Waltham Fields Community Farm
CSA NEWSLETTER 2014
Week #9 of 20                                                  Like us on Facebook  Visit our blog 
 
In This Issue
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):
Potatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions, scallions, lettuce, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, kale, collards, cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, beets, carrots, & tomatoes.

Pick Your Own (PYO):  
Perennial Garden herbs & flowers, basil, dill, dill blossoms, cilantro, hot peppers, & cherry tomatoes (ONLY PICK TOMATOES IN DRY WEATHER).

IMPORTANT INFO: Do not pick tomatoes if it has rained or if the plants are wet. We are concerned about the spread of Late Blight, which has been wiping out crops in the region. This disease can be carried from plant to plant if the plants are wet. Late Blight will quickly kill plants that it infects, thereby destroying our entire crop.

PLEASE RETURN OUR SCISSORS TO THE SHAREHOLDER STATION AFTER PICKING
 
BRING YOUR OWN BAGS!
What's In The Barn

Evy Tea Cold Brewed Black Tea
 

I know by now you've noticed our assortment of refreshing beverages in the CSA barn this season, but have you checked out Evy Tea's cold brewed Earl Grey Black tea? Brewed with creamy vanilla, this artisanal drink will hydrate your body as well as give you that natural energy boost on these hot summer afternoons. By cold brewing their tea, Evy Tea ensures the highest quality and most delicate flavors without any bitterness.


 


NOTES FROM THE FIELD

By Zannah Porter, Farm Manager

 

The beginning of August marks a shift on the farm. The blistering days of July are behind us. The race to get the tomatoes twined and the fall brassica crop transplanted is over. Now we just have a few more crops to get in the ground, a lettuce planting here, a bed of scallions there. We are also direct seeding fall root crops, like purple top turnips and watermelon radishes. These crops make me think of frosty mornings. It is hard to believe, but that weather will be upon us soon enough.

 

 It has been a week of saying goodbye. It's time to say goodbye to our first planting of summer squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. They were quite prolific at their peek but they are now tired and harboring diseases like powdery mildew. Worry not! We have two more planting successions to provide these summer favorites in the CSA for several more weeks. We will soon be in the rhythm of seemingly endless tomato, melon, eggplant, and pepper harvests.

 

We finally received a reprieve from the lack of summer rain. A few storms have dumped several inches of rain on our various fields. One storm caught the crew off guard in our fields at the Lyman Estate. They were quickly standing in shin-deep water as it gushed down the aisles. That day we received 3 inches of rain in the span of about 30 minutes! Fortunately, we have sandy loam soil which drains well. Our crops did not stay submerged for long. We have had steady enough rain since then and have not needed to irrigate. The plants (vegetables and weeds) are still growing at a hurried pace. I know that the plants will start slowing down. It is subtle at first. Not as many passes with the tractor-mounted cultivators are needed to keep the beds from being swallowed up by weeds.

 

Our fields will soon be ready to be seeded in fall crops or cover crops. Cover crops will hold the soil in place, also adding organic matter and nutrients for next year's crops. The seed has been ordered and the tractor-mounted cone spreader is being fixed so that as we turn in summer crops we will sow our fields with a blanket of oats and peas or rye and vetch to keep the soil snug over the winter.

 

I find it hard to believe that we are already in the full swing of the season. We may have more soupy hot August days ahead of us, but we are over the hump, harvesting our way towards fall.

A Song Sparrow bird's nest built within a squash plant.
Russian Potato Salad


Ingredients                                                             


 

7-8 medium sized Red Potatoes

3 medium sized beets

3 medium sized carrots

1 medium/small white onion 

1 cucumber

12 -16 oz Kielbasa Beef Sausage

3 - 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 - 5 Tablespoons Champagne or White Vinegar

salt and pepper
 

Directions
 

1.Rinse Potatoes, Beets and Carrots well.
2.Place them all in a pot of water with skins on. (I find it easier to skin them after they are cooked; the skins will just slip right off).
3.Bring the pot to boil; boil vegetables 40 - 50 minutes (I always test with a butter knife...if it goes through fairly easily, they are done).
4.Drain; Rinse with cold water and drain again. 
5.Allow to cool
6.Remove skins from beets, potatoes and carrots. 
7.Cube vegetables and place in a bowl.
8.Peel and cube the cucumber.
9.Peel and dice the onion.
10.Slice and cube the Kielbasa Sausage.
11.Combine all and stir until well combined.
12.Add Olive Oil until all is well coated.
13.Add Vinegar until there is just enough tang to satisfy.  I always just judge and taste as I go, because the salad will sometimes vary in volume.
14.Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and mix all together well.  The potatoes and other veggies will begin to turn a beautiful red from the beat juice. You can serve immediately and tastes even better the next day.
 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES AND PRODUCE INFO

Quick Links
Waltham Fields Community Farm Staff

Claire Kozower, Executive Director
Marla Rhodes, Development Coordinator
Zannah Porter, Farm Manager
Alexandra Lennon-Simon, Education and Outreach Coordinator
Lauren Trotogott, Distribution Coordinator
Rebekah Lea, Bookkeeper/ Office Coordinator

Hector Cruz, Assistant Grower
Anna Kelchlin, Assistant Grower
Johanna Flies, Brett Maley, Naomi Shea - Farm Assistants
Martha Dorsch, Farm Stand Assistant
Laurie Young, Field Crew Leader
Rae Axner, Daniel Clifford, Ruby Geballe, Paul Weiskel - Field Crew
Alice Fristrom, Zack Pockrose, Evan Rees, Laura Stone - Weed Crew
Natashea Winters, Danielle Gilde - Learning Garden Educators
Kimi Ceridon, 4H Club Leader
Matt Crawford, Outreach Market Manager
Cassandra Baker, Alisa Feinswog - Forest Foundation Summer Interns

http://www.communityfarms.org
240 Beaver Street
Waltham, MA 02452