Weekly CSA Newsletter: July 10-16, 2006 (Week #5)

In This Issue:

  1. This week's share may include: ...
  2. Pick-Your-Own Crops and Information
  3. Notes from the Field
  4. Recipes
  5. Upcoming Events:Third Sunday Gathering July 16th at 4 PM
  6. CFO Contact Information

1. This week's share may include

  • Lettuce
  • Beets
  • Summer Squash
  • Cucumbers
  • Carrots
  • Swiss Chard
  • Fennel

2. Pick-Your-Own Crops

  • Green Beans
  • Herbs (Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Parsley)
  • Flowers !!!

All shareholders are invited to pick your own from 9 AM to 7:30 PM on Sundays and from 3 PM to 7:30 PM on Thursdays. Please visit the PYO station near the red shed for locations of crops and all PYO tools and materials.

3. Notes from the Field

Spader Speed

So here's the deal: our main tillage tractor, the little orange Kubota, is broken. It's been broken since Memorial Day weekend, when a transmission problem that was previously fixed resurfaced, causing the tractor to stop moving in any direction. Not forward, not backward, not in any gear. This is an issue for us for several reasons, but one of the biggest is that one of this tractor's primary tasks is preparing the soil for planting, using our 4' Celli spader. The spader is a tool that was designed to create a planting bed similar to what you would create if you dug it by hand. It has square blades that work the soil and incorporate whatever is on top of it without impacting the soil structure as much as a rototiller would, making a lofty, even seedbed that is easy to plant into and doesn't compact easily. The spader leaves the soil feeling and acting, as Nate likes to put it, very mellow. It's a great tillage tool whose primary drawbacks are its incredibly slow speed (less than 1 mile per hour, please) and the fact that we can only use it with one of our four tractors - the one that is now out of commission.

While the Kubota has been broken, we've been making do. We've been using a combination of the 2-bottom moldboard plow and our little Perfecta field cultivator to turn the soil over, marking beds using our 60 year old Super As, and transplanting on our knees. We've definitely missed the spader, particularly when we've had to plant into beds that are not as soft and light as we're used to (we have the trowel calluses on our palms to prove it). But we've managed - up to now.

The beginning of July is when we start to turn under finished crops (kohlrabi, anyone?) in order to plant new ones in their places. Two things became very clear as we approached this milestone: first, that our cobbled-together tillage system didn't work as well when we were turning a crop under; and second, that our old tractors weren't holding up to the strain of filling in for the Kubota as we had hoped. So we rented a tractor this week, a 34 horsepower John Deere 4310 with a hydrostatic transmission, just for two days over the July 4 holiday. And we spaded all afternoon on Monday, all day on Tuesday and for three hours on Wednesday morning, traveling over the farm at spader speed, watching the crops go by.kale. plant. by. kale. plant. At that speed, you can actually become acquainted with each head of lettuce in the bed next to the one you're spading. Sometimes it seems like you can actually watch as they grow from one end of the bed to another. You notice things you haven't had time to up until now - like the baby killdeers and their parents huddling in a group in the beet bed. The black raspberries in the hedgerows. The hawk soaring above the trees. The subtle variations in the shades of green over the ever-so-slight undulations of the fields. The postures of your co-workers as they move down the rows in the bend-plant-step rhythm of transplanting, or the almost meditative motion of hoeing. The stirring of thousands of insects in the canopy of crops and weeds that stretches away on each side of you. The flight of the barn swallows back to their nest high in the rafters of the distribution shelter, where five fledglings are waiting. The flower and Concord grapevines twining in the hedgerows at the field edges. A woodchuck peeking out from her hole, gazing at the Brussels sprouts.

You get sentimental when you move at spader speed, brought to a slightly altered state by the sound of the engine and the motion of the tractor. You watch the light change in the fields over the course of an afternoon, and you begin to think that a little farm in New England , deep in the heart of summer, might be the most beautiful place in the world. You think that the folks you work with are close to magicians, creating a crazy quilt of color and textures over a few small acres that clearly speak of the care and attention they've been given. You feel pretty lucky to be able to have the opportunity to spend a couple of hours on a tractor on a sunny afternoon, watching the world go by. It's almost like floating dow n the river in a canoe, except that you're getting work done while you're doing it.

Then you shut the tractor off, and it all comes rushing back, and the world goes back to normal speed. For those few hours, though, we were privileged to move at spader speed. Slow down, if you can, and enjoy the harvest.

— Amanda Cather
For the farm staff

4. Recipes

Garlic Scape Pesto

Here's a recipe for next week's newsletter, if the garlic scapes are holding (or still in anyone's fridge...): I saw this for sale at a Vermont Farmer's Market this weekend— what a great idea, and so easy! — Molly Baskette

  • big handful of garlic scapes, chopped
  • equal parts (maybe a half cup) pine nuts (or walnuts) and
  • hard cheese, such as romano or parmesan
  • couple tablespoons olive oil
  • water for texture

throw it all in the blender or food processor, voila! use it as a cracker spread, sauce for rice, pasta or steamed veggies

Sunday farm dinner - Week #4

by: Stephanie and Paul Thurrott, Jeff Giles, Kerry Hawkins

Salad— lettuce, cucumbers, parsley and cilantro, tossed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt.

Chicken— boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded thin, folded over prosciutto and fresh sage, dredged in flour with a little salt and cooked on each side in oil until golden brown.

Peas and fava beans— served with the dill and green onions

Kale and beet greens with onions

Lime sorbet for dessert

Wine

Smashamole (Kid-smashed Guacamole)

— Jeanine Jenks Farley

  • 2 avocados, peeled, pit removed
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 large zipper-seal plastic bags

Place all ingredients inside of one bag. Remove the air. Place this bag inside the second bag. Have children gently pound/smash the ingredients into guacamole. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips.

5. Upcoming events

Sunday, July 16, 4:00 pm Third Sunday Gathering

Third Sunday Gatherings The third Sunday of every month we host an informal gathering of members, shareholders and supporters. This is a chance to connect with other farm-friendly folks. The gatherings are scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM. Meet near the distribution shelter. Third Sunday Gatherings begin in May and are held through the third Sunday in October. The Third Sunday of November is CFO's Annual Meeting and Potluck.

6. Contact Information

To reach us: Farm Staff: csainfo@communityfarms.org Meg Coward: megcoward@communityfarms.org Volunteer Coordinators: volunteer@communityfarms.org Newsletter Submissions: soosting@yahoo.org CFO Board of Directors: board@communityfarms.org

Community Farms Outreach is a nonprofit organization dedicated to farmland preservation, hunger relief, and education.

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