After many nights of temperatures in the 20s, the tender vegetable plants have been killed, and only the hardy ones like collards and kale are staying green. It’s always poignant to watch the season change. On one hand we'll miss the variety of fresh veggies from the garden, while on the other it is nice to begin to feel a slowing down. Besides, as of November 15th we are still eating tomatoes and peppers that have slowly been ripening in the house. We harvested any green tomatoes that showed a hint of color change, just before the first killing frost. They have stayed spread out in the basement and, as they deepen in color, they are brought upstairs to the south-facing windowsill, where they finish ripening. Of course, the tomato flavor is not quite as good as the ones sun-kissed, fresh from the plant, but they are so much better than those shipped in from far away. Sometime in early December, when these run out, we'll start eating those we've preserved through freezing, dehydrating or canning.

Masoud Hashemi, UMass Extension Professor, invited NOFA/Mass to send two representatives to participate in a recent meeting of the Northeast Cover Crop Council (NECCC) meeting. The event, held November 16-17 in Beltsville, MD, took place at the USDA National Agriculture Library and was attended by 36 folks representing land grants, extension, NRCS, members of the industry, farmers and non-profit farming organizations. Noah Kellerman, NOFA/Mass board member and farmer at Alprilla Farm in Essex, and I attended this inspiring event.

On January 31, 2017, come join us for an exciting, all day conference for anyone who is interested in tackling climate change, restoring the land, and building a future of resilient and biodiverse [N1] landscapes. Landscape Heroes: Carbon, Water and Biodiversity is a conference for land managers, farmers, homeowners, researchers, and anyone who is interested in making a difference right in their own backyard.

The story of carbon is complex and yet also incredibly simple. Every living thing is made of carbon. Carbon is in the air and the soil. It is in our oceans and forests. It makes up earthworms, phytoplankton, fungi, plants, and humans, too. For the past several years, we have heard about the imbalances of the carbon cycle and its role in climate change, especially with regard to the impacts of our excessive use of fossil fuels in the last few. But there is another side to the carbon story – a story that includes the dramatic interplay of soil, water and biodiversity. It’s a story you don’t want to miss!

This article is part of a series that I have been doing on reduced tillage, no tillage, and other methods that focus on the importance of carbon in agricultural soils, particularly with annual vegetable growers. I interviewed Brittany Overshiner, who is our NOFA/Mass Beginning Farmer Program Coordinator, and a now nine-year Beginning Farmer herself, who has had comprehensive experience working on a number of vegetable farms in Eastern Massachusetts.