The Newton Farmer September 2011
Dear Farm Friends,
I have been amazed at the abundance of produce that has been pouring out of Newton Community Farm since, it seems, the beginning of the season. Now, in full harvest, we are lugging heavy bags full of our CSA share up the path to our parked car each week. At home, I’m up to my elbows in tomatoes and other veggies, planning suitable recipes for what I can use right now and preserving other produce for the winter. And I feel very grateful.
Your editor,
Susan Tornheim
sftornheim@yahoo.com
Notes from Greg Maslowe, Farm Manager
Coming from the arid west, I’m still amazed after all my years in New England how much rain we can get. Hurricane Irene brought the farm five inches of rain. The next week, we got cold, wet weather and another three-plus inches of rain. In two weeks we got almost half of the total rain my home state of Colorado gets in a year!
What does all that rain mean for the farm? We’re behind on planting for the late fall because the ground has been too wet to work. And crops like tomatoes that are prone to fungal disease are suffering greatly. Irene’s strong winds knocked down almost a third of our tomatoes. We got them all stacked back up, but everything that was on the ground is pretty much dead or close to it. Obviously we’re not as badly off as farmers in Vermont (or in Pennsylvania), or even other farms in this area whose tomato crops are pretty much over. We still have some plants that will continue producing through the end of September. It can still be quite a shock, though, to see how quickly a crop can decline based solely on the whims of the weather.
Tonight is the Harvest Moon, and despite the decline of the tomatoes, we’re still enjoying a bountiful harvest. The fullness of the Harvest Moon reflects not only the fullness of the harvest but also the fullness of our days on the farm. Every minute is filled with activity as we try to balance harvesting, planting, preparing for our Fall Festival (after all, we want the farm to look great for our big event), hiring a new education coordinator, keeping our barn renovation on track, and trying to get our new hoophouse built before the cold weather arrives. Our days are frenetic, making us feel like the squirrels, bees, and other animals trying to get as much done as possible before the short days of winter.
I always like to take a moment at this time of year to acknowledge all of our high school interns, who spent a good part of their summer volunteering on the farm, working alongside Megan and me, and making the farm a success. We had a great group of students this year. I hope you’ll have a chance to meet some of them at our Fall Festival when they’ll be leading tours of the field and again helping to do whatever needs to be done. One of the great pleasures of running a community farm is looking out over the fields and seeing so many young people working together and enjoying physical labor. It’s great for the farm and, I hope, a great experience for them.
Next time you visit the farm you’re very likely to meet one, or both, of our newest farm residents: Oslo and Thompson, our barn cats. They were acquired through the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s barn cat rescue program to help control rodents in the barn. Both turn out to be very social. They love trying to get attention. They are, however, like all the animals on the farm, working animals, not pets. They can play rough, and kids (and parents) might not be used to this, so please be sure to supervise children when interacting with any animals on the farm.
I’m really looking forward to the Fall Festival—the music, the festivities, and all the people enjoying time on the farm. I hope you’re able to make it. I look forward to seeing you there.
Greg Maslowe
Harvest Festival
Plan to celebrate fall at Newton Community Farm’s
6th Annual Harvest Festival!
When: Sunday, September 25, 2011 Rain or shine.
Time: 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Cost: Free entry. Tacos, soup, baked goods and other food will be available for sale.
Who: Adults, children, families, friends! Invite friends and neighbors.
Activities: Live music, children’s activities, pumpkin decorating, delicious food, farm info, and more.
Don’t miss this popular, lively event!
Harvest Festival Help Wanted!
We are looking for volunteers to help with the Harvest Festival. It’s a great way to enjoy the farm and help build the NCF community. For CSA sharers, it also counts as work hours. We can use volunteers for the following shifts:
• Set up: 8:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
• Shift 1: 10:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
• Shift 2: 1:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
• Clean up: 3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Please indicate whether you prefer to help with children’s activities, food, and/or general events.
To volunteer, contact KC Yoon at ncfarmevents@gmail.com.
Calling Bakers
Need Bake Sale Donations for the Harvest Festival
Do you like to bake? If so, your delicious products can do good while they please the palate if you donate a baked good to this year’s Harvest Festival. The money we make from selling these tasty items helps support our educational programming. If you’d like to donate a baked goody, let us know at ncfarmevents@gmail.com.. Please bring your donation to the farm between 9 and 11 a.m. on Sunday, September 25. We cannot take cakes that need refrigeration such as cheesecakes. Please include a list of ingredients.
Upcoming Classes
Just for kids:
Budding Chefs, 2-Part Series, Wed., 9/14, and Wed., 9/21, 3:30–5 p.m. (grades 3–5)
Early Release: Thurs., 10/6, 1–2:30 p.m.
For Adults:
Jam and Jelly Making, Thurs., 9/15, 7–8:30 p.m.
Growing in Small Spaces, Sat., 9/17, 9–11:30 a.m.
Indoor Composting for Winter, Sat., 10/1, 10–11:30 p.m.
Extending the Growing Season, Sat., 10/15, 3–5 p.m.
Fall Soups, Sun., 10/16, 2–4:30 p.m.
Beer Brewing, 2 Thursdays, 11/3 and 11/10, 7–9 p.m.
Bread from Scratch, Wed., 11/9, 7–9 p.m.
Cheese Making, (Date TBD)
September tends to be a busy month as we say good-bye to the summer season and look ahead to fall. Kids are back in school, summer vacations have come to an end, and life settles into a new pattern. Here at the farm we are undergoing a transition, too―from summer camps and story hours for kids to classes and workshops for adults on weekends and weeknights. We still have a few offerings for our younger friends (“Budding Chefs” and “Early Release”), but most of our fall programming is geared toward cool-weather gardening and helping make the most of the last of your fresh produce. For those of you who have some growing space, take a look at our “Growing in Small Spaces” and “Extending the Growing Season” classes. For those of you who love to eat, I highly recommend choosing from our lengthy list of cooking and preserving courses. We will be preserving, brewing, fermenting, and cooking up a storm this fall. Please join us as we celebrate this year’s bounty. And with so much cooking in the coming months, it would be a shame to throw all of those nutrient-rich food scraps into the garbage. Join Carolyn Arond as she helps students build their own vermi- composting bins in October!
Click here for more class information.
Kelly Lake
Feast for the Farm
Join us on Tuesday evening, October 18, for fine dining and an evening with friends that will strengthen our own Newton Community Farm. Chef Mike Leviton’s Lumière restaurant in West Newton is considered to be among the finest restaurants in the Boston area, and we take over the entire place for the evening. It’s an exciting experience (because of his creative menu) and yet mellow (because of the fine wine pairings that are served with each course). He generously creates a four-course dinner for us, with vegetarian options for each course. Besides his culinary reputation, he is known as a leader in promoting and serving local, sustainable, and humanely raised food, including his meat and fish choices, and serves as a leader in the Chef’s Collaborative. He has been a supporter of our farm since its beginning.
So join us for our major annual fundraiser at this beautiful restaurant. You’ll enjoy the evening and its exceptional value, because we have kept the same price, $150 per person, since its inception, and we offer you a major tax deduction as well ($65 per person). We also recognize Sponsors’ and Patrons’ additional donations in the evening’s printed program. Details will appear in the invitation you receive in the mail. If you have questions, call Jerry Regosin at 740-503-2669 or jregosin@aol.com.
Jerry Regosin
Meet Two NCF Interns
Charlotte is a high school junior who worked at NCF this season as a first-year summer intern. Looking for something interesting to do for the summer, she decided to volunteer at the farm. She likes it so much that she will probably volunteer again. She also has a home garden where she grows carrots and beets. Charlotte likes to see the farm at different stages and enjoys the range of tasks including planting seeds, weeding, and harvesting vegetables. She is particularly good at peeling garlic (it doesn’t make her cry!) and picking tomatoes (fun to eat along the way!). Charlotte’s favorite vegetables are carrots and cherry tomatoes, and she likes to eat them alone or with salad dressing.
Finishing his second year as an intern at the farm, Ben says he will definitely volunteer for the farm again in the future. Ben, entering his junior year in high school, has a large garden at home and loves to grow his own food. He is involved in the farm because he thinks it is important to know where food comes from and how it is grown. One of Ben’s favorite tasks at the farm is weeding because he likes to help the plants thrive. He also likes the orderly look of the farm when the beds are marked, weeded, and lush with plants. Ben’s favorite vegetable, okra, is not common to New England; he enjoys okra stew with tomatoes, okra, and garlic.
Dede Vittori
Start Your Compost Pile With Autumn Leaves
Your dead leaves and kitchen waste can help your garden. All you need to do is start and tend a compost pile, following instructions provided by Eric Olson, an ecologist at Brandeis University and a lifelong composter.
Why compost?
You can fertilize naturally and improve your soil’s texture by adding compost. Compost is created by a natural process of decomposition that turns your organic matter into humus–odor-free, uniformly textured material that holds water well and slowly releases nutrients into your garden. This biological process relies on bacteria and worms in the process Olson recommends for beginners.
Build your compost pile.
Autumn is the perfect time to start your compost pile. Here’s how Olson suggests you start.
1. Collect six to eight large bags of dead leaves.
2. Place the leaves in a bin made of chicken wire. It can be as simple as a large circle to hold your pile in place. You don’t need a massive bin with a cover. Some people buy those to fend off rodents. Olson says, “We’ve never attracted any rodents in 10 years of composting.”
3. Start adding kitchen waste. You can add any plant matter. Stay away from meat, bones, cheese, grease, and other animal products as well as moldy bread or pasta. These materials will attract animals.
You’re aiming for an ideal ratio of three parts leaves to one part kitchen waste. When you begin composting in the fall the ratio will be more like 100 to 1. Over the course of the year, your pile will become steadily richer in kitchen waste. Come spring, earthworms from the surrounding soil are sure to arrive, accelerating the decomposition process.
Olson leaves a pitchfork out by his compost pile so that each time he adds his kitchen waste he can mix it with a few quick jabs. After about a month, thoroughly pitchfork your bin contents to mix the fresh kitchen waste into the carbon-rich leaves. Bringing your nitrogen-rich kitchen waste into contact with the leaves gives the pile’s bacteria the balanced diet they need to create compost. It also reduces the chance that parts of the pile develop bad odors, and it thoroughly hides any scraps that might attract, for example, a curious squirrel. Repeat this process monthly, trying to dig in the wastes and bring up a fresh batch of leaves. Turning speeds decomposition. It also allows you to observe the process of decomposition.
If you’re worried about odors, you can rest easy when following Olson’s method. “A compost pile doesn’t smell as long as you start with a good amount of brown leaves,” he says. However, don’t treat grass clippings as a substitute for leaves. When you fill your bin with a mixture of only grass and kitchen waste, you’ll get a slimy mess that is almost guaranteed to produce nasty odors, Olson says. When he mows his lawn, Olson lets the grass clippings fall where they may, so they can decay and release their nutrients directly back to the soil.
The process described above should yield compost in about one year. Of course, eventually your bin will start to fill up or you’ll want to stop adding new wastes so the decomposition process can complete. This is why Olson typically starts a second bin for fresh waste while continuing to turn the contents of original bin. “By the time the second pile is done, we’ve emptied the first pile and spread it,” he says.
What are you waiting for? Get started now!
Susan B. Weiner
A Word from our New Manager
In last month’s newletter Greg described Megan Talley as his “super assistant.” In the coming months Megan will be taking over the reins as farm manager while Greg and his family travel to the South Pacific. Here’s a chance to learn more about Megan in her own words.
Thanks
* Anne Kalis, Amy Volk, Jane Wilcox, Carolyn Arond, and Katie Cormier for designing, leading, and coordinating our “Farm Sprouts Story Hour” program this summer.
* Many thanks to Chipotle Mexican Grill for free burritos every Friday for our campers.
* Thanks to Tany Horgan from Green City Growers for helping to teach our Garden City Rollers crew about organic plant care at Temple Beth Avodah’s new school garden.
Recipes
I think turnips are an underappreciated vegetable, so I’ve entered a recipe into the farm wiki called Pureed Turnips and Potatoes. It pairs two root vegetables that work well together, and it’s perfect as the weather starts getting cooler and we start adding more stick-to-the-ribs dishes to our meals.
Susan Tornheim
Farm Stand Hours
Tuesday through Friday, 2–7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Volunteer hours
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 9 a.m.–noon
Please contact us if you have any questions about this newsletter or ideas for future issues, or if you want to be added to our mailing list. Just e-mail Susan Tornheim at sftornheim@yahoo.com. For more information about the farm, e-mail Greg Maslowe at greg@newtoncommunityfarm.org