Waltham Fields Community Farm
CSA NEWSLETTER 2016
Week 11 of 20
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In This Issue
FALL EDUCATION PROGRAMS 
ON THE FARM
Garden & Farm Explorers Afterschool 
For rising 1st-6th graders.
Multi-session programs in the spring and fall. Come to the farm to grow delicious food, cook healthy snacks and learn about the natural world! 
Fall Garden Corps
For rising 8th-12th graders. 
Join Waltham Fields Community Farm's 4H Club! During this 6-week 4H Club, Garden Corps will be caring for and feeding WFCF's chickens, as well as learning how to farm vegetables, maintain crops and cook our harvest. Garden Corps may fulfill your school's volunteer or community service requirements, and program participants will be in a good position to apply for the paid summer Garden Corps.

CSA PICKUP DATES AND TIMES
 
COME ONCE EACH WEEK ON ANY OF THESE PICK UP DAYS
Wednesday, August 17-Oct. 19, 2:00-6:30PM
Thursday, August 18-Oct. 20, 2:00-6:30PM
Saturday, August 20-Oct. 22, 9AM-2PM
 
Any shareholder is welcome to pick up on any of the above days! You don't have to let us know when you're coming. Feel free to switch back and forth from week to week if that works best for you, or choose a day and stick to it for most of the season. We'll be happy to see you whatever day you come to the farm.
FRIENDLY CSA REMINDER

Each week when you check in, we tell you how many different items to take inside the barn. Unless indicated, taking twice the amount of what is labeled per item and considering it two items is not allowed. We have a carefully planned system in place to meet all the needs of the farm.  The amounts of vegetables allotted for the CSA are determined from years of record keeping and what we have available from the harvests. At the end of each day the barn is open, the remaining produce is recorded and the farmers base this information towards their harvests the following day. Every week, our farmers are harvesting not only for the 445 CSA shares but also enough food for 100 low-income families to pick up at our Outreach Market, our Farm-to-School deliveries for 5 months of the year, as well as our planned, weekly donations to regional emergency food programs.  Your CSA share is just that: you are sharing a part of the harvest with your greater community. We thank you for being a part of such a wonderful program and for honoring and respecting our system as we strive to make fresh, local food available to everyone. We hope you are enjoying the bounty of the season as much as we enjoy bringing it to you!  

Pick Your Own 

Please obtain your weekly PYO sheet at the PYO stand behind the barn (in front of the high tunnel) before you go out into the fields to pick. We ask that you read the sheet to ensure you are picking the correct amounts & crops in the right manner as each day the maps can change. Thanks!
WHAT'S IN THE SHARE - Our Best Guess
This is our best guess at this point. Actual crops may vary from what's listed here due to a variety of factors. 
  
In the Barn (Picked for You)
Anna harvesting lettuce in the morning.
melons
beets
chard
carrots
celery
cucumbers
eggplant
onions
peppers
potatoes
summer squash
tomatoes
zucchini

Pick Your Own (PYO): 
Parsley, basil, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, husk cherries, chiles, tomatillos & Perennial Herb & Flower Garden

SPRING RECIPES
We have a ton of great recipes on our website, including many different suggestions for tomatoesClick here to check them out!
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Week 11: Dog Days of Summer
Heidi Blake, Field Crew

       In case there was any question about it, it is safe to say that we are now in the "dog days" of summer. As you've no doubt been hearing, the sweltering heat and ongoing drought - our state's worst in more than a decade - has the farm team working overtime to get the plants the water they need through labor-intensive irrigation. We cheered this past Wednesday as we worked in the rain, likely the best soaker Mother Nature has provided in months. However, a large rain deficit still remains, and, with the ongoing intense heat, we are clamoring for more rain. It's hard to quench the profound thirst of the soil and these productive plants.
 
            Despite the tough conditions of this summer, we have had some standout crops. As someone put it so well, this season's pick-your-own tomatoes are like a kind of "tomato heaven".  They are a delight to relish for sure. A few other crop highlights from this week include the next generation of rainbow chard, which you may have noticed in your CSA pick-up this past week. The chard's leaf size and color are a sight to behold. With it being Olympics season, these "mega"-chard along with the softball-sized beets that we picked at the end of this past week left me wondering whether there might be some farm-vegetable Olympics in which the veggies are competing unbeknownst to us humans. Perhaps it was in a moment of heat-related delirium, but I imagined each veggie trying to out-compete their neighboring crops for the gold medal. If this were the case, I imagine that the chard and beets would have been on the podium along with the cherry tomatoes. The gorgeous celery has also had a medal-worthy performance this summer. It goes without saying that, like any elite athlete, whose path to victory involves the support of many, the veggie "Olympiads" have been nurtured by the indefatigable efforts of the farmers, field crew and weed crew. It helps to see some real success as we continue to try to minimize the effects of the drought and pest pressures.
 
            As the harvest continues to roll in, I can't help but marvel at the broad variety of crops our farm grows. It is with some embarrassment that I admit that, until recently, I had little idea that Massachusetts' farms could grow so many different crops. A family member of mine, who also grew up in Massachusetts, was similarly surprised to learn how many different vegetables are grown locally, noting that she grew up thinking that only pumpkins grew in Massachusetts. Thankfully, you all know that's not the case, but we've got some work to do to get the word out - unless my family was the only one in the dark!
 
            As we shift into this latter half of the season, I hope that you continue to dig into new recipes to explore fresh ways to enjoy this season's produce. For those who are into pickling and canning, this seems like a good time to dive in, if you haven't already. I am tasking myself with pickling for the first time this season. It feels a bit daunting, but so very worthwhile. Fortunately, many on the farm crew do pickling and canning and can offer advice and encouragement.
 
            Speaking of pickling, this week marked our final plantings of the year as we transplanted the last of the cucurbit seedlings (ie, cucumber, summer squash and zuchinni). We hope that these crops are as productive as the prior generations have been. 
 
            As we push on through these dog days of summer, our team thanks you for your ongoing support. Our resiliency during these long, hot days is fueled by it.
 
Go Olympiads!
- Heidi, for the Farm Team
Glorious chard harvest
View of the farm from the back fields
WHAT'S IN THE BARN 

Fresh Pasta from Valincenti Organico
  
It's tomato season and that means, among many things, pasta sauce season! The pasta is made fresh weekly using the highest quality and freshest ingredients. We hope to carry at least two different varieties of pasta, ranging from fettuccine to rotini, every week. We are starting out with small orders but hope to expand if there is demand! Check out what we may have in the barn cooler!

All of our retail products are available for sale to the public. For our own produce offerings, we prioritize giving shareholders a good return on their investment and meeting our food assistance goals (22% of what we grow - which should amount to $80,000 of produce for low-income households this year)
.
Early in the season, crops for sale to the public will be those that we have an abundance of, and later in the season, if production is going well, we hope to operate as a full-fledged farm store with a wide range of vegetables available to the public during our weekly CSA distribution hours.
Roasted Carrot Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
  • 6 to 8 large carrots (about 1 3/4 pounds)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Salt
  • cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • piece ginger, an inch long, peeled
  • sprig thyme, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 large fresh onion, chopped
  • large garlic cloves, chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions 
  1. Peel and cut the carrots into 1/2-inch rounds. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the carrots with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Set an oven rack 6 to 8 inches from the heat source and turn on the broiler. Broil the carrots until they brown and soften, turning them over with a spatula every 5 minutes or so; this should take 15 to 20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil, add the ginger and the sprig of thyme and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
  3. Put the onion in a medium stock pot with the remaining olive oil. Brown the onion over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, and then add the carrots.
  4. Remove the ginger and thyme from the stock and add the stock to the pot with the onions and carrots. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the carrots are soft enough to puree.
  5. Use an immersion or a standard blender to puree the mixture until smooth. If the soup seems too thick, add more stock or water and reheat gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, garnish with chopped fresh thyme.
IMPORTANT SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

What's In The Share
Each Tuesday we'll send out a CSA newsletter letting you know our best guess for what will be in the share, for the items we're harvesting for you as well as for pick-your-own crops. All shareholders need to check in with us in the Distribution Barn before picking up their share.

If it's your first time picking up a CSA share let us know when you check in and we'll help guide you through your first pick up. Also, please feel free to ask us questions anytime. We're here to help you!

Bring Your Own Bags or a Box
Please remember to bring your own bags or a box to the farm to pick up your CSA share! We strongly encourage the use of reusable bags/boxes for all vegetables on the farm. If you forget your bags or want some really great ones, we have reusable Waltham Fields Tote Bags for sale in the barn for $4, with proceeds supporting our food assistance & education programs. 

Pick-Your-Own Crops
All shareholders are welcome to pick-your-own anytime during daylight hours, and you don't have to do your PYO when you pick up the rest of your share. Like last year, each PYO crop will have a number assigned to it. We'll have sheets of paper available each week with a map and a list of crops that are available to harvest on it, along with where the crops are located and the amount allowed and harvest tips. PYO sheets will be available at all times at the PYO stand on the south side of the Distribution Barn. Please respect the quantity and limits so that there is enough for everyone!

If You Need to Miss A Pick Up
If you can't pick up a share one week, we are not able to allow you to double up on another week. But you can send friends or neighbors to get your veggies on any week you can't make it yourself. Have them check in under the last name of the primary shareholder for your share. You don't need to let us know they're coming. They will just check in under your name at the CSA barn. If no one picks up your share, the veggies will be included with our weekly donations to hunger relief organizations. 

For Those Splitting a Share
If you are splitting a share, please remember that you need to pick up the whole share at one time each week. It is NOT acceptable for one partner to come at one time and pick up half the share and another to get the other half later. You'll need to coordinate with your share partner to figure out how to divide the share up, either by taking alternate weeks, meeting up at the farm to pick up the share together, etc. 

Dogs on the Farm
Dogs are welcome on the farm but are not allowed in the CSA barn or in the vegetable fields per health department regulations. Dogs must be leashed and owners must clean up after them. 

Share Pick Up Questions
More questions about share pick up? Check out our CSA FAQs! You can also contact Lauren Trotogott, our Distribution Coordinator. 
Quick Links
Waltham Fields Community Farm Staff

Year-Round Staff:
Shannon Taylor, Executive Director
Marla Rhodes, Volunteer & Development Coordinator
Erinn Roberts, Farm Manager
Anna Kelchlin, Assistant Farm Manager
Alexandra Lennon-Simon, Education & Outreach Manager
Lauren Trotogott, Distribution Coordinator
Kamelia Aly, Bookkeeper & Office Coordinator

Seasonal Staff:
Assistant Grower: Janelle Plummer
Greenhouse Production Supervisor: Naomi Shea
Equipment Supervisor: Dan Roberts
Field Crew: Heidi Blake, Stacey Daley, Allison Ostrowski, Andre Tufenkian
Weed Crew: Annie Carter, Jenny Grossman, Jack Spiva, Rebekah Waller
Learning Garden Educators: Autumn Cutting, Alannah Glickman, Jack Leng
CSA Assistant: Danielle Barmash

www.communityfarms.org
240 Beaver Street
Waltham, MA 02452