A 16-week schedule of harvests has just wrapped up at the Boulder Knoll Community Farm. The season began in mid-June with the last weekly share distributed on Oct. 6

Read all about it at http://cheshire.patch.com/articles/cheshires-community-farm-wraps-up-season

• carrots
• beets (Sunday) Thursday group will get them next week
• bok choi
• arugula
• New Zealand spinach which you can use like spinach (better for cooked recipes). Here’s a link to some more info about it. http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2010/06/pasta_with_tetragon_new_zealand_spinach.php
• tomatoes
• salad mix
• shallots
• braising greens
• mint (dry this for winter tea and such by putting it in a paper bag for a couple of weeks – when dry, crush into a jar)
• apples or pears
• Next week – sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, leeks, lots of other stuff

Potato harvesters needed!!

Potatoes and sweet potatoes will be harvested on Wed Sept 28th, Sat. Oct 1st and Wed. Oct 5th starting at ten on each day. This is sort of hard work, but fun and rewarding. Kids welcome. Let Amy amywojenski@yahoo.com know if you’d like to come to help.

Pick-up time for Sunday, Oct 2nd

We’re shortening the time that the shed will be staffed this Sunday so everyone (including me!) can go to the farm celebration next door. Please come between 3 and 4 if you want someone to greet you in the shed. At 4 pm we will put everyone’s shares in bags for pick-up

Reminder about work hours

If you have completed your member hours by Sept 30, you will be eligible to participated in a bonus 17th week of produce. I anticipate that this share will be distributed during the week of Oct 17th or Oct 24th. Stay tuned for details.

Thanks and hope to see you at the farm celebration on the 2nd,

Brenda

Saturday Sept 24th 10am -12pm – Exploring Mycology: Fungi, Mycelia, Oh My!

Grab a notebook and join Zaac Chavis during this unique opportunity to study and learn about the many fungal forms that exist throughout the land. Zaac, an organizer with the CT-Westchester Mycological Associatoin, will guide us in collecting specimens, identifying edible and poisonous forms and more! All Ages. Long pants and closed shoes recommended.

BIKE TO THE FARM! – In solidarity with the Moving Planet event in New Haven, there will be an organized ride to Boulder Knoll Community Farm in Cheshire for participants planning on attending the farm’s morning workshop Exploring Mycology. We’ll ride the 14 miles to the farm on pure muscle power via the rail trail and Tuttle Ave. Estimated ride time is 1h 30 min.

Groups will meet at 8 am on the New Haven Green around the fountain or at 8:45 am in the empty parking lot to the right of TJ Maxx in the Hamden Plaza. Please try and be prompt. We look forward to riding with you! Even if you don’t ride with us, ride from your home! Directions to the farm can be found here: http://www.boulderknollfarm.com/farm/direction

Sunday Sept 25th 2-4pm – How Wild is Your Yard? Creating Wildlife Certified Backyards – Join us as we explore how to create welcoming spaces for wildlife of all forms to take refuge in our yards. We’ll take a walk around Cheshire resident Bob Gidding’s wildlife certified property, notice existing wildlife and wildlife habitats, and a look at native biodiversity. Take home information provided. Come with a curious mind and long pants. All ages.

News from the Educator

Correction on Meadowlark Spotting

The young yellow bird thought to have been a baby meadowlark that was mentioned in the last newsletter was in fact a Common Yellowthroat. Thank you to bird expert Bob Giddings for making the distinction! However, sighting of what was thought to be an adult eastern meadowlark has yet to be proven otherwise!

Bookshelf to Spare?

The education station in the hoop house is need of a new bookshelf. If anyone has an old bookshelf they would like to lend or donate the farm please contact Julia at educator@friendsofboulderknoll.com.

Get Ready for Autumn Olives!

The autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate) bushes behind the hoop house are bursting with berries. Though tart at the moment, the berries will loose this quality and sweeten beautifully following the first frost. Stay tuned for a fun impromptu autumn olive gathering to follow the season’s first frost in early-mid October.

News from the Farmer

Farm Celebration for CSA members and farm friends

The details

Join us for a potluck farm celebration on Sunday, October 2nd from 4 to 7 pm. Festive food, including cheese from Caseus Fromagerie and Bistro, and a silent auction will be set up in Bob Giddings’ barn, next door to the farm. We’re planning for live music and/or a dance on the second floor. Sound like fun? Put it on your calendar, plan a yummy dish, and bring an empty stomach. We’ll also be officially selecting our new Friends of Boulder Knoll board for next year. It’s our last fundraiser for the season; we’re suggesting a donation of $20/adult and $5 for kids over 5 yo. All who are part of our farm community in any way are welcome regardless of ability to make a donation! RSVP online at www.friendsofboulderknoll.com/farmreunion.

Silent auction items!

We would like to focus on the many talents and interests of our members. We are now accepting donations of any good or services that you as a member are involved in. Do you make jewelry, take beautiful pictures or have another talent you would be willing to share? Please contact Fellis Jordan at 203-272-4633 or jordans28@cox.net to donate an item or service.

Musicians or dance callers sought!

Are you or is someone you know a musician? Can you call a contra dance? We want to have an hour of two of music and/or dance at our celebration. Contact me if you’d like to help add to the festivities in this way.

Update on the garden

Hoo-boy – We’re sorry to say that the tomatoes are done, succumbed to the effects of the deluge that fell over the past month. Peppers and eggplants are sad. Fortunately most of the potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, beets are still fine if we can keep the deer from hopping the fence. What a crazy season.

See you at the farm!!
Julia and Brenda

As some of you know, my daughter Alani is getting married next weekend and I will be away for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

We will harvest and distribute your Thursday (9/8) share on Thursday rather than changing it to Wednesday (like I had mentioned before).

We will change the Week 13 Sunday (9/11) harvest and distribution to Monday (9/12) from 4-6:30. If you can’t pick up on Monday and would like to switch to Thursday 9/15 please let me know.

Your share this week

I anticipate sharing out carrots, spaghetti squash, apples, kale/chard, tomatoes, and other treats.

Good night Irene!

We faired pretty well in the storm. Many plants came through fine. Lots of tomato, pepper, and kale plants were knocked over but will live. Some tomatoes and peppers were in water for a long time and are probably not going to make it. The squash is pretty much done because the leaves got badly shredded. Thank you to everyone who helped get the hoophouse and equipment secured. Nothing significant got damaged.

My power at home was out until last evening, so that’s why I’ve been incommunicado. Sorry for my absence.

Year-end potluck dinner and dance
Sunday, October 2, 4-7pm
Membership Dinner and Dance

A potluck Membership Dinner/Annual Meeting is being planned for Oct 2 from 4-7pm. Everyone who is connected with the farm in some way is welcome. The evening’s events will include potluck food prepared by everyone, a cheese spread from Caseus, live music with dancing, and a silent auction with items and services offered by CSA and members. Think about what items or services you might be able to donate! Tickets won’t be required but we’ll want to know who’s coming ahead of time. Pencil it in and I’ll send more info as the date gets closer!

Other fun events

Stay tuned for Julia’s email about the educational events for September and October – Amber’s delicious smoothy tasting, putting the garden to bed hands-on workshop, fall perennial plantings in Anne’s garden, to name a few.

Work needs

There won’t be any non-harvest work hours until the wedding is behind me (next week!). We really need folks to step up for harvests tomorrow and next Monday and for the rest of the Sunday and Thursday harvests this season. If you complete your work hours by the end of September (or have scheduled to work after that), you will be eligible to participate in a 17th week distribution later in October. Please keep your eye on the website work calendar for available work times. I encourage you to sign up for a harvest or distribution if you haven’t completed your hours.

See you at the farm!
Brenda

• French Fingerling potatoes (Sunday) (cute little red skinned potatoes with pink streaks thru the flesh)
• leeks
• tomatoes (I’m picking them a little less than fully ripe. Leave them on the counter for a few days. Don’t refrigerate tomatoes.)
• Sungold cherry tomatoes
• cukes, squash
• eggplant, peppers
• basil – get out the pesto recipes (Thursday)
• fruit (Melon? Early apples? We’ll be surprised)
• other good stuff

Cool Educational Events

Connecticut “Rocks!”: Minerals, Cross Dykes and Geology with Charles Dimmick
Tuesday August 23rd 4-6pm Rain or Shine

Retired Cheshire geologist Charles Dimmick will lead us in this special opportunity to visit a regionally famous geologic feature right on Boulder Knoll Road! On a short walk and exploration, we will discover the entrance to a 100 year old copper mine, the North/South and East/West cross dyke intrusion. We’ll also learn about minerals and rocks from around our farm and beyond. Bring a rock to share and take home a sample from our special pile! All ages are welcome. Please wear long pants and closed shoes.

Raw Food Smoothies and Recipes: Healthy Living with Amber Beitler
Thursday August 25th 4:30-5:30pm + Sunday August 28th 3:30-5:00pm

Want to try something new with your CSA share or local produce? How about a smoothie?? Previous CSA member Amber Beitler will be on deck during CSA share-outs, handing out smoothie samples, sharing recipes and tips on smoothie creation and presenting on healthy living.

Annual Tag Sale – Sept 3rd – Donate to ours or rent your own space!

This is a major fund-raiser for the Friends of Boulder Knoll. Please collect good quality items and bring them cleaned and pre-priced to the Cheshire green early in the morning on Saturday, Sept 3rd. We need lots of volunteers1

We need people available day of event to assist with organizing, setting up, breaking down, taking money, available to help with breaks. Please email me to sign up for the day, a couple hours, whatever you can give so we have a general idea of time. I’ll email the final list of helpers with a map of where our shared spots will be on the green before the event.

HOURS we need people: 7am – 1:30pm

• 7am – 9am – set up tables, help people bringing items unload and set up on/at tables, ensure everything is cleaned and priced, help direct shared spaces to their appropriate spots for set up.
• 9am – noon – sell, sell, sell,
• noon – 1:30 clean up, breakdown tables, sort out anything left to go to Goodwill and trash
• 2pm Meet up for nachos and margaritas for our 3rd annual “Thank Goodness It’s Done” celebration

Please contact CSA member and Board member Meredith Berger meredith.berger@yale.edu to volunteer to help, or with questions.

Individuals and organizations can also set up their own tag sale spaces – $10 for individuals, $25 for organizations. The foot traffic is great – lots of folks stop for this tag sale because there are so many vendors. Contact Meredith to sign up for a space.

Advance notice of upcoming pick-up schedule change

Please note the following:

• Thursday, Sept. 8 pick up will be moved to Wednesday, Sept 7, from 4 – 6:30
• Sunday, Sept. 11 pick-up will be moved to Monday, Sept 12 from 4 – 6:30

My daughter, Alani, is getting married in a weekend-long event and these changes seem like the best way to make sure the harvests are fully staffed. Please let me know if you have to change your pick-up days this week because of these changes. Thanks for your understanding.

See you at the farm
Brenda

The group is getting better about remembering to pick up shares! Thanks for letting me know if you’ll be late or that you need to cancel. Please remember to tell me ahead of time (the day before if at all possible) if you won’t be picking up your share that week. If you are letting someone else pick up your share, please tell them how to get in touch with me if they can’t make it.

The pulling party

Thank you to those who partied with the weeds today. We had a good time, got sweaty and dirty, and felt really good about how the kale, chard and tomatillo beds looked when we were done. It’s amazing what a focused group can do. Thank you!! We saved some weeds for the rest of you, so if you didn’t have a chance to come today you didn’t miss all the fun.

Interesting animal happenings

Today two people were picking up cardboard to bring down into the garden. They uncovered a little snake who had gotten stuck on the packing tape on one of the cardboards. They carefully unstuck it and it slithered off in a flash. We have no idea how long it had been there but it is amazing that they found it still in good condition. If you bring cardboard to the farm (yes we can still use big sheets), please remove tape if it’s very sticky. I had no idea that it was a hazard to animals, but I guess lots of different creatures could have gotten stuck on it.

Today we saw a very large grey hawk being bothered by two mockingbirds. It sure looked like an osprey but what was it doing over the farm?

Anything you can do will enhance the health of our farm this year and for years to come.

How? you might ask.
Every grass or wild amaranth or velvet leaf that flowers and goes to seed adds to the seed bank in the soil. These seeds will germinate next year or in the years after. They’ll compete with our food crops for nutrients, water, and sunlight. They will provide habitat for harmful insects and disease.

Get it?
So, come pull them out tomorrow! (or whenever else you can make it – the next week or so is critical!)

• carrots
• onions (Mon)
• scallions (Thurs)
• garlic
• cherry tomatoes
• Choice bags of squash, cukes, eggplant, tomatoes
• cantaloupe

Please join us for a Boulder Knoll Community Farm (weed*) Pulling Party

Saturday 12 noon – 4 p.m.

All you need to bring is your enthusiasm, ability to pull and perhaps a tool and a pair of gloves. (Heavy duty weed whackers are welcome, too.) We will supply the weeds, drink and snacks. We will all get the satisfaction of knowing the farm is healthier, neater and we are getting a head start on next year’s unwanted weeds. Any amount of time you can party will be fine.

* The weeds are going to seed, getting overgrown and encroaching on our healthy crops!

A great carrot – lemon smoothy drink!

• 1 lb carrots peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 cups water
• 3 cups pineapple and/or unsweetened white grape juice (we used diluted cranberry juice)
• 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Water
• Ice
• Lemon wedges (Brenda thinks some mint leaves would be a nice touch)

1. Combine carrots and water in medium sauce pan. Simmer 30 min. Or until very tender. Cool slightly. (important to cool before putting in blender because cooling prevents steam from building up and hot liquid spilling over top of blender) Transfer cooled mixture to blender. Add one cup of pineapple juice. Cover and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer blended mixture to pitcher. Stir in remaining pineapple and lemon juice. Cool in refrigerator for 2 to 24 hours. Mixture may thicken. If you’d like, add one to two cups of water to reach desired consistency.
3. Serve over ice with lemon wedges. Store refrigerated for up to one week.

Also try freezing into individual freeze pops for a delicious, healthy frozen treat!

“Delightful Day at the Farm” featuring the Caseus Cheese Truck and Jordan Caterers -
Sunday July 10, noon – 3 pm

We have a few more spots left! We’ll have a wonderful lunch in a lovely setting. There will be kids’ activities, farm tours, hay rides and a silent auction. Please sign up online at www.friendsofboulderknoll.com/dayonthefarm. Tickets are $30 for adults and $5 for kids (there’s a small (under $3) processing fee). All proceeds will benefit the Friends of Boulder Knoll’s agricultural, conservation and environmental education work. Ticket sales close at the end of the day on Tuesday (tomorrow!!)

Help is needed to set up tables and tents, direct parking, sell raffle tickets and clean up. Please send Brenda a note to brenda@boulderknollfarm.com if you can assist with any of this. Tents will be set up on Saturday and everything else will need to be set up on Sunday morning. Thanks!!

Important time change for next Sunday’s pick-up

On July 10th, your pick-up time will be from 4 to 5 pm. This is so we don’t have a conflict with traffic from the farm lunch event. If you are at the event you may pick your food up when you are there.

Work needs

Thanks to all those of you who have done so much for the farm this season. A reminder about how it all works: CSA members’ work is coordinated by two members, Annmarie Golioto and Amy Wojenski (thank goodness!). When you receive the email from Annmarie telling the times that are available for work, you may sign up with Amy Wojenski according to the instructions. They’ll add your name to the work calendar. Please check the on-line farm calendar for your scheduled times.

Any time you can put in is helpful, so don’t be shy about coming for an hour or two. Harvests on Thursday and Sunday mornings are important so check the calendar for harvests you can help with. Signing up way ahead of time is great!

Educational events coming up
Please RSVP to Julia at educator@boulderknollfarm.com

• Beyond the Basics: Organic Gardening
  Tuesday July 5th 4-6pm 

  Already begun a garden? Want to take it to the next level? Farmer Brenda will lead this workshop in going beyond the basics of organic gardening. Using examples from the farm and drawing on Brenda’s years of hands-on experience in the field, we’ll cover many aspects of farming. Participants are encouraged to come with questions!

• Whats Buggin’ You?
  Saturday July 16th 10-12am 

  The CT Agricultural Experiment Station’s Kim Stoner will lead this morning workshop on insect ecology. Dr. Stoner, an expert in local pollinators and entomology, will help us discover different insects, their relationships to plants and their purpose on the farm.

• Friend or Foe? Invasive Plants and You
  Saturday July 23rd 9-11am 

  Join horticulturist and invasive plant expert Rose Hiskes of the CT Agriculture Experiment Station in understanding the plants that are threatening our native ecosystems. Brief lecture followed by a walk around Boulder Knoll farm and forest in search of invasive plants.

   

Events are free and open to the public. Bring your enthusiasm and dress for the outdoors!

The Gardens

As you may have noticed, peas are doing great, and squash, cukes, and tomatoes are not too far behind. I hope you’ve been enjoying the food. Your share will include some fruit from High Hill Orchard in Meriden starting next Sunday.

I’m hoping to have our first potato harvest in a week or two, so watch for a call for adult and kid helpers.

Weeds are coming in fast and furious, so weeders and mulchers are always welcome. I’d really like to get all of the paths mowed and covered with cardboard and woodchips in the next few weeks. This will really help hold pest populations down and increase air circulation.

We have had lots of sightings of special birds, reptiles and amphibians at the farm this year. We’ve seen turkeys, bluebirds, cedar waxwings, yellow warblers, chipping and song sparrows, toads, snakes, and even a box turtle and a snapping turtle. The birds have been enjoying the birdbath in Anne’s Garden.

Thanks to Julia and farm friend Ann Cherry, the patio outside of the hoophouse entrance has been turned into a shady, pleasant spot to rest or meditate. Please feel free to come early in the morning or any other time to enjoy this peaceful place to sit and watch the birds and chipmunks.

See you at the farm!
Brenda

Today was my first day of work on Boulder Knoll Farm. After having followed the farm’s CSA program since its inception three years ago, Bryan and I finally decided to join. Our own vegetable garden has, for the past few years, been an exercise in frustration: each spring we turn the soil, clear the beds, plant the seeds, fix the fence, wait for the harvest, and then watch as our beans, peas, tomatoes, and other vegetables and herbs are ravaged by deer, moles, Japanese beetles, and a host of other insects and mammals.

So this year we decided to learn something about successful gardening by participating in a work-intensive CSA program. In exchange for 30 hours of work on the farm, and a small sum of money, we will take home a share of the crops every few weeks from June until October. Even more exciting than the booty, however, is the opportunity to participate in a community agricultural program. Today, before starting work, I looked at the rows of empty beds, at the folks working in various corners of the field, and thought about how great it would be to document, day by day, the subtle changes, changes wrought, in large part, by the hands of a small group of dedicated workers.

But before that, I was sitting in my dining room, reading freshman essays and sighing anxiously, working my way through the paper pile and pausing to consider other piles—laundry, dishes, clothes to be sorted through for spring. I looked at the clock and swore, wishing I hadn’t chosen today—a day I really needed to use for catching up on work—to volunteer on the farm.

At 11:20, I headed over to the farm. My first task was to harvest some parsnips that had “over-wintered.” I had help from two other women, both of whom were delighted by the surprise crop of vegetables. Who knew we’d take home a share on day one? Even more amazing was the fact that these hearty roots had survived the weight of this year’s unusually harsh winter. So many of them, too. And they hadn’t just survived; they had thrived! I dug the pitchfork into the ground, and it took all of my weight to break the roots from the dirt. They clung to the soil, secure in their subterranean shelter. I reached down and pulled, gently but firmly, and was surprised by the girth of these hearty vegetables. The other workers were awestruck, and at the end of a half an hour, we had filled a laundry tub with parsnips. We all agreed that this was a positive omen: an unexpected harvest on the first official day of the season.

I spent the next ninety minutes lopping dead flower stems and pulling out roots to make way for new seeds. It wasn’t intellectual work, and it wasn’t overly physical, but there was a supreme satisfaction in pausing to look at what I was able to accomplish in a relatively short amount of time. In my own work, my school work, there is rarely a sense of completion. I hack away, perpetually behind in my grading, my reading, my prep, and always feeling as though I could be doing more, or doing something better. On the farm, my task was simple, and I could easily set a reasonable goal. Pull parsnips. Clear four beds. Dump the debris in the compost pile. Write the time in the log.

“This is a wonderful place,” said one of the other workers who passed by me as I pulled roots. “It’s amazing to stand here and look at these fields and know that, in three months, everything will have blossomed as a result of our work.”

Though he was right, I wasn’t thinking that far ahead at the moment. I wasn’t thinking about much of anything, in fact. The sun was dancing in and out of the clouds, my fingernails were dirtier than they had ever been, and the work pile on my dining room table was, for the moment, a matter of little consequence.

Roasted parsnips, anyone?