Intro to Biointensive Growing at New Eden Collaborative of First Parish Church
Saturday May 22, 10 AM –Noon Preregistration: $16, fee $18 Day of event.
This workshop will introduce you to a system of gardening that can produce
high yields in small areas using a method that draws on French Intensive
systems and a bit of Biodynamic methods.

This hands-on experience will teach you:
How to prepare a planting bed
What nutrients to add to the soil from local sources
Heirloom vegetables choices
Companion plants for small plots
We will also do an earthworm census and a simple test to determine soil
composition.

Youths from age 12 are welcome with an adult companion.

Call Charlotte Dion for confirmation- (978)  290-2225

Due to the nasty weather this weekend, Charlotte Dion’s Double Dig and Sheet Mulch workshops are rescheduled to Saturday, May 1st. Now those who could not make it this weekend will have a chance to participate in these exciting workshops on the “no till”  approach to organic gardening. During this workshop participants will perform a simple soil test for nutrients and  another test for soil composition. Join in on  an earthworm census  which will provide lots of insight into the basic soil health.

The girls are growing up and boy are they cute.  As the guests of honor at the work party they were a huge attraction.  The time is coming for us to distribute shares of the chicken co-op.  Please go to our Poultry page above  and download our chicken covenant if you are interested.

Also join us for some chicken wisdom on April 20th, when we welcome John Dodge of Dodge’s Agway in New Hampshire, for a Raising Poultry workshop in Holton Hall from 6:30-8:30.  (This workshop will be free of charge.)   Folks who have filled out the covenant should come at 6:00pm.  You are required to attend this meeting (or have someone responsible go in your honor) if you wish to be considered for the co-op.  After the lecture we will have a lottery drawing to see what lucky people get to have a share this first year!

For now please enjoy the latest pictures of the girls.  I am sorry I didn’t get these up sooner!

Join us as we celebrate our 2nd year of the New Eden Collaborative and the New Eden Community Organic Garden on Sunday, September 27, 11- 3 pm. In the spirit of mutual support and community, First Parish Church, Newbury and our New Eden Collaborative will be partnering with Historic New England’s Spencer, Pierce, Little Farm, The Farmer’s Market, and Transition Newburyport (an environmental group dedicated to creating a self-sufficient Newburyport) in presenting the Good Earth Harvest Weekend: A celebration of local food, gardening and farming, past, present and future.

Here are the weekend events:
Friday night, Famer’s Market – Local Farm and Restaurant Dinner at Spencer, Pierce, Little Farm

Saturday 11 am-4pm, Historic New England’s Family Harvest Festival at Spencer, Pierce, Little Farm

Saturday 7pm, Transition Newburyport’s “Envisioning Newburyport’s Future” featuring a screening of the documentary “A Farm for the Future”. at First Parish Church, Newbury

Sunday 10am-2pm, Farmer’s Market at the Tannery in Newburyport

Sunday 11am-3pm,  2 nd Annual New Eden Harvest Celebration at First Parish Church, Newbury (20 High Road, Newbury)

Our New Eden Harvest Celebration, is  an educational “fun raiser” – cultivating community and getting people excited about growing and preserving their own food in earth friendly ways.

Children’s Games and Crafts: Bouncy House plus other fun kiddy games and crafts.

The New Eden Gardens and environs will be the site of exciting Workshops/lectures of fruit drying, creating your own root cellar, Permaculture, butterfly gardens, composting, organic pest and disease control, and extending the growing season. There will also be tours of the New Eden Community Gardens,and our historic church and cemetery.The full roster of education events and time to follow soon.

Contests-Friendly competitions for home gardeners and cooks:

Best: Dill Pickle, Sweet Pickle, Berry Jam, Grape Jelly, Apple Sauce, Apple pie, Tomato sauce, BBQ Sauce,Salsa, Chutney, Fruit Butter.

For the Gardeners-Best Tasting Organic Tomato, Best Tasting Organic Cucumber, Most Astounding Organic Squash/Pumpkin, Sweetest Organic Carrot, Best Beet, Most Beautiful Heirloom Vegetable, Most Bizarre Root Vegetable.

Prius Raffle Drawing: There are still tickets for the 2010 Prius raffle. They are $100 each but only a maximum of 300 tickets will be sold. So if you are feeling lucky…

First Parish is famous for it’s food and will have lots of yummy food to sell at the fair.

Listen to  Music from our Home Grown Musicians and Let’s Dance.

Wondering what to do with all those great fruit and veggies from your garden, farmers’ market or CSA?  How about preserving those fleeting moments of Summer Sunshine through home food preservation?

New Eden Collaborative of First Parish Church is pleased to announce their first sustainable cooking series.  The series feature demonstrations on most forms of traditional food preservation and are timed to peak harvest times of the featured fruit or vegetable.

Each class taught by an award winning food preserver and will demonstrate the stages of food preservation and each participant can take home a jar of the results.  The cost for each class is $15 . The classes run from 6:45 – 8:30 and will be held at the First Parish Church, of Newbury kitchen at 20 High Road, Newbury. The first class is on July 29 and will run every other Wednesday going through October 7. Class limit is 10, Reservations are required and are excepted till the Momday before class. Payment is due at the beginning of class. To reserve your spot, contact Erin Stack at erinstack@comcast.net or call 978-499-0096

Below are the class listings, and in the true spirit of the New Eden Collaborative, the classes are taught by members of organizations that are some of our favorite collaborators.

July 29:             Jam, Jellies, Preserves, and Conserves: Participants will make Blueberry Jam. Taught by Tory Dolben (NSPG – North Shore Permaculture Group)

August 12: Salt and Sugar Preservation: Participants will make  Bread and Butter Pickles. Taught by Deb Cinamon Whalen (GAL – Green Artists League)

August 26:     Pickling: Participants will make Dilly Beans and End of Garden Pickles: Taught by Tory Dolben (NSPG)

September 9:  Lacto-fermentation: Participants will make Sauerkraut. Taught by Charlotte Dion (Transition Newburyport and NSPG)

September 23: Fruit Drying and Preservation: Peach demo, dried slices, canned nectar, jam.  Taught by Tory Dolben (NSPG)

October 7,  Apples, Apples, Apples!!! Preservation of Applesauce, Apple juice, Apple butter, and Dried Apple Rings. Participants will make Apple Sauce. Taught by Tory Dolben (NSPG)

Instructor Bios:

Tory Dolben has a life long love affair with food, winning her fist blue ribbons for canning at the Plymouth State Fair in the 80’s. She most recently amassed 30 “blues” in the 2008 Topsfield Fair canning competition. Her passion for food, local, organic, sustainable, along with a master’s degree in Health Communication grant her a unique perspective. She is excited to have the opportunity to share her skills in food preservation with you!

Deb Cinamon Whalen, environmental artist and activist and NOFA (New England Organic Farming Association) Certified instructor has been making bread and butter pickles for 25  years. The recipe she uses is a blue ribbon winner at The Deerfield  Fair, and old family favorite  from the Arnold family of Crarryville,  New York.

Charlotte Dion has been using Lacto-fermentation methods for over 8 years. Charlotte is also the organizer of the North Shore Permaculture Group

Nurture your prize heirloom tomato, groom your most handsome rooster and start pickling your  best baby squash in preparation for New Eden Collaborative’s 2nd Annual Harvest Fair on Sunday September 27.  In the tradition of county agricultural fairs, we will be celebrating the bounty of the harvest with music,   food, children’s games,  and lot’s of friendly competitions such most inventive vegetable sculptures, Oddest looking potato,  and  best tasting cucumbers, apple pie, preserves, pickles and more!  More details to come as New Eden Collaborative of First Parish Church collaborates with Historic New England, Newburyport’s Farmers’ Market and others on a Harvest Celebration  Weekend, September 25-27, 2009.