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Waltham Fields Community Farm
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CSA NEWSLETTER 2015 - Week 19 of 20
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WINTER CSA SHARES STILL AVAILABLE
Winter Vegetable Shares with 3 pick-ups (November 7th & 21st and December 5th)
for just $200. Receive cool weather greens at the first pick up and winter storage crops throughout, such as carrots, onions, potatoes, winter squash, turnips, cabbage and beets that will last you through winter and into spring. There will be pre-order forms sent out for other retail items for sale like cheese, fresh baked bread and possibly apples and other festive treats!
Click here for a full description of all our our share options, including the Winter Share.
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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):
Carrots
Lettuce
Winter squash
Broccoli raab
Spinach
Salad turnips
Radish
Garlic
Leeks
Fennel
Premium mustard greens
Green cabbage
Napa cabbage
Potatoes
Tatsoi
Kale
Collards
Kohlrabi
Pick Your Own (PYO):
Remember to only pick the amount listed on the PYO description sheets found at the PYO Station and follow the signs & directions in the field. A taste or two is okay while you're picking but in order to have enough for all 500 shares, please follow the allotted amount.
Last of the tomatillos, husk cherries, chiles, raspberries and perennial herbs.
Also, the Flower Share fields will be open to Summer CSA shareholders. Please check the PYO for amounts and location.
WINTER SHARES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
You can purchase a winter share at any CSA pickup or on our website. Winter shares consist of a range of hearty greens and storage crops and are distributed over the course of 3 Saturdays: November 7, November 21 & December 5, from noon to 4pm. Cost is $200. For more info or to sign up online, check the CSA link on our website.
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NOTES FROM THE FIELD -
Autumnal Greetings & Partings
by Erinn Roberts, Farm Manager
This week you have probably noticed dramatic changes in the farm landscape--tomato stakes have been pulled, large chunks of tomato and brassica fields have been mowed, cover crop is growing strong after the 5+ inches of rain we received ten days ago. Normally, this time of year we're keeping our eye on the many beds of roots that we're counting on for the Winter CSA Share, looking to strike a balance between giving them time in the cold weather to sweeten up but avoiding the decimation that we know our local vole and goose populations are capable of. More recently our big concern turned out to be the cabbage field. Knowing that many inches of rain was forecasted, we realized that the tender, flat drum head cabbages (aptly named Tendersweet) would all burst with any extra bit of moisture. We harvested half the field one day, and the rest the next. As it turned out, the other green cabbages and one variety of red were also on the verge of bursting and they quickly made it onto the next episode of what Roy deemed our farm reality TV show, "Cabbage Rescue". We're usually maxed out for cold storage during this time of year, but having a cooler full of cabbages this early in October makes it feel particularly tight. Luckily, they're a crop that will hold in the right conditions for many months, and I'm feeling relieved to know that we have them safely out of the field.
In addition to cabbages, you're starting to see the autumn greens really rolling in, most of which tend to fall into the "farmers' favorite" category-the unique deliciousness of broccoli raab and mustard greens is a much talked about topic during the morning harvest. Unfortunately, some of our fall roots have made a poor showing this year. We seeded parsnips two or three times through early to mid-summer, with no luck at all. They're a finicky germinator and though we usually get something from a planting, this year's hot and dry weather seemed to be too much for those little wisps of seeds to find their potential. Rutabagas and purple top turnips also took a hit from the extreme weather, and while they germinated and their greens have been looking great, the root formation is very spotty. Much as we tried to get water rotated through the farm consistently, it was a big challenge to get enough moisture in a year when most fields needed two weekly rounds of irrigation. But salad turnips and red radishes have come along nicely throughout the fall. Leeks have been stellar, and you'll see them once again this week, as well as some delicious garlic.
The most dramatic event of the week will happen quietly on the farm, when Zannah Porter works her final day with us on Saturday. Zannah joined us in 2012 after spending a couple of years at Land's Sake farm in Weston. She ran the gauntlet in her interview, sitting down with Amanda, Andy, Dan and myself. We all knew afterwards that she could be an important addition and complement to the farm, and four years later, you can see that we were proven correct. By her second season, she was managing the Gateways property in Weston, which has remained her focus in subsequent years. She has also taken careful care of our equipment fleet, staying on top of maintenance and researching and making new purchases to increase efficiency and production. Zannah has cared deeply about and taken deep care of Waltham Fields from the start and working with her has been one of the highlights of my time here. She has a strong appreciation for the natural and non-human world going on around her, and farming is just one expression of that. By working with Zannah, we've all vicariously enjoyed canoe trips through Maine, hikes in the White Mountains, childhood romps through Virginian creeks and woods, stints working for a white water rafting company and all sorts of other adventures. And then of course, there's Banjo, the favorite farm dog of the past four years. Both of them will be missed dearly, but we couldn't be happier for her to take on her next adventure at Powisset Farm. This farm won't be the same without her, so if you see her around the fields this week, give her a big thank you.
 From the Farm Crew,
Erinn
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WHAT'S IN THE BARN 
We are stocked up on products from our favorite meat vendor. We currently have hickory smoked bacon ($11.00/pound), ground beef ($9.99/pound), sweet/hot Italian ground pork ($8.99/pound), boneless/skinless chicken breasts ($10.99/pound) and boneless/skinless chicken thigh ($8.99/pound). Stock up before the Summer CSA is over!
All of our retail products are available for sale to the public; the Farm Stand is also now open with our own produce for sale to the public. Tell your friends! 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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BEET SLAW ON A BED OF GRILLED LEEKS
Adapted from the "Bounty From the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook" by Mi Ae Lipe, published this year and in which Waltham Fields Community Farm receives a shout out on our community involvement and volunteer opportunities to help grow produce for food access donations.
- 1/4 cup plain Greek-style yogurt
 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 5 beets (Chioggia, red or golden), julienned or grated
- 1 medium carrot, julienned or grated
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, and orange zest and juice in a medium bowl. Add the beets and carrot, and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and set aside to let the flavors blend.
Vinaigrette
- 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grilled Leek
- 12 medium leeks, trimmed to about 7 inches, split lengthwise to within 1 1/2 inches of the root end
- Olive oil for grilling
- Tie the leeks in 4 bundles with kitchen string, and put them in a kettle of boiling salted water. Boil them for 6 minutes or until they are just tender.
- Cut away the stings and refresh the leeks under cold running water (or drop them into a large bowl of ice water). Arrange them upside down in a colander to drain.
- Brush the leeks with olive oil and grill them on an oiled rack for 5 minutes on each side, or until they are golden. Transfer the leeks as they are grilled to a platter and keep warm.
- Drizzle the vinaigrette over the leeks and top with the beet slaw.
FALL RECIPES
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Waltham Fields Community Farm Staff
Year-Round Staff:
Claire Kozower, Org. Assistant
Seasonal Staff:
Assistant Grower: Anna Kelchlin
Farm Assistants: Tim Cooke, Dan Roberts, Naomi Shea
Farm Stand Assistant: Leo Martinez
Field Crew: Anna Hirson-Sagalyn, Roy Kresge, Jack Leng, Claire Penney, Evan Rees
Learning Garden Educators: Sadie Brown, Autumn Cutting, Rebecca Fennel, Alannah Glickman
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