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Hello Garden Friends! It’s fall in New Hampshire, and the garden season is certainly transitioning… but that doesn’t mean we have to be done! I wanted to share some thoughts with you about tasks you might consider in the month of October. If you’re considering season extension, October is sort of the “last chance” to get your materials ready to go. This is garden-cleaning time! Clear out anything you don’t intend to over-winter. Harvest pumpkins and winter squash before a hard frost. If you’re planting garlic this year, finish up this month. If you’re not using a cover crop this year, mulch your garden. Chopped straw works great! Plan to bring inside any herbs or tender perennials you’d like to over-winter. There are also vegetables that are relatively easy to keep going in your garden, if you’re interested in season extension. With a simple hoop and row cover set-up, you can easily keep kale, hearty spinach, cabbage, collards, and more going almost all winter long! Read more about winter-friendly veggies here. If you’re curious about storing your vegetables after harvest, Mother Earth News has a ton of great tips. There are quite a few veggies that will last all winter long if properly stored, so you can keep eating out of your garden until spring! As always, the most important thing is to keep having FUN! Do reach out with any questions… or tips and suggestions for how you keep your inner gardener happy during the winter! Happy Growing! Written by: Rachel Brice Urban Ag & Gardens Coordinator Rachel@cheshireconservation.org

This month's blog comes from our regional partner, The Monadnock Conservancy... Chickering Farm, in Westmoreland, N.H., has been in the Chickering family for more than 200 years. Eighty-five-year-old Arthur “Jim” Chickering is the sole owner of the farm and manages its day-to-day operations, including the care of 400 dairy cows. The 350-acre dairy farm is one of the last of its kind in the area and the largest remaining dairy farm in the Monadnock region. Jim has spent his whole life working the land, and his deep connection to it motivated him to conserve the property. With dairy farming an increasingly difficult business, there was a high risk that the land would be lost to development, but Jim refused to let that happen. As Jim explained, “I couldn’t bear to see my fields plowed over for houses. This land — this good soil — is meant to be farmed. I’m so glad to know that the land will stay in farming and that future generations can enjoy the land as much as I have.” The farm is rich with history as well as biodiversity. It is located along Route 63 and has been farmed by the Chickering family for six generations, since 1801. The property stretches for more than a mile along the Connecticut River, and it includes prime agricultural soils and forested floodplain, both rare resources in the state. A variety of wildlife, including bald eagles, deer, bear, and coyote, call the farm home. Mill Brook, with its refreshingly cool water and deep pools, is a favorite swimming spot for locals and has long been open to the public. Now that the land is protected, people will get to continue enjoying this special place in perpetuity. The Chickering Farm is the largest farmland project to date completed by the Monadnock Conservancy. Its success is in large part due to the generous support of the USDA’s Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) program, the New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP), the 1772 Foundation, the Russell Farm and Forest Conservation Foundation, the Thomas W. Haas Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the New Hampshire State Conservation Committee’s “Moose Plate” Grant Program, the Town of Westmoreland, and several anonymous donors. Farmland protection continues to be a top priority for the Monadnock Conservancy. To learn more about the Conservancy’s work, visit www.monadnockconservancy.org or call Stacy Cibula at (603) 357-0600 ext. 106. Written by: Katrina Farmer Communication Manager for The Monadnock Conservancy

Owning 235 acres can be daunting at times. So many questions about doing the right thing, doing too much, too little, which management technique, etc. That’s when it’s a good time to have a talented team. Ours is led by ecologist extraordinaire Jeff Littleton of Moosewood Ecological. Jeff has created management plans, hired and trained interns, and done annual surveys of birds, herps (amphibians and reptiles), mammals, vernal pools, pollinators, just about anything that wiggles, flies, walks, runs or crawls across the landscape. And that’s just a tiny portion of all the amazing things he does. He installed several trail cameras throughout the property to monitor wildlife movement (and occasionally landowners & dog). Since we have so much land, we don’t often see animals but know they are around by looking at the camera photos or tracking in the winter. But we also like to walk on the landscape, so part of the planning included the design and installation of trails, about 6 miles of them crisscrossing the acreage. This enables us to walk silently and observe rather than bushwhacking noisily. Trails are maintained by interns each summer who also participate in ecological monitoring, invasive species management, brush cutting and many other tasks. Thanks to an NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program grant, our work continues across the landscape. We are installing another 1.5 acres of pollinator habitat targeting monarch butterflies, adding shrubs along the woodland edges to increase habitat diversity as well as pollen and nectar resources for pollinators, managing invasive plants, creating patch openings to enhance wildlife nesting habitats for a variety of warblers and other birds that have experienced population declines over the past few decades, and forest stand improvements to release crop trees to increase food for wildlife such as acorns, beech nuts, hazelnuts, and black cherries. One of the priorities for our land stewardship is to create more shrubland and early successional habitat, a critically rare type of wildlife habitat in New Hampshire. Shrubland and early successional habitat includes areas of dense, young trees and shrubs with scattered patches of wildflowers and ferns that provide habitat for 139 species of wildlife, not including the numerous pollinators found in these habitats. Once abundant during the mid-1800’s and early 1900s, our forests have matured leaving less shrubland and early successional habitat. As a result, there has been a dramatic decrease in the abundance and distribution of various wildlife such as bees, butterflies, birds, reptiles, and mammals. We recently met with Matt Tarr, a UNH Cooperative Extension wildlife biologist, who helped assess the early successional and shrubland habitat we’ve created. This type of management targeted 15 acres of forest adjacent to various open habitats, including a pollinator meadow, shrublands, and a restored small orchard. The goal was to provide complimentary wildlife habitat beneficial for many species known to use the property, as well as to attract new species. It is always a good idea to get advice from experts as you make changes. New perspectives and ideas emerge that enrich the work you are doing. Matt was very excited to see how the management was responding! Through our stewardship practices we have not only increased the abundance of wildlife, but we’ve also attracted new species not previously documented. Eastern cottontails are now bounding around, and occasionally provide us a quick glimpse as they take cover in the dense shrubs. In addition, we did a small patch cut to open a stand of hemlocks and diversify habitat for birds and others critters. The spring migration of birds demonstrated the effectiveness of the management. We are also noticing different birds using this site during the breeding season. We hope our early successional habitats will continue to attract more prey so that predators will maintain their presence on this landscape. We installed bluebird boxes last fall in anticipation of the following nesting season. We were excited to see a pair has already produced an egg. We’ve added a wood duck nest box along the shoreline edge, and plan to add another nest box adjacent to the shrubby outlet of the pond where we have observed wood ducks during spring migration. Additionally, we leave many snags and large dead trees in the forest and along forest edge. These provide potential denning and nesting sites for a host of species, such as owls, flying squirrels, fishers, kestrel falcons, and bees. Some of these snags succumb to rot and gravity, falling to the forest floor where they provide excellent microhabitats for salamanders, frogs, and insects while they decay and feed the soils and plant life. Since pollinators -are a big part of what we do, we leave hollow-stemmed plants to provide nesting sites and have protected a sandy area for ground-nesting species. We also leave brush piles scattered about for nesting, cover, and over-wintering. Patience is an important part of planting pollinator habitat. The area we seeded last fall still doesn’t look like much. It certainly is not instant habitat in a jar. It can take 3-4 years for the area to begin to mature. But monitoring at all phases helps us understand how species diversity and numbers change as the habitat changes. We are so fortunate to have this land for us and critters- large and small- to roam. Plus knowing we are contributing to the long-term welfare of so many species that call the Monadnock Region home. If you'd like to explore this property in person, join the Cheshire County Conservation District on Thursday, July 12th from 4pm-5:30pm for Landscaping for Wildlife - Part II. Registration is required! Written by: Amy Bodwell CCCD Board Vice-Chair Here's another great read about why we need bees! Check it out! https://gardenerspath.com/how-to/disease-and-pests/why-we-need-bees/

I would like to share my experiences managing a wood lot I have been familiar with all my life. I have had the good fortune of doing the logging here for the last three cuts, each spaced fifteen years from the prior. I have witnessed the forest transition through many varied stages of growth—from when I first knew it as a thick stand of young pine typically found when an abandoned field turns to forest, to the present forest of scattered +24" diameter- breast-height (dbh) white pine with some red oak in the overstory and pole-sized (6-10"dbh) hardwood in the understory. Somewhere in a closet of our house is a photo taken when picture postcards were first available. It is a shot from Alstead Center west to Bennett Road, with the Bennett house quite visible above a pasture. Today the scene is just woods with tall pine standing over mixed hardwoods—no pasture or house in sight. Within the stand itself, there are a couple of stone walls lined with big red oak and sugar maples, parent trees of the hardwood present in the understory. There are also several large piles of fieldstone handpicked to facilitate farming—more testament to the land’s best use of a hundred or so years ago. These clues establish a timeline of when that pasture was no longer grazed, was abandoned, and reverted—slowly at first—to forest. I came on the scene in the early 60s as a teenager hunting, unsuccessfully, for grouse and deer. I remember it as thick pine, and I remember a thinning harvest in the mid 60s. In the late 70s, after becoming a licensed forester, I began to manage the property, and supervised a marked timber sale of mostly pole-sized white pine. The logs went to Claremont Lumber, a sawmill sawing white pine (that mill site is now a Walmart superstore). The lower grade logs went to Elmendorf, a facility also in Claremont that made Oriented Strand Board (OSB)—again a manufacturing facility now out of business. The timber sale was a thinning, removing the more poorly formed pine to favor those with potential to flourish. A few acres with trees too small to be marketable were purposely girdled. This was a cost-share practice supervised by Marshal Patmos as the County Forester (fortunately, the Extension Service and benefit of a County Forester have stood the test of time). Fifteen years later I did another "thinning cut," using a cut-to-length system where trees are cut into sections at the stump and carried out of the woods by a forwarder. I removed more low-grade pine, firewood, and several loads of white birch. That birch went all the way to Westbrook, Maine as boltwood, a short log sawn into squares then turned on lathes to make beads, pot handles, and golf tees. At that time it seemed every woodlot had white birch, and the best market option was with Saunders Brothers in Maine. That company and the market are no longer—a result of competition from other countries, but also a decline in available resource. The forests in general are aging, and the shade-intolerant birch that came in with the pine reached maturity and got snuffed out by other species. Another fifteen years later brought another thinning—and this time a major change was the development of a hardwood understory coming in under the pine. This understory was not intentional, and was initially unwelcome, as continuing to grow pine had been an objective. (However, the soils are fertile, and white pine seedlings just cannot compete against hardwoods.) This new understory forest included red maple, sugar maple, white ash, and a small number of beech with most stems showing the potential to develop into high-quality forest products—especially the sugar maple. Now the management focus shifted to the development of the hardwood as well as continuing to thin the pine. This now brings us to last winter and the "final" cut of the pine overstory, which was at the same time a thinning of the understory. The objective was to leave enough overstory to shelter the sapling and pole hardwood, protecting them from ice or wind. Trees were cut with chainsaws and purposely directed to fall where damage to the understory could be minimized. It is now apparent that the cutting cycle of fifteen years can continue for at least two more times, removing a few more pine and retaining the better quality hardwoods. Another management option—given the proliferation of red and sugar maple—is that of a sugar bush. The slope is away from the current access, but when the maples reach tapping size, the advances in maple technology could make it a viable option. My point is to illustrate the changes in the growth and maturity of our forests. The pine was big and straight, but more recently showed signs relating to overmaturity—with red rot, black knots, and optimum product value in decline. The understory patiently waited in anticipation for its turn in the sun. The frequency of harvests with continuing management has enabled this forest to maintain a vibrant forest of thrifty high-quality stems. The final cut doesn't relate to the end, but more to that of a beginning—accepting that nature will match species that are best suited to the evolution of our forests. Written by: Peter Renzelman CCCD Associate Board Member & Forester

​Hello Garden Friends! I wanted to share some thoughts with you about tomato health in general, and also about late blight in particular. Tomatoes are not particularly difficult to grow, but like most plants they do have health needs. Plant health starts with the soil; generally it’s a good idea to have your soil tested every two years. Tomatoes in particular are “heavy feeders,” which means they like a lot of nitrogen. They also need phosphorus and potassium; together these three nutrients are often labeled NPK. In addition to NPK, tomatoes (like all plants) need micronutrients like calcium, copper, magnesium, potassium, and more. Healthy soil will likely provide all of these things to your tomatoes; you can also add a good quality compost as an amendment. If you are curious to learn more about homemade organic fertilizers you can feed your tomatoes and the rest of your garden, check out this page. All tomatoes need some kind of physical support. This could be a tomato cage, a stake, a trellis of some kind, a fence… your creativity is the limit, just keep those plants off the ground. Tomatoes need to be trimmed as well, and it’s best to make this a regular habit so it doesn’t become overwhelming. Primarily, you’ll want to regularly remove the suckers (see diagram below). I also like to trim the bottom leaves so the plant isn’t touching the ground. Tomatoes need consistent moisture, particularly when they’re setting fruit. Straw mulch can help with this, and can also prevent soil from splashing up on to the tomato’s leaves. You can also explore passive watering techniques; read more about those here. When it comes to watering, the best time of day to do this is in the morning, so the plant has time to dry off during the day. Do your best to water the ground, rather than the plant itself. You have likely noticed that I’ve mentioned keeping the plant off the ground and soil off the plant a number of times. This is to help with disease prevention, particularly fungal diseases, of which late blight is one. Late blight, or Phytophthora infestans is a highly contagious fungal disease that affects tomatoes and potatoes. It usually comes around later in the season, when the weather is humid. It can be spread through direct contact, soil contact, and the spores can be blown through the wind. Prevention is the best way to handle late blight. Consider planting blight-resistant tomato varieties; often plant tags or seed catalogs will indicate if a particular varietal is disease resistant. This is quite a good article on blight resistance, and includes a long list of resistant varieties. When you plant your tomatoes, plant them with enough space to ensure good air flow between the plants. This will decrease the likelihood of catching late blight and spreading it through your plot. Keep your tomatoes well-trimmed and off the ground. Use a mulch to keep soil from splashing up onto the plant. Water in the morning, and try to water the ground rather than the plant. Monitor your plants closely and regularly. If you do notice signs of late blight on your tomato plants (leaves with dark, water soaked patches, that turn dry, brown and papery; possible ring of white mold; stems that turn black; fruit with large, irregular, brown, greasy-looking spots) (from The Organic Gardner’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, by Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley), remove the affected parts of the plant at once, double bag them in plastic, and throw them in the trash. Do not compost them; this will spread the disease. Apply a foliar spray of compost tea; you can make some yourself by putting a gallon of well-rotted manure-based compost into a five gallon bucket, filling it with water, letting it sit in the sun for a few days, and then straining out the solids. Apply the tea in the evening. Check your plants regularly, as you may need to follow this procedure a number of times. You may also want to consider a copper spray; your local garden center should supply this. When it comes to late blight and other fungal diseases, prevention and control are the focus. There is no cure. Additionally, it’s very important to watch for blight on your tomatoes or potatoes; it is highly contagious (yes, I’m repeating myself – this is important!) and can easily spread to other gardeners’ or farmers’ plots. Caring for your garden also means you’re caring for your community’s gardens! If you want to read more about late blight and other fungal diseases in tomatoes, UNH extension has a really great article on the topic. They are a great go-to when researching garden problems! I don’t want to scare you away from growing tomatoes! Being well-informed is the best way to be prepared for potential problems. The most important thing to do in your garden and with your tomatoes is to HAVE FUN and keep learning and growing! If you have questions, comments, or stories you’d like to share about your garden or your tomatoes, please do – I’m looking forward to hearing from you! Happy Growing! Written by: Rachel Brice Urban Ag & Gardens Coordinator rachel@cheshireconservation.org

​Hello Garden Friends! I’d like to share the question of the month with you! A gardener reached out to me recently with a lettuce mystery, and I thought the conversation might be helpful to all. Check it out! Q: Hi Rachel, I noticed within the last week one of my lettuce plants has been munched on to death by some tiny red ants (pictures included). The other two lettuces are still healthy, but I don’t want to lose those. What could I do to combat these little red ant looking insects? A: Thanks for your question! I'm so sorry to hear about your lettuce - how frustrating! Usually ants don't attack healthy living plants, but they will bother plants that are injured, diseased, or stressed, and they also "farm" aphids. The troubled lettuce in your photo looks scorched to me, and I wonder if it's been sunburnt... lettuce doesn't usually like being hot, or dry. I might try a few things. - Trim off all the affected leaves on the worst lettuce. You may have to cut nearly the whole lettuce down. - Lettuce likes nitrogen. You might try buying something like bonemeal or fish emulsion (you can get either at Agway or Aubuchon), and apply to your soil using the package directions. As we're moving in to the warmer/sunnier months, you could also try setting up some shade over your lettuce. Either garden center should be able to help if you say you're looking for a summer-weight shade cloth for your lettuces. You can do this many ways. Some people use hoops, some build little square trellises. - As we're moving in to the warmer/sunnier months, you could also try setting up some shade over your lettuce. Either garden center should be able to help if you say you're looking for a summer-weight shade cloth for your lettuces. You can do this many ways. Some people use hoops, some build little square trellises. Here are some photos of shaing lettuce: ​ ​ - Lettuce doesn't like being dry. Water the soil gently and thoroughly, and then add mulch to keep it at an even moisture level. I like chopped straw, but lots of different things work. - If none of this helps, there are some deterrents and treatments for ants, and you can read more about those here. I'm happy to help, so if you have any questions about any of this, or want any help trying to use some of the strategies, let me know and we'll set up a time! I hope this has been helpful! Happy Growing! Written by: Rachel Brice Urban Ag & Gardens Coordinator rachel@cheshireconservation.org

​Hello garden friends! This year, one of my new adventures is growing in containers. In this photo (taken on June 1st), you can see a raised wooden container garden, full of lettuce, spinach, arugula, beans, and marigolds. In smaller pots resting on the back of the container are two houseplants I moved outside for the summer, and in the hanging baskets are strawberries. You can grow almost anything in a container! There are some important things to consider, however, that are quite different than growing in-ground. First, consider the size of the plant you want to grow. A sprawling pumpkin vine that produces 50 pound fruits has very different needs than a dozen radishes. You can usually find this information on the seed packet or the plant tag if you’re purchasing transplants. There are also some varieties that are specially suited or bred to do well in containers – for example, the strawberries in this photo are the “Gasana” variety, and the plant tag specified “wonderful for containers or patios.” Dwarf and bush varieties of vegetables also often do well in containers. The second thing to think about is the growing medium, or soil. Generally, top soil or soil that is dug up from the ground will not work well in containers. It tends to get compacted, and doesn’t drain well. For container growing, you can either purchase bags of potting soil at your local garden center, or you can try making your own. Different plants have different fertility needs, and there are sometimes plant-specific pre-made mixes available. In the containers in these pictures, we used the Foxfarm brand of potting soil, which we purchased at a local garden center. The last thing I want to make sure to mention is watering and drainage. Make sure any container you use has holes in the bottom to allow for proper drainage – otherwise your plants might drown! This season I made the hilarious mistake of not thoroughly checking all of the new pots that I bought before planting, and discovered that some of the pots didn’t have drainage holes after a night of consistent rain filled them almost to the brim! Not to worry, my plants survived – I drilled some holes in the bottom of the containers, the water drained right out, and the problem was solved… but it sure was messier than it had to be! So, check first. Additionally, especially as our weather gets warmer during the summer months, check your containers on a daily basis to make sure they’re not too dry. When it’s hot, the soil moisture evaporates from containers much more quickly than it does from the ground. Expect to have to water your container plants on a very regular basis during the summer. I’ll explore some passive watering techniques in a future blog post! Please reach out with any questions, comments, or stories you’d like to share about your own container gardening adventures – I’d love to hear from you! Happy growing! Written by: Rachel Brice Urban Ag & Gardens Coordinator rachel@cheshireconservation.org

​ Hello, garden friends! I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Rachel Brice, and this year I have the privilege of serving as Cheshire County’s Urban Ag and Gardens Coordinator. A big part of my role, and one that’s really exciting to me, is the chance to talk to other people about their gardening adventures! I love talking about, working in, and being around gardens and plants. I grew up in a small town in southeastern Iowa, helping my dad out in his backyard garden. I also loved to help my grandma, when we would take trips to visit her in Lancaster County, PA. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had my hands and my bare feet in the dirt (and if you see me in the garden, it’s still likely to be without shoes!). So, I got my gardening start in “zone 5,” which is quite similar to much of Cheshire County. Before moving to the area to pursue graduate studies at Antioch University, I had been living in central Texas for about ten years, and for two years before that I was living in southern California. After 12 years with no real winter season to speak of, moving to New England was quite the gardening adjustment! But I am loving it, and loving watching my plants grow big and strong (those that aren’t being mowed down by cut-worms or devoured by flea beetles). Although I am a life-long gardener, I feel uncomfortable with words like “expert.” Lots of folks I talk to have been gardening and growing longer than I’ve been alive, and I’m always learning new things! My philosophy is that nobody knows everything about gardening, and it’s always an exciting challenge, from day one. Whether you’re at the place in your journey where you’re just getting ready to plant your first seed, or whether you’re somebody who’s been gardening for decades, I think it’s always lovely to connect with someone else and talk about your plants. I garden organically, which means I don’t use chemical herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, or fertilizers. If you have questions about those things, I will certainly try to help you find answers, but I won’t be able to speak from any personal experience. I don’t mind sharing some of my plants with the bugs and the birds, so my first step is usually to leave things alone and see if they resolve. I like experimenting. I plant flowers with my veggies. I like to share. And I think there’s no happier place on earth than a well-loved garden! I hope you reach out! I’d very much like to talk to you and learn with you. I’ll be keeping this blog throughout the season (and maybe beyond?), to share garden adventures, tips and tricks, photos, tales of disaster and success, and many other tidbits. Happy Growing! Written by: Rachel Brice Urban Ag & Gardens Coordinator rachel@cheshireconservation.org

As the spring rains take a rest and allow for periods of planting on our farms and in our gardens, you may be interested to know that CCCD now offers small farm and garden tools and equipment that support soil health practices and management. Through the CCCD’s Equipment Rental Program and the Monadnock Grows Together Project, several hand tools and a walk-behind tractor and implements are available for anyone looking to improve their soil quality with the help of appropriately-scaled hand tools and equipment. The CCCD now offers a walk-behind tractor with several implements through its Equipment Rental Program. This BCS walk-behind tractor and the implements expand the equipment rentals that currently includes tractor-scaled equipment, such as a no-till seeder, aerator, roller crimper, woodash/lime spreader, as well as a no-till vegetable transplanter and 12 ft. Esch no till drill (new in 2019). The CCCD is excited to expand its Equipment Rental Program to include the BCS and implements. ​ Walk-behind tractors (also known as two-wheeled tractors) are more than beefed-up rototillers. Their tractor-like versatility allows for different implements to run off of a single power source. The implements can be simply and safely changed out for one another. The implements available for the BCS through the CCCD are: a roller crimper, flail mower, power harrow, woodash/fertilizer spreader, seeder, and discs. These attachments resemble their larger-scale relatives available through the CCCD, all of whom are for anyone looking to reduce their tillage as a means of improving the biology and structure of their soil. The BCS and the implements offered through the CCCD’s Equipment Rental Program are free to use in 2019, if you attended the BCS operations training this past April. Additionally, the equipment is housed in the CCCD’s new trailer which you must be able to haul in order to transport the equipment to and from your location. For the human-powered gardens, CCCD received funding to purchase several hand tools that will be available to check out from the Keene Public Library, starting on June 23rd. The new Tool Lending Library is part of the Monadnock Grows Together Program which also offers a new seed lending library (also located at the Keene Public Library) and educational workshops designed for small farms and gardens. Not only will you find common garden tools available through the Tool Lending Library, but also an Earthway push seeder, a broadcast seeder, and a broadfork that can be used to prepare garden beds. In addition to using the broadfork to build healthy soils, you’ll also receive a great workout. ​ If you are looking to maintain and improve the health of your soil, whether it is in the garden or orchard, in a high tunnel, or in a raised bed, the CCCD and its partners continue to look for ways to promote soil health practices. The CCCD’s Equipment Rental Program and the new Tool Lending Library, are just a few ways that the District is focused on addressing the needs of both farmers and gardeners, no matter of one’s scale. It’s a long row to hoe and we all can take part in building healthier soils. Written by: Andy Pressman CCCD Board Chair NCAT Northeast Regional Director

Here at Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail, I have been working with the Walpole office of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for almost ten years to make our 58-acre property more habitat diverse. NRCS has helped me with numerous habitat improvement projects, including invasive species control, pollinator meadow installation, native shrub planting, and early successional habitat (aka young forest) creation for wildlife. These habitat improvements have already made a notable difference, both in the number of bird species that use the property, and in the increased diversity and health of the understory shrubs and herbaceous plants. ​ Increasing the Biodiversity of Distant Hill To further increase biodiversity on the land we steward here on Distant Hill, we are purchasing an additional 70-acres of land that abuts our existing Walpole property. This mostly wooded parcel includes a number of habitat types either missing or in short supply on our original 58-acres. These habitats include a beaver pond, a black ash forest seep, a rich mesic forest habitat with blue cohosh, trout lily, and maidenhair fern, riparian habitat beside more than a half-mile of Great Brook, an upland steam that empties into the Connecticut River, and eight-acres of shrubland habitat under an electric transmission line that traverses the property. ​ The Importance of Shrubland Habitat to Wildlife There has been a steady decline in shrubland habitat in New England over the past hundred years, and with that a steady decline in the populations of many shrubland dependent birds and wildlife. A wide variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects use shrublands to meet their daily or seasonal needs for food, nesting sites, and cover. In New Hampshire alone, there are over 35 species of birds that require scrublands as their primary habitat. In nature, shrublands are a transitional community that occur temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as fire. Due to our suppression of wildfires in New England, one of the most important locations of shrubland habitat in the Northeast are the miles of transmission line rights-of-way (ROW) criss-crossing the landscape. ​ A Scientific Study with Some Unexpected Results Numerous scientific studies have looked at the value of this increasingly uncommon habitat for birds and other wildlife. One local study was recently completed by Matt Tarr, a UNH Extension Associate Professor and wildlife biologist. He and his colleagues studied the shrublands beneath hi-voltage transmission lines in New Hampshire and Maine to better understand the use of this unique habitat by songbirds. Over a two-year period, they captured and banded almost 3,500 birds at 18 different transmission line sites. One interesting finding of the study: although bird species diversity was lowest where invasive shrubs grew in near monoculture, the number of species was actually greater on those sites that contained a mix of invasive and native plants. Fewer bird species were recorded on sites that contained only native vegetation. ​ Promoting Shrubland Habitat In an attempt to establish and promote shrublands, with their low-growing vegetative plant communities, the utility company that manages our transmission line acreage utilizes a program called Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM). This management protocol enables National Grid to reduce maintenance and herbicide use while also producing numerous environment benefits. The IVM program focuses on complete removal of tall-growing vegetation, as opposed to mowing, pruning, or topping the undesirable vegetation. Topped vegetation does nothing to foster a stable, desirable plant community as the topped trees vigorously sprout back and shade out the desirable plants. I hope to work in conjunction with National Grid to improve the existing shrub habitat on the ROW. ​ Our Partnership with NRCS I look forward to working with NRCS, and National Grid, to improve the biodiversity of this newly acquired property. With the help of NRCS I hope to develop a wildlife management plan for the new 70-acre parcel that gives us a roadmap to future conservation projects. With time, our hope is to increase the diversity of wildlife habitat on the property. Written by: Michael Nerrie CCCD Associate Board Member Owner/Director of Distant Hill Gardens & Nature Trail Learn more about Shrubland Dependent Birds: On Wednesday, June 5, from 4 - 6 pm, Matt Tarr will be leading a 'Bird Netting Demonstration and Wildlife Walk' on a transmission line right-of-way on the newly acquired 70-acre property at Distant Hill Gardens. CLICK HERE for more information about the event.

This winter has sure been a cold and windy one! One thing I’m grateful for is the living snowfence that we planted along our driveway when we moved to our house 20 years ago. Our place is exposed to the west, and during our first winter there we experienced repeated drifting of snow, blocking a good part of our long driveway with snow again and again. The next fall we bought 5 rolls of wooden slat snow fence and installed it beside the driveway. Because the wind comes primarily from the northwest, and that part of the driveway runs north-south, we learned that the most effective layout for the snow fence was to have it in a herringbone pattern of 50’ long rows, 50’ apart. ​​ The rows are perpendicular to the prevailing winds and oriented to collect the snow as it blows across the field and before it hits the driveway. It was effective at reducing snow drifts on the driveway, and we could see that we needed something bigger and more permanent for the long term, so the next step was to plant a “living snowfence” of trees in the same pattern, just behind the snow fence. As the trees grew taller they took over the job and eventually we removed the old snow fence. Among the added benefits is that the area behind the living snowfence is sheltered from the fierce winds, making it a nice place to walk the dogs, even in the worst weather! We have put sheep and cattle between the rows in the summer, where they graze the grass and take advantage of the shelter and shade provided by the trees. The birds love it too, sheltering in the trees year round. When planning a living snowfence, the rule of thumb is that most of the snow will drop in an area 2x the height of the snowfence. So a 10’ tall row of trees will accumulate a large amount of snow within about 20’ in front of it. Here are some links to living snowfence and windbreak design guides: https://www.arborday.org/programs/graphics/conservation-trees/living-snow-fences.pdf https://www.fs.usda.gov/nac/documents/workingtrees/brochures/livingsnowfenceforweb.pdf https://ag.purdue.edu/extension/eden/Disasters/Tree%20Windbreaks.pdf https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1167383.pdf Written by: Heidi Konesko NRCS Soil Conservationist

It’s a cold, crisp, sunny day and a perfect day for a snowshoe through the woods. As I turn onto a path, I spot a large oval hole low down on a dead tree. I bet I know who did that. Do you? If you guessed pileated woodpecker, you are right. Often in winter, they create holes low down on a tee in search of insects that move down trees in winter. Very cool. As I continue my walk, I spot a long wide swath down the face of a hill. That’s odd, wonder who made that? Now I remember, it’s an otter slide. Those playful critters love to slide down hills rather than walk or run. I saw evidence of them in the spring- some shells piled near the shore where they fed so no surprise they are hanging around this winter. ​​ I come to a stone wall and go over to see what I might find around it. Hum, tracks going over the wall and along the side but they don’t match. This one is large but roundish, looks cat-like to me. I bet a bobcat has passed this way recently. But the other looks like my dog but she has not been here. I’m pretty certain it’s coyote. Two predators near each other, bet there are mice, squirrels or voles living in this wall that would make a tasty meal. ​​ I’m getting cold so heading back and as I go I hear a flock of chickadees overhead. I love seeing them at the feeder but it’s even better seeing them in their natural habitat. They are being pretty noisy and it’s getting a bit dark, I wonder if a barred owl could be close. I heard one’s familiar, “Who cooks for you“ call last night. If I were a chickadee, I’d be nervous as well. But I think it’s more common for Cooper’s Hawks to eat birds. Barred owls seem to like rodents better. ​​ I stroll next to a grove of hemlocks where the ground is all matted down. It’s been cold so I bet some deer have created deer beds under the cover of the trees. And look, there are numerous areas where they’ve dug into the snow. I would guess they think they’ll find acorns under the snow. It was not a good mast year for acorns so I hope they find some and don’t get too hungry and come munch on my blueberries. ​​ My last pathway before I head up the hill to home. I glance at the rockpile and see familiar tracks leading to and from it. The porcupine who has lived there for years, produced young and foraged the hemlocks is out and about. I love seeing her waddle across my meadow in the evening. Her silly footprints are very distinctive on the ground. ​​ Home at last. I have loved my walk in the woods. Tracks, sounds, and signs are everywhere, all I have to do is get dressed warmly and take a short hike and keep my ears and eyes open. Nature has so many things to show and teach us. All we need to do is be ready to learn. So go wander the woods!! Written by: Amy Bodwell CCCD Board Vice-Chair

Warm temperatures during February melted the ice and snow, giving us a peek at the ground in our pasture fields. Is it my imagination or is that grass starting to green up already? Soon spring will be here to stay, and farmers will be turning livestock out to graze. Here are a few tips to help get your grazing season off to a great start: Wait: Delay grazing until the soil has dried out enough to support the weight of the animal without allowing soil compaction to occur. Soil amendments: Take a soil test every three years to monitor pH and nutrient status, and apply lime, woodash, potassium according to test results Treat pasture like a crop: Subdivide pastures and rotate animals to a new paddock at least twice per week, allowing grazed areas to recover and re-grow to 6-8” tall before grazing them again. We are holding a grazing class here in Cheshire County! Come and learn all about grazing management, and develop an individualized grazing plan for your farm! The course will be three days: April 11 & 12, and May 9. The intended audience is farmers who have grazing livestock and want to do a better job managing the pasture as a feed source. The course will also help you to obtain a grazing plan, which is a prerequisite for applying for financial assistance for some projects under the EQIP Program. For more information and to register: https://tinyurl.com/y8b4494f Or contact: Heidi Konesko, USDA-NRCS 603-756-2988 x117 Heidi.Konesko@nh.usda.gov Heidi Konesko USDA-NRCS Soil Conservationist

"Do right and feed everyone." This is the mission of the USDA, according to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. Seasonal high tunnel greenhouses help growers extend the season so they are able to feed people earlier in spring and later in fall. When used well, tunnels help growers do right and feed folks. ​ From left to right: Volunteers Ben Currotto, Rowland Russell, Tony Malloy, Pat Clark, and Dave Zimmerman In 2017, Ben Currotto with Antioch University New England’s Community Garden Connections submitted an application for a Natural Resources Conservation Service Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) grant to construct a seasonal high tunnel. Unfortunately, the initial application came late in the funding cycle and didn’t get funded. ​ (Rachel Brice and Manuel Diaz Gonzalez planning for irrigation in November 2017) In 2018, the new Garden Manager Rachel Brice followed up on the application for financial assistance for a seasonal high tunnel via the EQIP grant. She also added irrigation to the plan. ​ High tunnel full of tomatoes in July 2018 Brice praises all the amazing volunteers that helped erect the tunnel. Funds from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) made the purchase of materials possible. Volunteers built the tunnel. The time commitment to put up a tunnel is significant. Pound posts, bolt bows, keep it square… it all takes time. It takes a team and a day without wind to pull plastic over the frame. A completed tunnel growing crops is a beautiful sight. The harvest has increased in amount and quality since construction of the tunnel. Irrigation in the tunnel allows for more control on water. ​ Ben Currotto and Antioch University faculty Libby McCann February 2017 The outside gardens will have irrigation installed this spring to help plants thrive in the up and down of drought conditions. The gardens have always been watered by hand. The irrigation system, if set up with timers, will help plants get more water at the best times to help plants thrive. ​ Folks who frequent The Community Kitchen benefit with all the food from the garden going to “Do Right and Feed Everyone”. Written by: Mary Ellen Cannon NRCS Soil Conservationist

While automation plays a larger and larger role in modern agriculture, many sheep farmers continue to find working dogs to be indispensable in managing and protecting their flocks. ​ Herding dogs are a tremendous asset in almost every piece of work that the shepherd needs to do with their stock, from moving them between the pasture and barn, to putting them through chutes for worming, to separating out sick animals for treatment or young lambs for vaccinations. And, while sheep tend to be the livestock most frequently moved by dogs, many cattle and goat farmers find them to be extremely helpful as well. They can also be trained to work ducks, geese, chickens and even pigs. ​ Border Collies are generally considered to be the premier herding dog in the world today. Breeders have worked hard to protect and improve the working ability of the breed by maintaining lines that are selected exclusively for herding talent. This talent is tested at herding trials that have grown immensely in popularity in the United States and around the world. These competitions have attracted hobby farmers and dog trainers who often end up owning sheep themselves primarily for the purpose of providing their dogs with the regular opportunity to work. The Northeast Border Collie Association sanctions dozens of competitions throughout the Northeastern US and eastern Canada every year. The United States Border Collie Handlers Association sanctions hundreds of trials across the United States and Canada. Trials vary from small Fair and Festival Trials where dogs are asked to move sheep around arenas or small fields with great precision, to farm trials where a dog must work sheep and obey commands when hundreds of yards away from their handler. Many competitors travel thousands of miles to compete in prestigious trials, earn points towards the annual national finals and gain experience for both themselves and their dogs that is needed to be consistently successful. A range ewe in Colorado or Texas is a very different animal than the sheep in a typical New England farm flock and the best dogs can handle them all with confidence and precision. ​​ As an owner of a pack of 4 border collies, and the current President of the Northeast Border Collie Association, there is no doubt that I hold a bias for this remarkable breed. But certainly, there are a number of other herding breeds that can do effective work on the farm. I have several friends who have Australian Kelpies from working lines that can give the border collies a run for their money on the trial field. Australian Shepherds, Collies, Shetland sheepdogs, German Shepherds, Corgis, and other breeds were originally developed for herding and are all sometimes used for work on the farm today. ​​ Protection from predators is another critical job for which farmers who raise sheep and other small livestock often depend on a dog. Dozens of breeds of Livestock Guardian Dogs have been developed around the world specifically for this purpose. The two that I see most commonly used for this work in the Northeast are the Great Pyrenees and the Maremma. These dogs typically live with a flock from the age of 4 to 5 weeks. Over time they develop a strong, protective bond with their charges. It is very rare for a coyote, feral dog or other predator to cause any trouble when they are on duty. Written by: Chris Bowen CCCD Associate Board Member

My wife and I have an “organically managed” hobby farm consisting of a small 15-tree orchard, numerous blueberry, raspberry and strawberry plants plus a large veggie garden and apiary. The fruit portion has been in the ground for 5-years and this year was really starting to show signs of producing. I hand-thinned the fruit trees, did my holistic sprays and was very excited to see how beautiful our fruit was looking–especially our peaches! The 3 peach trees in the orchard looked great and, having learned from last years’ experience that you must hand thin the trees in order to prevent limb breakage, we were really jazzed for a bountiful harvest. Then I had to go to NYC for a few days… The night I returned home, my wife told me she had bad news…The 600+ peaches that were days away from being tree-ripened candy were entirely GONE! Vanished! Not a peach on a tree! Not even 1! There were 5-10 peaches on the ground, all with teeth marks caused by, you guessed it, gray squirrels! In 3 days, they entirely stripped our orchard of every single peach, half of our plums and most of the early apples that had finally appeared after 5 years. Our corn? Forget about it! We managed to eat or freeze about ¼ of it. Crows and those “furry tailed rats” also feasted on half of our blueberries! Several hundred hours of management for naught. As you may have already learned by listening to NHPR or reading the Sentinel, this has been a bad year for veggie and fruit farmers/gardeners across New Hampshire due to the squirrel explosion this year. In 2017, a mast year of acorns created an abundance of resources for them and they actually were able to breed twice, creating what led to our “squirrel-mageddon”. With the lack of natural food available this year, some orchards, farms and gardens came under attack. Our electric orchard fences are designed to keep deer and bear out of the orchard and apiary. Unfortunately, squirrels easily run under them. I’m not sure how much it would have mattered as the electric fence around our veggie garden IS intended to keep them out. Instead, we watched them run right through the same fence that would make our eyes spin whenever we accidentally touched it (proving I am not as smart as our dogs, who only touched it once before never venturing near it again). As disappointing to us as this was, it really made me think about all the hurdles faced by our regional farmers every year as they strive to provide us highly nutrient-rich, local food and also make a living for their families. I do not know how they do it, but I sure am thankful they do! Now, if I can only train those honey bees to dislike squirrels as much as I do… Written by: John Snowdon CCCD Associate Board Member