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Waltham Fields Community Farm
CSA Newsletter #4
June 28, 2010
In This Issue
What's in the share this week
Pick-Your-Own Crops
Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad.
Farm Tshirts (and more)
Notes from the Field
Upcoming Programs at the Farm
  
Please join us...
 
Our First Children's Learning Garden Summer Session Starts July 5th! Sign your child up today!
 
Night Sky Viewing, Tuesday, July 6th Join us to see what's shining in the night sky above WFCF!  
 
Check out our 2010 Program Brochure!!!
 
Fun on the Farm/ Agricultural Journaling
Thursdays 3:30 - 5pm
Kids of all ages, join us for free play and occasional old-fashioned games on the farm, while your parents pick up their shares and chat with other members. Bring a nut-free snack to share if you're so inclined. Mobile meet up: Just look for the kidpack!
 
Agricultural Journaling  Have a yen to capture the unfolding of the agricultural season from week to week? Bring sketchbooks, drawing implements, watercolors, camera or what have you. (Also a camp chair, if you don't like standing or sitting in the dirt.) All ages. Meet-up: Check in with Natasha; she'll know where we are.
 
For either gathering, check in with Natasha (she'll be doing the share distribution); I (Anastacia) will be there 4 pm and onward, but roaming about.
 
Questions? Contact Anastacia.
 
Jointly organized by A-OK Home Learners, Purple Giraffes 4H and Waltham Fields Community Farm CSA. Any member of these three groups is welcome to attend!
 
Pickled Pink: Food Preservation Workshop Sunday, July 25th, 9am-3pm
 
For more information, see our website.
Recipes
Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? It's okay if you've found it on another website, we'll give that site credit! :) Don't be shy -- let us know!

Looking for ideas on how to prepare Farm produce?! We have a wealth of possibilities for you! See our Recipe pages.
Compost at the farm
Feel free to add to our compost pile! Just look for the pile labeled "Add compost here"!
 
If possible, please bury your scraps and/or cover them with leaves from the nearby leaf pile. And remember no meat scraps, no whole bread loaves. Biodegradable serving-ware from picnics or parties needs staff approval
Summer CSA Distribution Days 
 
Tuesdays 3-7 PM
Thursdays 3-7 PM
Saturdays  8 AM-12 noon
Quick Links
What's in the share this week...
 
KalePlease note:  this list is prepared the week before you receive your share.  Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share, and sometimes crops will be in the share even though they're not on the list.   
  • Beets 
  • Lettuce 
  • Radishes
  • Salad Turnips
  • Kohlrabi 
  • Scallions
Need recipe ideas for some of the farm produce listed above!? See the Produce information and recipe pages on our website.
Pick-Your-Own Crops
 
pick your own flowersYou are welcome to harvest the PYO portion of the share during any daylight hours, 7 days a week.  Please check the board at the little red kiosk for information on amounts and locations. Remember, you can pick one time per week but it doesn't necessarily have to be at the same time you are picking up your share.
  • Snow Peas
  • Snap Peas
  • Fava Beans
  • Parsley
  • Basil
  • Cilantro
  • Flowers
  • Herbs
Our healthy supply of scissors from the PYO kiosk has dwindled to one or two pairs. We plan on getting more but please keep an eye out for any scissors in the fields and make sure they get returned to the proper place. Thanks!
Sugar Snap Pea and Radish Salad
from Martha Stewart Living, April 2008
 
Shareholder Kate wrote in: "We made this last night and it was as good as we remembered!"

Prep time: 10 min; serves 4.

1 lb. sugar snap peas, ends trimmed, and halved crosswise if desired
4 radishes, sliced paper thin
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place peas, radishes, lemon zest, lemon juice, and oil in a serving bowl. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

Yum!

Have a favorite recipe?! Send it in!
 
Get Your Farm Tshirt Here!
 
farm tshirtWe'll be selling farm merchandise (t-shirts, baby onesies, tote bags, Waltham cookbooks, and Hungry Nomad bike maps) at the distributions next week - Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 
 
Cash or checks.
Notes from the Field
Turning Over
 
This week we usher in a whole new set of crops: cabbage, turnips, collards and kohlrabi to name a few. Generally, these are thought of as cooler weather crops; they grow well both in spring and fall. They take a little more coaxing along this time of year and only stay around for a short while but we will see them return in the fall. It won't be long before we'll have cucumbers, peppers and summer squash fruiting. I hate to jinx things, but it seems like we just might have turned the corner to summer. Just looking at the field in front of the perennial garden, you can see peas and spring lettuce make way for beans and tomatoes.
 
turned over fieldsYou will notice patches in the field being turned over this week, three or four here, a few more there. We are starting our fourth week of the CSA and have harvested our first rounds of spinach, lettuce and scallions from these little patches all over the farm. It's now time to turn them in and plant something else in their place. I have to admit, I always love plowing in these sections of the field. It's like tidying up the farm. Incorporating the weeds and whatever else is left back into the soil, leaves a sharp brown and green contrast between newly turned soil and the surrounding plants yet to be harvested.
 
red pick your own shed with tractorWe try to plant multiple successions of particular crops so they can be in continuous supply. You've seen it in the PYO areas of the farm with beans, peas or basil. We also do it with lettuce or cutting greens. For example, this year we are growing 14 separate plantings (or generations) of lettuce in an attempt to have it available all season. Sometimes we miss a planting due to poor germination, bad weather or simply just being too busy with other things so we might then lump two into one. But the goal is still the same, trying to have a continuous supply of lettuce all season.
 
So keep an eye on the fields over these next few weeks. We are turning over the spring beds that were planted in April and are preparing and planting new ones for the crops to be harvested later this fall.
 
For the farm staff,
Andy 
 
Andy Scherer, Farm Manager 
Jericho Bicknell, Education and Outreach Coordinator
Amanda Cather, Special Projects Coordinator
Amy Cook, Assistant Grower
Dede Dussault, Student Intern
Debra Guttormsen, Administration and Bookkeeper
Paula Jordan, Learning Garden Educator
Claire Kozower, Executive Director
Alex Lennon-Simon, Learning Garden Educator
Marla Rhodes, Development Assistant
Dan Roberts, Assistant Grower
Erinn Roberts, Assistant Farm Manager
Waltham Fields Community Farm | 240 Beaver Street | Waltham | MA | 02452