The Outer Cape’s sandy, acidic soils are generally seen as inhospitable for food crops. But every fall, people travel from across New England and farther afield to visit our dunes […]
Farm & Garden
What would it look like to grow, harvest, and protect our bounty?
Browse all Farm & Garden stories below or dive into a topic:
ENVIRONMENT
Permaculture Expert Teaches How to Grow Food in Our Forests
Kids and adults learn how agriculture can restore ecosystems at Nauset H.S. garden
EASTHAM — Restoration Agriculture author Mark Shepard of Wisconsin visited the Nauset Food and Research Garden at Nauset Regional High School last week to speak with about two dozen community […]
natura viva
Aronia Arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima’
Chokeberry
Economy
Selectmen Tighten Rules on Overwintered Shellfish Racks
Farmers say new regs to avert wrecked gear won’t work
WELLFLEET — At a contentious meeting on Tuesday, the Wellfleet Select Board voted 3-0 to limit the number of shellfish racks that may be left on aquaculture grants through the […]
VIEW FROM THE HIVE
In September, Honey Bees Turn Conservative
To survive the cold, colonies produce a crop of “winter bees”
Honey bees, like all social insects, are inherently aware of the late summer’s waning day length, low sun angle, and chilly nighttime temperatures. With the end of the sweet pepperbush […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
The Sculpted Masterpieces of Our Sandbar
If Cape Cod were to secede, the pitch pine could be its emblem
If I were asked to describe one image that most aptly represents the character and feel of the Outer Cape, it would be a gnarled, wind-sculpted pitch pine clinging to […]
economy
Tenant Farmers Take Root in Truro
High cost of land puts ownership out of reach
TRURO — At least 11 Truro farms are providing local markets with fresh produce and flowers this year, up from just one farm in 1987. But it may come as […]
economy
Wellfleet Shellfishermen Organize to Defeat Cutler Bill
Peake says ‘disastrous’ proposal would spark industry consolidation
WELLFLEET — Shellfishermen here are mobilizing to oppose state legislation that they say threatens their way of making a living from the sea. The Outer Cape’s state legislators and the […]
VIEW FROM THE HIVE
Sweet Pepperbush Honey Harvest
The last big nectar flow of the year is happening now
WELLFLEET — In early August, sweet pepperbush, also called summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), comes into bloom where I live, in north Wellfleet. And when it does, the “honey factory” goes into […]
economy
The Eastham Oyster Demands Attention
Production is growing, but this business is no picnic
EASTHAM — Wellfleet is world-famous for oysters. Neighboring Eastham is not. But there are folks in town who are trying to change that. One is 31-year-old Jared Collins, whose family […]
on the landscape
The Woods Find Their Way
Two years after the gypsy moths, an altered landscape emerges
There is a trail I follow through the forest behind my house, a winding old fire road grown narrow over the years. I have walked these woods for most of […]
