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Chester, New Hampshire
| February 2012
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 Newsletter from New Hampshire CSA  |
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We are fresh from last weekends Farm and Forest Expo at the Center of NH in Manchester and are working to bring big changes and more varieties to the CSA this summer. We're pumped and it starts this month with the first seeds being planted.
Organic...and more...
This has been a slogan I've been using to describe going forward at NHCSA. Erin at New Harmony Farm will be co-growing with us and together we have signed on to expand our knowledge in bionutrient crop production under the expert tutelage of Dan Kittridge.
Just because 2 items look alike doesn't mean their nutrient level is equal. click here to learn more
We've acquired seeds all month to bring the largest selection of classic and unusual varieties of vegetables to our members this season; all to be grown with consideration toward the nutrition level and quality of soil.
The other big change for 2012
We are moving the distribution to Thursdays 3-6 (suggestions). No more missing out if you want to run off to the lake on a nice weekend (works for us too!).
In discussions with members so far it has been a unanimous GREAT!
HELP WANTED: we are looking for experienced people that want to learn organic growing practices or have experience growing produce. Spread the word, hours are flexible and the pay is commensurate with experience. contact Gary at NHCSA.
REAL FOOD!
We will be growing onions, potatoes, string beans, snap peas, broccoli, many summer and winter squashes, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, raspberries, eggplant, kale, pumpkins and more.  Field to Fork will be back with Certified Organic Eggs, franola with granola, and we plan to add more.
We're planning the share count now so don't delay your membership; we want to grow enough for everyone.
The share donation we have pledged to the Spring Hill Farm Trust. Currently we donate 5% of your share cost to the trust. Read about Miss Church's wish for her farm here.
Share prices are $580 full and $335 half.
Also since there will be a limited amount of room for new members we recommend contacting us now. Of course current members get first choice to renew. Just a 1/2 deposit now and then the balance will be invoiced in April for your 2012 membership. We also can take paypal or arrange payment plans.
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Vegetable of The Month: Heirloom Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum)
Heirloom tomatoes are probably the vegetable most associated with the local foodie movement. But what exactly makes a tomato an Heirloom? An Heirloom vegetable is generally considered to be a variety that's
been passed down, through several generations of a family because of it's valued characteristics. Tomato experts, Craig LeHoullier and Carolyn Male, have classified heirlooms into four categories:
1.Commercial Heirlooms: Open-pollinated varieties introduced before 1940, or tomato varieties more than 50 years in circulation.
2.Family Heirlooms: Seeds that have been passed down for several generations through a family.
3. Created Heirlooms: Crossing two known parents (either two heirlooms or an heirloom and a hybrid) and dehybridizing the resulting seeds for to eliminate the undesirable characteristics and stabilize the desired characteristics.
4. Mystery Heirlooms: Varieties that are a product of natural cross-pollination of other heirloom varieties.
The Heirloom tomato has become so renowned because they come in many amazing flavors and colors and their taste is fantastic compared to those visually perfect but nearly tastless industrial hybrids you find in the grocery store. Most good things demand extra effort and Heirloom tomatoes are no exception. They are notoriously difficult to grow as they are usually less hardy and more vulnerable to disease and variable weather condition. Undaunted, I am taking up the Heirloom Challenge and of the fifteen varieties of tomatoes I am trying this year at New Harmony, many of them are heirlooms that will be given my best nurture by being grown in the protective environment of my high tunnel (green house). Some of the varieties you can look forward to picking up at distribution this summer include: Black Prince, Great White, Cherokee Purple, Pink Brandywine, Aunt Ruby's German Green and Pineapple Tomato. I'm drooling just thinking about this rainbow of Heirloom taste!
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by Fran Van Geyte, RD CSP IBCLC
History often seems to repeat itself; in regards to the use of pesticides and human health unfortunately it certainly seems a strong possibility. It wasn't that long ago when dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (thank you spell check) or DDT wa s first banned in the US in 1972 and in 100 other countries in 2004 when it was impossible to ignore the detrimental effects to human health of this once widely use pesticide. It is still used as vector control in Africa and Asian countries where malaria remains a serious threat. Over 600,000 children die of malaria every year in Africa alone. It however continues to be manufactured and unrestricted in several countries including India and North Korea. Despite the bans, DDT were found in all human blood samples tested by the Center for Disease control in 2005. It has been linked with cancer, miscarriages in adults and attention and cognitive disabilities in children. American women exposed to high levels of DDT during childhood have been shown to have a 5 fold increase in having breast cancer.
Pesticides are raising public health conditions yet again but it rarely makes headlines. Studies have shown associations between ADHD and pesticide exposure Research raises serious concerns about our children's diets and how it affects their future cognition and behavior. Concurrent with the massive reliance on pesticides in our food over the past 40-50 years as large-scale commercial farms have replaced family-operated farms, learning disabilities have increased steadily with ADHD considered the most prevalent neurobehavioral disease. It is believed to afflict nearly 10% of children between the ages of 8- 15, characterized by poor sustained attention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Although the exact etiology of ADHD remains unclear, studies are focusing on environmental neurotoxins and implications on fetal and infant brain growth, development and function. Neurotoxins are chemicals that can impair or destroy nerve tissue leading to abnormal brain and hormone function.
Standard chemicals are considered up to 10 times for toxic to children than to adults and why children are more vulnerable to neurotoxins particularly during fetal developmental. Two studies have linked early exposure to organophosphates (pesticides that impair the nervous system) to abnormal reflexes in the newborn. Prenatal exposure to these pesticides has been shown to lower IQ scores in children as well. In next months newsletter, I will expand on what we are learning about pesticides and its potential consequences on our human health particularly as it relates to the most vulnerable population. History might just be finally teaching us that important lesson that perhaps has been repeated far too often. The hazards of pesticides continue to be documented to harm all living creatures. Stay tuned...
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Ever get home and forget what that new vegetable is,
check out our veggie ID chart here.
Thank you to all the membership, we look forward to seeing our returning members and meeting all the new ones.
Enjoy and Eat Well.
Best Wishes,
Gary and the crew
NHCSA
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