News from Waltham Fields Community Farm CSA

Amanda Cather <farmmanager@communityfarms.org>
Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 10:25 AM
Reply-To: farmmanager@communityfarms.org
To: Shareholders
Waltham Fields Community Farm logo
Waltham Fields Community Farm
CSA Newsletter #1
June 9, 2008
 
In This Issue
What's In the Share This Week
Pick-Your-Own Crops
Notes from the Field
2008 Farm Crew
Quick Links
Braised Bok Choy

This recipe is similar to the one in From Bangkok to Bali in 30 Minutes, by Theresa Volpe Laursen and Byron Laursen (Harvard Common Press, 2003).

2 lbs. baby bok choy or mature bok choy
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
2 T seasoned rice vinegar (available in the Asian section of your grocery store, or from specialty Asian markets)
 
1. Trim the base of the bok choy, then chop off the leaves. Cut the base in half lengthwise, then cut the halves crosswise on a diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Cut the leaves crosswise on a diagonal into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips.
 
2. Place a large wok or a pot large enough to hold all the bok choy over medium heat. When it is hot, add the olive oil and rotate the wok or pot a bit to coat it evenly. When the oil is hot, add the onion and stir-fry until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the bok choy and season with the salt and pepper. Cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and serve hot.
 
Serves 4 to 6.
 
Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Let us know!

For more information, see our Recipes web pages.
Farm Wish List

Used rain gear in good condition (all adult sizes welcome!)

5 gallon buckets, preferably with lids

Tools:  shovels, metal rakes (not leaf rakes), and pitchforks

55 gallon containers

Ethernet hub or switch with 8 ports 
supporting 100Base-TX or higher
Welcome to the 2008 Harvest Season!

CSA Pickups at the Farm this Week:
  • Tuesday, June 10 from 3-7 PM
  • Thursday, June 12 from 3-7 PM
  • Sunday, June 15 from 3-7 PM
CSA Pickup in Davis Square (for pre-registered shareholders only):
  • Tuesday, June 10 from 5-7 PM
What's In the Share This Week
 
Greens? Purples!
Please note: this list is prepared the week before you receive your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share, and sometimes crops will be in the share even though they're not on the list.
 


  • Lettuce:  tender red and green butterheads, speckled 'trout' type, and maybe some others!
  • Spinach:  delicious raw or cooked lightly.  Try Dan and Erinn Roberts's farmers' lunch:  sauteed spinach with mushrooms, onions and sharp provolone.
  • Bok Choy:  a delicious Asian green, not spicy but flavorful in simple stir-fries with ginger and garlic
  • Possibly...Tatsoi:  another rmild-flavored Asian green, tatsoi is a shareholder favorite, and can be eaten raw in salads or added to a stir fry or light soup
  • Arugula:  spring and fall classic on the farm.  Spicy, nutty and delicious in salads, with pasta, or in quiches or frittatas.  Arugula is rich in iron and vitamins A and C.
  • Napa Cabbage:  Sometimes called Chinese cabbage, Napa has a delicate flavor that is wonderful shredded in salads or sauteed in stir-fries. 
  • Radishes:  we grow "french breakfast"-style red and white striped radishes as well as multi-colored "easter egg" varieties.  They are similar in flavor., but the french breakfast radishes are slightly more delicate than their rugged round cousins.
Pick-Your-Own Crops This Week

chivesShareholders are welcome to pick-your-own during daylight hours Mondays through Thursdays and Sundays. Check the white board on the red kiosk for PYO information.
  • Chives with Blossoms
  • Mint
  • Sugar Snap Peas
  • Maybe a strawberry or two?
Notes from the Field

Welcome back to the farm!  We've had a busy spring in the fields and are excited to share the fruits of our labors with you once again.  Throughout the season, in the "Field Notes" section of your CSA newsletter, you'll learn more about the farm crew and the process of growing food using all organic methods.  You'll hear your farmers' worries about weather and groundhogs, and hopefully come away with a greater understanding of what it takes to produce lots of food on a little bit of good land in a small, diverse city.  We hope that you also catch the ongoing note of gratitude in this column; we try to convey what a privilege it is to be able to do this work that we love.

SeedlingsThis spring we've been sowing seeds, spreading compost, transplanting, cultivating crops -- all the things we generally do in the spring.  We've also been managing more cover crops and green manures than usual, thanks to good fall growth in 2007.  Growing our own fertility on the farm, by planting crops that we turn back into the soil instead of harvesting them, is one of the best things we can do for our soil as organic farmers.  We use five primary green manure crops, often combining a grain and a legume for their organic matter, weed suppression and nitrogen benefits:  oats and field peas are planted in the fall and winter kill, providing a "blanket" for the soil over the winter and a nice clean field for early crops in the spring, while winter rye and hairy vetch produce tons of biomass in the early spring in fields where we plan to plant crops around the first of June or later. Most of our rye and vetch has been turned in with the tractor in the past two weeks, but you can still see it on the fields edges here and there, with lovely purple flowers on pea-like vines, usually winding around tall stalks of rye.

We also plant field peas early in the spring to help provide nitrogen for fall broccoli and cabbage crops. Right now, you can see peas growing in our back field, preparing the soil for the fall crops that we'll plant in early July.  Jonathan on tractorBuckwheat, a fast-growing warm-season cover crop, suppresses weeds, attracts beneficial insects, and acts as a soil conditioner, bringing up important micronutrients and adding organic matter to the soil.  You can see buckwheat growing in our new raspberry field as well as in the back of our center field near the farm equipment -- in a few weeks you'll be able to recognize it by its beautiful white flowers that will be loved by our resident honeybees.

Managing cover crops, of course, takes some care -- they need to be sowed, harrowed in, and then monitored carefully to make sure we turn them in at the right time to provide maximum soil benefits without making seeds and becoming weeds themselves.  We've enjoyed the extra work, since it feels like a way of giving back a little to the soil from which we coax so much production each farm season. 

Take a moment as you walk around the farm this spring to appreciate the crops we don't harvest -- the ones that help our food crops thrive!

Amanda


2008 Farm Crew:  Andy Scherer

Farm CrewEach week, we'll highlight one of the farmers and helpers who bring you the vegetables that you enjoy from the farm. This week, the spotlight is on our Assistant Farm Manager, Andy Scherer. (Andy's third from the left in this photo.)

Andy is deep into his second season with WFCF.  He came to us from a position as an afterschool program teacher at the Cambridge Friends School, a job that allowed him to farm part-time as well.  Andy worked at Lindentree Farm in Lincoln and Hutchins Farm in Concord following a season helping out at a farm in Wisconsin, and brings a huge amount of learning from these experiences to his work with us.  He is also an accomplished potter, musician, and contradancer. 

Andy manages WFCF's very important relationships with our hunger relief partner agencies, including Sandra's Lodge, the Waltham Red Cross and Salvation Army, Food for Free and the greater Boston Food Bank.  He has developed and will also manage our new outreach market in downtown Waltham beginning in July.  Andy also coordinates our volunteer program, making sure that the more than 1200 people who come to the farm have a positive and productive experience with us.  Andy is an incredible teacher, patient and clear in his training, and our assistant growers and farm crew value his presence on the farm.

In addition to all this, Andy is a huge contributor to our efficiency and organization in the fields and greenhouse.  His skills at all our farm tasks, as well as his ability to prioritize and keep the big picture of the farm in mind, make him a critical member of our staff.  His sense of humor and collaborative work style have helped us build a very respectful but never dull team on the farm.  We are extremely fortunate to have Andy with us for another season. 
 
Warmly, 

The Staff of Waltham Fields Community Farm
 
Amanda Cather, Farm Manager
Meg Coward, Executive Director
Debra Guttormsen, Administrative and Finance Coordinator
Paula Jordan, Children's Learning Garden Assistant
Jonathan Martinez, Assistant Grower
Dan Roberts, Farm Crew
Erinn Roberts, Assistant Grower
Andy Scherer, Assistant Farm Manager
Mark Walter, Children's Learning Garden Coordinator
Waltham Fields Community Farm | 240 Beaver Street | Waltham | MA | 02452