Commonwealth Conversations: The Great Outdoors

Take your Food Shopping Outside!

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

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With the local harvest season well underway, now is the perfect time to take your shopping to the great outdoors and enjoy the bounty of Massachusetts farmers’ hard work.

A recent trip to Gloucester revealed a large and festive farmers’ market in Stage Fort Park overlooking Gloucester Harbor. 

With lots of room and over two dozen vendors or more setting up each week, the market offers a wide variety of farm and food products, including produce, fresh fish (right off the boat), two wineries, baked goods, honey, maple products, and mushrooms. Market vendors also include a wide variety of locally made specialty foods including pasta, soups, tarts, dips, prepared foods and more. Several artists from the Gloucester art community show their wares as well.

With weekly music, children’s activities, and community booths, one could easily spend an hour or more to take it all in. Bring a blanket and take your goodies down to the beach for an impromptu picnic after you shop. The park even has a small beach! The Cape Ann Farmers’ Market is located in Gloucester’s State Fort Park every Thursday, from 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm through October 13^th.

The Cape Ann Farmers’ Market is one of 245 markets up and running across the state this summer and fall.  Find a local market near you!

Local wood for good

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

View Anna's Bio

You don’t have to live in the country to be a farmer - you can grow crops outside in the city too.

Launched in 2007, Build-a-Garden teaches city residents square-foot growing methods so that urban gardeners can maximize space, create ideal growing conditions, and have a simple and structured forum for learning the basics. The Food Project provides participants with everything they need to get started – including multiple raised garden beds, soil, seeds, transplants, a growing guide, on-site workshops, and assistance throughout the planning and implementation stages of the project. Through this volunteer-fueled initiative, the organization hopes to create a thoughtful and productive community of people from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system.

In this instance, two local businesses came together to support each other and the community, and the positive effects promise to be long-lasting. Heyes provided product made from a natural, renewable resource that will be used to help residents of Boston and Lynn grow a variety of wholesome, fresh produce at a fraction of the cost. Likewise, The Food Project’s patronage of Heyes helps sustain local forest-based businesses that maintain healthy, working forests to create products that are important to us in everyday life. The end result is a mutually beneficial collaboration involving local products that will have a positive impact on local business, our community and the environment.

Fred Heyes, owner of Heyes Forest Products in Orange and DAR  Commonwealth Quality Program (CQP) ambassador, recently teamed up with Boston-based The Food Project to demonstrate how local wood products can be used to help build a stronger community.

In what has become an annual tradition, Heyes supplied  CQP-certified Massachusetts white pine lumber for The Food Project’s “Build-a-Garden” program, which provides Boston-area residents the opportunity to grow their own food successfully and safely in urban neighborhoods through raised bed and container gardening. The locally sourced and manufactured lumber will be used to construct garden beds for the community support program.



The Food Project is currently accepting Build-a-Garden volunteer applications for the fall 2011 growing season. To learn more about this and other Food Project volunteer opportunities, please visit: http://thefoodproject.org/volunteer. 

Those interested in applying for Build-a-Garden support can contact the program coordinator, Kathleen Banfield, by calling (617) 442-1322 x12 or by sending an email to buildagarden@thefoodproject.org.

To learn more about DAR’s Commonwealth Quality Program, which promotes high-quality Massachusetts agricultural products that are responsibly produced, harvested and processed, or to locate a CQP business near you, please visit  http://www.mass.gov/cqp. 

Growing native?

Kate Samp

Multimedia intern, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

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When I think of spring, images of brightly colored tulips and buttercups instantly come to mind. I love looking out my window every day and watching color return to the landscape. It seems as if spring never comes fast enough to relieve my winter gloom.

Luckily, those of us living on the coast have a distinct advantage—a longer growing season! According to the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Coastal residents have a 40-day head start on the growing season compared to their inland counterparts.

A great way to enhance curb appeal, a garden provides a welcome burst of color, texture, and interest to the home. Gardening is also an activity suitable for everyone in the family..

If you live in a coastal region, such as the Cape, the Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) has some tips on growing native—a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to bring color and life to your home. Selecting native plants for your garden has the added advantage of providing erosion control and habitats for native wildlife - not to mention that once these trees, s shrubs, and flowers are established, they require less maintenance and care.

First, look for plants that are well adapted to strong winds, salt spray, and a low diversity of nutrients in the soil. 

CZM's list of compatible flowers, trees, and shrubs

One of my favorites is the lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) which thrives in full sun, and has the added benefit of attracting wildlife and producing delicious fruit for harvest in mid-late summer. Another is the Virginia Rose (Rosa virginiana), the plant’s fragrant blossoms are 2-3 inches in diameter and bloom from June through August.

Why not plant some Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)? The vibrant golden-yellow flowers add a burst of color, while the plant’s fleshy, waxy leaves retain water, making the plant ideal for coastal landscaping. Contrary to popular belief, goldenrod is not the culprit for seasonal allergy sufferers - the real bad guy is ragweed, which is part of the sunflower family.

Lowbush Blueberry
Photo: University of Connecticut Plant Database

Virginia Rose
Photo: University of Connecticut Plant Database

Seaside Golendrod
Photo: NOAA Estuarine Research Reserve Collection, NOAA Photo Library

Living on the Wild Side

Reginald Zimmerman

Assistant Press Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

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Wild food is not only local - it’s also available just for the taking, in many cases right in your own back yard! For those looking to add a little extra spice to their Go Local culinary experience, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ Julia Grimaldi will join wild food enthusiast, Pam Kristan and The Franklin Park Coalition on Saturday, April 30 at 4 pm for a free spring “Weeds as Feed” edible plant walk through the 200-acre Franklin Park. This annual foraging walk attracts youth and adults and teaches them that food comes from the earth, not just the market, and that wild food is not only tasty to eat but safe too! The walk will cover responsible harvesting techniques, as well as foraging areas to avoid. Make sure you bring a bag to collect samples. Pam will bring a tasty treat and will teach us what to do with different spring weeds and woodland plants. Meet at the Williams Street entrance to the park along Forest Hills Street in Jamaica Plain. Please RSVP: 617-442-4141 or rsvp@franklinparkcoalition.org.

Massachusetts offers the nature lover many local foraging sites and experiences. In Stockbridge on Sunday, May 1 from 1 to 4 pm, Berkshire Farm & Table will host Russ Cohen, professional environmentalist, wild foods connoisseur and author of “Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten” (2004) for a foraging walk as part of a month-long celebration of wild spring edibles being presented in partnership with Berkshire Grown’s Farmed & Foraged culinary events.

With 37 years of experience, Russ finds wilderness walks a great way to enrich the time he spends   outdoors. He offers a dynamic schedule of wild plant walks and courses all season long, as well as “Harvest Parties” where groups can prepare dishes utilizing wild ingredients. This spring is a perfect time to begin your discovery and understanding of wild foods while adding to your culinary repertoire with recipes like Sour Cream Japanese Knotweed Crumb Cake and Multi-seasonal Soup. Learn what's tasty, safe to eat, and will spice up your locally grown food preparations. Speaking of which, lots of fresh locally grown food is coming to farmers’ markets near you soon!

Find a market in your area.

Earth Day 2011

Reginald Zimmerman

Assistant Press Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

View Reginald's Bio

Tomorrow commemorates the 41^st anniversary of the first Earth Day and Massachusetts residents can take part in a myriad of activities that celebrate the environment! Join in a community-wide cleanup, party at a zoo, run a 5K race or just get outside and enjoy the outdoors with neighbors, friends and family. Events may differ in size and scope, but a common theme remains: environmental awareness and education.

Earth Day events start tomorrow and run through May. For more information go to http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/earthday.htm

Slope-side cider outing

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

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Earlier this month, Agricultural Resources Commissioner Scott Soares skied down a Wachusett Mountain slope to see the recently-refurbished Bullock Lodge Cider House located on the lower mountain and accessible by advanced and intermediate skiers (or you can hike up). It was a perfect spring-like day to visit this beautiful lodge and savor the great tastes of hot and cold apple cider, hot apple dumplings, cider donuts and an assortment of other local specialty items.

Senator Stephen Brewer was on hand to present a State Senate Proclamation to the owners of Red Apple Farm of Phillipston, a multi-generational family farm now run by Al and Nancy Rose. Both Al and Nancy are on the mountain almost every day baking and serving these wonderful local specialties. Another multi-generational family to help with the Bullock Lodge initiative was the Crowley family, owners of Polar Beverages in Worcester. They worked with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to get approvals to house Red Apple in the lodge that had been unused for years.

Representative Ann Gobi, Commissioner Soares, along with DCR State Parks Director Priscilla Geigis and DCR Wachusett Mountain Park Supervisor Denise Morrissey sipped cider and talked about the site that brings agritourism and the great outdoors together.

MassGrown & Fresher agritourism destinations

Weekly outdoor events

Kate Samp

Multimedia intern, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)

View Kate's Bio

Have you gone maple sugaring yet? DCR’s Breakheart Reservation will host a weekend of maple sugaring on March 19 and 20. Pancakes and popcorn will be served around a campfire

Join DCR Rangers and museum staff for the grand opening of the Waterworks Museum in Boston. Located on the site of the original Chestnut Hill Reservoir and pumping station, this museum tells the stories of one of the country’s first metropolitan water systems. Free open house and walking tours from 11 to 4p.m.

Check out more Massachusetts Outdoor Events on The Great Outdoors interactive Google Calendar.

Christmas tree as fresh as you can get

Commissioner Scott Soares

Commissioner, Department of Agriculture Resources (DAR)

View Commissioner Soares' Bio

Last month, I enjoyed a welcome alternative to the sometimes stressful end-of-year holiday hustle and bustle! A Christmas Tree Farm, and not a mall, is traditionally where the Commissioner of Agricultural Resources heads the day after Thanksgiving a.k.a. Black Friday. And so it was at Radebaugh Farm in Belchertown that I found myself November 26th to take part in the annual tree cutting ceremony to kick off the holiday season.

It had rained overnight and when I arrived I was greeted by the spectacularly fresh scent of Fraser Fir needles wafting on the chilly damp air. While there, I also had the pleasure of meeting the Murphy family and I think it’s fair to say that young Mr. Murphy was having a lot more fun picking out his MassGrown & Fresher Christmas tree than being inside a stuffy mall!

Did you know that there are over 200 Christmas tree farms in Massachusetts that are helping to preserve 5,000 acres of open space? Or that new trees are replanted each year and a green alternative to fake trees made with petroleum byproducts? From locally grown Christmas trees and poinsettias to turkeys, eggs, maple syrup, and more, getting to know a local farmer and enhancing your holidays with locally harvested products is a gift worth giving and receiving.

Find a fresh Christmas tree farm near you.

Information about how to find locally grown and produced holiday agricultural products.

Buy local this winter

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

View Anna's Bio

Farmers’ markets aren’t just for summer anymore!

Buying local gets easier this winter with approximately two dozen markets starting up over the next few weeks. From one-day holiday festivals to weekly markets, many farmers’ markets are moving indoors, and local growers are gearing up to keep their customers supplied with local produce and other Massachusetts-produced foods until spring.

Massachusetts farmers have found many innovative ways to keep pace with the demand for local food during the colder months. Some growers are extending their seasons by producing more storage crops like carrots, beets, parsnips, and potatoes. Others are growing vegetables in greenhouses or high tunnels (the white domed greenhouses pictured above). You can also find an array of pickled foods, jams, jellies, and honey that will be sure to enhance your fresh baked farmers’ market bread.

Find a complete list of winter farmers’ markets.

8th Annual Thanksgiving Harvest Festival

Anna Waclawiczek

Chief of Staff, Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR)

View Anna's Bio

Mark your calendars for November 20th and 21st! For eight years in a row, Al Rose, owner of Red Apple Farm in the North Quabbin Region (Phillipston) has been hosting the Massachusetts

Thanksgiving Harvest Festival. Over 20 local farms and businesses come together to offer scrumptious food products and many family-friendly activities to visitors.

From walking trails and hay rides to outdoor “ag” competitions, there is something for everyone. The day’s activities include the Harvest X-Games -- with a World Wood Stacking Competition, Archery Turkey Shoot, Hay Bale Tossing Championship, and the Homebrew and Hard Cider Competition.

Information on the Harvest X-Games.

If those activities don’t work up an appetite, this year Al has added the Field, Forest & Orchard 5K Run/Walk - Saturday Only (11am start time). All proceeds from the race benefit Y.O.U. Inc Adopt a Child. Two DAR staff members plan to run in the race: Lisa Damon and Rick LeBlanc.

Information about the race and how to register.

After you’re done, it’s time to go inside Al’s barn and enjoy some hot apple cider and music next to a roaring fire.

Information on the Red Apple Farm Harvest Festival.