With the exception of Layton and Greg, this season's farm crew is entirely new. Welcome, all!
That several have gardening or farming experience is, Scott says, "a nice thing. They're all hard workers and a good team." Seek out these fascinating and talented young farmers in the fields or at the Farm Shop. They are well worth knowing!
In their own words...
LAYTON GUENTHER
This is Layton's third season as Field Manager of Quail Hill Farm and her ninth season farming. Previously, Layton farmed in Western Massachusetts, Alaska and California. Layton enjoys worksongs, puns, and the "golden hour" at the farm (usually an hour or two before sunset). Layton is delighted with the talent and dedication of the 2015 crew and looks forward to a great season ahead.
GREG KESSLER
A part time farmer, Greg has been working at Quail Hill since 2011. Born in Rockland County, he grew up on the East End. When he's not at the farm, Greg works as a freelance photographer for The New York Times and other international publications.
CAIT KELLER
A Northern California native, Cait came out east for a graduate program in Food Systems. After recently finishing her studies -- as well as an internship on an urban farm -- Cait wanted to gain more experience out in the field. She sought out a full season apprenticeship that would allow her to hone in her horticultural skills and prepare her to be a better steward of the land. Cait comes to Quail Hill with the intention of learning more about vegetable and, especially, flower production and hopes to start her own farming project in the near future.
ARMI MACABALLUG
Hailing from Jersey City, NJ, Armi arrived at Quail Hill Farm in March. After a career in managing fundraising campaigns for national art institutions and non-profit organizations, she decided -- following a series of health issues -- to focus on food access for underserved communities. A graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz 6-month apprenticeship program in Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), she looks forward to gaining more farming skills at Quail Hill in order to create a sustainable food system where everyone gets a seat at the table.
JESSICA CORTES
Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Jessica grew up knowing she wanted to work outdoors. Her love for nature, the environment, preservation and "growing your own" brought her to Quail Hill Farm. She previously worked as farmer liaison for Just Food, providing support for local farmers to connect with CSA groups in NYC. Her goal is to share this farming experience with the Latino farming community she has worked with and to continue farming.
STEFANIE KATZ
Stef is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She studied social work at the University of Wisconsin and moved to Brooklyn in 2009 to work with a social service agency that serves seniors in North Brooklyn. Stef served as the director of the Meals on Wheels program that brings hot, nutritious lunches, and case management to thousands of home-bound seniors. Stef's apprenticeship at Quail Hill is the next step in her quest to bring good, nutritious food to the community.
CAILYN BRIERLY
Born, raised, and nourished by the sandy soil and sea-salted air of the East End, Cailyn has been farming and gardening since 2010. After graduating from East Hampton H.S. in 2009, she spent three months in South America studying people's relationship with the land. This raised questions regarding her own relationship to food, family, and place. At Prescott College in AZ, she studied natural history, ecology, and botany. She graduated last May with a degree in Environmental Studies and Place-based Education. Returning home, she has reconnected with her roots. Quail Hill not only affords Cailyn the opportunity to redefine her sense of place, but also adds even more potential for growth and breadth.
RYAN COOPER
Hailing from the suburbs of Westchester county, Ryan spent the past two summers working as a camp counselor on a farm called Stonebarns where his farming interest was sparked. After graduating college this past May, Ryan decided it was time to get down and do some real farm work. He is extremely excited to be a part of the Quail HIll team and learn from amazing people. Ryan enjoys the outdoors and laughing with everyone.
GABE SICILIANO
Gabe spent most of his childhood on his grandparent's farm in Hightstown, NJ, where his grandfather inculcated him with a lifelong love of growing green things. He is passionate about all aspects of food: growing it, cooking it, and eating it. His ultimate goal is to move back to NJ and get the farm up and running in a fashion that is good for both the family and the environment. This summer is his first foray into farming in earnest. "I know it will be immensely rewarding. I hope to learn as much as I can about running a sustainable farming operation, make new friends, work hard, and eat delicious produce." Here's to a great season!
APPRENTICE WISH LIST
The apprentices could use the following items:
bath towels, bed linens (queen and twin), rain gear and boots, bicycle equipment (panniers, handlebar baskets, tools), a food processor, and baking supplies (rolling pin, pans, and cookie cutters). Please bring donations to the Farm Shop. Thank you!
AND... Jess and Armi would love the use of a car for the summer. They write: "While we enjoy biking to the farm, it's really difficult to do laundry and grocery shopping without a car. Also, after a long week of farming, it would be just nice to enjoy the sights and sounds of this end of Long Island with a vehicle." If someone can help them out, write Armi at armism@gmail.com or call Jess at 718.314.1223.
FARM BREAKFAST
Bakers & Volunteers Needed!
SATURDAY, JUNE 27 from 8 - 9:30 AM
(rain date: July 5)
The Apple Orchard
$10 adults / $5 kids (up to12 years)
Celebrate Quail Hill's 26th harvest season at this popular annual event for farm members and their guests. Feast on herbed scrambled-eggs-from-the farm, roasted potatoes, blueberry pancakes, strawberry rhubarb compote and baked goods, all accompanied by juice and coffee.
It takes a lot of work -- provided by farm members -- to make the breakfast a success. Here's how you can help. Bring a batch of muffins or a loaf of quick bread to share. It's amazing how fast these treats disappear. And/or join the great team of VOLUNTEERS.
Look for the Volunteer Sheet at the Farm Stand.
Questions? Contact Ronnie Grill at qhbreakfast@gmail.com
or 631.907.2965.
YOUNG BLOOD WANTED!
Ronnie is seeking a second-in-command to help organize the Farm Breakfast.
She hopes to hear from you!
SALAD DAYS!
Salad Lovers, rejoice! A wide variety of absolutely gorgeous heads of lettuce greeted us on QHF's first harvest day. Succeeding crops have already been planted so, along with all sorts of mixed greens, our salad days will last the entire summer.
The farm is currently growing 14 varieties of lettuce. (As the season progresses some varieties will be dropped -- these don't like hot weather -- and others will be added. How to choose which to harvest? This guide aims to help. First, know that there are five types of lettuce. Categorized by head formation or leaf type, each offers unique flavor and texture.
LOOSELEAF, LEAF, CUTTING OR BUNCHING
Looseleaf lettuces come in a wide variety of colors and shapes, guaranteed to stimulate both eye and palate. They don't form a head or heart and, thus, can be harvested either whole or, as they mature, by the leaf.
Coastal Star
has, large, dark green, heavy heads and a good, sweet flavor.
Love Lock has whorls of bright green leaves edged with a tinge of deep red. Heads close in late at maturity forming a dense, crisp head.
Midnight Ruffles. This sweet lettuce has frilly, deep burgundy leaves, veins and ribs. Its open loose head can measure 11" across.
New Red Fire, like Red Sails below, has characteristic ruffled leaves and slightly lighter coloration along with sweet flavor.
Panisse has large, lime-green, lobed oak leaves and excellent flavor.
Red Sails has ruffled, fringed leaves of deep burgundy red splashed over green. It is slightly crunchy with a melting texture.
Two Star has dark green leaves.
CRISPHEAD OR ICEBURG
Crisphead lettuce is commonly known as iceberg and has a tight head of crisp leaves.
Crispino has firm medium-sized, glossy green heads, a white interior and a juicy, mild flavor.
Joker. Its thick leaves have an emerald green background festooned with burgundy splashes and flecks and toothy, purple/red edges.Tolerant of both cold and hot temperatures, this is a 4-season lettuce.
SUMMER CRISP, FRENCH CRISP OR BATAVIAN
Summer Crisp lettuces -- somewhat between Crisphead and Looseleaf types -- have thick, crisp outer leaves. They have great flavor and a heart that is sweet, juicy and a bit nutty.
Oscarde has deep cherry-red lobed leaves that turn bright green toward its dense, tender heart.
BUTTERHEAD, BOSTON OR BIBB
One of the more delicate types of lettuce, Butterhead has loose, soft and ruffled green exterior leaves and creamy to light green inner leaves.
Buttercrunch. Described as "the cucumber of lettuce, smooth and soothing with a green refreshing flavor," it has dark green outer leaves and a creamy center heart
ROMAINE OR COS
Romaine lettuces are upright growing with spoon-shaped, tightly folded leaves and thick ribs. The outer leaves are sometimes tough but the interior foliage is tender with wonderful crunch and sweetness. Romaine comes from the word "Roman" while Cos is derived from the Greek island of Kos.
Forellenschluss. An old Austrian heirloom, its name means "speckled like a trout." This gorgeous and tasty lettuce has green leaves that are splashed with deep red spots.
Green Deer Tongue looks much like a 7-8 inch pinwheel growing in the garden. The olive-green leaves, which are sweet and tender, grow to a point, then spiral around the plant.
Green Forest is a tall, dark green variety.
VOLUNTEER THANKS!
Despite the lack of rain, weeds still grow (and now, after Monday's rain, they will really pop up) and planting continues apace. Farmers always need and very much appreciate your help. To volunteer, call Layton at 631.267.8492 or email her at lguenther@peconiclandtrust.org.
Many thanks to stalwart volunteers Alex, Niko, Nikita, and Finny and his mom, Mare.
DOWN IN THE VALLEY
Member News
CONGRATULATIONS!
It is with great joy we announce the marriage on June 13th of Levin Chaskey -- Scott and Megan's son -- to Alexis Bruce on the island of St. Martin. We wish them much happiness.
CONDOLENCES
And it is with great sadness we report the death of two beloved farm members: Bill King on March 4 and Geraldine (Jerry) Pluenneke on March 24.
Sculptor and renowned maker of red cabbage slaw,
Bill brought much happiness to everyone through his wonderful quirky character and his equally wonderful work. Tall and rangy figures -- looking a lot like himself -- are dotted around the QHF landscape. Happen upon one and smile. You can't miss the oversized, red figures of West Side/East Side (1972) on Birch Hill. Bill
and his wife, painter Connie Fox (Megan's mother), were one of the original ten families who, in 1988, founded the precursor to Quail Hill on Butter Lane in Bridgehampton. In 1989, the farm relocated to Atlantic Avenue in Amagansett before becoming, in 1990, a stewardship project of Peconic Land Trust.
Jerry was, without doubt, one of the farm's most passionate members. Every harvest day she would spread good cheer as she navigated the fields. An elegant writer, her articles about Quail Hill and East End agriculture graced many an issue of Edible East End. For many years wrote a blog -- The Power of Flavor. Jerry could always be counted on to work farm events -- roasting potatoes or staffing an information or sales table at the breakfast, or soliciting Montauk's restaurateurs for meals to be auctioned at the annual orchard benefit dinner. Jerry loved life. She not only loved the farm, but also Montauk
where she lived, and unstintingly she gave much to both.
FINDING INSPIRATION
Mon-Fri, June 22-26, 1-4 PM. The Art Barge, Amagansett
facilitated by farm member Sarabelle Prince
Stimulate your self-expression and awaken your muse. Spend four days honing journal-writing techniques, followed by a day in the art studio. $200.
Info: PrincePrints@yahoo.com. To register: 631.267.3172
CALENDAR
Saturday, JUNE 20
Planning Meeting for At The Common Table--the Apple Orchard dinner that benefits Quail Hill Farm. Meet at 10 AM in the Apple Orchard. All are welcome! Info: julieresnick@gmail.com
Tuesday, JULY 8
Lost Ladybug Search. From 10 AM to Noon. Free! Meet at the Farm Stand. Info: www.lostladybug.org. Heavy rain cancels.
Sunday, JULY 12
Farm Pot Luck Supper in the Apple Orchard. From 5 PM to....
Tuesday, JULY 14
Seed Saving Workshop in the Apple Orchard. From 10 AM to Noon. $10/person, $5/QHF members. Rain moves the event indoors.
Tuesday, AUGUST 11
Lost Ladybug Search Continues. From 10 AM to Noon. Free! Meet at the Farm Stand. Info: www.lostladybug.org. Heavy rain cancels.
Sunday, AUGUST 23
At The Common Table dinner to benefit Quail Hill Farm. Cocktails at 4:30 by Farm Stand. Dinner at 6 in the Apple Orchard. Rain date: August 30. Ticket information will be sent out in July.
FARM ETIQUETTE
Please help make harvesting an enjoyable experience for everyone.
OBSERVE FARM HOURS: Fields open at 8 AM and close at 5:30 PM.
OBSERVE SHARE LIMITS: Check the Farm Stand and Birch Hill boards as well as the signs at end of harvest rows. Ask a harvesting neighbor if in doubt. If no share limit is posted, harvest only what you can reasonably use until the next harvest day.
HARVEST ONLY in rows headed by signs or poles with ribbons
NO DOGS. NO CELL PHONES.
Thank you!
As Jane writes this, it is raining -- hard, and at long last. But when she and Scott recently met, he lamented that this has been the driest spring in his many years at Quail Hill -- since 1990. "It was a very long winter and a very cool spring. In mid-April when we begin direct seeding and in May when we lay in transplants, we count on rain for seeds to germinate and plants to acclimate. Instead, on top of everything else we were doing at this busy time of year, we had to continuously irrigate. We generally don't need to do this until mid-June -- and sometimes not until July -- when the dry season normally begins." While there was a decent rain on June 1 -- approximately 1.5 inches -- rainfall at this time of year should measure around 5 inches. Hopefully today's rain will make up a lot of the difference. 
So, how have our farmers kept busy? On north side of Town Lane, they planted crops that they will harvest and bring to the Farm Stand, among them onions, which "look really good." The first round of tomato transplants are in the ground and a second goes in shortly. "Knock on wood" that late blight actually comes late (or not at all!) -- long after the fruit has set and is ready for harvest -- and not early when it has, in past years, nearly destroyed the crop. The string beans, directly seeded in the 
ground, "are coming along nicely." Cukes and summer squash were transplanted last week. Farm members can count on harvesting salad greens (e.g. arugula, mizuna, etc.), radishes and Hakurei turnips all summer long; two seedings have already been sown. We can also expect lettuce all season. Three plantings are in and "will mature in a nice succession." Seeds for a fourth round are germinating in the greenhouse. (Scroll down to Salad Days, a guide to lettuce grown at QHF.)
Up on Birch Hill -- the 14 fenced acres on Deep Lane just west of the milkweed patch so loved by monarch butterflies -- blocks of growing rows alternate with resting areas. Way in the back, winter rye stands over 6 feet tall and is a beautiful sight. It will be combined or harvested at the same time as the wheat growing on Town Lane (thank you, Amber Waves Farm!). Its seeds will be used for sowing the cover crop in the fall. There are large swaths of Austrian winter peas whose purple flowers are edible and a great addition to salads. Also a cover crop, they are usually planted late summer with a grain -- we plant oats -- which dies back in winter, leaving the peas to flourish in spring. Soon they will be mowed and turned into the ground, enriching the soil.
It seems that these beetles love eggplant even more than potatoes. Some farmers actually plant eggplant as a trap crop. We're not doing that but we're "trying to trick them." It's been years since eggplant or potatoes were grown in the Valley, so that's where we've planted the eggplant is this year. Let's hope the beetles won't discover them right away. 
