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​Backyard Farming Initiative

'Local Harvest and How to Use It'
We're Back! 
Let’s take some time to explore our food this winter. It is so important to understand what we eat… Is it fresh or aged, dead or alive, and what can we forage from the land to make delicious and healthy meals? 

Sponsored by the Lee Agricultural Commission, Lee Sustainability Committee, the Friends of the Lee Public Library, and the Lee Public Library
​When and Where?

​Join us every 4th Wednesday  from
7 – 8:30 pm, from January through April for Backyard Farming Fun! 
SAVE THE DATES
We will be discovering more about…


‘Local Harvest and How to Use It'
Picture
​02/01/23 – Grains (rescheduled from 1/25)
02/22/23 – Fresh Versus Aged
03/22/23 – Live Versus Dead
04/26/23 – Foraging Herbs & Seasoning

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Programs will be held at
Misty Meadows Herbal Center
183 Wednesday Hill Road
Lee, NH 03861
​mistymeadows.org


Click Here For Event Program

​Understanding What We Eat!
During the summer of 2022 we focused on a concept very close to the hearts of our agricultural community…

‘Eat Healthy, Eat Local, Eat Seasonal’

We would like to continue with this theme for our series of winter programs, expanding our backyard knowledge and awareness  with information about…

‘Local Harvest and How to Use It’

We will meet with a group of local chefs and presenters who will talk about a variety of food types. These will include grains and how to harvest, store and use them, Fresh and aged foods and how to harness the best flavors from them, foods that are alive, such as cheeses or yogurts and foods that are dead, such as canned or frozen goods, and foraging for herbs and seasoning, thinking about what is growing wild and how we can use it.  

During these programs we will sample delicious foods, learn new recipes, and discover wonderful new information about the program topics. Do you remember the old nursery rhyme Pease Porridge Hot? It goes like this…

“Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old; Some like it hot, some like it cold, Some like it in the pot, nine days old”

Did you sing this rhyme to your children or grandchildren? What does it mean? Come to our Lee Backyard Farming Initiative winter programming to find out!


Grains
February 1st 2023
We had a whole lot of fun learning about grains during our first winter event with Sarah Cox and friends! 

​
Photos taken by Paul Gasowski
Fresh Versus Aged
February 22nd 2023
We had a great time taste testing delicious steak and cheese during our second winter event with Evan Mallet and Donna-Lee Woods! 

Photos taken by Hayley Van-Gils

Live Versus Dead
March 22nd 2023
We had so much fun learning about fermentation during our third winter event with Dave Vargus and Brian Ferguson ! 

Photos taken by Hayley Van-Gils
Foraging Herbs and Seasonings
April 26th 2023
We are looking forward to learning about fermentation during our last winter event with Wendy Snow Fogg and John Forti! 

Photos coming soon!

PRESENTERS & ​Guest Speakers!

Sarah Cox
Tyler Murray
Donna-Lee Woods
Sarah Cox is a farmer and miller with her family at Tuckaway Farm in Lee, producing lamb and eggs and growing certified organic fruits, vegetables, grain, and hay. These are marketed through an on-farm store, CSA, and to area restaurants and home purchasers through Three River Farmers Alliance. Sarah  will discuss the importance of local grain to a healthy, resilient food economy. 
​After graduating from UNH college of life science and agriculture, Tyler Murray started Doo-Bee-Doo Farm, a market farm vegetable operation in Lee, with his partner Shelby. In 2020, Tyler began growing Wapsie Valley corn for Vida Tortilla as a separate operation. After his second season growing this corn, Tyler established Granite Grains Farm LLC in Amherst NH, specializing in organic grain production. 
Donna-Lee Woods, proprietor of Hickory Nut Farm in Lee, is excited to share her extensive knowledge with the community. Hickory Nut Farm is 22 years old and currently houses 86 dairy goats of five different breeds. With their milk, Hickory Nut Farm produces cave aged firm raw cheeses, yogoatgurt, fudge, waddle syrup, and goat milk soap.



Evan Mallett
David Vargas
​Brian Ferguson
Evan Mallett is the chef and co-owner of Black Trumpet in Portsmouth, NH, a restaurant dedicated to building a resilient community around local food, sustainability and social justice. Evan is a six-time James Beard semi-finalist for Best Chef, Northeast. 
​He has logged over a decade sitting on the boards of Chef's Collaborative, Slow Food Seacoast, and Heritage Harvest Project, an initiative that brings together farmers, chefs, and educators to identify and restore a food system native to the greater New England Seacoast region. Black Trumpet was also nominated for a national award for Best Hospitality by the James Beard Foundation in 2020. 
David Vargas, chef and proud owner of the restaurant Vida Cantina in Portsmouth, brings a wealth of culinary experience to share with  us this evening. For almost ten years, Dave has been delighting our community with dishes inspired by his Mexican heritage. Dave takes each dish he prepares to the next level with superb technique, product and creativity.

Picture
​Brian Ferguson owns Flag Hill Distillery & Winery in Lee, which is used to produce grapes for the winery, grain for the distillery, and vegetables for their events. Flag Hill sits on a 110 acre conservation easement which preserves the property to remain in agriculture forever. The farm switched from a dairy farm to a vineyard in 1987 with the planting of the first grapes on the property, and the winery began in 1990 with their first harvest.  Years later in 2004 Flag Hill Distillery began making vodka from the highest quality apples New Hampshire has to offer.

John Forti
Wendy Snow Fogg
John Forti is a garden historian and ethnobotanist who has directed gardens for Plimoth Plantation Museum, Strawbery Banke Museum, Massachusetts Horticultural  Society, and Bedrock Gardens. He is also
​author of the best-selling book “The Heirloom Gardener – Traditional Plants and Skills for the Modern World”, available for loan from Lee Library! 
Wendy Snow Fogg is the Founding Director and Senior Herbalist of Misty Meadows Herbal Center here in Lee, NH.  She has been an avid gardener and emissary of the plants for nearly 40 years. She has earned advanced certifications in Herbalism, Clinical Herbal Practice, Aromatherapy and Reiki.  On her journey with plants, Wendy has cultivated a deep connection, a symbiotic relationship to plants as food and medicine. 
​Dina Wilford & Sonke Dornblut
Dina Wilford, owner and tortilla maker at Vida Tortilla in Dover, NH, will walk us through the history, culture and traditional Mexican cooking method called nixtamilization used to create masa for tortillas, chips, and tamales.

​Sonke Dornblut owns and operates Juniper Cottage Bake Shop, a wood fired oven bakery in Newmarket, NH. He focuses on naturally leavened bread, made by hand with organic ingredients sourced as locally as possible. 


Special thanks go out to…

Sarah Cox, Tyler Murray, Dina Wilford , Sonke Dornblut , Evan Mallet, Donna-Lee Woods, David Vargas, Brian Ferguson, John Forti, Wendy Snow Fogg, the Friends of Lee Public Library, the Lee Agricultural Commission, the Lee Sustainability Committee, and the Lee Public Library! 

Take a look back at all the fun we had last summer! 
Tom Lee's Event
George Este's Event

We had very much enjoyed visiting the backyards of Lee residents…
Bambi Miller
Tom Lee
George Estes
Matt Rowell 
Ruth Sample
​
Ruth Sample's Event
Bambi Miller's Event
Matt Rowell's Event

  • Home
  • Catalog
  • Services
    • Catalog
    • Adult Programs >
      • Backyard Farming Initiative
      • Photo Contest!
    • Library Calendar of Events
    • Request Materials Form
    • Bookworm Digest - Newsletter
    • Book Donation Celebration
  • Youth Services
    • Children's Programs
    • Teens/Young Adults
    • Story Walk
  • Contact Us
  • Research & Collections
    • New Hampshire Collection
    • Newmarket Advisor 1891-1932
    • Lee Town Reports
    • NH Downloadable eBooks and audio
    • NoveList Books & Authors
    • Ebscohost - Magazines and Journals
    • NHAIS - NH Libraries
    • Heritage Quest Online
    • Ancestry Library Edition
    • Universal Class
  • Library Information
    • Board of Library Trustees
    • Library FAQ's
    • Library Policies
    • Lee Library Community Center Foundation >
      • Building Plans
      • Ways to Donate
    • Friends of the Lee Public Library >
      • Museum Passes
  • Links
    • Town of Lee
    • Lee Historical Society
    • Oyster River Foodshed
    • Oyster River School District
    • Helpful Links