Have you always wanted to keep a small flock of backyard chickens? This is your chance to learn the basics of backyard chicken care. Join us on May 3 at 10:30 am for a one-hour introductory online course in keeping chickens for eggs. Taught by Berkshire Botanical Garden Director of Education Bridgette Stone. BBG members $10, nonmembers $12. To register visit http://berkshirebotanical.org.
The Garden Club of Concord will sponsor a self-guided tour next Saturday, September 7, from 2 – 5. The four gardens on tour are free, open to the public, and all are within one mile of Concord Center. Please pick up tour tickets with garden locations from the Garden Club of Concord Table at the Farmers Market, Main Street, Concord from 10 – 2 on the day of the tour, or email concordgardentours@gmail.com. No pets or strollers, children welcome accompanied by adults, gardens not handicapped accessible.
The first garden is a three season organic garden, with veggies, herbs, chickens and bees. Using biodynamic and organic methods, the host’s vegetable and herb gardens provide much of the family’s produce starting in early spring through late fall. Tucked to one side of the property at the edge of a tiny brook is a chicken coop and yard, home to the family’s hens when they are not free ranging. The owner, an avid biodynamic beekeeper, has her hives placed on the opposite edge of the yard, overlooking the gardens.
Next, the raspberry batch garden which was created by a family who moved from Michigan to Massachusetts with 12 raspberry canes in tow. Nineteen years later there are now 11 varieties, some cross-pollinated by the owner, a recently retired molecular biologist who has made it his passion to grow and breed raspberries.
The chicken coop and kitchen potager is a little bit of country in the heart of Concord. The owners have created several gardens, including a small formal kitchen potager in the center of the yard, with herbs and vegetables planted within brick pathways. Soon the garden shed was transformed into a chicken coop and family and friends have been enjoying fresh organic eggs. A pergola, later attached to the building, adds an element of whimsy to the scene as well as providing a space to sit in the gardens and enjoy the charming antics of the hens.
Finally, meet the goats at a low maintenance garden! If this gardener could pass on one piece of wisdom it would be that anyone can garden and grow food. She and her partner have transformed their backyard into a low maintenance and highly productive garden of vegetables, herbs, and fruit, using a system of hoops and row covers over raised beds. In 2009, she fulfilled a long-time dream of raising goats.
Chickens are a wonderful addition to any garden; they provide eggs, wonderful fertilizer, and lots of company! Learn the ins and outs of housing, feeding and tending chickens, and meet a couple of the ladies (hens). The Massachusetts Horticultural Society continues its Thursdays at the Hort series at Elm Bank with Gretel Anspach, Lifetime Master Gardener and a Trustee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, on Thursday, May 2, from 7 – 8:30.
Cost – $10.00 for MHS members, $15.00 for non-members. Register on line at www.masshort.org.
Spend a day on Saturday, March 23 at Berkshire Botanical Garden considering the possibilities of adding a backyard chicken coop, a flock of sheep, a milking goat or cow or a flock of fowl. Join educator Meg Taylor and farmer Dominic Palumbo for one or more lectures on keeping farm animals in the backyard. Learn about the advantages of taking control of your food supply (milk, eggs and meat) managing your own manure pile and adding a four-legged lawn mower. Each program will cover topics including nutrition, shelter/coops, health, egg/meat/wool production, breeds, predators, regulations, general care and helpful resources. Attend one or more lecture and join the backyard farming movement.
9:30 am – Chickens in the Backyard – Meg Taylor
Calling all gardeners to join the backyard chicken movement! This beginners’ workshop will inspire you and give you the skills to start a backyard flock of your own.
11 am – The Family Flock of Sheep – Meg Taylor
Tired of spending your weekend morning mowing the back acre? There is a quieter and more attractive solution—sheep! Sheep are low maintenance, live on grass, can be surprisingly hardy and produce meat, milk and fiber. We’ll discuss important considerations before acquiring sheep, such as basic care, best breeds for the small farm, predator control, seasonal tasks, uses for wool and pasture management.
12:30 pm – Fowl A Field: Turkeys, Ducks and Geese – Dominic Palumbo
Consider a range of fowl that can be successfully raised in a backyard setting. Used for their eggs, meat or simply for insect control, these entertaining creatures add a lively atmosphere to the backyard farmstead.
2 pm – The Milking Family Cow or Goat – Dominic Palumbo
Possibly the most rewarding farm animal is the dairy animal (cow or goat). These animals provide organic, pasture-grown dairy for your family in addition to meat, great manure and some pasture control. This talk will introduce you to the basic information needed to consider one of these four-legged friends on the farm.
Meg Taylor is the Founder and Co-Director of The Farm Education Collaborative, an organization that designs and delivers farm-based education programs for all ages in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. Meg has worked in the fields of environmental and agricultural education since 1994 and has worked as a farm educator for Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm and at Shelburne Farms in Vermont. Meg and her family garden and raise fancy chickens, Shetland sheep and dairy goats at their home, North Wind Farm, in Williamsburg, MA.
Dominic Palumbo is a farmer and owner of Moon In The Pond, a small farm in Sheffield, MA. Moon In The Pond maintains a strong focus on the elegant integration of history (raising heritage breed livestock and heirloom vegetables, using select traditional farming methods) and contemporary ‘technology.’
$75 for BBG members, $90 for non members. Bring a bag lunch. Sign up at www.berkshirebotanical.org.
You don’t have to be a farmer to keep chickens. Terry Golson has more than sixteen years of experience keeping a small flock of laying hens in her backyard that supply eggs for her family’s table. In this slideshow and lecture, Terry will share everything you need to know to get started with your own chickens. She’ll cover selecting the right breeds, housing, feed, and how to keep the hens healthy, in this Northeast Organic Farming Association class to be held Wednesday, October 3 from 6:30 – 8:30 at Groundwork Somerville, 21 Properzi Way, Somerville. Terry will talk about chicken behavior, predators, and daily chores. She’ll show you how she composts the manure and makes use of it in her garden. Terry speaks and writes frequently on this topic. You can find out more about her and her hens at http://www.HenCam.com. $25 for NOFA members, $30 for non-members. If you have any questions contact Drew Love at drew@nofamass.org. To register on line, visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/259982. Photo of Polish hen from www.oregonlive.com.
If you have ever wondered about raising backyard poultry, this is the class for you! Should you raise a couple of egg-producing bantam chickens because of space limitations? Or is a grazing guard goose really what you’re looking for? What about meat birds? We will discuss types of birds/breeds, purpose, health, and logistics all specific to your unique situation. We will even discuss proper coop/shelter designs for your future feathered friends. This Cambridge Center for Adult Education class is designed to give you the information and confidence you need to get ready for happy and healthy spring chicks! Three Wednesdays beginning September 26, 6 – 7, at 56 Brattle Street, Cambridge. Limited to 10. $78 fee, registration on line at www.ccae.org.
NOFA/Mass presents its first annual Statewide Backyard Poultry Workshop Day. On July 10, there will workshops in every region of the state to inform you on how to raise chickens for eggs and/or meat right in your own backyard. NOFA/Mass is a community of farmers and educators striving for greater self-reliance and freedom in feeding our families and communities. This is a great opportunity to learn skills needed to shape your food future. These workshops are intended to meet the resurgence of interest in backyard poultry. They all take place in the field of actual chicken raising operations. Some are commercial scale and other are just for home-use. They are all led by experienced poultry raisers who also know how to teach. Each workshop presenter will explain and demonstrate some key steps that can empower you to start raising poultry or improve what you are already doing. Please bring your questions. The workshops take place outdoors. Be prepared for sunny or for rainy weather. Wear proper footwear for being in the field. Bring a water bottle & protect skin from the sun. You may also want to bring a camera and a notebook. To prevent the possible spread of disease from farm to farm, host farms may ask you to do a foot bath if you currently own poultry. Registration for these workshops goes from $30-$40. NOFA membership discount: $5. Early registration (by June 26) discount: $5. Contact: Ben Grosscup, 413-658-5374. By email, ben.grosscup@nofamass.org; put “Backyard Poultry” in subject. For more information, log on to www.nofamass.org/programs/extensionevents/backyardpoultry.php.
Come to Natick Community Organic Farm on Saturday, May 15, from 10 – 3, rain or shine, for an old fashioned fair for the whole family, and seedling sale. Enjoy live music by an all-youth line up of talented local performers, hayrides, nature based crafts, petting pasture, three-legged races, and other old fashioned games. There will be wind-up boat races, talks, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the day on keeping chickens in your own backyard, organic bee keeping, composting with worms, and much more. All this good food and outdoor fun will cost Natick Community GTarden members $6 for adults, $5 for children over 3, and nothing for children under 3. Prices for non members are equally modest: $10, $5 and $3, respectively. For more information and directions call 508-655-2204, or email ncorganic@verizon.net.
Looking to pick your own blueberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, pumpkins, vegetables, etc.? Log on to www.pickyourown.org and search for a farm near you. There are Christmas tree farms, corn mazes, picking tips, easy canning directions, canning supply locators, equipment guides, and recipes. Make strawberry jam, blueberry pie, ice cream – the site is updated daily. Readers post comments. Links give directions, and information on whether the farm is organic, whether credit cards are accepted, and hints for dressing for the occasion. Some farms offer eggs and chickens as well. You can search by product or location. Enjoy the harvest experience and meet your farming neighbors. The website provides a page for every state in the US and six other country pages, plus lists of fall festivals, Halloween festivals, and special events.
