WFCF CSA Newsletter - CSA Week #4

Waltham Fields Community Farm

local food for everyone

Waltham Fields Community Farm

CSA Newsletter 2018

Week 4 of 20

PICKUP DATES & TIMES

COME ONCE ON ANY OF THESE PICK UP DAYS

WE ARE OPEN ON THE 4th OF JULY!

Wednesday, July 4th, 2:00-6:30pm

Thursday, July 5th, 2:00-6:30pm

Saturday, July 7th, 9am-2pm

Any shareholder is welcome to pick up on any of the above days! You don't have to let us know when you're coming. Feel free to switch back and forth from week to week if that works best for you, or choose a day and stick to it for most of the season. We'll be happy to see you whatever day you come to the farm.

WFCF Seeking New

Board Members

If you love this farm, and have some time to dedicate to its mission, please consider applying to our Board of Directors. Board members oversee the farm's budget/finances, fundraising, and strategy. They meet at the farm about 8 times per year, with an additional 4-6 meetings as part of a smaller committee. While special knowledge of law, human resources, education, food access, and farming are appreciated, the true need is for people who want to help Waltham Fields serve its local community. Enthusiasm and engagement are the top priorities! Board members serve 3 year terms, starting in January. To apply, please send an email to John Tracy at johnjtracy@gmail.com.

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):

lettuce

kale

collards

chard

scallions, baby leeks or bunching onions--farmer's choice

bok choy

radish

fennel

beets

summer squash

zucchini

escarole or radicchio

carrots

napa or head cabbage

Pick Your Own (PYO): dill, cilantro, basil, strawberries & Perennial Garden herbs & flowers. Please don’t cut more than 1/3-1/2 of herb stems. View the Perennial Garden Handbook here.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Week Four: Fall Focus

by Naomi Shea

Every season we work hard to rotate our crops to maintain soil fertility, reduce problems with soil-borne disease and hopefully decrease the population of pests. This season we have relocated our pepper, watermelon and winter squash plantings from our fields in Weston to our fields at the Lyman Estate. We have had difficulty the past few seasons with a pest that can damage the pepper and cause it to change color prematurely. We did a small pepper trial at Lyman last year and did not see damage. So far, the peppers are looking grand and fruit is starting to set. We have our fingers crossed that the pest doesn’t find them this year. Sadly, watermelons didn’t amount to much in our Weston fields last year and the coyotes got to them before we could. We are commuting to Lyman more regularly in the week and can keep a careful eye on things. I believe Lyman is going to be the unsung hero this season providing a bounty.

With summer here, we have officially hit our stride! All the crops welcomed the rain this week and we were able to duck in and out between the thunder and lighting to get the harvest in before lunch on Thursday. The heat-loving crops are going to love the projected high temps and it won’t be long now until we are harvesting tomatoes, eggplants and those peppers!

Even with summer in full swing this week, we turned our focus on the fall as began prepping our fields for our fall plantings. We mowed and turned in the cover crop that has protected and enriched the soil. The fall seedlings, the ones for our winter shares, came out of the greenhouse to harden. The greenhouse planting schedule only has a few weeks left. It's hard to believe just a few months ago both greenhouses were bursting at the seams.

This week we will have a busy irrigation rotation schedule moving the water wheel, aluminum pipes, sprinklers and running drip tape lines. We will also make sure we are hydrating ourselves and we will welcome any cooling drinks or fruit pops that might be dropped off for the farmers!

Have a great 4th of July and stay cool.

Enjoy the harvest,

Naomi, for the farm crew

WHAT'S IN THE BARN

Local Meat from Chestnut Farms

in Hardwick, MA

If you're picking up your share before heading out of town for the holiday, check out our selection of grilling meat! We have Sweet & Hot Italian sausage and bone-in chicken thigh & breast. We also have bacon, ground pork & beef and whole chicken! Chestnut Farms is a family run farm that raises all of their livestock without hormones or antibiotics. Cattle is grass fed, chickens are free range, and pigs are pasture-raised.

All of our retail products are available for sale to the public. 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). Cash, check, Mastercard & Visa ($10 minimum for credit) are all accepted for retail items.

Shaved Fennel Salad with Walnuts and Croutons

Adapted from BonAppetit.com

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups coarsely torn sourdough bread
½ cup walnuts
6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
3 Tbsp. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove (or scape), finely grated
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 fennel bulbs with fronds
¾ cup torn mint leaves
½ lemon
2 oz. Parmesan, shaved

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Place bread on one side of a rimmed baking sheet and walnuts on the other side (they cook at different rates). Drizzle bread with 3 Tbsp. oil; season with salt. Toss, squeezing bread with your hands to help it absorb as much oil as possible, until evenly coated. Bake until walnuts are golden brown and croutons are deeply browned and very crisp, 8–10 minutes for walnuts, 12–15 minutes for croutons. Let cool, then coarsely chop walnuts.

Meanwhile, combine vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Let sit 10 minutes to let garlic mellow and flavor the vinegar.

Whisk 3 Tbsp. oil into vinegar mixture, then add croutons and chopped walnuts. Season crouton mixture with some salt and toss to coat and let croutons soften slightly; set aside.

Remove stalks and fronds from fennel bulbs. Remove fronds from stalks and coarsely chop; thinly slice stalks. Place in a large bowl. Cut fennel bulbs in half and thinly slice on a mandoline (if you have one; if not, practice your knife skills). Add to same bowl along with mint. Zest lemon half over salad, then squeeze in juice. Season with salt and toss to combine.

Divide reserved crouton mixture among plates and top with half of the Parmesan. Arrange fennel salad over; top with remaining Parmesan and drizzle with oil.

IMPORTANT SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION

If it's your first time picking up a CSA share with Waltham Fields, let us know when you check in and we'll help guide you through your first pick up. Also, please feel free to ask us questions anytime. We're here to help you!

Bring Your Own Bags or a Box

We don't keep a stock of plastic bags. Please remember to bring your own bags or a box to the farm to pick up your CSA share! We strongly encourage the use of reusable bags/boxes for all vegetables on the farm. If you forget your bags or want some really great ones, we have reusable Waltham Fields Tote Bags for sale in the barn for $4, with proceeds supporting our food assistance and education programs.

Pick-Your-Own Crops

All shareholders are welcome to pick-your-own anytime during daylight hours. 10-week shareholders may PYO at anytime during their assigned week and may not switch weeks. Stop by the PYO station for a list of what's available, how much to take, and a map of where to find it in the fields. Take these maps into the fields with you & respect the quantity limits so that there is enough for everyone! When you head out into the fields, a sign will help you to know which rows are ready for picking and will also include harvest tips. The PYO station will also provide scissors and pint boxes, but it never hurts to bring your own.

Share Pick Up Questions

More questions about share pickup? Check out our CSA FAQs! You can also contact Lauren Trotogott, our Distribution Coordinator.