The Newton Farmer
August 2020
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Usually in July and August, I get my fill not only of corn and tomatoes, but also the delicious farm air… while picking up my vegetables for my CSA share, field work volunteer hours, an occasional stop at the farm stand, and perhaps an outdoor meeting with a gorgeous view of our neat-as-a-pin beds. But with the Farm closed to the public, my visits are short. And with the cancellation of summer camp and Dinner on the Farm, so many of us are missing our treasured time there.
The Farm doesn’t have its usual noise and bustle this year, but that doesn’t mean that it’s quiet. Behind the scenes, there’s more activity than ever. With creativity, ingenuity, many extra hours and dedication, our small but mighty staff has designed our online store for produce orders. They’ve developed and enforced systems for CSA sharers and Healthy Harvest bag buyers to pick up their produce with minimal contact. They’ve adjusted to maintaining efficiency in the fields while keeping social distance. And they are creating educational videos and our new gardening newsletter to help new home gardeners have their own great growing season. And it has been a “If you build it, they will come” summer. In record numbers you are buying produce, cheerfully complying with our new rules, and asking so many gardening questions.
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I couldn’t be more proud of our core team – Greg, Sue, Hope, Bee, and Jay. They are working so hard, and we are all rewarded by the positive response from the people of Newton. We’re so glad to be here, doing what we do, but in a different way.
Don’t let the corn and tomatoes pass you by. We still have many of the joys of summer.
Stephanie Cogen
Board President
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Order a Healthy Harvest Bag
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Our Healthy Harvest Bags are a hit! Go to our website today to learn more about this popular new program. Each bag is filled with seasonal produce, and the contents and price vary each week based on what is being harvested. Once you reserve your bag, you'll arrange for a time slot to pick it up at the Farm on Friday afternoon. Don't delay! New bags are listed each week on Mondays around 9:00 am and have been selling out the same day.
New this month, we're also offering the option to preorder delicious sweet corn from Verrill Farm in Concord for pickup at the Newton Farmers' Market on Saturday, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Don't miss this summer favorite! Available to order Monday through Wednesday morning each week.
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Visit Us at the Newton Farmers' Market on Saturdays
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Here come the tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers! The Newton Farmers' Market is going strong at Newton South High School. We are at the market on Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm. We bring some of just about everything we're harvesting on the Farm each week for a great selection! (Pictured here, our super popular Fairy Tale eggplant.)
For more information on the market protocols this year and for a list of vendors, check out the city's website. Hope to see you at the market.
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Grow a Successful Home Garden
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Watch
Check out our YouTube channel on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm for new episodes of "Gardening with Hope." (There's Hope in the photo, harvesting chard in the Learning Garden.) You can also view the show archive anytime. And you can find our shows on NewTV by searching their online schedule.
Sign Up for Our Weekly Gardening Tips
We have a terrific, brief weekly newsletter focused on gardening tips and information. Topics so far have included specific crops (cucumbers, peppers, and more) and different factors that can affect plant growth (spacing, soil health, sunlight). To sign up for our email list, contact jay@newtoncommunityfarm.org.
We would love to see your gardens and what delicious meals you are making with your produce. Please reply to this email with your photos, videos, recipes, and garden selfies to share on our website and social media.
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In the June newsletter, we introduced you to Haley House, a nonprofit that "has developed organically in response to those most vulnerable to the harshest effects of social inequality." Their farm on Thornton Street, to which NCF donated seedlings, has half an acre in production with 75 raised beds. Food grown at the farm is being used currently in their cafe, soup kitchen, and for home delivery to 40 seniors. And their list of clients continues to grow.
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In addition to this resource of fresh food including popular crops like collard greens, tomatoes, okra, squash, berries, and apples, Haley House also runs a food pantry, elder meals, affordable housing, employment programs, and classes. According to their Urban Farm Coordinator Anna Pierce-Slive, the farm at Thornton Street is a "miracle and an act of resistance. This could have been developed into housing but instead it is an urban oasis and community hub." To learn more about this amazing nonprofit and the incredible work that they do, visit www.haleyhouse.org. Photos courtesy of Haley House
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Newton Community Farm is once again offering an incredible weekly fruit share in conjunction with Autumn Hills Orchard of Groton, MA. Each weekly share consists of a bag of about five pounds of delicious apples, although the share may occasionally include pears, peaches, or grapes. The program costs $88 per share for 8 bags September 2 through October 22. Sharers can pick up the fruit at the white tent by the NCF barn on Wednesdays or Thursdays from 2:00 to 7:00 pm. To learn more about the program and to sign up, visit our website. Deadline to enroll is August 27 at noon.
Photo courtesy of Autumn Hills Orchard
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As a consequence of Covid-19, this year Farm staff is prepacking all the CSA shares and the Healthy Harvest Bags in advance for scheduled pickup. As you probably have noticed with much of your shopping recently, this unfortunately results in the use of more packaging and transport materials. At NCF we believe that procuring materials with the lowest negative impact on the environment is essential to being good stewards of this Farm, this community, and this planet.
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Some of the materials we have chosen to use include:
- Compostable and biodegradable clear bags for items such as cut greens, carrots, and any other loose produce that fits well in a small bag. These bags, shown in the photo with Jay, are made from 100% compostable cellulose found in wood fibers taken exclusively from sustained forests and can be composted at home. You can also put them in your compost bin for pickup if you are subscribed to a commercial service.
- Brown paper bags for our Healthy Harvest Bags and Fruit Shares can be reused, composted, or recycled.
- Compostable moldable paper pulp baskets (usually mint-green color) for loose items like peas and cherry tomatoes. These are a paper product so they can also be recycled in your city bin. Or they make great organizing compartments for your socks, your junk drawer, small tools, etc. as shown in the photo above.
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NEWTON COMMUNITY FARM
303 Nahanton Street
Newton, MA 02459
617-916-9655
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