Waltham Fields Community Farm
CSA NEWSLETTER 2016
Week 15 of 20
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In This Issue
YOGA ON THE FARM
This Saturday, September 17th
8-9am
Join Farmer & Yoga Instructor Anna Kelchlin for an hour-long Iyengar-based yoga class. Geared towards beginners, this outdoor class will focus on correct alignment and will incorporate various families of poses, engaging all ranges of motion. This class is open to all abilities and levels. Bring your own mat and towel. 
Pre-registration is preferred. 
Pick-Your-Own WILL BE CLOSED FROM 2-5PM FOR FARM DAY ACTIVITIES ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
CSA PICKUP DATES AND TIMES
 
COME ONCE EACH WEEK ON ANY OF THESE PICK UP DAYS
Wednesday, September 14-Oct. 19, 2:00-6:30PM
Thursday, September 15-Oct. 20, 2:00-6:30PM
Saturday, September 17-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.
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)
Spectrum Greens
Carnival squash
Potatoes
Lettuce
Chard
Kale
Collards
Spectrum Greens
Radish
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Drumhead Cabbage
Beets
Radicchio
Scallions
Eggplant
Bell peppers
Tomatoes

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

PYO WILL BE CLOSED 2-5PM ON FARM DAY, 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th

RECIPES
We have a ton of great recipes on our website, including many different suggestions for greensClick here to check them out!
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Week 15: Another Season
Erinn Roberts, Farm Manager

The season is certainly moving along, with brown leaves scattered across lawns after the (very) short-lived downpour this morning and the pitch-black skies at my morning alarm telling me the transition is in full swing.  We're still urgently watering crops to keep them alive and growing, but with the long stretches of intense heat finally waning, we humans, at least, are feeling a little reprieve from the exhaustion of the weather this year.  We're located in a part of the state that is officially experiencing extreme drought and drought relief programs are in effect for Massachusetts farms.  The scattered rains we've experienced over the past few weeks (the first all season) have been welcomed but did nothing to relieve the impact of having below-normal precipitation since this winter.  I haven't met a farmer in this area yet who hasn't said this is the toughest season they can recall.  Each day I'm consistently grateful for three things: the tremendous people who work on the farm; the fact that we have irrigation infrastructure to fuss with; and all of you who make up the CSA and have been on this ride with us for this year or many years.

We've got five more weeks of the summer CSA after this week, and it looks like we'll be on track with the value, despite the challenges.  I've been keeping tabs on it closer than ever these past couple of months and am pleased that tomatoes, peppers and eggplant all did well for us this year. The cherry and plum tomatoes have slowed down, but both PYO tomatoes had a great run and we received some much appreciated feedback on enjoyment of those crops.  We also had a much better potato crop than last year, thanks to Anna's management of it at the Lyman fields and the lack of potato beetle at that site.  We just started bringing in potatoes from Picadilly Farm to round out the shares for the coming weeks and you'll also see a range of winter squash in your share offerings coming from them as well.   Our first broccoli harvests came in at the end of last week and it's looking decent; cauliflower is starting and may be on the smaller side due to water stress but we'll see how it shakes out in the next couple of weeks.  Our first cabbages of the fall will make an appearance this week, with the drumhead Tendersweet variety ready to go.  It's a delicate cabbage that stores for a few weeks but is best eaten in the short-term.  There's something so satisfying about these cabbages - they look so beautiful in the fields and the flavor is a fantastic combination of mellow sweetness and mustardy sharpness.

Our crops are certainly not the only thing affected by the drought and the critters we share the farm with have made that clear all season long.  Coyotes discovered cantaloupes this year and had their fill of them at the Weston fields; luckily our partnership with Picadilly Farm provided a great safety net for that and they were able to provide a couple weeks of cantaloupes for our shares here.  Somehow our watermelon beds remained largely untouched by the coyotes until we were at the tail end of harvest, which is something I'm grateful for.  Some of you may remember another very dry summer in 2012 when we lost almost all of our watermelons to thirsty coyotes.  But this year the voles have been the most destructive, between constantly biting holes in all manner of irrigation hoses to setting up happy homes under the plastic mulch in tomato beds and the leafy canopy of carrots, and going to town on the delicious banquets before them.  The sweet potatoes too are shaping up to be decent but with the amount of voles that Dan saw running through the fields as he prepped those beds for planting in May, I'm uncertain of what we'll find once we start harvesting.   No matter what, digging sweets is like finding buried treasure and it holds all the anticipation of Christmas morning.  As a kid, my mom swore she believed in Santa because it felt like a miracle each year to have presents for me and my three siblings.  Farming is kind of like that - there's knowledge and skill and observation and education and learning but every time I pick a beautiful tomato or dig up a perfect sweet potato, I'm sure there's a little bit of magic in there too.

Enjoy the harvest!
-Erinn, for the farm crew

 



WHAT'S IN THE BARN 

  
Maria and Ricardo's Original Tortillas feature only the finest ingredients, providing the widest range of premium Mexican choices. Find them in the barn chest freezer. 
GMO Free.

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.
RAINBOW CHOPPED SALAD WITH HONEY APPLE VINAIGRETTE
Serves 5

Ingredients
  • 6 TBSP honey apple vinegar
  • 2 TBSP honey
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste
  • 3 cups kale, chopped
  • 3 cups spectrum greens, chopped
  • 2 cups lettuce, chopped
  • 1 cup cabbage, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 2 scallions (green and white parts), chopped
  • 3 bell peppers, all different colors/ripeness, seeded and chopped
  • 1 cup Craisins (optional)
  • 4 small radishes, chopped
  • ½ cup slivered almonds (optional)
Instructions 
  1. Combine vinegar, honey, extra virgin olive oil, and salt & pepper in a jar.
  2. Shake vigorously to combine (you can also use a bowl and whisk).
  3. Set aside.
  4. Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate large bowl.
  5. Toss to combine.
  6. Drizzle with Honey Apple Vinaigrette and toss.
  7. Enjoy!
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 (PYO) crops. All shareholders need to check in with us in the Distribution Barn before picking up their share. Notice and respect the amounts indicated for the vegetables in the barn & in PYO and do not take the same vegetable twice unless otherwise advertised. 

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
Learning Garden Educators: Autumn Cutting, Alannah Glickman, Jack Leng
CSA Assistant: Danielle Barmash

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