Elspeth Hay

It of course is produce a good crop. Wassailing has a long and storied history that dates back hundreds of years in the UK, to the earliest Anglo-Saxon inhabitants who instructed each other to “was heil” or be in good health. Over the centuries it became a drinking toast—one party would say was heil, the other drink hail—and by medieval times, farmers had adopted the tradition of taking their ale bowls into their barns and fields and drinking to the good health of their crops and animals.

Every gardener has had the experience of getting all geared up to try something new and exciting—a melon, or a very particular pepper—only to find the seeds don't even sprout. So, for the most important crops, Nicole makes sure she sticks to varieties that are tried and true.

Chris Trump grew up on a 750-acre family macadamia nut farm in Hawaii. His dad took over the farm in 1988, and by the time Chris joined the business in the early 2000s, it was struggling. Profits were low, and chemical use was high.

This week on the Local Food Report , we look at acorns, chestnuts, and hickories on the commercial food scene.

Last spring, honeybee keeper Tim Colon of Vineyard Haven emailed me a fascinating recording.

The town of Harwich has opened a recreational herring fishery for the first time in twenty years.

This week on the Local Food Report, we talk about cooking with oily fish. It's tricky. But when you get it right, it's so good.

On Cape Cod, we're seeing the effects of climate change in lots of ways. But there's one change that caught the attention of Orleans agro-ecologist Peter Jensen.

This week on the Local Food Report, garlic scapes are in season at the Truro Farmers Market, and there are so many good ways to cook them.

You've probably heard of a huckleberry. But have you ever eaten one? The small, black relatives of the blueberry grow all over the Cape and Islands, and Neil Gadway has been picking them his whole life.