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CSA PICKUP DATES AND TIMES
COME ONCE EACH WEEK ON ANY OF THESE PICK UP DAYS
Wednesday, June 21-Oct. 18, 2:00-6:30PM
Thursday, June 22-Oct. 19, 2:00-6:30PM
Saturday, June 24-Oct. 21, 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.
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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):
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Fava bean flowers - beans to be on PYO soon.
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Lettuce
Garlic Scapes
Scallions
Kale
Collards
Fennel
Spinach
Bok Choy
Pick Your Own (PYO):
Perennial herbs & flowers, basil, snap peas & snow peas.
SPRING RECIPES
We have a ton of great recipes on our website, including many different suggestions for collards! Click here to check them out! |
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OPERATION CROP MOB: PART 1
WHEN: THIS Saturday, June 24th, 9am-12pm
WHERE: At the farm! Meet at the volunteer shed.
WHAT: Calling all friends of the farm and friends of friends, come on out and help us weed for a couple hours. We need people power to help stay ahead of the weeds. Our annual Crop Mobs are a fun morning of working outside with family, friends, and neighbors. Come dressed for the weather (close-toed shoes, hats, and sunscreen) - anyone under 18 must have a waiver signed by a legal guardian. If you're planning a group of 8 or more, contact volunteer@communityfarms.org so we know you're coming! Stay until noon...light refreshments to follow!
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WFCF SEEKING NEW BOARD MEMBERS
If you love this farm, and have some time to dedicate to its mission, please consider applying to our Board of Directors. Board members oversee the farm's budget/finances, fundraising, and strategy. They meet at the farm about 8 times per year, with an additional 4-6 meetings as part of a smaller committee. While special knowledge of law, human resources, education, food access, and farming are appreciated, the true need is for people who want to help Waltham Fields serve it's local community. Enthusiasm and engagement are the top priorities! Board members serve 3 year terms, starting in January. To apply, please send an email to Moshe Weitzman at weitzman@tejasa.com
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NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Week Three: Pick-Your-Own Tips
by Naomi Shea
One of the many perks to being a shareholder is the Pick-Your-Own (PYO) crops. It's an opportunity to get into the fields and harvest your own peas, herbs, hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, husk cherries, and the list goes on. Each week we will be adding more crops. The farm is such a special place and we want all shareholders to have a great experience when they come to the farm. All shareholders are welcome to PYO anytime during daylight hours; you do not have to do your picking when you pick up the rest of your share.
I wanted to share some handy tips so everyone has a great experience out in the fields. This list contains helpful tips from current and past WFCF farmers, staff, work shares and fellow shareholders.
Hope you find them helpful and happy picking!
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Always Check In at the PYO Stand: The PYO stand is located on the south side of the Distribution Barn. There you will find a map with a list crops that are available to pick, along with the amounts you're allotted per crop. Each crop will have a number assigned to it, so just look for the corresponding number in the field to find the crop you are looking for. Fields without labels won't be ready to harvest yet, and waiting to pick until they are harvestable will help ensure there's enough to continue to pick later in the season.
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Bring the Map with You in the Fields: We plant many different successions of most crops throughout the season. Having the map handy is helpful to make sure you are picking from the correct field.
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Return Scissors: The PYO stand also has scissors and pint containers available for your use. Please remember to return scissors when you are finished.
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Take Only the Amount that the Farmers Tell You: In the wise words from my former coworker and good friend Amanda Cather, "Sometimes you may feel like there is SO MUCH of a crop that you absolutely have to take more than a handful, or two pints, or whatever the amount on the map says. But let us reassure you that we have a little experience with guessing how much is out there in the field and we don't like to see things go to waste any more than you do. If we say a 'handful', yes, we know that's a little vague, but the traditional definition is 'what you can hold in one hand', not 'as much as you can stuff into a plastic cup or other container'. A 'taste' of something generally means what you can eat in the field -- and yes, we do encourage snacking while you're picking. We'll do our best to offer amounts that make it possible for everyone to pick that amount -- and yes, the amounts available may change over time, even over the course of a week as a crop comes in and becomes more abundant, or as the weather changes and affects the harvest. So please read the board [The board has since changed to the maps] each week and stick to the amounts we suggest -- and let us know, as always, if you have questions about it. It's helpful also to use our pint or half-pint containers to measure the right amount; you don't have to take them home if you don't want to, but it's easy to over- or under-estimate if you don't have a measuring tool in the field with you."
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Respect the Fields and the Crops in the Beds: We plant our crops on "beds" which are three feet wide with tractor tire track pathways on either side. You are able to stand in the pathways and reach the center of the beds without stepping on them. Please avoid stepping on fluffy soil, even if there are no visible plants. If it's fluffy, it is probably a bed we've prepared for planting or seeding.
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Look Carefully and Check the Whole Bed: Most of the crops hide their fruit under their leaves. At first look it might seem like there is not much on the plant but if you carefully lift the plants and look underneath you will find wonderful treasures. We have many shareholders in the fields and while most plants are very resilient it's best to handle the plants with a gentle hand. It's easy to walk into the first bed you see, step a few feet & pick everything you see. It is important to try to pick beds as evenly as possible, as most crops continue to produce throughout the season. In other words, it's best if the beds are harvested completely. Best kept secret of PYO is to check the whole bed, especially the ends farthest away from the barn. You will usually find them to be the most bountiful.
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Don't Pick on Rainy Days: Being in the fields when it's wet spreads disease to many crops, especially the tomatoes. If it's raining, try to come back another day, but definitely DO NOT PICK TOMATOES.
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Ask if you Need Help: If you are picking when the distribution barn is open there is always someone in the barn to answer any questions you might have. In all likelihood, you will be able to find a farmer in the field most days starting early in the morning and sometimes into the evening. We are always happy to help.
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Finally, enjoy the Harvest!
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Farmers Allison & Naomi harvesting bright chard on a beautiful day.
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| | Farmer Dan harvesting green garlic in the rainy weather a few weeks ago. |
For the Farm Crew,
Naomi
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WHAT'S IN THE BARN
Coconut Macaroons & Molasses Miracles from Trillfoods
If you've had a Winter Share with Waltham Fields before, you may recognize former board member & longtime shareholder Laurie Rothstein's "sweets worth savoring" made locally with business partner Jackie Baum. We currently carry the grain-free macaroons, which contain pure, organic coconut, & chewy Molasses cookies, made with organic blackstrap molasses, to satisfy your sweet tooth on pick-up day.
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)
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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.
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Garlic Scape Kale Pesto
Ingredients: 
- 1 cup chopped garlic scapes
- 2 cups lightly packed chopped kale leaves
- ½ cup walnuts
- ½ cup parmesan
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- juice of 1 lemon
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the garlic scapes, kale, walnuts, parmesan, garlic cloves, lemon juice, and salt. Pulse until garlic scapes and kale are finely chopped, about 10-15 pulses.
- With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil, scraping down the sides when necessary. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- To serve, toss with warm pasta. Sprinkle with extra grated parmesan and some crushed red pepper flakes.
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IMPORTANT SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
What's in the Share
Each week, we'll send out a CSA newsletter on Tuesday 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.
Our first shares will start out smaller and grow with the season. Choice will be more limited in these earlier weeks but we'll start to see more bounty roll in later in the month.
If it's your first time picking up a CSA share with WFCF, 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 and 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 pick-your-own 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 a sheet of paper available each week with a map and a list of crops that are available to harvest on it, along with the amount allowed and harvest tips. Then just look for the corresponding number in the field to pick your own! PYO sheets will be available at all times at the PYO kiosk on the south side of the Distribution Barn. Bring the maps with you in the fields & respect the quantity limits so that there is enough for everyone!
For flowers, our vegetable shareholders will be able to pick some of the flowering plants in the perennial gardens and there will be two weeks at the end of the 20-week season when shareholders are given access to our annual flowers for picking. If you're a flower lover though and haven't purchased a flower share yet, we still have some left. Flower shares offer 10 weeks of picking two bouquets per week for $100 (just $10/week for a bounty of food for the soul)! Click here to learn more about flower share purchase. 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.
Balances Due
All fees were due by June 1st, including share balances and maintaining current membership with our nonprofit 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. Credit card payments are no longer accepted for share payments. Please send in or drop off your check made out to WFCF.
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. 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
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Waltham Fields Community Farm Staff
Year-Round Staff:
Seasonal Staff:
Assistant Grower: Janelle Plummer
Greenhouse Production Supervisor: Naomi Shea
Equipment Supervisor: Dan Roberts
Tractor Operator: Tim Cooke
Field Crew: Zoe Flavin, Ebony Nava, Ivory Nava, Allison Ostrowski, Bekah Waller
Weed Crew: Fiona Amelang, Luna Goddard, Cristin Sloan, Clare Stephens
Distribution & Outreach Assistant: Owen Weitzman
Learning Garden Educators: Autumn Cutting, Annie Fortnow, Jack Leng, Zack Lennon-Simon, Lauren McDermott
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