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By JACOB NELSON

“Compost is not soil, but it makes your soil better,” says Mike Mahar, owner of Bear Path Compost in Whately. “It adds life to it. If you’re going to take something out of the soil by harvesting, you should put something back in, and compost is...

By JACOB NELSON

A knock on the door interrupts the conversation. Someone is here to trade cheese for Real Pickles’ fermented veggies.Kate Hunter, a marketing coordinator, assistant sales manager, and worker-owner at Real Pickles, gets up to confirm the terms. Out the...

By JACOB NELSON

“We do a little bit of everything,” says Andrea O’Brien of O’Brien Farm in Orange. “But mostly we milk cows.”Running a successful dairy farm requires commitment, perseverance and creativity. That’s especially true in recent times, as the costs of...

By JACOB NELSON

‘The best carrots you’ll ever eat are picked in January or February,” says Erik Debbink, owner of Lombrico Farm in Whately. In the dead of winter, their sweetness shines through.Lombrico Farms is one of a growing number of local farms working hard to...

By JACOB NELSON

This year, the Leverett Village Co-op turns 50. Over half a century, it has grown beyond a grocery store to become a cultural institution and hidden gem on North Leverett Road. For many it is an indispensable source of food to eat and food for the...

By JACOB NELSON

“So much was just about to bloom,” said Suna Turgay of Flowerwork Farm in Northampton. “And then the flooding came.”Warmer, wetter and less predictable weather are all on the rise in New England as our climate changes. The idea of normal is constantly...

By JACOB NELSON

More than most foods, the popular understanding of mushrooms tends to be shrouded in mystery. How do they grow? How do you cook with them? What medicinal effects might they have?At Livingstone Mycology, scientists and farmers Hunter Linscott and Nich...

By JACOB NELSON

It’s hard to throw water on a burning house while trying to rebuild it at the same time, but that’s exactly what addressing climate change requires. Rising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are already changing the planet. The choice is whether to...

By JACOB NELSON

“At this point, for us, advertising seems like a waste of time,” says Sorrel Hatch of Upinngil Farm in Gill. “If you have a good product, it will sell itself. Our business has succeeded by following the pull of the market, rather than trying to push;...

By JACOB NELSON

“When we realized this sheep was about to give birth, the kids from Mary Walsh Elementary School in Springfield were still yelling and racing around the farm in the middle of a scavenger hunt,” recalls Sydney Treuer, assistant director at Red Gate...

By JACOB NELSON

‘It grew out of walking in the woods and being hungry for knowledge – and also good things to eat.”That’s how Paul Lagreze describes the birth of his business, New England Wild Edibles. Purveyors of wild plants and fungi from the fields and forests of...

By JACOB NELSON

Toni Hall is a farmer hoping to turn some heads. A diminutive plant known as spilanthes, with edible flowers called buzz buttons, is helping get people’s attention.“When I give out samples at the farmers market, people make these crazy sounds and...

By JACOB NELSON

Talk to most farmers raising animals on pasture, and they’ll tell you the same thing – from a farming perspective, the animals are secondary.“Our mantra is creating good food from grass,” says Kyle Bostrom of Bostrom Farm in Greenfield. “Basically, we...

By JACOB NELSON

With Agric Organics, Hameed Bello and his wife, Ayo, are intent on building an urban farm that can be a multi-faceted resource for their community in Wilbraham, supplying farm-fresh food, health and education while withstanding the challenges of...

By JACOB NELSON

“Berry season is a wild ride,” says Rachel Monette, a longtime employee of Nourse Farms in Whately. Every summer it hits with intensity, like a sweet red raspberry bursting on your tongue. Then, too soon, it fades, leaving memories like...