Permaculture in New Hampshire: Cultivating Community One Site at a Time

I felt the tug to move beyond what I was cultivating in my tiny backyard garden in Keene, NH to gather inspiration from other permaculture* sites around the granite state (see “Edible Yards” article in Edible White Mountain Magazine – Spring 2010 issue).

I visited four sites in New Hampshire: D Acres in Dorchester, the 4-H Children’s Teaching Garden in Auburn, and two home sites in Barrington and Dover.  At each location, I found a common vision for sharing the harvest – sharing both the edibles harvested and the knowledge gleaned – with family, friends and the broader community.

*Permaculture uses ecological principles to design and regenerate healthy, productive landscapes and communities. View Permaculture Principles.

Backyard Gardening

There’s nothing better to me then spending an afternoon tending my backyard garden.  It grounds me to the cycle of the seasons, makes me aware of who else is dining in my yard (the swallowtail butterflies visiting the compost pile), and keeps me connected to the intense labor that it takes to bring my food from the farm to the table (thank you to my CSA farmers: Tracie, Amanda, Sarah, Jenny & Bruce!).

Why do you grow your own food?