Seedling sale, staff spotlight, growing in a small space, high school intern positions available and more!

The Newton Farmer

April 2019

Welcome to the first issue of the updated Newton Community Farm Newsletter. We hope you enjoy this new photo-forward version with images that make you feel like you've spent a day on the Farm. We'll continue to highlight our farm operations and education program while also featuring special topics related to our work at the Farm.

I would love to know what you think about this new layout. Feel free to email me at karyn@newtoncommunityfarm.org.

It's early spring, and we are overrun with news about the farm, seedlings in the greenhouse, and excitement about this growing season!

Seedlings aren't the only new thing on the farm this spring. We welcomed a flock of baby chicks, honeybees, and new team member Ashlee Cooper as our administrator and event coordinator, featured this month in our Staff Spotlight section.

In this issue, you'll also read about the hope and optimism that inspire both Farm Manager Greg Maslowe, and High School Intern Audrey Kissen, while Garden Educator Brian Rogen reminds us that you don't need a big space to grow a lot of food. Welcome to 2019 at Newton Community Farm!

Karyn Novakowski, Executive Director

Newton Community Farm

Save the Date for Our Annual Seedling Sale!

SEEDLING SALE

May 18 & 19, 12-3pm

Have you been dreaming about your home garden? Plump juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, cheery marigolds!

Join us at the farm for this annual event and choose among 100 different summer crops including vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Again this year, we'll be selling Vermont compost products to keep your garden growing strong.

Do you know exactly what you want and don't want to shop among the crowds? Consider our convenient Preorder option and we'll have your order ready for you to pick up at the Farm. Orders are due by May 11.

Preorders are only available to Friends of the Farm at the Seed Sower ($70) level. Download the preorder form here.

Interested in becoming a Friend of the Farm? Other benefits include CSA eligibility and discounted programs. Sign up here .

Volunteer at the Seedling Sale.

Did you know nearly 1000 community members turn out for this annual event?

Each year we depend on the help of volunteers to make it a success. Please consider joining us in May. CSA Sharers: Earn work hours.

Shifts run between Friday,

May 17th, and Sunday, May 19th.

If interested, please visit our volunteer sign-up sheet .

Staff Spotlight

Ashlee Cooper recently joined Newton Community Farm as the administrator and event coordinator. She brings a wide range of marketing, design and communications experience in the nonprofit industry. Originally from Pennsylvania, Ashlee lives in Newton with her husband and their beloved dog Winnie. She is also passionate about yoga, mindful living and running a small housewares business alongside her husband. Ashlee is looking forward to working with Newton residents at NCF and being a part of a nurturing environment that promotes community, innovation and a healthy lifestyle.

Notes From the Farm

Farm Manager Greg Maslowe shares his thoughts on spring.

I’m a morning person. I get up every day before 6 and sit with a cup of coffee going through my email. I like the quiet and the relaxed pace. By the end of the day I’m always feeling rushed to finish all the things I had wanted to accomplish, but at the same time ready for the day to be over.

In a similar way I’m a spring person. As the world wakes from its winter slumber I feel energized and excited by all the possibilities lying ahead in the new farming season. By October I’m ready to be done. Ready to stop picking, stop planting, stop working and just go take a good long break.

I guess those two things—being a morning person and being a spring person — are good traits in a farmer. They provide the motivation to launch into each day and each new season bright eyed and bushy tailed. We’re certainly in that mode now, spending hours each day placing seeds in soil, tending tiny sprouts, getting the field ready to plant. It’s all just so joyously optimistic. And no, for those who know me, I’m not being sarcastic. It really does feel joyful and optimistic.

Speaking of optimism, in late February I attended a climate change and agriculture focus group sponsored by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC). They wanted to know what impacts from climate change we’d felt; what steps we were taking to mitigate climate change; and what we needed. Long story short, it was a pretty depressing meeting.

Across the board, 2018 was a tough year. One of the recurring themes, at least among the vegetable growers, was growing under plastic, aka high tunnels. It was, in fact, the most common action taken by growers to try to mitigate the impacts of climate change. We need to protect our crops from the ravages of the world by covering them with a layer of light-transmitting petroleum. A little ironic. But true. A thin layer of plastic can actually do wonders. When I opened up our high tunnels in mid-March, there they were — beautiful, perfect heads of lettuce that had gone into the ground in the late fall as teenagers and were now ready to harvest. They’d been sheltered from the ravages of a New England winter that laid waste to everything in the field by nothing more than a layer of plastic. No heat. No lights. Just that layer of plastic.

I guess everything we do has a cost. I wish I could grow a head of lettuce in March without plastic, but at the same time maybe a thin layer of plastic isn’t such a huge environmental cost if we can use it to increase the availability of local food in New England and save that head of lettuce a ride in the back of a truck from California.

We Love Our Interns!

Meet Audrey Kissin. As a student at Newton South High School, she is working on an i ndependent study that aims to explore the human relationship with the Earth. We asked her to share why she is passionate about Newton Community Farm.

"I am passionate about climate change, I am passionate about our planet; the world I live on means a lot to me. In the past few years I have found a community of wonderful people who feel the same way.

One of those communities is Newton Community Farm. The people who work at NCF care about climate change and the land. In order to take from the land you must also understand it and care for it.

Just the fact that NCF is a COMMUNITY farm is important. Not only does NCF feed Newton residents delicious food, the food is also local, which eliminates transportation, greenhouse gas emissions, plastic packaging, and chemicals used for longevity. It also creates a connection to the food consumed. What gives me hope is that a lot of people living here are into buying locally grown food and supporting the local businesses.

In addition the Farm does a lot of work with education. I believe that educating the future generations about how to be stewards for the earth is one of the most important things we can do.

Climate change isn't ending anytime soon, and the future generations need to grow up fighting for their home. Interning at NCF was a great way to connect with the local community trying to make positive change. It is essential that we do not stand alone when fighting something so much bigger than any one of us."

Learn more about internships at Newton Community Farm on our website .

High School intern positions available.

Are you a high school student looking for a unique way to spend your summer? Join us for one of our internship programs either in Farm Operations (field crew) or our Education Department and experience the joys and challenges of working on a suburban farm.

For more information on our internship programs visit our website or email Director of Education, Reva Haselkorn .

"Interning at NCF was a great way to connect with the local community trying to make positive change. It is essential that we do not stand alone when fighting something so much bigger than anyone of us."

Audrey Kissin

Junior Newton South High School

Container Gardening: Growing in a Small Space

Garden Educator Brian Rogan shares his tips for growing a lot in a small space.

Like any gardener, I always think I can grow far more varieties than I have space for in my 40’ by 40’ garden. My dream for 25 tomato plants gets cut in half, and that goes for the multitude of peppers as well. Growing in an urban environment puts constraints on space, and it’s the lucky gardener that has a spacious plot.

Today, having that much space in a city like Newton is a luxury given the size of the houses being built. So how can you grow fresh tomatoes or other delicious vegetables when you’re short on space? The answer is container gardening. If you have a sunny location, whether it be a deck or a small yard, you can grow a surprising variety of plants in this way.

The key to success is to be sure that you have the right-size container for the plant you want to grow. I currently use a mix of containers, including old recycling bins, Home Depot five-gallon (new and unused) paint buckets and a variety of store-bought ones I’ve collected over the years.

Remember to use only potting soil tailored for container use, and be sure to drill holes in the bottom for drainage if there aren’t any already provided. You can also put some clean pebbles in the bottom to help with drainage as well. The potting soil will have all the nutrients you need to get started, and you will only need to fertilize once every few weeks, especially for peppers or tomatoes once your plants are well established and on their way.

So where to start? Here are some plants that work:

Herbs

Nearly all herbs can be grown in pots. A good 8-10” pot is perfect for the basics: thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, tarragon and chives. With the exception of rosemary, all of them will regrow in the spring if you tuck them away in a cool but not frozen space after they die off. You will need to replenish your rosemary since it isn’t adapted to our area.

Greens

All greens, which include parsley, arugula, basil and salad greens, do well in pots. Like your herbs they would do well on a sunny deck, and most of them continue to grow after you clip some for cooking. One caveat I would mention is that parsley does better in a larger container with three to four plants. Unless you are planning on making pesto, you will only need a few basil plants.

Peppers, Tomatoes

People are usually surprised that these plants can be grown in pots, but they need to be big. I grow my peppers in old recycling bins, and they do quite well. In fact, I think they seem to prefer it. Tomatoes need a deep pot, at least 12-18” deep, and they will still need supports. There are also some dwarf varieties that are adapted to container gardening.

These are just a few examples of what you can grow. I hope this will help as you plan your garden; I’ve barely scratched the surface.

We Appreciate Your Support!

Calling all businesses in Newton and surrounding areas.

Event and exclusive sponsorship opportunities are now available.

Are you part of a business in Newton or the surrounding area? Have you been looking for ways to get more involved in your community all while strengthening your company visibility?

Newton Community Farm invites you to explore our various event and corporate sponsorships that offer many great incentives.

For more details, please email NCF Administrator and Event Coordinator Ashlee Cooper .

We look forward to partnering with you!

Tell us what you love about Newton Community Farm.

In a few short sentences, tell us what the Farm has meant to you, and you could win one of our fun, super-soft NCF T-shirts. Your response might also be featured in our newsletter or social media channels. Please submit your responses to Ashlee by 4/26/19.

Thank you for your participation!