Waltham Fields Community Farm
local food for everyone
Waltham Fields Community Farm
CSA Newsletter 2018
Week 2 of 20
PICKUP DATES & TIMES

COME ONCE ON ANY OF THESE PICK UP DAYS
Wednesday, June 20th, 2:00-6:30pm
Thursday, June 21st, 2:00-6:30pm
Saturday, June 23rd, 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.

Please be prepared to pay check or cash at pick-up if you still have an outstanding balance. Credit card payments are no longer accepted for share payments. You can also send in or drop off your check made out to WFCF at our office, located at 240 Beaver Street in Waltham. Park behind the red brick building, enter the single red door and you'll find our office inside the first door on the right.
Start of Summer Ice Cream Social

This Wednesday (tomorrow), June 20th, 6pm.
Enjoy a tasty start to summer with Rancatore's ice cream made with WFCF's farm ingredients! Support the farm with this fun, delicious fundraiser!
Crop Mob: Part I

This Saturday, June 23rd, 9am-12pm
Calling all friends of the farm and friends of friends, come on out and help us weed for a couple hours! 
Light refreshments to follow.
Packing lettuce donations into banana boxes for local food relief organizations to distribute. Next time you're at the grocery store, ask an employee in the produce section if they have any banana boxes they'd like to get rid of. We use them to pack our food donations and are always in need of more! Email Lauren if you have some to drop off.
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):
bok choy
collards
kale
swiss chard
lettuce
spinach
scallions
garlic scapes
frisee

Pick Your Own (PYO): 
Perennial Garden, strawberries & snow peas.
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Week Two: Frenzy of Summer
by Erinn Roberts

The past couple of weeks have been some of the best growing weather a farmer could ask for. Despite the fact that we haven’t gotten much rain (and some farmers are still feeling PTSD from our drought year in 2016) it has been downright pleasant for people and plants. With the mini heat wave over the weekend into Monday, the strawberries have cruised right into the spotlight, and those red juicy gems are outstanding right now. And as I write this, the rain has started to fall. Not enough to really saturate, and hopefully not enough to make those ripe berries out there too mushy.
The share this week will look similar to last, with the addition of frisee, scallions and green garlic. On the horizon, we’ve got some lovely little squashes sizing up in our field at the Lyman Estate up the road and fennel and beets won’t be long behind either. The frisee makes a nice addition cut into salads, but I really love it grilled or sautéed with some balsamic vinegar. Add the strawberries and some nice cheese and bread and you’ve got a lovely summer dinner. 
The field crew is getting up to speed quickly, and these first few weeks are a fun time in the field as we get to know new crew members and catch up with familiar ones. The weed crew is hitting their stride as well, tidying up carpets of green into neat, clean rows of unadulterated vegetable crop. Though we’re getting to the time of year when everything turns on a dime in a single weekend—we leave in the evening with the illusion that things are somewhat under control and come back after a morning away to the vigorous green growth of weeds threatening to overtake whole generations of crops. There is great job security with our weed crew.
For those of you who are 10 week shareholders on an even-week schedule, welcome to the 2018 season! The pre-season newsletter that went out at the beginning of June has lots of helpful CSA info, so be sure to check that out before your first pick up if you haven’t already. And remember to always bring a PYO instruction sheet out to the field with you to help direct you to the right beds and pick the correct quantities.
With the summer solstice just a day away, we’re arcing into true summer, with all the frenzy that comes with it. Come celebrate it with us on Saturday, at our first Crob Mob. Join us anytime from 9am-noon for some bigger weeding projects, meet some of your farmers and take in a tasty snack and beverage afterwards. Read some tips for volunteers before heading out to Crop Mob. 

Enjoy the harvest,
Erinn, for the farm crew
WHAT'S IN THE BARN 

Ginger Scallion Sauce from Fresh Zen Foods
  
A great condiment to add to you vegetables from the farm! Great in stir-fry, as a marinade for meat & fish, or in your pasta sauce! A very new product from a family-owned, local business. View recipes on their website here.

Due to Board of Health guidelines, Chestnut Farms is unfortunately no longer able to accept used egg cartons. Please find another outlet to reuse your egg cartons as we will no longer be collecting them in the CSA barn. 

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 (20% of what we grow - which should amount to $80,000 of produce for low-income households this year). Cash, check, Mastercard & Visa ($10 minimum for credit) are all accepted for retail items.
Bok Choy Salad with Garlic Sesame Seed Dressing

Prep Time: 15 mins
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
  • 1 stalk green garlic, finely chopped
  • 6 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. honey
  • 2 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. canola oil
  • 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds, preferably a mix of regular and black
  • 2 medium bok choy, sliced on a diagonal
  • 1 medium carrot julienned
  • 2 Tbsp. peanuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
  • 1 scallion, thinly sliced on a diagonal

  1. In a small jar, combine the garlic, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and canola oil. Put lid on jar and shake well to combine.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the bok choy, carrot, peanuts and scallions. Drizzle some of the dressing over and toss to combine (you'll have lot of leftover dressing for other salads. Store in the fridge). Sprinkle the salad with the sesame seeds and serve.
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, both in the barn and pick-your-own crops. All shareholders need to check in with us in the Distribution Barn before picking up their share. 

Our first shares will start out smaller and grow with the season. The choice will be more limited in these earlier weeks but you will start to see more later in the month as the crops really get growing.

If it's your first time picking up a CSA share with Waltham Fields, 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 
We don't keep a stock of plastic bags. 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 and education programs.
  
Pick-Your-Own Crops
All shareholders are welcome to pick-your-own anytime during daylight hours.  10-week shareholders may PYO at anytime during their assigned week and may not switch weeks. Stop by the PYO station for a list of what's available, how much to take, and a map of where to find it in the fields. Take these maps into the fields with you & respect the quantity limits so that there is enough for everyone! When you head out into the fields, a sign will help you to know which rows are ready for picking and will also include harvest tips.  The PYO station will also provide scissors and pint boxes, but it never hurts to bring your own.

There will be two weeks at the end of the 20-week season when vegetable shareholders are given access to our annual flowers for picking. If you have a 10-week share, you will have 1 week of access to the flower fields, during your assigned week. 

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. You can send friends or neighbors to get your veggies on any week you can't make it yourself. Have them check in at the CSA barn under the last name of the primary shareholder for your share. You don't need to let us know they're coming. 10-WEEK SHARES cannot switch weeks. You must stick to your assigned even or odd weeks. If no one picks up your share, the veggies will be included with our weekly donations to hunger relief organizations. (Remember to forward the weekly newsletter to your sub and to tell them to bring their own bags/boxes!) 

Balances Due
All fees were due by June 1st, including share balances and maintaining current membership with our non-profit organization. If you're not sure if you still owe money for your CSA share or membership, check your email for a notice from our Bookkeeper and Office Coordinator, Kamelia Aly (or Admin@communityfarms.org).  Please be prepared to pay check or cash at pick-up if you still have an outstanding balance. Credit card payments are no longer accepted for share payments. You can also send in or drop off your check made out to WFCF at our office, located at 240 Beaver Street in Waltham. Park behind the red brick building, enter the single red door and you'll find our office inside the first door on the right.

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 of the share and another to get the other half later, even if during the same day. You'll need to coordinate with your share partner to figure out how to divide the share up, either by taking alternate weeks or meeting up at the farm to pick up the share together.  

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 pickup? Check out our CSA FAQs! You can also contact Lauren Trotogott, our Distribution Coordinator.
Waltham Fields Community Farm Staff

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

Seasonal Staff:
Equipment Technician: Tim Cooke
Assistant Grower: Ivory Nava
Field Manager: Janelle Plummer
Greenhouse Manager: Naomi Shea
Field Crew: Ezra Nava, Ebony Nava, Phil Musen, Anastasia Strayton
Weed Crew: Hassan Ragy, Emily Saperia, Jesse Simmons, Chelsea Wang
Distribution & Outreach Assistant: Janet Calcaterra
CSA Distribution Team: Joy Grimes, Jessica Kauffman, Olivia Newhall-Thayer, Emily Saperia, Edward Wakefield, Natalie Zeunges
Learning Garden Educators: Autumn Cutting, Sarah Scheinfeld, Anna Vellante
Waltham Fields Community Farm
(781) 899-2403
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Waltham Fields Community Farm | 240 Beaver Street, Waltham, MA 02452