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What a year 2020 has been! As one can imagine, our year in review is going to look a bit different this year, but also a lot didn’t change for us at the CCCD. We started out 2020 with a successful Conservation Plant Sale, some soil health workshops, and even one birding on the farm workshop before the pandemic took hold in early March. At that point, for the safety of ourselves and all of you, we postponed in person events indefinitely and those restrictions are still in place today. Our staff continue to work remotely and all CCCD monthly board meetings are being held virtually. If ever there was a time to conveniently sit in on one of our meetings, now is the time! One of the first impacts we witnessed on our local farming economy was the unprecedented economic impact the pandemic was having on dairy farmers. Acknowledging this struggle, the CCCD Board voted in April to waive all CCCD equipment rental fees for dairy farms in 2020. While the amount of money that a dairy farmer would have spent to rent equipment from the district is not going to make or break a farm, our board felt this was a gesture of support for important local partners who were struggling and needed help. At the same time local dairy farmers were struggling, we saw the majority of our local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farms sell out of their summer CSA vegetable shares. This of course is not to say that the pandemic did not greatly impact vegetable farmers, but rather that we witnessed a shift in our local communities. As the pandemic set in with no end in sight, we saw people turn to the natural world. We saw more folks buying CSA shares, more folks gardening in their backyards, more folks hiking and getting outdoors, and more folks shopping at outdoor farmers’ markets. Amid a sea of negative news and grim outlooks, we saw resilience. It will be exciting to see how much of this shift continues post-pandemic. We bet our 2021 plant sale will be a good early indicator! Grant programs new and old continued with great success… We awarded 6 farms with the Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund in 2020. The Farm Fund has now awarded over $59,000 in 4 years to area farmers! In 2021, we have $30,000 up for grabs (Apply by Feb. 1, 2021: http://cheshireconservation.org/farm-fund) The first year of our NH Farm Future Fund was hugely successful! We awarded $90,000 to five NH land trusts in 2020, and in 2021 we have $100,000 available (Apply by 2/15/2021: http://cheshireconservation.org/nhfarmfuturefund) 34 families participated in the second year of the Monadnock Farm Share program! Not a huge surprise, given the sharp increase in CSA participation this year. We awarded $5,500 to four awardees for wildlife improvement projects through the first year of our Conservation Opportunity Fund. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we were unable to host public site visits of these projects, but will look toward the summer of 2021 to safely host these as socially-distanced outdoor events if possible. Some other things fortunately didn’t change much at all either… We continued to offer farm rental equipment to local farmers, including the addition of new BCS implements and a Soil Steamer. We hosted our annual Source to Sea River Clean Up in September with 45 volunteers who pulled over 1,585 lbs. of trash from two water bodies! We continued to offer Granite State Market Match to SNAP recipients at local farm stores and farmers’ markets and saw the highest numbers for folks utilizing the program in many years. Surely another impact of the pandemic. Our Veteran Appreciation Month also grew in participation substantially! We distributed $12,200 in food vouchers to 170 veterans – a benefit we are seeing not only for the veterans but for the market vendors as well. Of course, some of our programs did take a hit or had to change in one way or another… Due to the timing of the pandemic and the uncertainty among parents about the safety of summer camps, we did not have very many Monadnock Localvore Scholarship applicants. We also shifted into virtual event planning and participated in Radically Rural Remote and even hosted our own 75th Annual Meeting virtually (you can watch the full program on our website: http://cheshireconservation.org/75th-annual-meeting). We had to cancel our Birding on the Farm workshop series and hope to safely take this back up again later in 2021. And looking forward into 2021… Maybe one of the most exciting developments of 2020 is the progress made on our Monadnock Region Community Supported Solar project. As of today, the construction of the solar array at Sun Moon Farm in Rindge is complete and we are moving on to the final phases of this project! We are now seeking farms to sign up to purchase shares in the net-metering opportunity. If you or a farmer you know if interested in signing up, contact Amanda at amanda@cheshireconservation.org 2021 marks the 75th Anniversary of Conservation Districts in NH! All districts except for the first which was us, were established in 1946, and so we will be celebrating in a number of ways all year long with our counterparts across the state! Follow us on Facebook for Flashback Fridays, stay tuned as we award 10 Conservation Legacy awards, listen to podcasts with conservation leader across the state, and more! Go to our website to join our monthly newsletter for the most up to date information on all of our projects: http://cheshireconservation.org/ We know 2020 was a difficult year for all of us, but we are heartened to see the outpouring of support the community has shown us this year. With the cancelation of in person events, including our Annual Meeting and several fundraisers, we couldn’t be more thankful to all those who sent us a monetary contribution this year. Your commitment to conservation is what keeps us going! The natural world belongs to us all. While the pandemic has been horrible in so many ways, we can only hope that this time will help deepen the connection between people and the natural world, fostering a new wave of commitment and compassion for conservation in the granite state. We hope you’ll continue to follow us into 2021! Be well, be safe, & Happy New Year! Written by: Lola Bobrowski CCCD Outreach Coordinator

What changes have you seen weather wise in your life? Thanksgiving Eve many NH USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service staff attended a webinar presented by Elizabeth Marks and Dave Hollinger of the Northeast Climate Hub. Marks is a NRCS employee in New York on a special assignment as liaison to the Northeast Climate Hub. Hollinger is Supervisory Plant Pathologist and director of the Northeast Climate Hub. Marks drew from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) state climate summaries (https://statesummaries.ncics.org) to highlight trends in New Hampshire. She spun a positive outlook for the importance of practices the Cheshire County Conservation District and USDA NRCS supports -- cover crops, reduced tillage, and maintaining soil health to name a few. ​​ Huge cheers for the Cheshire County Conservation District’s proactive approach in seeking grants to help buy equipment to rent or loan out. The Cheshire County Conservation District’s no-till drills, no-till planter, woodash/lime spreader, penetrometer (to check for soil compaction), and aerator, give more options to growers and graziers when they hit the fields each Spring. Irrigation and seasonal high tunnels that USDA NRCS has been helping to finance fit in too for allowing a grower a bit more control. ​​ Important marks highlighted for New Hampshire: 3 degree rise in temperature (national average is 1.9 degree increase) since 1900 Rainfall up 19% since 1895 Extreme rain events (over 2 inches) up 140% since 1950 ​​ ​​ ​​ https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northeast has a wealth of information as does the NOAA website. It is extremely easy for me to get lost in either website in a good way—leaping from link to link taking in the maps. If you will be virtual meeting with friends or family from other states checking out their state climate summary could be quite the conversation starter. ​​ Marks asked for input from audience. NH NRCS staff noted the warmer winters with more mixed precipitation—not like when they were kids. Longer stretches of rain or dry. More ticks! Deb Marnich, soil conservationist in Conway, reported siting an opossum. She now suggests adding in a few plants from warmer growing zones into any mix for permanent plantings to be ahead or with the change. ​​ For those in the public who are also interested in learning more about these trends from a broader perspective, Elizabeth Marks will be presenting a webinar for the public on Dec 10, 2020 - More Info & registration at: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/index.php/hubs/northeast/events/helping-farmers-help-land-through-climate-smart-farming This webinar likely will be broader in scope of examples than the New Hampshire specific webinar she gave for the NH NRCS staff but the topic is the same. I recommend the websites and her webinar if you get the chance go for it. The maps I’ve shared with you are snipped and pasted from Marks’ webinar for NH NRCS staff. She had many more maps. And on weathering change… on a personal note... I will be checking out https://statesummaries.ncics.org for the summary on Colorado as I have accepted an offer to work for NRCS in Colorado as a soil scientist out of Greeley working on Highly Erodible Lands and soils outreach. The CCCD's Staff and Board members have been really wonderful to work with. I can’t say enough to thank them all. So many thanks to all you folks I have been fortunate enough to meet and work with. Written by: Mary Ellen Cannon USDA NRCS Soil Conservationist We will miss you Mary Ellen! Thank you for all you've contributed to conservation in New Hampshire throughout the years! Best of luck in CO!

It was early spring. All the snow had melted in the winter paddock, and the workhorses and the farmers were ankle-and-fetlock deep in mud. We all groaned. Here came a month of feeding hay three times a day in the muck, ramming wheelbarrows of manure through the muck, pulling our boots out of the muck, pulling our horses out of the muck. Or, at least, pulling the muck out of our horses, as we groomed their itchy shedding coats, and hair and dirt came off in a cloud. But then came the muck miracle: thanks to the Cheshire County Conservation District, which marks its 75th anniversary this year, my farmer-spouse and I were introduced to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a federal program. The CCCD works cooperatively with the Conservation Service, weighing in on local conservation priorities, as well as serving as a conduit for interested farmers, ranchers, or foresters who would like to be part of the NRCS programs (which include funding for the historically underserved, such as socially disadvantaged, beginning, limited resource and veteran farmers). Thus our vegetable farm received a grant for a Heavy Use Area Protection Plan for our winter paddock, which would stabilize the ground surface, provide for water run-off, and assist in keeping the nutrients in the compost pile next to the paddock. We were pro all of those things: protecting the soil, clean water, and healthy compost. But what we didn't expect was the pleasure of that renovated paddock: now we could all lounge about, chewing our hay, enjoying the brisk early spring air, skipping along with the wheelbarrow of manure. We could keep our boots on our feet, and our hooves dry. No more mud, no more muck, no more stuck. In the same vein, when we two farmers were considering how to make our vegetable growing more efficient, we looked long at the ends of our garden beds, which were very close to a mature hedgerow. The big trees in the hedgerow had considerably more pulling power on the water and the nutrients than our little beds of vegetables. For years we had dutifully tilled, composted, planted, and irrigated the last 20 feet of the beds nearest the hedgerow, and for years, our vegetable harvest there was puny. But we didn't want to cut down the trees, lovely in their own right, and also home to various insect, bird, and animal lives, not to mention lichens and the like. Then we had a brilliant idea: our vegetables don't want to grow here, but something else might. When we began working with the Cheshire County Conservation District on increasing pollinator areas, we were most pleased to sprinkle a seed mix on the ends of all those garden beds by the hedgerow. Here we were, cutting down our work load, as well as sensibly avoiding a paltry harvest. Plus, of course, we need pollinators in our gardens, to help the vegetables along, and we need pollinators (and trees) in the world, to help everything else along. But what we didn't expect was a glory of blooming bachelor buttons in the pollinator mix. We've grown a few bachelor buttons as cutting flowers for our CSA members, but we had never sown so many, and not even realizing they were in the mix. The seeds germinated, and soon the bachelor buttons bloomed blue blue blue against brilliant green. It was like a painting, like Vincent van Gogh's irises, except it was bachelor buttons and they were right there, in our garden, blue and ablaze. We had a beautiful paddock, a beautiful pollinator patch, and then, of course, we had all our vegetables. We were selling CSA shares and produce at the Farmers' Market in Keene, but we always want the good food to be available to a broader range of people. The CCCD stepped up again, with several programs: produce vouchers for veterans at the Farmers' Market during September, as well as the Granite State Market Match program, which doubles SNAP benefits for purchasing fresh produce, though CSA or farmers' markets. The conservation district office also worked with our group of local CSA farmers, called Farmers Helping Farmers, to create the Monadnock Farm Share Program that offered CSA shares to lower-income members of the community. Of course, we loved all this: increasing food access, food sovereignty, supporting healthy diets, and keeping local farms in business. But what we didn't expect was the feeling that we didn't have to accomplish all of these things by ourselves. The Cheshire County Conservation District, in partnership both with federal programs such as the NRCS, and with local communities, is right there with us, working for healthy soil, clean water, abundant wildlife, and sustainable forests, farms, and gardens. Check out the CCCD at www.cheshireconservation.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CheshireCCD Written by: Frank Hunter & Kim Peavey Farmers at Hillside Springs Farm CSA in Westmoreland, NH Frank Hunter is also a CCCD Associate Board Member

This year, the Cheshire County Conservation District is excited to celebrate its 75th anniversary! While Covid-19 may have thrown a wrench in our typical celebratory plans, we are excited to bring our 75th Annual Meeting celebration to a virtual platform for all to enjoy from the comfort and safety of their homes. As always, we are excited to provide the public with an engaging and informative keynote speaker (as well as other programming highlights!). This year, Historical Society of Cheshire County Executive Director Alan Rumrill will share stories of changes and developments in agriculture, forestry and land conservation in Cheshire County over the past 75 years. Alan is an engaging speaker who has a wealth of knowledge about Cheshire County’s past. He is a native and current resident of Stoddard, NH where his family has lived since 1770! Alan has also served as Executive Director of the Historical Society of Cheshire County since 1983. He shares a story below about one momentous conservation action: From Alan: The story of a large tract of land owned by the Dickinson family is one example of land use in the region that touches on both forestry and land conservation. The family had several large landholdings that were used to support their business enterprise, the New England Box Company. The company made wooden boxes that were used far and wide to hold a wide variety of products. One of their holdings was a tract of more than 13,000 acres where they harvested timber to be used in making the boxes, and made attempts to regenerate the forest for future use. Changes in the woodenware industry and the introduction of cardboard packaging meant that the family no longer needed the land. The New England Box Company worked with the State of New Hampshire to ensure that the land would be conserved. The result was the formation of Pisgah Park in 1968 – the largest state park in New Hampshire! If you’re interested in hearing more uniquely New Hampshire stories like this, please join us virtually on October 27th @7pm to celebrate this year’s conservation successes and triumphs, celebrate awardees for Educator & Cooperators of the year, and hear Alan’s full keynote address. We hope you will join us and thank you for your continued support of CCCD. To register for the CCCD’s virtual 75th Annual Meeting visit: https://cccd75th.eventbrite.com The virtual meeting on the evening of October 27th will be streaming on several online platforms for your convenience. Registration will help us keep you informed on how to participate online. Written by: Lola Bobrowski CCCD Outreach Coordinator

Radically Rural 2020 brings you Radically Rural Remote, a single-day entirely virtual summit for shaping and sharing ideas surrounding the advantages and opportunities of rural regions. This year, the CCCD is excited to present the Land & Community sessions focusing on topics such as the impact of nature on our health, food hub case studies, and what it means to build a regional fibershed. For rural areas and the people who inhabit these spaces, the economy and the environment are inextricably intertwined. The question of balance between exploitation and conservation arises and gaps are made apparent among support and protection of land, business and people. For this year’s Radically Rural - Remote summit, the Land and Community Track will address the intersection of public health, rural business and rural landscape. Track leader Amanda Littleton, district manager for Cheshire County Conservation, says, “It is more important now than ever, with the shifting environmental and social climate, that we protect our natural lands for future generations.” For Littleton, reinforcing an understanding of rural areas and their offerings will bolster community resilience in the face of quickly changing times. She has planned three sessions at Radically Rural - Remote on Sept. 24, which this year is being held online starting at 8 a.m. with a keynote speaker and track sessions at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. with a closing speaker at 4 p.m. An interactive idea jam is planned between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on a video conference platform. Radically Rural features tracks in community journalism, arts and culture, lands and community, main streets and downtowns, clean energy and entrepreneurship. Here's a little more information regarding the CCCD's Land & Community sessions that you can attend with us virtually! 9:00AM: Living Landscapes for Human Health and Well-being ​ Louise Chawla, professor and environmental psychologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, will discuss a burgeoning new research field that tracks reciprocal relationships between humans and nature. It’s an ancient belief that nature holds many restorative qualities. Chawla’s evidence that humans require contact with the natural world for happiness and well-being has allowed for new ways to convey the everyday importance of living landscapes. Her talk will be followed by a panel discussion and case study of prescriptive environmental programs designed for youth and the elderly. Panelists will cover ways in which rural communities are using related research to engage people in conservation efforts. The audience will be given time to ask questions and converse on ways that these ideas can be envisioned and applied in their own regions. 11:00 AM: Crazy Good: Supporting Vibrant Rural Communities with Food Hubs ​ Author of The Nourishing Homestead and permaculture enthusiast Ben Hewitt moderates a panel discussion on rural food hubs and how they contribute to the vitality of a rural economy, local farmers and the community as a whole. Food hubs, an emerging trend, manage the aggregation and distribution of food products and fill gaps in rural food systems. Panelists for this session include those having success in this sector in New Hampshire. Join an audience-included discussion surrounding the nuts and bolts of rural food hub operation and implementation. 2:00 PM: Building a Regional Fibershed ​ The value of organic and local food may be apparent if one inspects a home pantry or refrigerator, but what about the closet? Rebecca Burgess, executive director of Fibershed, and author of Harvesting Color, will discuss her work in creating lasting systems of production for fiber manufacturers. From the farmer to the cleaner, carder and spinner to the designers and makers, fibershed communities, including clothing purchasers, are tasked with taking responsibility for a garment’s lifecycle by committing to practices that aid in climate-change mitigation. A panel of for-profit, fibershed manufacturers will discuss how soil-to-soil fiber systems have supported both economic prosperity and ecosystem health and diversity in their own regions. Purchase your tickets NOW! Click here! ​​ For more information on the Radically Rural – Remote summit and to purchase tickets, please visit the event’s website at www.radicallyrural.org

Have you been lucky enough to see giant moths flying around in colorful outfits? Or perhaps huge caterpillars wandering about? Many of these moths are in the giant silk moth family Saturniidae and we have four particularly large and noticeable species in our region, the Luna, Polyphemus, Promethea and Cecropia. I interviewed Sam Jaffe, director of The Caterpillar Lab in Marlborough, NH about these amazing creatures. While the Lab is currently closed, Sam’s website www.thecaterpillarlab.org and Facebook page www.facebook.com/thecaterpillarlab are amazing resources to learn more about these moths and many other caterpillars. Once the Lab is open again, it is a great place to visit. Amy: Hi Sam, I wanted to talk to you about the giant silk moths. I recently saw a Luna moth in my garden and thought people might be curious about these spectacular moths. Sam: It is so wonderful that these giant silk moths can be backyard creatures here in New Hampshire. What a great find! Luna moths in particular have been having a banner year and people are just happening upon them. Mostly the adult moths are seen under porch lights in the morning, but this year we are getting many reports of them in gardens and along trail sides. Now that the adult’s season is coming to an end, people are starting to find their plump green caterpillars around. I’d bet you have some quietly munching Luna caterpillars around the edge of your yard. One of my favorite things about this group of jumbo moths is their ability to surprise people and make them reconsider what wild things might be present around them here in New England. So many naturalists and nature lovers that I have spoken with can trace back their interests to discovering a huge Cecropia or Luna by accident and just being blown away. I bet some people reading this interview can remember such a moment too. Amy: Are there some general characteristics about this Family? Sam: No single feature easily defines the silk moth family Saturniidae, but taken together some characters can help you identify one. Giant silk moths are often some of the largest moths in an area. They don’t feed as adults, so they have no obvious tongues and won’t be found at flowers. They tend to have broad feather-like antennae, broader in males than females. They are very fluffy, with thick hairy legs, and many have false eyespots and bright colors. Here in New England there aren’t so many species so you can also just try to learn them all, so you never miss one! At my moth lights, I see the four giants Luna, Polyphemus, Promethea, and Cecropia, as well as smaller members of the family like the Io, Buck Moth, Pink-striped Oakworm, and the smaller but adorable Rosy Maple Moth. Most giant silk moths fly as adults from May to early July, feed as caterpillars through the summer and into the early fall and overwinter as pupae wrapped up in silken cocoons. The Oakworms and Rosy Maple Moths are a bit different as they overwinter as pupae in the soil with no cocoon. The Buck Moth has a very different life history, flying in the fall and overwintering as eggs. Amy: Can you describe a little about each of the species and where and when people might see both the caterpillars and adults? Sam: There is so much to say about each! But I’ll try to keep it short, so I don’t overwhelm everybody… The Cecropia, Hyalophora cecropia is a monster moth, both as an adult and a caterpillar. The adult is often cited as being the largest flying insect in North America. It has brilliant red, purple, gray, and white coloration with false eyespots on its wingtips. I can’t imagine anyone encountering this species without being struck by its size and beauty. The caterpillar is also gargantuan. It is New England’s largest caterpillar and easily reaches the size of a breakfast sausage. In addition, it is very colorful with red, orange, blue, and yellow bobbles all over its green body. In New Hampshire, the moths tend to fly through the end of June and the caterpillars are found in July and August. The caterpillars eat a range of woody plants but especially love Cherry, Apple, Walnut, Buttonbush, and even the invasive Glossy Buckthorn. ​ ​ The Promethea, Callosamia promethea, is rather like a smaller version of the Cecropia. This species is sexually dimorphic, meaning the males and females look different. Females are various shades of brown and red with broad wings, while males are very dark brown with more elegant, narrow wings. The males actually fly during the afternoon and evening looking for females that call them in with a pheromone, or scent, that they release into the air. Females fly during twilight and after dark, searching out places to lay their eggs. The caterpillar is sizable, though nowhere near as big as a Cecropia. It is plump, almost white, with waxy, bright red and yellow horns. In New Hampshire, the adults are active from May through July and the Caterpillars are most common from July through early September. Caterpillars specialize on a few host plants including Black Cherry, Ash, Sassafras and Spicebush, and occasionally garden planted Magnolias. ​ ​ The Polyphemus, Antheraea polyphemus, is a big, tan, and beautifully eye-spotted moth. They are sometimes confused with Cecropia, but are slightly smaller and not as colorful. Still, those blue false eye spots on their hind wings can take your breath away. Polyphemus are expertly camouflaged when at rest with their wings closed – they look just like a dead leaf. But when disturbed, they flash those big false eyes and surprise predator and unprepared human alike. Polyphemus caterpillars are big, plump, and bright green. They are quite similar to Luna caterpillars and often confused with them. In New Hampshire, adult Polyphemus moths can have a long flight season from May through early August and caterpillars are especially common in August and September. Caterpillars eat a broad range of woody plants but are most common on Oak, Gray Birch, Black Cherry, Amelanchier, and Beech. ​ ​ The Luna, Actias luna, is perhaps the most famous giant silk moth in North America. It is huge, luminous, bright green, has delicate false eyes, and long twisting swallowtails. It really is stunning. The tails are thought to be used as a defense against bats. As a Luna flies through the woods, the twisted tails constantly change their orientation and confuse incoming bat sonar/echolocation so that bats have a difficult time pinpointing a Luna’s location! The caterpillars are plump, bright green, and look a lot like a Polyphemus caterpillar. One helpful feature to tell the two apart is to look at the caterpillar’s face. If it is reddish brown and has a beard of hairs it is a Polyphemus; if it is green or occasionally dark brown with very few to no hairs, it is a Luna. In New Hampshire, the moths generally fly only in May and June, though this year they are still showing up at my lights in late July! The caterpillars are most common in July and early August. Luna caterpillars specialize feeding on Gray and Paper Birch in this area, but also enjoy Hickory, Walnut, and Black Gum where available. ​ ​ Amy: Is there anything you would like to add to wrap this up, Sam? Sam: I just want to let everybody know that we are VERY lucky to have these moths here. In many areas of New England, the giant silk moths have declined or even disappeared. They are sensitive to so many of the changes we impose on environment. Pesticides and light pollution can destroy moth populations in cities, suburbs, and around some agricultural areas. Climate change and shifts in host plant availability may also be taking their toll. And in what may be the most serious threat to them, some non-native parasitic flies kill off a large percentage of them each year. Sadly, two incredible species of giant silk moth are now extirpated, or have gone locally extinct, in New England: The Imperial and Regal Moths. The best thing we can do to ensure that these beautiful, magnificent, inspiring insects continue to survive here is manage invasive plants and maintain natural habitat, plant native plants in our gardens, and decrease light pollution. We also must consider our use of generalized pesticides carefully, with all the knowledge of what broader effects their use may have on our local environments and critters. I hope everybody has a chance to meet some of these jumbo moths! Thanks Amy for thinking of the moths and The Caterpillar Lab for this article! Interview & Article by: Amy Bodwell CCCD Board Vice-Chair

With all of the very hot and humid weather the past couple of weeks, I’ve been wondering how much of an increase in our electric bill we will see due to running electric fans and our inefficient window AC units. With both my husband and I working from home more due to COVID-19, we are trying to keep ourselves comfortable during the work day, and that means sometimes we need the AC! Energy Efficiency has been a hot topic forever, it seems, and today is no exception. Recently I’ve been fortunate to work with a couple of farms on energy efficiency improvement programs that will both save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The newer equipment can also be nice to work with. Energy efficient lighting can be installed with more options that light a barn area better than might have been achieved with older fixtures, and precision controls can run greenhouse heating and ventilation systems automatically so that crops are given an optimum growing environment, while saving energy in the form of fuels for heating. Dairy farms have a unique situation in that they are harvesting quantities of milk from the cows at about 100 degrees, and cooling it to below 40 degrees for storage until the milk truck picks it up. All of that heat needs to be removed from the milk, and there are several technologies available commercially to take advantage of that heat. In some cases waste heat is used to heat clean water for washing milking equipment. Waste heat can also be used to heat the milking parlor and milkroom in the wintertime. There is another device that uses clean water to remove heat from the milk, and then the warm water can be fed into the drinking water supply for the cattle, giving them warm water to drink, which farmers say is appreciated by the cows in the wintertime. The way to get started on an energy efficiency program is to have an energy management plan developed. There is cost sharing available for these plans for farms, and then some of the items in the plan may also be eligible for cost sharing. If you’re in Cheshire or Sullivan County and this program interests you, please reach out to your local USDA Service Center in Walpole, NH – 603-756-2988. In the meantime, I will continue to dream about having an efficient and quiet ductless mini split AC system installed at my house. For more information and examples of energy saving technologies, see these resources: https://massfarmenergy.com/get-started/technical-resources/ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs143_023625.pdf Written by: Heidi Konesko USDA NRCS Soil Conservationist

“Vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be” ~David Holmgren Buying an old house (C.1790’s) on a very small lot (0.17 acres) wasn’t the plan, until it was. When we were renters, we had a tendency of turning every flat piece of ground into a homestead scale garden. Our property, while old, has very little of the original hardscaping and landscaping that many of the other homes in our neighborhood have. So now we are starting from scratch. While my background is rooted in garden and farm systems for annual food production, my partner’s landscape gardening background and my permaculture education are coming in handy as we try to imagine this new space. We have been working on articulating our goals for house and landscape project management through a permaculture lens. Going from being renters to owners has slowed things down, changed our focus. I thought I’d share a few of the Permaculture principles that have been guiding us through our first year living with our new home. Observe and Interact This principle informs every decision and action that we take. Throughout the course of this first year, taking the time to notice what’s already happening on the property has been equal parts enlightening and frustrating. Holding the vision with the realities can be challenging, the patience required to slow things down and see what is already happening on our site can be hard. Here are some examples of what we’ve been trying to understand about our property: WATER How does the water move through the landscape? Where does it collect? Where do we need to slow it down? Where can we divert it? Where can we capture it? SUN/ENERGY Where does the sun shine at the different times of the day? Where might we want more shade? LAND What are the landform and slope aspects? PLANTS & HABITAT What plants are existing on site? Which ones seem to be thriving and where? What kind of invasives are present? Who lives here? Who moves through the property? (Wildlife/Pests) What spaces do we find ourselves drawn to at different times, for what reasons? What is the function of our different spaces right now- how might these change over time with our plans? *In Permaculture language this might be called the “Zones of Use” * Making these observations and just living into our space has shaped our projects and future plans. It is incredible the difference between what we set out to accomplish from the beginning to what we have actually prioritized, and which things we have decided we don’t have enough information about yet to inform appropriate design. I’d love to give specifics, but honestly we are still working so many things out, very little “hard” changes have happened yet. We have spent a lot of time drawing pictures and making plant lists at the dinner table, also gathering materials like stone and loam in piles around the house. The pace of change is sort of running in rhythm with the pace of our understanding. Integrate Rather than Segregate As a permaculture principle, integration is part of any thoughtful design. This can also be described as “stacking functions”. In other words, being able to design elements that complement each other as well as perform multiple functions in the same space. This creates resiliency and long-term sustainability of the system. This is where having a picture of your goals is helpful, so you can begin to see where different projects and plans can work together: GOALS Attract pollinators in a variety of ways (wildflower meadow and pollinator habitat on our leach field & perennial fruit crops) Create zones of use within this small space, integrate the natural boundaries that are already existing (our property abuts a natural wetland and small brook) Erosion control through water management (Capturing & Storing) Use hardscaping and hand-laid walls to terrace different areas (also erosion control), particularly a steep southern facing slope adjacent to our leach field for fruit tree plantings Soil health improvements (sheet mulching and working to establish roots systems instead of bare earth) *we are failing at establishing a lawn, fingers crossed for understanding neighbors who will see the value in our other projects as time goes by! * So knowing all of these things brings us to a “now what” moment. Where to start? These principles lead us from the planning to implementation. Plugging away at long term projects one small step at a time – without knowing for sure how it will all look in the end, is a big experiment. We are working from the ground up, using what we have on hand, seeking advice and looking for inspirations in unusual places. The size is definitely a challenge, but we are excited by the potential of the smallness and the blank canvas. It requires creativity and quite a lot of problem solving, as we have to knit together the physical areas with the specific needs. But when it works: beautiful. I know that it is a privilege to own this property and I am grateful to be able to build a different kind of relationship with our landscape and how we steward it, hopefully leaving it better than we found it. Permaculture Resources: http://northeastpermaculture.org/ https://villageroots.org/permaculture-design-and-certification-course.php https://www.beginningfarmers.org/permaculture-resources/ Written by: Sara Powell CCCD Associate Board Member

Dairy farmers will not be charged for equipment rentals from the Cheshire County Conservation District for the 2020 growing season. The district’s board of supervisors voted to make the equipment available at no cost to dairy farmers because of the unprecedented economic challenges the industry faces during the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of money that a dairy farmer would have spent to rent equipment from the district is not going to make or break a farm, but we felt this was a gesture of support for important local partners who are struggling now. Some economic models are suggesting milk prices could dip as low as $13 per hundredweight this summer and fall, which is about what farmers were being paid for milk in the 1970s. There are about 11.6 gallons of milk in a hundredweight. As part of its farm viability and soil health mission areas, the Cheshire County Conservation District offers several pieces of farm equipment for rent. They include a no-till corn planter, two no-till drills for planting hay, pasture, and cover crops, a wood ash and lime spreader, a field aerator, and several others. Rental fees on these machines would normally be set aside to cover the costs of maintenance and eventual replacement. If you would like to contrubute to these efforts to waive rental fees for local dairy farms, you can make a donation to the CCCD - simply select "Free Equipment for Dairy Farms" when making your donation through our PayPal site. Milk prices are falling because of the loss of export markets and a huge reduction in demand for milk and other dairy products from the food service sector. With restaurants, schools, and many institutional cafeterias either closed or with drastically reduced operations, less milk is needed than when the food system is operating normally. Like most larger farms, dairy farms plan their growing and production many months or years in advance. Much of this year’s seed and other inputs have already been purchased, and the cows will continue to produce milk even if demand continues to wane. So expenses are not about to drop off just because revenues have. The sad fact of the matter is that we will lose some more dairy farms during this crisis. It will take some time for the agricultural economy to rebound. But for the dairy farmers who want to continue to be good stewards of their land, we wanted to do what we can to help. Written by: Bill Fosher CCCD Board Supervisor NHACD Agronomist for the CT River Watershed Soil Health Initiative

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot has changed. Kids are home from school, parents are working remotely and often doing double time between work and childcare, the entire state is under a stay at home order until May 4th, and we’re all likely to experience moments of fear, exhaustion, boredom, and general ‘stir-craziness.’ While we might not be able to get out into public spaces or congregate in large groups, we are lucky enough to have access to a whole host of virtual experiences right at our fingertips, and physical experiences right outside our backdoors. There is a lot out there to choose from right now, and if all that seems overwhelming, we recommend just getting outside to explore and observe. Our friends at the Harris Center for Conservation have a great list of things you and your kid can do outside to get you started, but on those rainy days or days where you just might be struggling, there are a great host of virtual experiences available online for you and your little ones to enjoy. Here’s just a short list to get you started: San Diego Zoo: The San Diego Zoo has a website just for kids with amazing videos, activities, and games. Cincinnati Zoo: At 3pm each day tune into the Cincinnati Zoo Facebook page for a LIVE STREAM of “Home Safari” where you and your little ones can learn all about different animals up close and personal. Yellow Stone National Park: Explore Mud Volcano, Mammoth Hot Springs, & the rest of Yellowstone! MARS: Explore the surface of Market on the Curiosity Rover! Virtual Farm Tours: The Canadian site FarmFood360 offer 11 virtual tours of farms from minks, pigs, and cows to apples & eggs. U.S. Space Museum & Rocket Museum: See the Saturn 5 Rocket on YouTube and more on this tour thanks to a real father/son outing. Boston Children’s Museum: Walk through & explore 3 floors of fun in the Boston Children’s Museum! Discovery Education: Explore some virtual fields trips on topics such as Polar Bears and the Tundra & more! Animal Cameras: For all those little animal lovers out there! Explore a wide range of live cameras streams available on the web for viewing our most favorite creatures. Live Cams at the San Diego Zoo Monterey Bay Aquarium Panda Cam at Zoo Atlanta Animal Cams at Houston Zoo Georgia Aquarium (If you have a favorite local venue you typically like to visit, we recommend checking out their websites too, because it’s very likely they have fun activities for you to enjoy during this time as well!) During these uncertain times, we wish the entire community well. Enjoy your time exploring the natural world either up close or through a screen! Written by: Lola Bobrowski Outreach Coordinator, Cheshire County Conservation Ditrict

Happy New Year! 2019 was an exciting (& busy!) year at the Cheshire County Conservation District. As in years past, our District staff of two and our wonderful board of supervisors worked diligently to support the conservation of Cheshire County’s soil, water, wildlife, & farm viability. We took on some new projects, continued some old, and are well on our way into the new year to expand on progress made, but not without first reflecting on some of our 2019 successes. If you’ve ever wondered “What does the Conservation District even DO?” here’s a sneak peak at some of the great work we accomplished this year: We were awarded a one-year grant through the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Urban Agriculture and Conservation Initiative to provide resources to the community for urban agriculture. We named our program “Monadnock Grows Together” and worked with a number of local partners to run an urban agriculture/gardening workshop series, establish a Seed Library and a Tool Lending Library now permanently housed at the Keene Public Library (KPL), and revamp the outdoor classroom at the Westmoreland Garden Project. Find more information about Monadnock Grows Together here. We completed a stream restoration project on Thompson Brook in Surry, NH to support the conservation of native brook trout. In NH, brook trout are a species of special conservation concern and brook trout in Surry, NH will now have access to more high-quality stream habitat as a result of this project. Read more about this project here. We continued to offer our suite of farm rental equipment to local farmers at a discounted rental fee and even added new equipment to the mix! This year we purchased a BCS walk-behind tractor – perfect for at-home gardeners and small-scale farmers – as well as a 12 ft. Esch no-till drill, and no-till vegetable planter. Check out all the equipment we offer to rent here. We served a supportive role in the establishment of the Walpole & Alstead Land Stewardship (WALS) Collaborative. The WALS Collaborative is an informal group of private & public landowners in Walpole & Alstead, NH who share information and ideas while helping neighbors work together across property boundaries. In 2020 the WALS Collaborative seeks to offer community gatherings & conduct an ecological assessment of the focus area. Our Annual Source to Sea River Clean-Up, in partnership with the Connecticut River Conservancy, drew out 73 community volunteers who removed 3,251 lbs. of trash from the Ashuelot River in Keene & Swanzey and Beaver Brook in Keene. This annual clean-up is typically held on the last weekend of September of each year. We continued to support easy access to healthy, affordable food in the region through the Granite State Market Match program. Currently there are 11 locations in the County (Farmers’ Markets, CSAs, and Farm Stores/Stands) where SNAP recipients can double their dollars to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. Find more information here. We continued our Veterans Appreciation Month program at the Hinsdale Farmers’ Market and expanded to also host the program at the Keene Farmers’ Market through the month of September. This program provides a free $20 coupon every week in September for Cheshire County veterans to spend on fresh fruits and vegetables. This year we provided $6,560 in coupons to 112 veterans. We made significant strides to launch our Community Supported Solar installation in cooperation with farms in the region. Sun Moon Farm of Rindge, NH was selected as the site partner and ReVision Energy was selected as the contractor and investment partner. Moving into 2020, we plan to finalize contracts with participating farms and the construction on the solar array. We launched the first year of the Farm Share Program – a program that provides limited-income Monadnock Region residents with the opportunity to support their local CSA farmers and receive reliable high-quality produce on a regular basis all season long. CSA prices are discounted through a cost-share model where 25% of the cost is covered by the farmer, another 25% is provided by the Cheshire Medical Center for Population Health - this allows the participating families and individuals to receive their CSA vegetable share at a 50% discount! We look forward to continuing this popular program in 2020. Find more info here. We continue to offer a wide range of grant programs to support landowners and farmers in the County. We continue to offer the Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund grant to support local farmers increase sustainable food production and wholesale sales, as well as the Jeffrey P. Smith Farm Scholarship to assist Cheshire County youth with the cost of attending summer farm camps. In 2020 we are also launching two new grant programs – the NH Farm Future Fund and the Conservation Opportunity Fund. More information on these programs if you click the links. We could go on and on about our work (because this is a far from extensive list!), but hopefully this article has given you a good look into some of the great work we do at the District and in the County. The CCCD functions as a non-profit entity and as such, we are always greatly appreciative of monetary support from the community we serve. If you would like to make a donation to the CCCD please follow this link to make a donation online, or send your donation directly to us at 11 Industrial Park Dr. Walpole, NH 03608 We look forward to continuing to serve this great rural community in 2020 and we wish all of our friends & conservation supporters a happy and healthy new year! Written by: Lola Bobrowski CCCD Outreach Coordinator

After 10 years of serving as a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist in the Walpole field office, Steve Pytlik is leaving NRCS to join the US Forest Service in Rutland Vermont as a Recreational planner. The move will allow Steve to remain closer to his home in Vermont, give him more time with his family, and surely bring new and exciting experiences. NRCS & CCCD staff will miss Steve’s leadership and dedication to conservation. Steve is a well-rounded planner with experience in barnyard and manure handling systems, cropland and ecological and forestry systems. He retained his role as conservation planner in addition to his DC responsibilities and was responsible for implementing some of the highest impact conservation projects in Cheshire and Sullivan county over the last decade. Most notable of these are three dam removals that restored fish passage, floodplains and native streambank vegetation to impounded blocked stream systems restoring miles of stream ecosystems. Steve also advocated for soil health and worked with farmers to plant cover crops to reduce soil erosion and sediment runoff from hundreds of acres of cornland along the Connecticut River. Steve worked with many partner organizations over his 10 years with NRCS to get conservation on the ground. His contributions include working hand in hand with the Cheshire and Sullivan County Conservation Districts. Steve is an exemplary partner who helped the Districts identify conservation priorities and focus funding on where it could be most impactful. We will miss Steve’s leadership and dedication to conservation in southwest New Hampshire. Please join us as we all wish him well with his new position! Good luck Steve! Written by: Walpole NRCS & CCCD staff

"Biological diversity is the key to the maintenance of the world as we know it." ~ E.O. Wilson Old School Landscaping In 1990 my wife, Kathy, and I began working on the ornamental plantings at Distant Hill Gardens in earnest. In those early gardening years our winters were spent thumbing through nursery catalogs looking for trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers, and perennials that offered the showiest flowers, the longest bloom time, the best fall color, and all with the promise of little or no insect damage. Looks were everything! We were following the accepted definition for landscaping at the time: to improve the aesthetics of a property by including visually beautiful, unblemished plants within the landscape. The relationship of the plants in the landscape to the overall ecosystem and its biodiversity was rarely discussed. Looking back on it now, it is hard to believe that the terms “invasive”, “native”, and “biodiversity” were not in the landscaping lexicon of the time. As late as 1998, the year I completed the New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program, there was still no mention of the advantages of landscaping with natives plants, no discussion of invasive plants, nor any talk about the importance of biodiversity. In fact, thirty years ago our very first purchase of plants for our property was the New Hampshire State Nursery’s ‘Song Bird Package’. We were excited when the bare-root seedlings arrived that spring and we quickly planted them with high hopes for their future growth. Little did we know that years later the multiflora rose, autumn olive, and oriental bittersweet the State Nursery sold us in 1988 would all later be placed on the New Hampshire list of invasive plants! Landscaping Redefined Thankfully, over the past decade the focus of landscaping solely on aesthetic criteria has been slowly changing. We are beginning to realize that the plants we include in our gardens can meet our need for a visually beautiful landscape and still play an important role in improving biological diversity. This new shift in thinking often recommends the planting of only native plants in our gardens. Studies have show that native plants tend to support more caterpillar and insect species and therefore will draw more wildlife and be more beneficial to the ecosystem in general than alien plants. I feel, however, there is a problem with the vague and varied definitions of “native” used by the many voices in the discussion. Some gardeners are purists and follow their definition of “native” to the letter, not taking in to account a non-native plant’s attributes and the plants ability to add to biological diversity, and as a functioning habitat for wildlife. Doug Tallmay in his landmark book ‘Bringing Nature Home’ discusses using a functional definition of "native" as opposed to a chronological or geographic definition. Instead of thinking of a native plant as one that grew here prior to a certain date, such as before European colonization, we should think of a native plant as one that has evolved in a location long enough to be able to establish a specialized relationships with the ecosystem. It doesn’t really matters how long a plant has been present. What matters is that a plant is a functioning part of the ecosystem as a whole. As Tallamay states: “Let nature define nativity”. A good example of this is the common or purple lilac (Syringa vulgaris) a flowering shrub native to the Balkans in Eastern Europe and brought here by the colonists. Common lilacs are alien plants if you are using either the chronological or geographic definitions for a non-native. However, lilacs are known to support 40 species of native caterpillars and are more valuable in that regard than many true native plants. I can’t imagine our New England landscape without our New Hampshire State flower, the purple lilac, and neither can the caterpillars and butterflies that now depend on this non-native but non-invasive alien! Gardening With a Purpose In designing our landscape at Distant Hill Gardens, we are still concerned with providing a diversity of visual form, texture, and color to the garden for the human eye, but we believe that we as gardeners can play an important role in sustaining local biological diversity by providing a diversity of plants, both natives and well-vetted non-natives. Although we have just begun to scratch the surface in our understanding of the interactions between our gardens and the natural world in which we live, what is becoming clear is that the greater the diversity of well-chosen plants we include in our landscapes the greater the overall biological diversity. For too long we have considered our landscapes to be visually beautiful sanctuaries, separate from nature. Its time to step back and realize the larger role our gardens play in sustaining the diversity of life that is essential for a healthy and beautiful world. *** Would you like to increase the biodiversity of your property with native & ecosystem friendly shrubs, shade trees, fruit trees, conifers, vines, ferns, perennials, and even grow-your-own mushrooms? If you answered yes, or you're curious about learning more.... Be sure to check out the CCCD's 2020 Conservation Plant Sale happening now! Orders must be received by Feb. 28. 2020. You can access the 2020 Catalog & order form on the CCCD's website: http://www.cheshireconservation.org/plant-and-seed-sales Written by: Michael Nerrie CCCD Associate Board Member CEO (Chief Environmental Observer) of Distant Hill Gardens www.distanthills.org

Hillside Springs Farm is a horse-powered vegetable farm. With three draft horses, one kitty, and two and a half farmers -- my spouse, myself and our college-aged daughter -- we are kept busy with our pastures and hayfields, an apple orchard, 8000 square feet of greenhouse space, and two acres of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. When I was in my early twenties, I discovered that I loved growing vegetables. After working on several vegetable farms in the Northeast, and still in my idealistic stage of life, I thought if I'm going to farm I'm going to do it with horses! I spent another year learning on a place in the Catskills that offered work in the fields with draft horses. The next step was to find a farm. My spouse and I had to decide early on whether we wanted a postage stamp size property that would only be about growing vegetables, or we wanted to have horses powering the farm. Working with horses would mean having pastures and hayfields, a barn for stalls and hay storage, and horse machinery. It also meant we would think about our garden plans differently. We chose horses, and were lucky to find an old farm with good possibilities for garden and pasture land, as well as a barn. Over the years, we found our horse-drawn equipment at auctions and in our neighbor's hedgerows. We cleared the overgrown fields for pasture, and started making hay with the horses. We also started our compost yard, which certainly benefited from all the horse manure. In the garden, we laid out 400 foot beds, because it meant the horses had a long straight stretch to work, and we needed less headland to turn around. But it didn't take us long to realize that 400 foot long beds were completely daunting to a weeding farmer with a hoe! The next year we divided our garden in half, making 200 foot beds, and grass pathways. The horses didn't mind at all, and the weeding was a lot more inviting. Slowly, over the last 18 years, we have turned this overgrown place into a farm. Our decisions were based both on the horses and the farm fitting together, and on being able to work together full-time on the farm as a family. Although farming comes with many challenges, from wild weather to marketing and everything in between, it is wonderful to be solidly grounded, and to be able to farm in a way that prioritizes healthy and holistic cycles of soil, water, air, plant, animal, and human life. Hillside Springs Farm is a horse-powered Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in Westmoreland, NH growing 100 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers using only sustainable, organic, and biodynamic farming methods. Produce is sold at the Farmers' Market of Keene and CSA SNAP shares are available at 50% off when you use your EBT card. Written by: Frank Hunter CCCD Associate Board Member Farmer at Hillside Springs Farm

Research published in the Sept, 2019 edition of the journal, Science, tells a frightening tale. Since 1970, the year before I graduated high school, the total breeding bird population in the continental US and Canada has decreased by 29%. That is a loss of over 2.9 BILLION birds! Forest dwelling birds have diminished by 1,000,000,000, while our grassland birds have decreased by 700,000,000! What does this say for us? One of the primary causes for the decline is the loss of suitable habitat. Others include use of pesticides (not just on farms) and global change. Ken Rosenberg is an applied conservation scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the study’s lead author. His take on the results is, “It’s a strong signal that our human-altered landscapes are losing their ability to support birdlife and that is an indicator of a coming collapse of the overall environment.” Locally, a quick survey of the NH Fish and Game website (https://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/species-list.html#birds) shows approximately 60 species of birds in New Hampshire listed as “Species of Greatest Conservation Need”. The list includes various wrens, grouse, terns, warblers, sparrows, swallows, bobolinks and the Eastern Meadowlark. What to do? Besides our homestead in Westmoreland, Gayla and I have approximately 25 acres in Sullivan, NH, that is equally divided between forest and a beautiful pasture. As supporters of the Cheshire County Conservation District (CCCD), we often rely on the services provided by the District, and the programs offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) located in Walpole, NH. One such program assisted us in developing a Forest Management Plan. Another continues to help us enhance the soil and overall pasture health of our organically managed hayfield. After learning of the study, we naturally approached them to learn if we can better manage our forest and pasture to enhance bird habitat. First walking the forest with a fellow CCCD board member and forester, Peter Renzelman, and then the entire property with NRCS Soil Conservationist (and wildlife specialist) Wendy Ward, was an educational experience beyond compare! As we walked the land, I was amazed at the depth of their passion and knowledge as they read the history of the forest, pointing out areas that were beneficial, as well as areas not conducive for native and migrating birds and wildlife. Peter showed me part of the woods that was damaged during the hurricane of 1938 and how it had affected trees standing today as they regrew. He also spoke of how a selective patch cut would create and area of new growth forest that would enhance migrating bird habitat. Wendy identified birds and plants I had never even heard of! She also discussed how by adhering to specific dates for mowing and or grazing, we would greatly improve the desirability of the natural bird habitat of our pasture. All this I shared with the creator of our Forest Management Plan (FMP), Andy Sheere, (www.longviewforest.com) who also walked the land and, by thoughtfully combining our personal goals with everyone’s ideas, developed the FMP we will now follow starting in 2020. The plan is a valuable educational tool and provides us great insight as to the overall diversity, health and sustainability of our forestland. As our primary goal is to enhance the overall soil health and wildlife habitat of this beautiful part of Sullivan for generations to come, Gayla and I can now feel we are acting as responsible land stewards. Due to the guidance of Peter, Wendy, Andy, and continued help from Steve Pytlik of the NRCS, our land will be enjoyed by wildlife and people alike well into the future. All made possible by partnering with the Cheshire County Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Please join us and help make a difference! Written by: John Snowdon CCCD Associate Board Member

Hello Garden Friends! Fall is a perfect time to clean up your garden. Having a garden clean-up day in the fall is a great way to improve the health of your soil, shorten your spring task list, and leave your garden plot looking great. Here are some things you can consider doing before the snow falls. Remove stakes, tomato cages, plant tags, etc. Store them for the winter. Remove any plastic from your beds (e.g. weed barriers, etc), unless you have a permanent bed of perennials on which you’ve used a multi-year landscaping cloth and mulch. Remove annuals and prune perennials. I personally like to cut annual plants off at the soil line to let the roots decay and add organic matter to the soil; you can also pull them up. Compost all non-diseased plants and weeds. Remove and compost any crop that has fallen or frozen (tomatoes, for example). “Deadhead” flowers and herbs that you don’t want to re-seed. Harvest any remaining vegetables that you don’t intend to over-winter. Bring in green tomatoes to ripen. Bring in potted plants if you intend to over-winter them. Re-pot if necessary (if they’ve outgrown their container). Don’t leave your soil bare! Cover your garden beds with a mulch of straw or leaves, unless you have a cover crop going. This is also a good time to amend with compost and/or manure. Drain and store garden hoses. Clean and store garden tools out of the weather. Consider sharpening blades of hoes and shovels. Ensure seeds and amendments are stored properly. For me, the end of the growing season is always a mix of sadness to say goodbye, and gratefulness for the season’s abundance and a chance to rest. Fall and winter is also a great time to plan for next year’s garden, so if the days get dark and you’re feeling down, take some time to dig into the new spring seed catalogs and plan things out for another great season of growing! Most importantly, remember all the fun and learning you had over the season! Enjoy the winter! Written by: Rachel Brice Urban Ag & Gardens Coordinator Rachel@cheshireconservation.org