Week 7: RAIN! And the ballad of tired farmers

The rain has finally come back in full force in the last week, bringing with it, slightly cooler nights and better growing weather for the plants (and resting for weary farmers). However, its onset also brings about a flush of weeds and work....but that is farm life in July- a flury of harvesting and weeding and planting and scrambling with tangles of irrigation hoses- all of which continues for 8 straight weeks in the heat of summer's humidity and sun. We work through the dog days hoping for rain and rejoicing when the deluge comes to wash away the dust and refresh the soils. The end of July is when we all look and feel more tired than at any other point in the farm season. The combo of heat and work makes everything a little more exhausting (though I would take it over being out there when it is freezing). This is when we start to plan in more hours off and make it a priority that folks are getting the rest they need. Schedules change and adapt to make sure that we don't overdo it even though the list of things that NEED to get done gets longer by the minute. Still. Wouldn't have it any other way.
These days we are watching the tomatoes like the baby hawk who sits high in the pine near the barn watches all the little bunnies (and chickens) it can't catch in the field, screeching and muttering to each other about when will they be ripe and when can they be eaten. It is getting close but it isn't this week. Tempting as it may be, leave the PYO cherries where they lie right now- know that we will open them when we have enough for everyone to go out and grab a pint that's 160 families folks- that's a whole lot of cherry tomatoes- and so we must be patient. Until then, enjoy the basil while we have it (downy mildew will take it out after some southern August thunderstorm and we won't be able to grow it again for a year).


What's in Your Share (maybe):

Cabbage
Beets
Lettuce (this is a little iffy this week after the heat)
Zucchini & Squash (still waiting for that second planting to come in)
Cucumbers
Lettuce
New potatoes
Onions
Scallions
Rainbow Chard

PYO:
Green Beans & Yellow Wax Beans!!!
Flowers 8-10 stems
Basil- small bag
Parsley-small bunch
Savory
Dill
Lavender
Marjoram
Sage
Thyme
Lemon balm
Okra (keep it to 1 pint please)

Fruit share this week: blueberries!!!!
Meat CSA pickup is this week for late July pick-ups. Sorry that July was a little confusing. We should be back to normal schedule for August.


Events:
Our first 2018 farm dinner was a huge success and it was sold out with 95 people in attendance.
Destin Heilman came and set up two telescopes and a large group wandered up to the top of the hill at dusk to view the truly incredible majesty of the half moon- dimpled with extraordinary craters from eons of travel through space. The other telescope pointed to the impossibility of Jupiter- its whirling gases and four bright companion moons VISIBLE in the tiny window and Saturn- its skirt twirling in perfect rings. They really are out there, accompanying our tiny planet through the vastness of the universe in an artful dance of perfect symmetry.

We are hoping to drag Destin and all of you to the next dinner and with the mile long list of folks calling, emailing and texting asking if they could come to the last one, we highly suggest not waiting. SO get your tickets now for the August 10th dinner which is only a couple short weeks away! It sold out last year and is likely to again so don't hesitate because we want to see you there! You can buy tickets right from the farm-stand when you pick up your veggies, so stop in and get that done or go online at bit.ly/CHFdinners 


Animal news:
The main goat herd is loving their summer digs at Moose Hill Farm where they are clearing fencelines new and old. Here at home, we are milking for ourselves and still trying to convince

Beauty to be a foster mom to Munchkin and Mud. We have worked up to the collar phase- where we only have to hold her collar and she allows them to nurse a 4-5 times per day, but it certainly is better than bottles 6 times per day. They are growing and gamboling and are full to typical baby goat cuteness. You will most likely see them at upcoming events as they are happiest following us around.

Farmstand Offerings:
We have some Crescent Creamery ice cream cups in our freezers, waiting on a Green Bee soda order, Sunset Hill Cheese will be back in stock on Tuesday and Anna Banana's has fully restocked her shelf with chocolates and confections, including her newest marshmallow flavor- Cherry dipped in Chocolate- and some mixed flavored mallows packs.
We have some gorgeous goat cheeses coming from Valley View on the North Shore! Chevre in four different flavors and Feta!


Recipe of the Week: Check out the Parsley
Many of you know that the humble parsley is one of my favorite vegetables. Yep, I said that...VEGETABLE. I rarely think of parsley as an herb. Sure it is strong, often used as a garnish or lightly sprinkled on top of a dish for just a flash of green. But parsley- real, fresh picked parsley- is a lemony, refreshing green that can stand all on its own. Use it as a pesto base for pizza or pasta. Saute a whole bunch with onions, eggplant and summer squash and olive oil and serve on a bed of polenta.  It adds depth to other greens, body to soups, flavor to salsas and tomato sauces.
It is slightly more diuretic than other veggies, but it is a blood cleanser that is high in vitamin C. It is a tonic vegetable for the body. It is in the PYO and we highly recommend that you try it out.

Green Beans with Parsley-Lemon Pesto 

recipe snagged from Food&Wine and even though I tend to eat green beans by the handful raw from the field, I'm definitely giving this recipe a go. 

• 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
•  1 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
•  1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
•  1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
•  2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
•  2 pounds green beans, trimmed
• Lemon wedges, for serving
• • Step 1    

    In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat, tossing, until golden, about 5 minutes; transfer to a food processor and let cool completely.
    Step 2    

    Add the parsley, garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice to the food processor and pulse until the parsley is very finely chopped. With the machine on, gradually add the olive oil and process until the pesto is nearly smooth. Season with salt and pepper and scrape into a large bowl.
    Step 3    

    Put a steamer basket in the bottom of a pot. Fill the pot with 1 inch of water, add salt and bring to a boil. Add the green beans, cover and steam until bright green and crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the beans and transfer to the large bowl. Toss with the pesto and season with salt and pepper; serve with lemon wedges.

Week 6: (still recovering from heat in Week 5 so no blog post-SORRY!)

Monday Weeding crew!

Well it looks like it is going to be that kind of summer- first tons of rain that we thought would never stop and now just ridiculous dry and hot humid insanity. I would love an opportunity for a happy medium, but mostly I am just very glad for a smoothly working well that can and will water thirsty plants (now we just need volunteers to help us lay out the millions of miles of drip tape to that we can actually get the water where it needs to go). Join us on Monday mornings for Weeding Warrior Mondays. The fun gets started at 8a and goes until lunchtime.
The heat has done in the next planting of supposedly 'heat tolerant' lettuce heads. So we will have salad mix this week and hopefully be looking for heads again next week. The heat is having an effect on a lot of our veggies- many of them don't like to flower in the heat so they are taking a little more time to make fruits than usual.

We are watching our stewardship crews gear up for our first farm dinner of the season and it is selling out quickly so get your tickets asap! Ticket sales close on Wednesday!!!!!!!Live music under the stars (and a telescope set up so that we can get up close and personal with those stars), great food and libation, gorgeous company- it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. Come join us on Friday night starting at 6pm. If you don't want to sign up online- we can sign you up in the farmstore on Tuesday.

The goat herd went off to Moose Hill Farm last week to do some cleanup grazing for them. A small flock remains here at the farm so that we can keep a special eye on them but the rest are off to work and will be back in the late fall.

What's in Your Share (maybe):
Kale (thanks again Appleton!)
Carrots (Appleton again)
Salad mix
Summer squash
Cucumbers
Celery
Fresh onions
Fennel

PYO
Basil-pinch a small bag
Okra-1/2 pint

Flowers- 8-10 stems
Parsley- 1 bunch
Cilantro- folks- the cilantro doesn't last when you pull it completely out of the ground. it is closed until we get more planted.
Dill- 1 bunch
Favas 1/2 pint
Take sprigs of what you can use this week:
Summer Savory
Sage
Thyme
Marjoram

Beans will probably open next week



Our farmstand has a couple new items and some returning favorites!
Back in stock we have Appleton Farm's Round Point Cheese- this beautiful (and stinky) washed rind soft cheese is strongly reminiscent of a well ripened Camembert and has all the flavors of earth and mushrooms while retaining a mild salty creaminess that makes one dream of Southern France.
We have Crescent Creamery's gorgeous chocolate milk in quarts and their one scoop size ice cream cups just in! 6 different ice cream flavors to choose from- come to the farm for a snack and lounge under our big tent in the lazy afternoon heat. Take home a quart as well!
Meats from Moose Hill and Powisset Farms are stocked and ready for your grill in the big freezer so check out the selection at your next pick-up.
Dick's Hot Sauce is a new item on the shelves of the farm stand, but you will notice on the label that they are made from chilies grown right here at CHF! This is a great all around hot sauce to add just a touch of delicious spice to your plate. Check it out! Made right here in Southborough!

Week 4: Bring it Summer.

Baby is it hot out there and your farmers are sweaty and sunburned. We are working hard to keep the plants, livestock and ourselves hydrated in this early summer heat wave, but we are so looking forward to the break in temps. The summer fruits love this kind of heat and have come in pretty hard so we are so excited to see cucumbers back on the menu and in our bellies. I made a blueberry-feta cucumber salad this past spring that was so yummy I can't get it out of my head. I highly recommend its delicious cool, salty and sweet combo to keep your body in top electrolyte gear during this hot hot week of summer.
We are working earlier and later and taking siestas in the mid day heat. I have never owned an air conditioner since living in New England, but after three days of truly horrible sleeping weather, I am starting to reconsider my commitment to lower energy use. If only it weren't so humid- I can deal with the temp, but the humidity is ridiculous. Anyway, you all know what I'm talking about- I hope that you and yours are using this heat as an excuse to spend lazy days by the lake or to explore a nearby ocean. Stay cool!!!

What's in Your Share this week:

Green garlic
scallions
kohlrabi
fennel
cucumbers
Summer squash
Zucchini
Kale (courtesy of Appleton Farms and some of ours as well)
Escarole
Salad mix
Head lettuce- Romaine
Napa cabbage (courtesy of Appleton Farms)

PYO: basil pinching (take a couple of pinches of basil and help us encourage these plants to get bigger!
Parsley- light picking
Summer savory (good with sauteed zucchini)
Flowers- 6-8 stems this week- still keep those bouquets short this week, still helping those plants grow and pump out more flowers.



Did you get a fruit share this season? It's 15 weeks out of the 20 veggie weeks and this week is a pickup week- Look for CHERRRIIIIEEESSSS!!!!! in the farmstand cooler. We also have a few extra quarts for retail sale!!!

Events:

Our July 20th dinner is coming up quick! It's just two weeks away from this Friday so don't miss out and buy your tickets now! Ticket sales will close early in the week of the 20th and because our caterer is making everything to order (and it's a farm dinner so they can't just run out and pick more veggies up and prep them the night of) we need to know sooner rather than later just how many of you are joining us for a glorious night of feasting and music on the farm.

Animal news:

The goats hate the heat. They can't sweat (just like dogs) and so prefer to not have to pant to stay cool. They are also not too bright and sometimes can't tell the difference between good shade and not (for example- shade under trees or under the shelter that we built is good while shade inside the broiling hot livestock hoop barn is very bad). So we have had to lock them out of the barn and encourage them to hang out under the shelter we built and then- when it really got too hot for them even there- we moved them to a deep shade area for the hottest part of the days. They are getting electrolytes and fresh water all day long and we are watching them very very closely for signs of heat stress. So far, most of the goats seem mildly uncomfortable, but handling it well. A couple have been a little more irritated (yep, the black furred girls that are nursing are hating the heat) so they have gotten a little extra dose of electrolyte gel here and there and when they look too unhappy we use them as our indicator to move to deep shade zones.

Meat CSA: 

This is a Meat CSA week so don't forget to pick up your shares!!!! They will be in the large freezer just inside the csa room. We also are freshly stocked up on retail cuts of beef and pork in the freezers.

Blueberry-Cucumber Salad w/Feta

Snagged this right out of the Wegman's catalog. One of my kids doesn't even like feta that much, but loved this salad. The mint is delicious in this, and it would be equally yummy with some of the fennel fronds from this week! In fact, you could probably just add the chopped bulb as well!

• Makes: 8 cups
• Ingredients
• 2 seedless cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)

2 cups fresh blueberries

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup White balsamic viniaigretter

3 TBsp fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 cup of crumbled mild feta

Directions:

1. Combine cucumbers and blueberries in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
    
2. Add vinaigrette, mint, and feta; toss gently to combine

CSA Week 3: Biergarten Success, Volunteers and Weeds

Last week we sent our first round ofboxes off to various sites in Central and Eastern Mass. In case you didn't know, we are delivering 75 boxed vegetable shares all the way to Boston, Worcester and Hingham and three other locations in between. This may not seem like much, but it is up three fold from the 25 we were delivering last year and it is quite a production. It would be a lot harder on our small crew of four without the volunteer support from the students (and teachers and job coaches) from the New England Center for Children here in Southborough. They help us wash and sanitize our harvest bins, csa boxes, wash station and more. They also help us pack all those shares and get them out the door on time on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 

Intel removing weeds from beans last week

In fact, we owe a lot to this season's volunteers, who are making a huge impact here at the farm. We've had volunteers helping in the greenhouse, building rabbit cages, harvesting, weeding and so much more. Corporate groups from Bose, Boston Scientific, Intel, and student groups from St. Mark's and more have joined us this season so far and we have more coming in the next few months! We have lots of volunteer opportunities so check out our website if you can spare a couple of hours to help us keep this place running smoothly.

We had over 800 attendees at this weekend's Notch Biergarten event and that is even with Saturday's  craptastic constant, dreary, chilly rain making Notch finally decide to close up early. If you came- thank you!!! and if you had to miss it, our next Biergarten weekend is Columbus Day weekend (yep,right in line with Harvest Fest and Heritage Day). 

To top it all off, right as the storm headed out last night at 1030pm, our last pregnant goat decided

Biergarten all set up and waiting for guests!

that it was finally time to give birth. She had a healthy set of twins, Munchkin and Mud, and two very tired farmers finally got to bed after a very busy and crazy weekend. 

Animal News:

The goats went on walkabout on Saturday ended up making a mad dash down Chestnut Hill Road. Many thanks to the neighbors that stepped up to corral them, block off the road and call us to help get them safely back up the one way road in the middle of the night. They are back at the main farmyard once again, to relearn that electric fences should be respected, and for some health and wellness checks (and for Marilyn to finally give birth) just in time for lots of goat tours on Sunday during the Biergarten. 

Events:

Come see us at the Southborough Library on Saturday from 11-2p for the Strawberry Social 2.0. There will be mini-strawberry shortcakes, book sale, crafts, goats on display, and more. Come have some treats with us!

Get your tickets for the July Family Farm dinner as we anticipate that they will go quite quickly and we usually sell out. As usual, it will be a catered dinner (though a different caterer than last season) with live music and a craft brewery will be joining us. Look for more details as we get closer to the day. July 20th!

Meet the Farmer is July 7th and we are themed around Pollinators. There will be farm tours to explore the various kinds of pollinators that we rely on in our vegetable fields from our honey bees  to native pollinators such as squash bumble bees and so many more. There will be a hands on 'build your own' native pollinator orchard mason bee house to bring home or hang in our orchard. 10a-Noon on Saturday July 7th. 

Farmstore:

If you haven't had a chance to browse the new items in our farmstore, we have some delicious things to accompany your vegetables home. 

Milk: We have milk from Crescent Ridge Creamery (in glass bottles so there is a bottle deposit, but you can return your bottle to us and get your money back!) Whole milk and 2% available!

Cheeses: Appleton Farm's Pinnacle, Good Hue and Sunset Hill are all back in our fridges at the store. These are all creamy, nutty and delicious. 

As you may have guessed- we have a honey shortage right now...but hope that our new hives will soon be cranking. 

Maple pints will be back in the store this week, and we are working on all kinds of new treats. Come check it out and remember to ask for your Trustees & CSA discount- 10% off in our farmstore.

What's in your Share this week (maybe):

Jesse packing full boxes to deliver to Weir River

Curly Kale (partially Appleton, partially us)

Head lettuce- Romaine and mini-butterhead

Salad mix

Beets

Rainbow Chard

Green garlic

Escarole (looks like lettuce but is much better cooked)

PYO: perennial herbs, strawbs are mostly done after last night's rain but you are welcome to try and find a pint 

Next week we should have squash & zukes and cukes, but they are just not here yet. Basil will hopefully be ready for its first pinching and flowers ready for mini-bouquets. 

Recipe of the Week:

Courtesy of www.dishingupthedirt.com a new food and farmer blog that I am enjoying. She has a cookbook and some truly yummy recipes! 

ROASTED BEET & CHICKPEA TACOS WITH HERB TAHINI SAUCE

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES    COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES    SERVES: 4

Tacos

• 3 medium sized beets, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch chunks
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 4 scallions, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 cups of cooked chickpeas, if from the can rinsed and drained, and patted dry
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt + pepper to taste
•  corn or flour tortillas for serving, lightly warmed in the oven if desired

Sauce

• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 scallion, diced
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/2  cup basil, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dill, finely chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• salt + pepper to taste

Garnishes

• micro greens
• minced dill & basil

 

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the chopped beets with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and cover the baking sheet with foil. Place in the oven and roast until tender. About 15 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking. Beets are done when they are can be easily pierced with a fork.
2. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high. Place the pine nuts in the skillet and toast until lightly browned on all sides. About 2-3 minutes. Shake the pan often and don't walk away! Burnt pine nuts are expensive!
3. Heat the remaining olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped scallions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant. About 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are lightly browned. About 5-7 minutes. Mix in the cooked beets and stir everything together. Season with salt and pepper
4. Prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients and whisking until smooth and creamy. This works best with an immersion blender or small food processor. Taste test and adjust seasonings as needed.
5. Divide the beets and chickpeas between tortillas (preferably warmed in the oven for a few minutes) sprinkle with pine nuts, drizzle with sauce, and garnish with micro greens, minced dill and basil if desired

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary. *Taste test as you go. *Cooking times will vary depending on your oven and specific ingredients. *Have fun in the kitchen.

CSA Week 2: Hot, dry and dusty

Hoophouse is finished!!!

It's hard to believe that last year at this time, the field (we call it Middle Field West cause it's in the center of the farm) next to the parking lot had a pond in it and some migrating water fowl trying to live there for the summer. We are happy to be planting into that field in June- something we hadn't planned on- but are also a little dismayed by the continuing lack of any real rain. It is starting to get mighty dusty out there and I don't think I've ever had to turn on the irrigation so early in the season. Which, of course, means that I'm literally scrambling to get it all laid out and hooked up. Our new

well is still waiting for final bits before we can turn it on, so we are still watering the fields 7-14 beds at a time (for reference- we currently have more than have 160 beds of veggies planted) so it takes literally days to get water to baby plants. Hopefully by the end of this week the new well will be working and I can breathe a little easier as I turn on an acre at a time.
Our new hoophouse is complete! We are waiting for our new tiller so that we can get in and soften up the dirt and lay down some weedmat before we put in the late season tomatoes.

Events:

We are very excited about the upcoming Notch Traveling Biergarten coming to our little farm this weekend. This is a big set up- Notch Brewing Company out of Salem will be setting up tables and chairs in the orchard, we will be setting up games and preparing gorgeous snacks (our grass-fed beef sliders, burgers, Jesse's BBQ brisket sandwiches paired with my chipotle coleslaw), setting up tents for our other vendor guests- Lady Laurie's cakes and Wood-Fired Pizza. It is going to be a delicious and fun extravaganza and we hope you can join us this weekend starting on Friday night! Saturday is the Meters for Liters Fun Run!!! Event runs Friday evening from 4-9p; Saturday from Noon-9pm and Sunday from Noon to 6pm. Live music on Saturday!!!

I'm also excited about the new Art on the Trails exhibit across the street from the farm at the Beal's Preserve. This year's theme, Unexpected Gestures, is one that inspires the unusual and is meant to make you feel both off kilter and to fold in. Take a walk before CSA one day and wander through the magical woods of the preserve. (it is also dog-friendly, so it is a great place to take your pooch in the heat of the day).

Animal News:

Some of you may have heard about two sick kid goats that were poisoned by something that they ate in their new pasture. The story is that almost everything that they eat can be poisonous in large doses...but usually they don't eat too much of any one thing and so they almost never get sick. These two little cuties however, are weanlings from UMass and don't have their momma here at the farm telling them not to overindulge and they clearly ate something that made them very sick for a

few days. Luckily our vet, Cindy Fuhs from Still River Veterinary, was able to come first thing in the morning when we found them vomiting and barely able to walk. We got some charcoal into their bellies and gave them something for pain and then just had to wait. Within 12 hours they were already improving and I'm happy to report that they are going back out to pasture tomorrow morning. YAY!!!! (they are very very bored at this point)

What's in your share this week (maybe):

Salad mix
Head lettuces
Chard
Green garlic
Radishes (courtesy of Appleton Farms again)
Scallions
Baby bok choi (limited)
Arugula (limited)
PYO:
Strawberries are  going down pretty fast due to the extreme heat. They don't like to be this hot when they are fruiting and it causes them to get  stressed out. We probably don't have enough for picking this week and we might be seeing them done for the season :( I will keep you informed....
Perennial Herbs: Oregano, Thyme, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Sage

The good news is that the other herbs are getting close! We should be able to offer basil, parsley, cilantro and dill in another week or so!
The flowers are also getting close to picking time, but even though you see a lot of them flowering, they just don't have enough substance for us to let 170 shares worth of you into the gardens yet. Please be patient- it will mean a longer and more luscious season of gorgeous flowers if we let the plants get a little bigger.

Recipe of the week!

This sounds delightful and easy and I loved the blog I discovered it on. Inspiredtaste.net has lots of easy, delicious recipes with lots of options and little videos and tips for cooking to make the most out of your meal. Check it out!

10 Minute Lemon Garlic Sauteed Bok Choy Recipe

• PREP 5mins
• COOK 5mins
• TOTAL 10mins

Boy choy is a nutritious vegetable and an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin A. It tastes mild and when cooked correctly has a light crunch at the bottom with wilted greens on top. When making the recipe below, it’s important not to burn the garlic. I love this when the garlic is well toasted, but if the garlic turns very dark brown, it will taste bitter. Another thing to note is that even when you have removed the bok choy from the pan, it continues to wilt and soften. So if you notice the garlic browning too much, it’s okay to transfer everything out of the pan a minute early.

Makes approximately 4 servings

YOU WILL NEED

1 pound baby bok choy

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Sea salt

Half of a lemon, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS

Remove any discolored outer stalks of the bok choy and discard them (or save for stock later). Place the bok choy into a colander and rinse with cool water, rubbing any grit or dirt from between the leaves. Trim the ends then slice each bok choy in half lengthwise. Or if they are large, cut into quarters. Pat dry.
Add the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes to a wide room temperature skillet. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the oil begins to bubble around the garlic, but before the garlic starts to turn light brown.
Toss in the the boy choy and spread into one layer. Sprinkle with about 1/4 teaspoon of salt then cook, without stirring, until the bottom is starting to turn brown, about 2 minutes. Flip then cook another 2 minutes or until the green leaves have wilted and the white bottoms are beginning to soften, but still have some crunch.
Transfer to a platter then squeeze 2 lemon wedges on top. A teaspoon or so of olive oil is nice,too. Serve with more lemon wedges on the side.

CSA Week 1: It's salad time!!!

Hoophouse going up in field!

Welcome to the 2018 CSA season- we are delighted to finally be harvesting the food we've been growing since March. As usual, we've had some successes and some failures as a result of all the things that can go right and wrong with nature, soil and weather. The weird but relatively warmer side of spring has meant that many things went in a little earlier than usual, so we should see some quicker arrivals of our favorite fruiting crops, but insects are hitting us hard this year. The not so cold winter meant that a lot of pest insects survived to torment our baby plants. We've been fighting them as best we can with row covers, rotations and more, but we are still seeing a lot more damage to our leafy greens and broccoli and cabbage crops than in past years and we've even had a crop failure in our spring cabbage. So sad- don't worry, we are going to be turning to other local growers to help supply our cabbage needs.
It hasn't all been a struggle...we have incredible incredible strawberries this year (and we thought we weren't going to have them at all!!!) Due to a stay on the construction of a new septic for public bathrooms for the summer, we were able to salvage our strawberry beds from the damage done by the excavators over the winter and the berries are abundant and incredible. And they are ready NOW!!!
I am going to encourage the use of reusable bags for all your produce. We go through a whopping ridiculous amount of plastic bags every year and we would like to see this number go down. There are reusable mesh bags for sale in our farmstore, but you can also buy them at nearly every grocery, online at Amazon, etc. They will get gross, but just toss them in the wash and they are good as new. Please consider getting at least a few so that we can move to eliminating plastic bags at the CSA!

Field happenings:

If you look up from picking strawberries and turn a little to the south, you will probably see the new

hoophouse going up in the field this week. We received a grant from NRCS to build this lovely piece of equipment which will allow us to grow nearly YEAR ROUND. This means a little more of our favorite tomatoes for a little longer in the season, fresh, local salad in February, and maybe even ginger grown right in your community. We are super excited to have this addition to our farmscape!
We also have our new well most of the way finished! This is so vital to our operation, we have been working for the past three seasons with a well that only has 7 gals of water per minute. That means we can only water 14 lines of drip tape at one time in the lower fields and we can't reach the upper fields at all with water because there just isn't enough pressure. The new well, which is at the point where it only needs its new electrical service, has 50gals of water per minute! WhooHOOOO!!! That's means 7x more water and almost 100 lines of irrigation at a time. That's more than an acre at a time and we can push plenty of water up the hill!

Goat info: 

As most of you know, we have increased our goat flock size to almost 60 animals. They are hard at work eliminating invasives all over the farm and most of them will soon be moving off farm for the summer so that they can do the same thing at Moose Hill Farm in Sharon, Weir River Farm in Hingham and other Trustees properties in Metrowest. This is pilot project partly funded by an Innovation Grant and we are super excited to participate. Using goats in a low impact, environmentally friendly manner to eliminate troublesome plants such as bittersweet, buckthorn, poison ivy and many others is a long term sustainable alternative to herbicides. And for the moment, we are sorry, they are not available to come to your house/yard. :) Maybe we will be able to work that in in the future, but right now, there is a lot of conservation land that also needs our help.

Goats just turned on to stone wall

Events:

Notch Brewing Biergarten is coming to Chestnut Hill Farm on June 22-24!!! Notch Brewing Company from Salem, MA will present their German-style beer garden experience right here in our orchard. Come enjoy a delicious cold brew and relax in the glorious beauty of the farm at twilight. There will be delicious grass-fed burgers for sale with farm-made cole slaw and salads.
Friday June 22- 4-9pm
Saturday June 23 Noon-9pm
Sunday June 24 Noon-6pm

Our first Friday Farm Dinner is in July and these are popular and amazing so don't miss out on the fun and sign up early. There is gorgeous food, great live music, cash bar and the BEST company around.

Same wall after grazing 24 hours

What's in Your Share!

Butterhead Lettuce
Salad mix
Radishes (courtesy of Appleton Farms)
Spinach
Arugula
Baby Bok Choy
Rainbow Chard
PYO- Strawberries
PYO- Perennial Herbs (oregano, sage, thyme, lemon balm)


Recipe of the Week: EAT YOUR SALAD!
There's a whole lot of goodness in just a salad- toss in a little arugula into your mixed lettuce, add some strawbs, add a little oil and vinegar and it is perfect or dress it up with all kinds of deliciousness and make it your whole meal. Enjoy this return to the freshness of CSA lettuce and greens. They were harvested this morning folks- it doesn't really get any fresher.

Farm Blog 3: Bobolinks, Green Grass and Goats, OH MY!

Goats grazing at dusk

The bobolinks are back on the farm with all their black and white chittering! I was able to hear them distantly among the trees for a week before I actually saw one flit through our nesting bird field. Did you know that the farm hosts a 7 acre bird reserve field that is off limits to mowing, grazing and even walking for a 2 month chunk of the summer? This year we have the benefit of the new livestock fences and lots of great new signs that make this even easier to explain and show visitors to the farm that there is a designated area for our bird reserve. The bird reserve serves to help our ground-nesting birds like the charismatic bobolinks, and other less well known birds such as Savannah sparrows, meadowlarks and woodcock, raise their babies (in nests built on the ground) in safety from farm equipment, grazing animals, and FEET. These ground-nesting birds are in decline in our ever increasing suburban landscape as farms disappear and are replaced with short grassed lawns, playing fields and parks so it is pretty awesome that we, as one of the last farms in town (and one that was permanently protected by the town) are able to do our small part to make sure that our town retains the habitat that helps protect these bird species.

Hannah & Rachel transplanting flowers

Killdeer are also busy laying eggs again on the bare ground we conveniently provide for them in our vegetable fields. If you see an ugly green patch or a strange tower of rocks in an otherwise neat field of row veggies, this is most likely the location of a killdeer's nest. We go around them whenever we see them until the eggs hatch and the adorable blue-legged clumsy babies are running around (which they do in less than 3 days from hatching).

CSA News: 

official shareholder emails have yet to go out, but we will be starting on the week of the 11th. If you have any friends that have been procrastinating on sign-up, give them their final 'get it done' because we are very close to selling out for the season (and if you are a peak season shareholder, you might want to sign up now too at the farmstand). The season is plowing forward fast, and we are barely keeping up, but should be ready right on time with our typical assortment of spring greens. Peas are a little spottier than we would like but we are hoping they will fill in- if not, we are gearing up to plant early beans since the soil is so unseasonably warm. Fava beans are growing strong this year!!!! 
Animal News:The goat herd has grown exponentially with the addition of a lovely flock of 20 more does, wethers and bucklings from UMass Amherst. These additional goats will help make our conservation grazing plans come to fruition and we will start to get some of our more robust invasives under control. The entire flock moved into the new livestock barn (it looks like a greenhouse, but is actually a barn) in April and have loved being warm and dry! Our old livestock barn (built into the hill, was adequate for shelter but often damp and so we are happy to have a new home for the goats. A big chunk of the herd (not the dairy girls and their babes) will also be moving down to Weir River Farm in the next month or so to work on cleaning up some troublesome areas there (don't worry they will be back at the end of the summer).
A big flock of laying hens arrived from Moose Hill Farm to help with cleaning up some of our pastures (snails are yucky) and are happily learning how to range on grass and bugs while following behind the goats. Their eggs will be funneling through the Meat CSA and Jesse is pretty tight this season on extras, but if we have them they can be found in the Farmstand fridge.
Chicks- we DO have a small bunch of chicks right now that just arrived last week in the mail. They are heritage breeds and we will be making them available for public viewing at the next Meet the Farmer in June. They are still really small and fragile so we are keeping them tucked away for now.

FARMSTAND: 

The farmstand is filled with gorgeous transplants for your gardens- everything from tea herbs to flowers to tomatoes of all shapes, sizes and colors. We are open every Saturday from 9a-2pm until CSA week starts! Get the preview on the new things we are carrying and stock up on your favorite local products- if you know of anything you wish we stocked in the store- let us know!

EVENTS: 

Our annual Running of the Goats was a huge success this year- we are super sorry if you wanted to come and found that it was sold out! Next year we will hopefully (finally) have the goat numbers to have more than one fun run race and so we can have more folks running with the goats. If you were super disappointed- come out on June 2nd from 10a-12p for our Kids' Cuddle Party. We will have our beautiful kid goats in a large pen and it will be open for snuggling with them. Come get your goat baby in before they get too big to fit in a lap.

Recipe of the Week: Desiree's Goat Chorizo and Skillet Gnocchi with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1lb Goat chorizo (or Kielbasa, but if you haven't tried our chorizo, its deliciously garlicky without being too spicy)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Powdered garlic
12-24oz of 'skillet gnocchi (I find it at Hannafords in a fridge near the deli)
1/2 bunch of fresh basil
1/2 bunch of fresh parsley
EVOO
garnish: fresh goat chevre, feta or parmesan
good coarse sea salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425. Place the sausage in a roasting pan drizzled with EVOO or Avocado oil, toss the tomatoes with EVOO and sprinkle with a little coarse salt and powdered garlic and put in the same roasting pan with sausage. Roast for about 25-30 mins until sausages are done, and tomatoes are nicely caramelized.
While sausage is cooking- prepare gnocchi according to package directions. Coarsely chop the herbs, and once gnocchi is done, sprinkle it with the herbs and a little coarse salt to taste. Add the tomatoes, chop and add the sausage and toss with a little extra EVOO. Serve with your favorite cheese.