WFCF CSA Newsletter - CSA Week #5

Waltham Fields Community Farm

local food for everyone

Waltham Fields Community Farm

CSA Newsletter 2018

Week 5 of 20

PICKUP DATES & TIMES

COME ONCE ON ANY OF THESE PICK UP DAYS

Wednesday, July 11th, 2:00-6:30pm

Thursday, July 12th, 2:00-6:30pm

Saturday, July 14th, 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.

Upcoming Classes on the Farm

Yoga on the Farm: Saturday, September 15th, 8-9am

Join WFCF Assistant Farm Manager & Yoga Instructor Anna Kelchlin for an Iyengar-based yoga class geared towards beginners.

Learn more and register here!

Pizza Making with Rabottini's: Saturday, October 27th, 12-2pm

Join WFCF Farmer and Pizza Creator Dan Roberts and explore explore different dough-making processes, flour, preferments and pizza making styles. Learn more and register here!

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):

Beets

Head cabbage

Napa cabbage

Carrots

Collards

Cukes

Escarole

Fennel

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

pearl onions

radishes

summer squash

swiss chard

salad turnips

zucchini

Pick Your Own (PYO): dill, cilantro, basil, green beans, fava beans & 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 Five: Summer Initiation

by Anna Kelchlin

The life of a vegetable grower has a unique level of intensity. To be a grower, in my opinion one must thrive in extreme environments and enjoy the unpredictability and strength of nature. As a vegetable grower with a modest 6 years under my belt, I have gathered that to make this a career, one must possess an impeccable drive, a long-lasting, consistent steadiness, and observant senses. A grower loves food, loves to feed people, and will perform Olympic efforts to make it all happen no matter the weather. It’s a continuous hustle and bustle so it’s healthy to step back at times to ask yourself why you do what you do. I am in awe of my fellow farmers as we all work together to create a symphony of a three-season harvest.

This week was a test of these qualities, although it felt more like a final exam to me. This was my first full week back from being in the hospital for a little while, so it was especially jarring for me but also rewarding. The heat along with the humidity was demanding and strenuous. The accumulation of these 90 + degree days can be wearing both physically and mentally, so it’s necessary to strategize your fluid intake and your rest: Self-Care 101. As far as farm work goes in this heat wave, it is essential to make a carefully thought out irrigation plan. We are lucky to have a water reel sprinkler which you may have see in the fields this week slowly retracting over a span of 12 beds. The aluminum pipes also play an important role, allowing more water to be delivered at once. We have been using these to simply cool our lettuce plantings so that they don’t begin to bolt and become bitter. Another project we completed this week, that I like to refer to as a team building exercise, is to put the shade cloth on the greenhouse. Since the summer sun is so strong, we place a giant black cloth that has tiny holes in it over the 72-foot greenhouse in order to keep it cooler for the seedlings we still have to plant. Lastly, this week we tried to refrain from as much transplanting as we could, except for the okra which was desperate to spread its roots. It is a hard life for a seedling in this heat so its best done when it is a bit cooler and we can lower the soil temperature with some water before transplanting.

All in all, the summer crops are moving right along and are enjoying these hot days and warm nights. So far, it’s proving to be a summer of heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, squashes and cucumbers. It is beginning to give me flashbacks to the summer of 2016, but we won’t talk about that now. In the share this week you will begin to see more cucumber, summer squash, and zucchini as our next generation will start producing shortly. We will soon be harvesting the fresh eating onions which are the longest standing crop next to the garlic having been sown in the very early Spring when we were still in wool sweaters. And finally, the green beans are ripening up nicely, so they should be open for picking soon.

Despite the rugged nature of this work, I am very grateful for this food that we are so blessed to be able to share with all of you. It is exciting to dream about all the combinations of summer meals that we will eat with our loved ones. It is quite special to be so intimate with our food sources and connected with the nature that surrounds us. This week we enjoyed a spontaneous potluck lunch with all the staff in honor of our amazing director that really embodied the spirit and sense of community Waltham Fields holds. It’s these moments of joy and positive energy that nourish our whole bodies. Thank you for all of you who share and support us in this work. Hope to see you all out on the farm!

WHAT'S IN THE BARN

Corn Tortillas from Mi Tierra

in Springfield, MA

Mi Tierra Tortillas are made from 100% non-GMO, locally grown corn from the Connecticut Valley Region. Corn, water, and lime. Those are the only ingredients they use and the only ingredients they need! Mi Tierra started as a dream of co-owners Jorge and Dora Sosa's to bring authentic Mexican food to Western Massachusetts. They are continuing that dream by making tortillas in the ancient "nixtamalazation" process, no chemicals, no additives, just 100% corn in the way their forefathers intended.

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.

Napa Cabbage Salad

Adapted from TheHungryBluebird.com

Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 large head napa cabbage, shredded
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
3 carrots, julienned
2 (4-ounce) packages ramen noodles, seasoning packets discarded, crushed in the package (I use a rolling pin and pound away, but not too much, you want small pieces, not crumbs!)
4 ounces slivered almonds
4 ounces sunflowers nuts
1 stick (8 tbsp) salted butter, or unsalted if you prefer
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup sugar, honey, maple syrup or agave
½ cup vinegar of your choice
1 cup saffron or sunflower oil

Instructions:

Combine cabbage, spring onion and carrot and put in a large plastic zip bag. Refrigerate overnight.
In a large skillet, melt stick of butter over medium heat. Add crushed ramen noodles and nuts and brown. Stir frequently and be careful not to burn. Remove to paper towels to drain and cool completely. Place in another plastic zip bag and refrigerate.
Two hours before serving, mix the cabbage mixture with the noodle/nut mixture. Set aside, back in refrigerator. Make the dressing: in a jar with a lid, combine soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and oil, shake well to dissolve sugar, set aside.
Just before serving, dress the salad. Re-shake dressing and add as much as necessary to toss and coat evenly.

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.