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Field Notes
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 | | Chives welcome the wet soil. |
This week the weather is changing once again, as usual. We finally have received some much needed rain. The soils were definitely getting very dry. Last week we transplanted a lot of cold tolerant crops into the field. We had been delaying their move from the greenhouse to the field as we waited for some rain. Yet, every day we waited, we missed some wonderful warm weather that would encourage their growth. For the first time in years we irrigated crops in April. We finally decided to set the plants into the field soil and then watered them in so that they would not shrivel from the spring drought. With the warm weather and unseasonably warm soil, their roots quickly stretched out after having been confined to their pots for the past weeks. We also seeded the first of the season's sweet corn which should be ready in July. On a bright sunny day we did our first weeding/cultivating of the season on the peas. With the peas being a few inches tall, the tractor drawn cultivator scuffed out the just germinating weeds. The bright sun helped to dry up the weed seedlings while the peas sent their roots deep in search of much needed moisture. All these plants will be jumping for joy after receiving ample rain early in the week followed by sunny days. If you sit quietly in the field after an event like this, you can almost hear the sound of the plants singing the chorus of Beethoven's 9th- (the Ode to Joy).
In anticipation of the rain, we spent most of last week outside. This week, because of the rain and wet soils, we will spend most of our time working inside. The spring field work always seems to bring on unanticipated equipment repair needs. We try to get all the equipment into ship-shape over the winter, yet things always seem to break when you bring them out of the barn for the first use of the season. A predicted rainy spell will often convince us to delay some of the repairs and keep on planting when the conditions are right. In the greenhouses we will prune and trellis the tomatoes and cucumbers, and continue seeding the later spring transplants of watermelon, cantaloupe, winter squashes, etc.
I am very pleased with the state of the farm as we approach the busiest planting month of May.
Looking forward to more great harvests,
Farmer Dave
Check out Farmer Dave on NECN this past Sunday, talking about the welcome rains we've received!
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In Your Share - Week 6
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The following items will most likely make an appearance in your share this week (and as always, the contents of your share is ultimately determined by Mother Nature's harvest conditions):- Field-grown spinach
- Other greens (if we're lucky!)
- Hakurei Turnips
- Potatoes
- Cucumbers
- Mixed herbs and edible flowers
- And possibly more, depending on harvest conditions!
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Storage Notes for this Week
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Some quick notes on storing your share this week: - For your greens, keep them in the refrigerator and keep them cool. If you find your greens aren't lasting through the week, try turning your refrigerator a degree or two colder - it makes a big difference!
- The potatoes are hard-wired to begin sprouting in the springtime, since we don't treat them with chemicals that prevent sprouting. Keep them in a cold place to prevent them from sprouting too quickly.
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Flowers you can eat?!
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If we're lucky, you may find a few edible flowers in your share this week:- Nasturtium flowers come in red, orange, or yellow. They have a peppery flavor, somewhat reminiscent of arugula. Use these for garnish or in a salad.
- You may notice purple flower buds on your chives this week. These flowers have an onion-y taste, and are often used in high-end salads or as a garnish.
Enjoy!
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CSA Q & A: Cucumber Tease?
| Q: We've been getting greenhouse-grown cucumbers in our shares the last couple weeks, which has been nice, but it would be even nicer to get more than one small cucumber each week! Will we ever get more than one cucumber in a week?
A: Maybe this week, if we're lucky! In some ways, we were lucky to have such early cucumbers at all. We had initially thought that we wouldn't have cucumbers available in the shares at all until at least May....so we at the farm consider it a blessing to be harvesting cucumbers as early in April as we have. Now that the second planting is coming in soon, we may indeed have larger quantities of cucumbers to harvest on some weeks. We hope you enjoy them!
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Come Meet Farmer Dave!
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Farmer Dave will be visiting a couple of our communities over the next couple weeks to share about the CSA and his foreign agricultural development work in the Republic of Georgia over the winter. Come hear Farmer Dave at one of these events and say hello!
- Sunday, April 29 at Old South United Methodist Church (6 Salem Street, Reading, MA), time TBA.
- Saturday, May 5 at 7 p.m. at the Burlington Presbyterian Church (335 Cambridge Street, Burlington, MA)
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Brox Farm Stand Opening May 1
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Brox Farm Stand will be opening for flowers and plants on May 1 (hours and days TBD). We hope to see you then....or come to our Spring Open House! |
 Spring Open House Less Than 2 Weeks Away! |
Our Spring Open House at Brox Farm Stand is less than 2 weeks away! Come see us on Saturday, May 5 or Sunday, May 6 any time from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. We're offering: - A CSA info session at 10 a.m.
- A greenhouse tour at 11 a.m.
- A gardening / perennial Q & A session from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
- 10% off plant purchases for 2012 CSA members (and those who sign up for the CSA at the open house!)
- 20% off plant purchases for donations made over $50 to the Groundwork Share-A-Share fund (must donate at the Open House to receive the discount).
- Door prizes and more!
Learn about the CSA, tour our greenhouses, and get your gardening questions answered. This is a perfect opportunity to for CSA members (and new members!) to pick out their container and in-ground plants before the Mother's Day rush (and purchase them at a CSA-member-only discount!). Mark your calendars! |
Registration Underway for Vegetable, Fruit and Late Fall Shares!
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Now that spring is here and the weather is warm, registration is picking up fast for our pre-boxed vegetable, choice-style vegetable, fruit, and late fall shares. Over 200 vegetable shares were spoken for in the last month! Now is the time to sign up and reserve your space for all pick-up locations. (Since we are having a good spring crop, we can still squeeze you or your friends in for the spring share, at a pro-rated price.) As always, feel free to contact us with questions any time! |
Recipe of the Week
| Quinoa, Lentil, and Herb Salad
Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Savvy Vegetarian
Ingredients: - 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup green or French lentils
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1/2 cup dill, mint, basil or other herbs,chopped
- small bunch of chives or 4 scallions, minced
- Zest of two lemons
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
- Optional: feta cheese to taste, crumbled
Directions: - Simmer quinoa in two cups of water until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes
- Place the lentils in a medium-size pan, cover with at least an inch of water, and boil until tender, 30 to 40 minutes
- While the quinoa and lentils are cooking, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper to make a dressing.
- Pour the dressing over the quinoa and lentils while they are hot
- Once the salad has cooled, mix in the chopped herbs and feta cheese, if using.
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Groundwork Share-A-Share™ Update
|  Thanks to generous donations by you (CSA members) to the Groundwork Share-A-Share™ fund, we were able to subsidize the cost of shares in 2011 for over twenty individuals and families, as well as shares for local food pantries.
For 2012, we'd like to continue to offer subsidies to those in need. We already have around 25 individuals and families on a waiting list, and in order to be able to subsidize everyone, we'll need to raise almost $10,000.
Please consider helping us in our efforts to make the CSA accessible to more families by donating to Groundwork Share-A-Share.
To learn more about the program, click here. Thank you all for helping us keep this program going in 2012! |
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Contact us:
Farmer Dave's
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA 01826
(978) 349-1952
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