Boston Flora

Tag: goats

  • Saturday, September 7, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Garden Club of Concord Garden Tour

    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.

    http://cf.ltkcdn.net/garden/images/std/110386-400x266-When_to_Move_Raspberry_Plants.jpg

  • Saturday, March 23, 9:30 am – 3:30 pm – Making a Farmstead

    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.