Urban Farm Day this Saturday

Urban Farm Day posters only $5.

This Saturday, August 13th, we're celebrating Urban Farm Day with a few new folks that have been invited to help us learn more about urban homesteading. Drop by the Braintree Farmers Market hosted by Sustainable Braintree at the Braintree Town Hall Mall from 9 to 1, rain or shine. Simple measures can make your life more interesting and sustainable.  Along with demonstrations on simple food preparations, beekeeping, gardening, backyard chickens, the community garden and the French House Farmyard, we'll also have live acoustic music to celebrate the day.

Learn how to Make Easy and Delicious Sauerkraut and Cauliflower Pickles with Linda Larson-Schwartz.  Long before foods were preserved with commercial methods, the summer bounty was put up for long winters using a simple process called lacto-fermentation. This method produces lots of vitamins and is loaded with friendly enzymes that help with digestion.  Learn to make delicious sauerkraut the old-fashioned way, and savory cauliflower pickles made with green beans and basil. Both are considered “living foods” because no heat has been used in the preparation. And best of all, they only take minutes to make!

  Massachusetts Master Gardeners Assoc. (MMGA) are passionate gardeners and dedicated volunteers charged with the mission of improving the practice of horticulture and developing the public's understanding and enjoyment of plants and the environment.  MMGA provides outreach informational booths at community events through most of the state.  Master Gardeners provide invaluable horticultural informations and resources to the gardening public.  At this year's Braintree event the MMGA organization will be participating to help all residents with their horticultural questions.  They will be providing free resources on a variety of topics along with information on their Master Gardeners' Program.

Allen Hiltz from Black Brook Apiary will be on hand to answer all your beekeeping questions. Check out his observational hive with live bees and try to find the Queen Bee. He'll also have a full actual hive, without the bees, beekeeping equipment and protective clothing. Look for his display on the lifecycle of bees and bee social order. Allen will focus on the need for beekeeping whether it be in an agricultural setting or urban environment.

     The Braintree Historical Society is delighted to be returning as a guest to the Braintree Farmers Market on Urban Farm Day. This year, the BHS, an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to making the past accessible to the future, will be launching a new, interactive exhibit: The French House Farmyard. The new exhibit is the showpiece of our new urban agriculture program, which brings Braintree's agrarian past to life with rare-breed farm animals on display during regular museum hours. Stop by the BHS booth on Urban Farm Day to learn about how the common practices of the past can provide inspiration for modern sustainability efforts, find out more about our educational programs, and to meet Sandy, our San Clemente Island kid goat!

     A limited print run of Urban Farm Day posters will be available for $5 at the market managers tent.  Add this new addition to your Strawberry Festival poster to create a set for your kitchen or dining room.  This design also appears on this year's organic cotton tee shirts that are disappearing quickly and are only $12.  Toddler sizes are plentiful so pick them up for the little ones to show their support for the farmers' market.  100% of profits go towards the operational costs of the market.

     Enjoy a melange of acoustic American Folk and Blue Grass performed by local musicians led by John Sullivan whose expertise in musicology is inspirational and enjoyable.  Bring your chairs and blankets and hang out for the entire market.  Dancing jigs is always acceptable at the farmers market.  Our Braintree Electric Light sponsored events tent will be raised for the occasion.  So please come down to poke around and see what we're up to.  For more information about the market and Sustainable Braintree or to volunteer visit us at http://www.sustainablebraintree.org/food.  See you on Saturday.