Join Mount Grace and the North Quabbin Trails Association on Saturday, August 15 from 9 – noon for a free Trail Walk at Muddy Pond, Mount Grace’s first project in Westminster. We will look at the different natural communities at the Pond, including the floating bog. The walk will showcase the new trail connecting to the Mid-State Trail from the west side of the Pond. For more information visit www.mountgrace.org.
With a focus on sustainable landscaping and high quality vegetable and flower gardens, M.L. Altobelli has done extensive research to find the best way to create productive land while effectively using surplus organic materials and scrap trees from her working farm. The solution she found is Hugelkulture (HK) beds which are versions of the European concept of mound culture – layering woody plant material, covering it with compost, manure or other organic material, and planting in the middle of it. M.L. has added the concept of Nutrient Dense Farming as a way of looking at food production that maximizes the health of the food produced and thereby increases the health of whoever eats it. This concept combines the tenet of organic, ecological, biological, and re-mineralization agriculture to produce the best quality food. With the help of a tractor and front end loader, participants in this hands-on workshop will learn how surplus materials from the farm along with some imported loam and minerals can produce maximum production level per developed square foot. The beds should be able to sustain at least two growing levels at a time – double cropping. Participants in this Ecological Landscaping Association workshop, to take place Saturday, October 1 from 9 – 1 (rain date Sunday, October 2) in Westminster, Massachusetts, will also get a tour of the HK beds from last year that are in full production. Bring your own lunch – drinks will be provided. $25 ELA members and M.L.’s Greenery in Motion clients, $35 for everyone else. Register online at www.ecolandscaping.org, or call 617-436-5838.
