We are currently undertaking our annual website revision and updates.
Look for added information about upcoming educational events, new expanded CSA opportunities, apprenticeship opportunities and more… posted throughout February 2012.
Wed 16 Feb 2011
Teacher Training March 19th
Posted by admin under Events
No Comments
Starting and Sustaining School Gardens
Teacher Training Intensive
Saturday March 19th, 2011
9AM-3PM
Register Online
$15 includes materials and lunch
Friends Academy
1088 Tucker Road
Dartmouth, MA 02747
For School Garden Facilitators at Every Level of Experience
Beginning, Intermediate, and Experienced
Led by Steve Walach, Friends Academy & Derek Christianson, Brix Bounty Farm
Course Overview
The workshop will feature a variety of gardening basics: composting, seeding, transplanting, harvesting, plot design, planting schedules, mineral amendments, soil management and soil testing. Special attention will be paid to concerns germane to school gardeners, like administrative support, student involvement/management, curricular relevance, budgeting and what to do about summer vacation.
The first half of the morning schedule will consist of demonstrations, slide shows and discussions. Then, before lunch you will have an opportunity to get a jump on the growing season in a hands-on way. We will supply industry-standard trays and high-quality starting mixes plus seeds for a variety of spring crops. You will seed two, 98 cell, durable plastic trays and take them home with you – a practical way to get ready for your traditional mid-April transplanting. Or, you can seed one tray yourself and take a second tray back for your students.
In the afternoon, hands-on demonstrations of useful, kid-friendly tools and seeding/transplanting methods will be held in the Friends Academy garden, a site that last year produced more than four thousand pounds of vegetables for a nearby food pantry.
Professional Development Points will be available for attendees who complete the additional/required four hours of course-prescribed work, which can be easily accomplished by simply following through with the stated goals of starting or maintaining a school garden.
Wed 9 Feb 2011
In the News: Rising Food Prices
Posted by admin under Uncategorized
No Comments
We have yet to see the peak of reporting on world food prices for the year; as commodity markets seem poised to make some big runs in the coming months. I have little doubt that global food prices and the “coming crisis” will be a major news story for 2011.
I wanted to share with folks a couple of great minds contributing varying perspectives on the issue:
- Lester Brown, author and researcher, added an update to his book Plan B, with an essay The Great Food Crisis of 2011 on Jan 14, 2011
- Paul Krugman, economist & NY Times columnist, penned Droughts, Floods, and Food published on Feb 7, 2011.
- Eric Holt-Gimenez, executive director of Food First/Institute for Food & Development Policy joins William Black and Mark Schapiro in a radio program answering “How Does Speculation Affect the Economy”, January 2011.
The Financial Times offers a variety of more traditional economic analysis, in their in depth reporting, the Rising Cost of Food.
Finally, for those interested in consistent coverage of global agricultural commodity markets I would recommend visiting Nogger’s Blog: Grain Markets from a Different Perspective.
Wed 9 Feb 2011
CSA Reason #2 – Convenience
Posted by admin under Uncategorized
No Comments
10 Reasons Why a Brix Bounty Farm CSA Membership May Be Right For You
A Series Written and Published by Brix Bounty Farm – Winter & Spring 2010/2011
(“10 Reasons Why” Series Archive)
Reason #2 – Convenience – Farmer’s Markets Aren’t Always Convenient
by Derek Christianson
When we established our CSA in 2010 we set out to expand the opportunity for our community to access fresh produce. We decided on hosting CSA distributions on Monday and Friday to serve two slightly different populations: the folks who like to do their grocery shopping at the beginning of the week and cook throughout the workweek and the folks who find more time to focus on fresh vegetables and home prepared meals on the weekend.
By offering a window from 2PM-7PM for share pickup we aim to make CSA pickup convenient for a wide variety of community members and lifestyles, from the mom who picks their kids up from school in the afternoon and want to share the CSA experience with their children to the commuter who may work in Providence but live in Dartmouth and arrives just before 7 to collect their share.
One of the greatest advantages of CSA membership is that is provides you with access to the best quality produce no matter what time of day you pick up your share. On distribution day we harvest extra shares; so even if you are the last person to pickup you get to choose from a selection of veggies. In contrast some customers with busy schedules often find arriving at a farmers’ market just before it closes doesn’t provide access to the best variety.
Picking up your veggies each week can be a joyous task. We invite you to experience the farm; spend time in our new pick your own patch, visit with other members, and help build a community centered around nutritious food. Whether you live or work in our community; we hope you’ll consider adding a stop at Brix Bounty Farm to pick up your CSA share to your weekly schedule.
Fri 17 Dec 2010
CSA Reason #1 – Value
Posted by admin under CSA, Essay
No Comments
10 Reasons Why a Brix Bounty Farm CSA Membership May Be Right For You
A Series Written and Published by Brix Bounty Farm Throughout the Winter 2010/2011
(“10 Reasons Why” Series Archive)
Reason #1 – Value: More For Your Money Reducing Transportation Costs
by Steve Murray
One of the most talked about parts of CSA programs (Community Supported Agriculture) is the amount of vegetables shareholders (also known as members) get each season. Most people find that they receive more produce and of better quality then they could possibly buy for an equal exchange of money at a market. Essentially what this boils down to is Value – more for your money. A closer inspection of CSA programs, and more specific CSA programs run by biological farmers, bring about the reasons for this great Value.
We live in a world where the average piece of produce travels over a fifteen hundred miles from farm to grocery store. Just like anything else, it cost money for food to travel such distances, frequently called food miles. Generally speaking, CSA shareholders are located much closer to the source of produce, therefore drastically or totally eliminating transportation cost. Another added benefit of not having your produce shipped long distances is that they can be picked at peak quality and nutrition, last longer and taste much fresher. Most of the produce that you will be receiving through the Brix Bounty CSA will be picked the day of your pick-up, that’s fresh.
Another aspect that lowers the cost of our produce is the stability of our market. By joining our CSA you are providing us a stable market for our produce, reducing the need to find markets and ensuring that our financial well being. Having a home for our produce lets us focus on growing quality produce, increasing yields and passing the bounty on to the shareholders.
Yet another aspect that lowers the cost and increases the Value is that we are biological farmers. We focus on feeding the soil, correcting nutrient imbalances and applying sustainable soil nutrition. By focusing on creating a healthy environment we can reduce our long term fertilizer inputs and totally abstain from using herbicides, pesticides and fungicides. Those elements reduce our production costs, grow higher quality produce and increase the health of our environment.
For those focused on getting more for their money, CSA’s can really pay off. Not only do they provide fresh nutritious vegetables, they can typically provide them at very competitive prices.
Tue 30 Nov 2010
Article in Nov 29th Standard-Times
Posted by admin under Events
No Comments
In advance of Dan Kittredge’s presentation this evening at the Friends Academy, The Standard-Times printed an article on Monday written by Anika Clark focusing on the movement toward nutrient dense production. Check it out…
Farming movement goes back to the roots for a nutrient-rich crop
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101129/NEWS/11290304/-1/NEWS
Sat 27 Nov 2010
Roadside Stand Open Until Dec. 12th
Posted by admin under Uncategorized
No Comments
Thanks to the warm November and a promising 10-day forecast we have decided to keep the roadside stand open for a final 2 weeks in 2010. Sunday December 12th will be the final day for the stand until May 2011.
We’ll still have frost sweetened carrots, root crops (beets, leeks), winter squash, & fresh cold-hard greens (including a spicy greens mix which is terrific these days)…
Visit our Roadside Stand page for a full list of crops available during our final 2 weeks of the 2010 season.
Mon 22 Nov 2010
2011 CSA Shares Now Available
Posted by admin under CSA
No Comments
As we prepare to give thanks for a terrific 2010 harvest, we are set to open registration for our 2011 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. Exciting News for the 2011 season: includes 2 share sizes, more vibrant soil life, another vegetable grower on the team, and a wintertime CSA offering:
- In the weeks ahead we will continue our late fall fieldwork in the fields; applying biodynamic preparations (specialized versions of compost teas) and field fertility sprays. Each day brings new growth to our soils as we continue to build the vibrant soil life necessary to produce nutritious, nutrient dense crops.
- Steve Murray, formerly of Kettle Pond Farm, has joined the Brix Bounty Farm team for the 2011 season. Steve has been growing organic veggies on the Southcoast for the past 4 seasons and brings tremendous knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to our crew.
- We are just putting the finishing touches on next year’s crop plans and are looking forward to our 2nd season offering a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program. NEW FOR 2011 – Full & Partial Size CSA Shares Available. In addition to the CSA, we’ll once again join other growers at the Wing’s Court Market in downtown New Bedford, and our popular roadside stand will return in May 2011 and will be open through Thanksgiving. For more information on our 2011 CSA please visit our website.
We plan on offering a limited number of Wintertime CSA Shares beginning Nov 2011 through Feb 2012. Please note, wintertime shares will initially be limited to 2011 CSA members.
Sun 4 Jul 2010
Roots Down New Bedford July 12th
Posted by admin under Uncategorized
No Comments
Just Announced: Roots Down New Bedford – Tuesday July 12th at 4PM – a special Roots Down workshop at Brix Bounty Farm (858 Tucker Road) focusing on drip irrigation systems and foliar fertilizers, as well as a farm tour and general conversation about summertime crops. Roots Down New Bedford is a free organic gardening workshop series presented by Brix Bounty Farm. Come join in our conversations aimed to help make your garden more bountiful and nutritious.
Wed 28 Apr 2010
Brix… What’s That About?
Posted by admin under Food Systems, Uncategorized
No Comments
Here at Brix Bounty Farm; we are on a path toward growing high brix, nutrient dense crops. We feel that a focus on producing nutrient rich crops will result in better flavor and nutrition for the wide variety of vegetables we grow for our CSA and markets. In April, we presented a short webinar hosted and now archived by the Environmental Leadership Program:
Nutrient Dense Foods for Consumers, Gardeners, and Farmers from Environmental Leadership Program on Vimeo.
The focus on nutrient dense production has been around quite awhile, but it’s really picked up steam in the past few years. Each growing season, more farmers and gardeners are beginning to focus on the nutrient quality of their crops; perhaps we are on the verge of a tipping point toward broadscale interest in the relationship between soils, health, and nutrition. Dan Barber, the influential Chef at Stone Barns in New York, referenced refractometer use as a in his recent interview with the TED Blog:
While we support organic farming, we do so in a thoroughly modern context, employing the most innovative, up to date, and efficient technologies to move food forward. One example is the refractometer—a small, handheld device that measures Brix, the sugar content of a fruit or vegetable.
Looking for more information? Our Farm&Garden Resource Page has a variety of tip-sheets including one focusing on Growing Nutrient Dense Foods. Here are four links which will provide perspective on the concepts behind Nutrient Density:
- Allan Balliett, a biodynamic growers in West Virginia offers a nice blog entry focusing on refractometer use, posted by Hartke is Online in February 2010.
- Jon Frank from International Ag. Labs and High Brix Gardens shares his answer to What is Brix?
- The Real Food Campaign led by Dan Kittredge is a leader in the Nutrient Density movement in the Northeast and nationally.
- Michael Astera’s blog The New Agriculture provides a more nuanced discussion of the matter; and provides a lengthier introduction.