marylis is a resident of the [...]
Late Season Cilantro
Christy Bassett2022-06-17T06:39:47-04:00June 17th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: June 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Ophelia Jackson, Gardener and NOFA/Mass Intern Listen to a recording of this article by the author Flowering cilantro Summer in the garden is a heady season, a season [...]
Practical Nitrogen Management on the Vegetable Farm
Christy Bassett2022-06-08T18:29:15-04:00June 8th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, June 2022|
By Noah Courser-Kellerman, Farmer at Alprilla Farm First published in the July 2019 edition of the NOFA/Mass newsletter. Reprinted with the author's permission June 2022. Roller crimper, then coulter with an old fertilizer [...]
Promoting Racial Equity in Agriculture Through Policy
Christy Bassett2022-06-01T18:27:02-04:00June 1st, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: June 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
By Nichole Catsos From the land theft and genocide of Indigenous peoples, through the enslavement of Black people, to the current labor exploitation of migrant workers in the United States, our food system has [...]
2022 May
Simple Edible Spring Flower Recipes
Christy Bassett2022-06-14T18:32:58-04:00May 20th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: May 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Christy Bassett, Homesteader Listen to this article read by the author here: The arrival of warm weather in May brings out blooms in full force. If you’re just waking [...]
Reflections on the Recent Tragedy in Buffalo, NY
Christy Bassett2022-05-27T14:50:52-04:00May 27th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, May 2022|
NOFA/Mass stands in solidarity with the families of the people affected by the recent hate crimes. We also recognize and support the work of the front line organizers holding their communities and experiencing the [...]
How Do Plants Get Their Nutrition?
Christy Bassett2022-05-11T15:15:40-04:00May 11th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, May 2022|
By Ruben Parrilla, NOFA/Mass Soil Technical Coordinator Plants, when considering their “diet”, are our counterpart foodies. They like to have a diverse range of nutrition choices depending on their stage of growth and the [...]
Earth Day Reflection, Call to Action
Christy Bassett2022-05-05T13:49:09-04:00May 5th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: May 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
May 2022 Policy & Advocacy update By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director *Before you read our feature article below, “Earth Day Reflections, Call to Action,” here are a few brief updates Time to start [...]
2022 April
Working with Stinging Nettles and Wild Violets
Christy Bassett2022-04-29T14:36:41-04:00April 29th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2022, Food Justice|
Kitchen Medicine with the Youth Leaders of Home City Housing, Part 2 By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Director Youth wild harvesting nettle and wild violets in Springfield, MA, April 2022. Nathalie [...]
The Misnomer of the Commons (Part 2)
Christy Bassett2022-04-29T14:18:13-04:00April 29th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2022, Food Justice|
The History of Common Land in the Commonwealth By Grayce Rose, recent graduate of the Farm and Food Systems program at Greenfield Community College and NOFA/Mass Intern. Land that had been seized for use as [...]
Thoughts On Mending
Christy Bassett2022-04-20T21:46:54-04:00April 20th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Andrea R. Caluori, Artist & Farmer Photo credit: Andrea Caluori I grew up in the Bronx, New York on Bainbridge Avenue, in a small neighborhood closeby to a vibrant street full [...]
A Simple, Strong, Convenient Pea Trellis
Christy Bassett2022-04-14T10:44:31-04:00April 14th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2022, Be a Better Grower|
Snap peas growing against a remesh trellis By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm Peas need to climb, and do best with a sturdy trellis they can cling to. There are several choices [...]
Budget Season! Help Shape the Future of our Food System
Christy Bassett2022-04-13T15:28:32-04:00April 6th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
Briefing for food system advocates on April 11, 2022 The state legislature has been focused on the state’s operating budget (FY23) and the House Ways and Means Committee is expected to release its version [...]
2022 March
Your Pantry as Your Medicine Cabinet
Christy Bassett2022-03-30T16:26:03-04:00March 30th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, March 2022|
Kitchen medicine with the youth and residents of the Bay Street Neighborhood Council By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Director Nathalie Fischer-Rodríguez of the People’s Medicine Project speaks to the youth leaders of [...]
Simple Steps to Sprout Mung Beans
Christy Bassett2022-03-23T18:08:10-04:00March 23rd, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: March 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
Rice pasta with caramelized onions, chickpeas, curry, cultured vegetables, sprouted mung beans, served on a bed of arugula. Photo credit: Priscila Espinosa. by Priscila Espinosa @mysproutchange Why I Love Sprouted Mung Beans [...]
Caring for Your Soil: Understanding Soil Aggregation and Compaction
Christy Bassett2022-03-16T16:26:50-04:00March 16th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, March 2022|
By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager Ruben Parilla, NOFA/Mass Soil Tech Coordinator, evaluating soil aggregation at Assawaga Farm (CT). Photo credit: Monique Bosch I’m frequently telling my kids, “you get what [...]
Will our Commonwealth support protections against Chemical Trespass?
Marty Dagoberto2022-03-10T13:46:54-05:00March 10th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: March 2022, Policy & Advocacy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director Last month, we reported with excitement and gratitude that the state’s legislative committee on the Environment and Agriculture approved several pesticide reform measures. We’d like to focus this [...]
2022 February
February Policy Newsletter – Priority bills advance, Healthy Soils as Infrastructure, and more
Marty Dagoberto2022-05-02T15:41:00-04:00February 9th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2022, Policy & Advocacy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director In this month’s NOFA/Mass Policy Newsletter… NOFA/Mass Priority Bills Advance from Committee! Several pieces of NOFA/Mass priority legislation were advanced in the Massachusetts Legislature ahead of the February [...]
Book Review: Urban Ecosystem Justice by Scott Kellogg
Christy Bassett2022-02-24T13:09:14-05:00February 24th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2022, Food Justice|
By Mike Rice, NOFA/Mass Development Director. A decade ago Mike interned with the Radix Center, where he first met Scott Kellogg and spent many mornings hauling food scraps for Radix’s Community Compost Initiative in [...]
Sugarin’ on the Homestead
Christy Bassett2022-02-16T14:58:03-05:00February 16th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
Sugarin’ on the Homestead* *Originally written and shared in the February 2012 issue of the NOFA/Mass newsletter. Revised and reprinted February 2022. Artwork by Jocelyn Langer By Sharon Gensler, Homesteader The optimist [...]
Planning Your Garden
Christy Bassett2022-02-02T19:45:04-05:00February 2nd, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, February 2022, gardening|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm, Sherborn, MA Now is the time to plan what will go where No matter what size your garden is, it is helpful to have a plan for what [...]
2022 January
Herbs for Seasonal Affective Disorder
Christy Bassett2022-01-27T15:42:49-05:00January 19th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: January 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
St. Johnswort flowers. Photo credit: Hannah Jacobson-Hardy By Hannah Jacobson-Hardy, Herbalist at Sweet Birch Herbals *Reprinted with permission from sweetbirchherbals.com The winter is long in New England and many people suffer from [...]
The Misnomer of the Commons: The History of Common Land in the Commonwealth
Christy Bassett2022-01-27T08:09:08-05:00January 27th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, January 2022|
By Grayce Rose, recent graduate of the Farm and Food Systems program at Greenfield Community College and NOFA/Mass Intern. Amidst the modern functions of life in present day Massachusetts, there are symbolic structural and [...]
Strategies for Increasing Production Resiliency
Christy Bassett2022-01-13T11:12:37-05:00January 12th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, January 2022, Winter Conference|
Winter Conference Workshops for Growers By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager Given the increased frequency of climate-related severe weather events and pandemic-related food chain and supply issues, we believe the need for [...]
The Farmer’s Voice in the Climate Crisis
Christy Bassett2022-01-05T16:49:40-05:00January 5th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Climate, Farming, January 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
How Climate Challenges Expose the Need for Regenerative Agricultural Practices By Kathleen Ernsting, Farmer and NOFA/Mass Journalism Intern It goes without saying that agriculture in the Northeast is being affected by climate change, and Massachusetts [...]