Greetings to members of Boulder Knoll Community Farm for 2010!
Welcome to new and returning sharers!
I’m anticipating a great growing season. We appreciate your enthusiastic support of our farm and of local food. We look forward to some great happenings this year – cooking demos, pick your own flowers and maybe berries, fruit from High Hill Orchard in Meriden, and a farm dinner or two by talented chefs from Caseus Fromagerie Bistro. We’ve expanded our membership to 53 CSA shares and will donate food to two soup kitchens in Waterbury and Meriden. We’ll continue to sell produce to Caseus and host educational programs to area youth and children.
Now that the rain has let up we can start to transplant the many seedlings that I have started in the greenhouse. They’re happily awaiting their permanent homes in our rich soil. Kale, scallions, Swiss chard, leeks and onions can be transplanted in the next week or so. Beets, carrots, peas, and greens will get direct seeded in April. Flowers, tomatoes, eggplant, basil, escarole, lettuce and peppers are growing, but need a few more weeks. Wow, there sure is a lot to do!
The farm needs your help
April and May are busy months for cleaning up, prepping beds and planting. I’ll be sending periodic emails to update you on our progress.
Since we really need your help in these early months I’ll be sending notes with available work times and descriptions of tasks that need doing.
You’ll never be on your own; I will always be there to teach and supervise your work. I’m generally at the farm for at least part of every day, so weekdays and weekend times will be available.
I’ll need someone organized who can act as work coordinator for the farm. Last year a couple of members split the season; their work was invaluable to me. Please let me know if you’re interested in doing this job for your work contribution.
I’ll be scheduling a potluck/ work party sometime this spring – a fun way to get to know other members and get a lot done as a group. Watch for it!
Upcoming events
- Healthy Kids First with Tim Cipriano, Saturday April 10, 2010, 4 – 6 pm,
Hosted by Greg Melville, 474 Maple Avenue, Cheshire, CT 06410Chef Tim Cipriano, the dynamic Executive Director of Food Service for the New Haven Public Schools will speak on bringing healthy food from local farms to school children in Cheshire and New Haven. For more information about Tim and New Haven school food please check out Tim’s blog.
Everyone’s invited! For more info or to RSVP, please click here.
- Join us for a tour of the farm. Sunday April 25, 12:00 noon. You and your family can have a walk through the garden. I’ll tell you about the logistics of the CSA and answer any lingering questions you may have. Bring a bag lunch if you’d like. I’ll supply the drinks.
Farm Blog
Check out our website and blog at boulderknollfarm.com. Thanks to Dan Groberg, web-master extraordinaire, we have a recipe and food ideas section to which we hope you’ll contribute. There’s a member forum for asking questions and sharing thoughts, a work needs page and a page on which I’ll post the anticipated harvest for the next week. We hope this site will be useful and well-used!
Wish List
Almost everything on the farm is begged, borrowed and even picked off the side of the road at bulk pick-up time.
Here are a few things we need this year:
- garden trowels
- digging forks (especially the kind with D-shaped handles and 4 or 5 straight tines)
- 2x4s or 2x3s in decent condition (for construction)
- two large water coolers with a spigot for drinking water and hand washing
- hoses of any length (with non-leaky fittings)
- large sheets of cardboard for paths
- your kitchen scraps for our compost pile (put them in the right hand pile for now)
- racks that we can dry onions on (look for closet shelving or other closely spaced grates)
- saw horses
- a “garden weasel” (this is a spiky, rolling thing with a waist high handle that you use to break up the soil surface)
Thanks again to everyone who joined the farm this year. I’m looking forward to great food, great learning and great community.
Brenda Caldwell
Your grateful farmer
Boulder Knoll Community Farm