The Newton Farmer
September 2020
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I am writing this message to you on my one-year anniversary as executive director of Newton Community Farm. When I look back over this past year, of course I think of the challenges, especially the ones I never could have envisioned due to Covid-19. But I also think of the many, many joys...
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The Farm is an incredibly interesting place to work. Every day I learn something new and amazing about the natural world, from the language of the chickens to the importance of harvesting leafy greens first thing in the morning when it's coolest.
- It is truly inspiring to work with kindred spirits, including the staff, the Board, our supporters, and others in the farming community. I feel lucky to be part of stimulating conversations, hard work around a common goal, and thoughtful planning.
- Professional and personal growth are deeply connected. Every difficulty is an opportunity to grow, whether it's taking a leap and working with the team on completely reorganizing how we run our seedling sale or learning to be more patient while overcoming a rotten case of poison ivy, and there are lessons to be learned.
We are so lucky to have this unique connection to the land and to each other especially during this difficult time. Just as I've witnessed the crops growing throughout the season, my roots are growing deeper here, too, at the Farm and in this community. I am looking forward to many more joyful times here at the Farm with all of you.
As we begin the shift toward fall, we are saying good-bye to our wonderful interim director of education, Hope Kelley. Hope started with us in February to plan and implement our spring and summer education programs. Although her time here was very different from what she, and we, had planned, Hope contributed so much to the Farm. Her flexibility, skills, and hard work were invaluable to NCF. Read on for a message from Hope.
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Soon we will start adding cooking segments to our weekly newsletter and YouTube show as we begin to put our gardens to sleep for the winter and look forward to preparing comfort food at home. If you would like to join our list for a brief weekly email full of tips on how to take care of your garden and what to make with your harvest or the seasonal produce you are buying, send an email to us.
And, important announcement: Please save the date! We're planning an amazing virtual program, featuring an interview with Farmer Greg, for the evening of Tuesday, October 20. If you'd like to be part of our host committee to help us spread the word and make this program a success, please let us know.
Sue Bottino
Executive Director
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Order a Healthy Harvest Bag |
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Our Healthy Harvest Bags are a hit! Go to our website to learn more about this popular program, new this year. Order a bag filled with seasonal produce, and arrange for a time slot to pick it up at the Farm on Friday afternoon. Contents and price vary each week based on what is being harvested. New bags are listed each week on Mondays around 9:00 am, and they have been selling out quickly.
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Visit Us at the Newton Farmers' Market on Saturdays |
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The Newton Farmers' Market is going strong at Newton South High School. We are at the market on Saturdays, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. We bring some of just about everything we're harvesting on the Farm each week for a great selection! And we now accept SNAP. For more information on the market protocols this year and for a list of vendors, check out the city's website.
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Check out our YouTube channel on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm for new episodes of our gardening show. We'll soon be adding cooking segments with Jay, too. You can also view the show archive anytime. And you can find our shows on NewTV by searching their online schedule.
You can also watch Jay on Newton's "Over 55" show on September 23 at 10:00 a.m. Jay will be discussing the Farm and sharing healthy eating tips and recipes during this free Zoom event. Pre-registration is required.
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We are growing over 700 tomato plants representing many different varieties this year. If you are wondering what kinds of heirlooms, cherry, and slicing tomatoes you're getting in your CSA shares, Healthy Harvest Bags, or at the Newton Farmers' Market, here are some of what we're harvesting (and eating) right now. Pictured above from left to right, Rebelski slicer, Striped German heirloom, Chef's Choice Orange slicer, Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye heirloom, and Damsel heirloom. We also have Sicura cherry, Sungold cherry, Tomatoberry cherry, Carbon heirloom, Chef's Choice Pink heirloom, and Chef's Choice Black heirloom. |
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Organization Spotlight: One Can Help |
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NCF Board member and longtime volunteer Robin Maltz works with the nonprofit One Can Help, a Newton-based organization committed to reducing the impacts of poverty on children and families in the juvenile court system. Through attorneys and social workers, OCH provides resources to at-risk youth, foster children, and underserved families urgently in need across the state.
The financial effects of the current health pandemic are experienced most severely by those without savings, families who live paycheck-to-paycheck, and those who have lost their jobs. Families find themselves trying to care for children without sufficient resources for food and basic supplies.
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OCH may provide assistance for: groceries; computer equipment to help parents with virtual visits with their children living in foster care, to continue with therapeutic programs, and for online education; transportation passes so clients can get to work or visits with children; emergency rent to reduce stress and help families avoid homelessness during a temporary setback; and beds or other basic supplies so kids in crisis can live with relatives rather than in foster care. According to a state social worker, “One Can Help provided my client’s family with a gift card for groceries and basic necessities after the father lost his job and his unemployment funds were delayed. One Can Help is essential to our communities!”
Providing this targeted assistance helps to keep families together and reduces the need for foster care, prevents homelessness, and helps the juvenile court and child welfare systems be more supportive, effective, and equitable for all. For more information, visit www.onecanhelp.org.
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Late Fall CSA Share Registration Starts Soon |
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Newton Community Farm will offer our Late Fall CSA program for four pickups from October to December. Shares will be composed of a variety of produce including root crops, leafy greens, and more, harvested from our Farm and from other farms in the area. Registration opens in mid-September so keep an eye on our website for more information.
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Good-bye and Thank You from Hope |
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When I joined Newton Community Farm in February, I imagined that my six months here would be filled with in-person classes and camps, bustling CSA distributions, and busy days of leading students and staff in the hands-on art of growing food. But, as is the story for so many of us, the reality turned out much differently due to Covid-19.
While our team had to alter many plans in response to the pandemic, we kept working to fulfill NCF's mission goals. In the spring, when the crisis necessitated that some staff work from home, we stayed connected and collaborated from afar. When the annual Seedling Sale had to be reimagined, our team pulled together a safe online ordering with a curbside pickup alternative with the help of dedicated volunteers. When we made the decision not to hold our Kids at the Farm camp program, we continued with education through YouTube classes, hosted at first from our living rooms and kitchens and later from the Farm. When the CSA shares needed to be prepacked for safe pickup, we’d all get to work in the barn with masks, sanitizer, and some upbeat music to keep us motivated. And when our community members reached out for support in growing their own food, we launched a gardening newsletter, which reaches hundreds of people each week, keeping us all connected and growing despite the physical separation.
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Above all, our staff didn’t let the pandemic stop us from growing delicious produce for the community. When the season began and the prospect of interns and volunteers was unfeasible, our staff of five became a working farm crew overnight, going from budget meetings to planting seedlings, from newsletter writing to harvesting. And the amazing thing was that no one batted an eye. Our small, scrappy team saw the work to be done and stepped in to it. As I conclude my time with Newton Community Farm, that is what I’m most grateful for – being fortunate enough to work with a team that stopped at nothing to keep realizing our mission, and did so with grace and humor.
So my time as the Interim director of education turned out to be nothing like I expected it to be. And honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. I feel incredibly grateful for being part of this focused, hard-working, and forward-thinking team, and for all I’ve learned during my time in this position. Thank you all for welcoming me into the fold (and the field).
In Gratitude,
Hope
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What Are Beneficial Insects? |
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Many gardeners, farmers, and nature-dwellers are able to identify the insects that we know to be pests. But these bugs make up only a small percentage of the total insect life that populates our yards, gardens, and farms.
On a farm like Newton Community Farm, we find many beneficial insects providing long-term, sustainable pest control by eating harmful insects and parasitic bugs. Beneficial insects also include familiar pollinators like bees and butterflies, which are crucial in the life cycle of any flowering plant.
Many different types of bugs fall into the broad category of beneficial insects.
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- Ladybugs, with their familiar black and red shells, prey on aphids, mites, and Colorado potato beetles – all of which can cause significant crop damage.
- The quintessential long-bodied, camouflage-green praying mantis hunts harmful moths, caterpillars, beetles, and gnats.
- Ground beetles – active only at night but sometimes spotted when digging in the soil – patrol the garden for slugs, cutworms, and other ground prey.
Having a garden full of beneficial insects is akin to having a team of guards working around the clock to keep plants safe from harmful pests and parasites.
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Introducing pesticides or chemicals into your environment may deter the harmful pests at first, but they will do so at the cost of your beneficial and pollinator populations as well. And while the pest and parasite populations may begin to develop immunities to those pesticides and reemerge, the beneficial insects may not.
The long-term approach to diversifying beneficial insect populations in your garden begins with adopting sustainable practices and is continued by introducing the plants that these insects love. These plants include sweet alyssum, dill, yarrow, lemon balm, parsley, goldenrod, lavender, fennel, cosmos, marigolds, sunflowers, carrots… the list goes on! Establishing areas that include these annuals and perennials will help populate your space with bees, butterflies, hoverflies, ladybugs, lacewings, soldier beetles, spiders, and many other helpful garden warriors.
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NEWTON COMMUNITY FARM
303 Nahanton Street
Newton, MA 02459
617-916-9655
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