Welcome (back) to the farm!  It's been a wild spring, but then, we farm in New England, so we can't really expect any different.  Capricious weather is a fact of life here.  A friend was describing to me yesterday watching a dragonfly crawl out of the water and hatch into an adult.  What struck her most about the process, which took hours, was that while she expected it to be tranquil and linear, it was not at all.  The dragonfly would burst into great, heaving spasms of effort, followed by long spells of rest, seemingly doing nothing at all.  Then, when it seemed that nothing more was going to happen, another massive, jerking strain would bring the dragonfly further out into the world.  That's kind of how our crops have been growing this spring.  Every week there have been a couple of rainy, cold days when we wear sweaters and rain gear and the crops seem to do nothing at all.  Then the sun comes out and the temperature rises, and we watch them seem to grow throughout the day, cells dividing so fast you can almost see them.  The weird part is that despite all of these cold, rainy days, May was actually a relatively dry month, with only 2 inches of rainfall compared to the usual 4, so as soon as that hot sun comes out it's time to pull out the irrigation to keep things alive, only to feel a little ridiculous as the cold rain falls on the irrigation pipes a few days later. 

You may find this week's share, shall we say, petite compared to the bounty of the end of 2013.  It's a select group of veggies that have prospered in the up-and-down spring, but there's lots more in the field looking beautiful just around the corner - and this week's lettuce, a combination of red butterhead, green butterhead, and the beautiful green oakleaf variety Panisse, can't be beat.  Part of the joy of being a CSA shareholder is that you get to eat like a farmer - enjoying those first tender lettuces and green garlic shoots as a teaser, building up to heartier crops like beets and fennel, bringing on the zucchini and cucumbers in early July, and then reveling in the abundance of August through October.  If all goes well, that is. 

We'll also be harvesting a whole bed of gorgeous green leaf lettuce for Food for Free on Tuesday as part of our food access efforts, the reason that our farm was founded 20 years ago.  A key thing to remember about being a shareholder at Waltham Fields is that, while you're always welcome to send a friend or family member if you can't pick up your share one week, any unclaimed shares are donated to those in need through our food access programs.  It's another reason to be proud that you're a WFCF shareholder.

We farmers won't see you in the barn on a regular basis this season, but please join us in the fields if you can; we have farm tours at 4 PM Wednesday through Friday and 11 AM on Saturday this week, and our volunteer drop in hours on Friday and Saturday mornings begin at 9 AM (you can stay as long as you like, up until our lunchtime at noon).  Stop us to say hi, and don't mind our dirty or busy appearance.  We're so happy to talk about what we do, and so happy to see you all on the farm. 

Welcome!

Amanda, for the Farm Staff