Dear Farm Friends,

What an exciting spring we are having at the Farm! So much is happening as we start the growing season. Just this past week, we put new sheathing on our old greenhouse, which now has active heat and ventilation thanks to the Food Security Infrastructure Grant program. With this improvement, plus the addition of our new greenhouse, built in memory of Dr. Eugene Rubin, we now have two terrific, modern spaces in which to grow our seedlings. And just in time, as we have started growing more than 27,000 plants for the Seedling Sale, plus plants for the field.

Also, last month we told you about the new solar array installed on the roof of the barn in February. We are thrilled to report that, as of March 29, the solar panels are collecting energy from the sun that we are using to run the Farm!

We'll have much to share about these developments and more at our Open House on May 6, from 4 to 6 pm. All are welcome! You'll find information and additional opportunities to engage with NCF onsite, in town, and virtually in this newsletter. We hope you will join us!

With gratitude,

Sue Bottino

Executive Director

To volunteer to help with this event, sign up here.

NCF's Annual Spring Seedling Sale

Saturday, May 20–Sunday, May 21, Noon–3 pm

We're growing 27,000 seedlings for our annual Spring Seedling Sale. We'll have all your favorites, plus some new varieties this year. The sale will be in person at the Farm on May 20–21, from noon to 3 pm. In addition to seedlings, we will also have Vermont Compost Company soil and soil amendments available in limited supply and NCF T-shirts for sale. And we are thrilled that our local volunteer garden gurus Barney Keezell and Brian Rogan will be back to answer all your garden-related questions.

All seedlings will be $6 per unit that they are started in, either a 6-pack, a 4-pack, or a pot depending on the type of plant. So, for example, a 6-pack of lettuce or a 4-pack of tomatoes or a potted perennial herb are all $6 each. 

We will have more than 90 plant varieties available this year. Categories include:

Basil

Beets

Bok Choi

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Napa Cabbage

Calendula

Cantaloupe

Cauliflower

Centaurea

Chard

Cilantro

Corn

Cosmos

Cucumbers

Cutting Celery

Dill

Eggplant

Fennel

Husk Cherry

Hyssop

Kale

Lavender

Lettuce

Marigold

Mint

Mustard

Nasturtium

Oregano

Parsley

Peppers

Rosemary

Sage

Scallions

Spinach

Squash

Strawflower

Sunflower

Tarragon

Thyme

Tomatillos

Tomatoes

Turnips

Watermelon

Zinnia

For more information on specific varieties, click here. New varieties we have this year are: Picnic Orange Peppers (similar to Lunchbox Orange Peppers; Iko Iko Peppers, which start and stay various beautiful colors; Sarah's Choice Cantaloupe; Galine Italian Eggplant, which is a variety we have grown for the field many years in the past; Black Magic Kale (a type of Toscano Kale); Lemon Sun Squash (a type of pattypan squash); new shades of strawflowers; Sun Peach Cherry Tomato, which is a high-yield indeterminate with very large, deep-pink cherry tomatoes; and perennial herbs including Blue Flower Hyssop, Pineapple Sage, Hot and Spicy Oregano, Golden Oregano, Emerald and Gold Mint, and Berries and Cream Mint.

We welcome cash, credit card, check, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Healthy Incentive Program (SNAP/HIP) benefits! Customers can use SNAP/HIP to pay for seedlings that grow food for their household. To see which seedlings can be purchased with SNAP/HIP, visit our plant list.

The seedling sale is a huge undertaking, and we need your help! Please volunteer to put up signs in April and help with setup and the sale in May.

We're looking for business sponsors for this event in exchange for an excellent opportunity to promote your company and your support of the Farm to our community. To learn more about sponsorships, please check out our Business Sponsorship Program and send in this form by April 10.

Thank you to our sponsor!

Sign up to help out at the Farm on Newton Serves Day, Sunday, May 7, 9 am–noon. This year, Newton Serves: Building Community Through Service, is focusing volunteer efforts on cleaning and improving Newton's parks, school grounds, open-space areas, and conservation lands. Volunteers who sign up to spend the morning at NCF will help clean the barn and, weather permitting, move soil, pick up litter, and tidy up inside and outside at the Farm to help us get ready for the growing season. Sign up here!

NCF is delighted to welcome Lucy Billings to our small but mighty staff! Lucy grew up in northern Minnesota and moved to Boston in 2015 to attend Boston University. While studying Sustainable Development as an undergraduate, Lucy felt that everything she learned should be public knowledge, and she has worked in environmental education ever since. She went on to earn her master's in education at UMass Boston and taught science in Somerville and Boston public schools before joining the team at Newton Community Farm. Lucy loves designing learning activities that result in joy and a sense of connection to the land. Outside of work, she enjoys skiing and hiking the White Mountains, doing freelance illustration work, and attending live music shows, especially bluegrass.

Farm Stand/Field Crew

NCF is hiring a Farm Stand/Field Crew worker for the 2023 season. This position is split between operating our farm stand three days a week and working with the crew two days a week. The split position runs June 6 through September 30. The field-work portion ends on October 1, but the farm-stand portion continues through November 18.

Farm-stand work is on Thursdays and Fridays from approximately 12:30 pm to 6:30 pm and on Saturdays from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. The farm-stand worker is responsible for loading and unloading a truck and setting up, staffing, and closing the stand. This portion of the job is community facing and requires good interpersonal skills and a desire to share your knowledge of and interest in fresh, local produce with our customers. It also requires the ability to perform basic math, use calculating scales, and operate (with training) a POS system (Square). The field-crew portion of the job is on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and offers flexibility in both number of hours (up to eight hours/day) and timing. Duties may include: harvesting, washing and packing, transplanting, hand weeding, cultivating, greenhouse work, or other farm tasks. A successful candidate must be able to load and unload boxes weighing up to 50 pounds. A valid driver's license, a good driving record, and the ability to drive a small pickup or van (automatic transmission) is also required. Compensation is $16/hour plus a weekly farm-stand credit.

High School Field Crew Intern Program Team Leader

NCF is seeking a Team Leader for our summer 2023 High School Field Crew Intern program. The intern program runs July 11–August 31 and provides high school students with an opportunity to gain work experience and learn about agriculture. The team leader is responsible for working with the farm manager and assistant grower to integrate the interns into the daily routines of NCF. They are also responsible for facilitating the mid-morning conversations, helping the interns identify their own questions and assumptions about agriculture. 

The ideal candidate will have experience working on a production-oriented vegetable farm and an ability to engage with teenagers. There will be a paid, three-day training period prior to the first intern session. Compensation is $18/hour. 

More information is available online. To apply for either position, email your resume and a brief description of your interest to Greg Maslowe, Farm Manager, at newtoncommunityfarm@gmail.com. Please note the title of the position in the subject line. References may be requested.

NCF is currently accepting applications for summer high school field crew interns. This program offers the experience of working on an intensive market garden (the traditional term for small vegetable farms) for students entering 9th–12th grade in the fall of 2023. These unpaid internships last for four weeks and are three mornings per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), 8 am to noon. Applicants can indicate if they are available for session 1 (July 11–August 3) or session 2 (August 8–August 31). Check out our website for more details and to apply online.

Join us in May for a group discussion of the book “The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food” by Ben Hewitt. We will meet on Tuesday, May 9, 7–8:30 pm at the Farm and we will also have a virtual option so people can attend by Zoom. To be added to our book group email list to get this Zoom link and also notices about what we are reading, email sue@newtoncommunityfarm.org.

Thank you to our March donors listed below and to those who wish to remain anonymous. Apologies in advance for any names we inadvertently left off this list. (Please let us know if we made any errors.) We appreciate your support!

Judi Burten and Kevin Soll * Joy and Kim Donohue * Kim Godsoe * Gillian and Steven Isabelle * Trudy Lanman * Ruth Lederman and Tim Heeren * Joyce McGovern * Angela Nielsen * Nyssa Patten * Patricia Rand * Deirdre O'Connor * Sharon Lidington

NCF is partnering with Duck Hollow Farm to bring you fresh, local flowers all summer. Sign up for ten weeks of floral bouquets, organically and lovingly grown in Sherborn, MA. Pick up weekly at NCF on Wednesday or Thursday, 2–7 pm, from the end of June (exact date TBD) through the end of September. Price is $190.

Click here to sign up. Please email 

laurel@al-freshco.com with any questions.

In the Boston College newspaper, The Heights, "Newton Community Farm Set to Unveil Solar Panel Installation" by Annie Li

Sunday, April 23, Noon to 4 pm - Newton's Earth Day Festival at City Hall

This special event is full of opportunities to learn how to go green, live more sustainably, and save energy in your home and on the road! Event will take place rain or shine. Newton’s Earth Day Festival is hosted by Green Newton, the City’s Climate Team, and Newton’s EV Task Force. See a full list of activities and more information at GreenNewton.org/EarthDay2023.

Saturday, April 29, Independent Bookstore Day - NCF will be at Newtonville Books, 10 Langley Road, Newton Centre with information and fun activities.

Virtual Program with Dr. Walter Willett, Thursday, June 1, 7–8:30 pm

Watch online as Dr. Willett, physician, epidemiologist, and professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, gives his presentation "Can We Feed 10 Billion People a Diet That is Both Healthy and Sustainable?" This program is made possible by The Bard Family Environmental Education Fund. More details to come.

NEWTON COMMUNITY FARM

303 Nahanton Street

Newton, MA 02459

617-916-9655

www.newtoncommunityfarm.org

information@newtoncommunityfarm.org