Category: Updates

Hi everyone –

You can anticipate receiving scallions, lettuce, peas, kale/swiss chard combo, carrots, and herbs (eg catnip, mint, cilantro) in your share this week. You will also have a choice between a few different items – maybe radishes, garlic scapes, bok choi, brocolli raab, or dandelion greens.

Remember, if you will be late to pick up your share, it will be bagged up and placed in the white cooler. If I don’t hear from you by noon of the next day, I will donate it to someone who needs it. If you want me to hold it, just let me know and I’ll just leave it in the cooler.

Sorry about the slugs.  With all this rain, they are more numerous than I’ve seen them in a long time.

Thanks again to Jeff Rapoport for the great cooking and tasting demos last week. Delicious and fun!!

Your farmer,
Brenda Caldwell

Hi all –

Jeff Rapoport of Jordan Caterers, who is an active member of the Friends of Boulder Knoll Board, will demonstrate some ways to prepare the cooking greens that you will be receiving in your share during the season. His demo will begin at 5:30 and will run about 45 minutes. He will do the demo for both Monday (6/22) and Thursday (6/25) groups. You’ll get to taste the dishes and leave with a few printed recipes! If you can’t make this time window, we’ll give you the recipes when you come! Hope to see you there!

Brenda Caldwell
Boulder Knoll Community Farm CSA

Greetings to the members of Boulder Knoll Community Farm CSA-

Extra share out…!

Things are looking really great for the start of the 2009 share out season, so good, in fact that I have decided to make a distribution to all members next week. Everyone’s pick up day will be Monday the 15th from 4 pm to 7 p.m. for next week only. You will be getting lettuce, radishes, bok choi, and a mixed bouquet of cooking greens (red Russian kale, lacinato kale, and swiss chard). Regular share outs will begin the following week. You have signed up for either Monday or Thursday. Pick up times will be the same – 4 pm to 7 pm. The address is 800 Boulder Road, Cheshire. If you are not able to pick up your share on Monday, please let me know asap. Thank you …

Thank you to all who have put in time working on the farm so far. Amazingly, folks who are not even members have been volunteering too. It’s a great community effort. If you want to schedule some of your 12 hours please contact member Annmarie Golioto at agolioto@srhs.org.

Member list publication…

I am going to publish the list of members with your address, pick up day, phone #, etc. This way you can organize pick up groups or what- have-you. One person asked me not to include his information, but I do not know who it was. Please contact me directly. Member fees… Please, please pay the second part of your fee ($200) if you have not done so already. Email Carol Goertz (see cc above) for the address to send a check and to let her know it’s coming.

Compost…

We invite you to bring compostable materials when you come (kitchen scraps including paper towels and napkins, leaves, organic grass clippings).

Potluck lunch and farm tour

Please join us for a beginning of the season celebration at the farm on Saturday, June 20 from 12 noon to 2 pm. We’ll eat the lunch food we’ve brought to share and then have a tour of the gardens. Please bring the whole family!

Our blog…

Keep track of what’s in your upcoming share, share recipes, and read the news from the farm at http://blog.friendsofboulderknoll.com/

A plug for our restaurant friend, Caseus…

Check out Caseus restaurant and cheese bistro at 93 Whitney Ave. (on the corner of Whitney Ave. and Trumbull St.) in New Haven. Owner Jason Sobocinski and chef Chris cook up “to die for” food using mostly organicingredients from Boulder Knoll Community Farm and other local sources. Call 624-3373 for a reservation. It’s my favorite restaurant in town and really worth the trip. See you on Monday the 15th!

Brenda Caldwell
Your Happy Farmer

Hello all

Thanks to everyone who came out for our last work day on April 4th. We built the walls of the tool shed, cleaned up (A LOT!), cut many weeds and multiflora rose, hauled more than a truckload of compost, and staked out the future herb garden. We had fun and got lots accomplished.

A reminder about the upcoming work day on Saturday April 18. We will haul more compost, stain the tool shed and set up the shelves, put up deer fence, and lay out the herb garden. Everyone is welcome! Please bring tools (paint gear if you’re planning to paint – we’ll used water based stain), water, lunch, work gloves, hat. Come any time between 10 am and 4 pm to help. Please let me know you’re coming.

Check out our website http://www.boulderknollfarm.com/ periodically for updates from the farm. There’s a page for CSA members.

We’ll be using the site to let people know about what’s coming up in the harvests and weather-related harvest postponements. We’ll share pictures, recipes, announcements, links and news. Many thanks to Dan Groberg who is staying on top of this for our community.

Here’s another copy of the last announcement that has a few more details. I’m adding a special call for wood chips for our paths. If anyone knows of a tree service who would like a place to dump their chips, please let me know (or arrange it yourself). I’ll meet the truck at the farm any time to show them where to dump.

Thanks,
Brenda

Greetings to the members of Boulder Knoll Community Farm CSA from your farmer, Brenda Caldwell.

The field has been harrowed and the peepers are peeping. Let’s get this wonderful farm going!

An invitation

You are invited to a  barn raising and work day at the farm. Please come – We need your help.

April 18th – 10 am to 4 pm (come when you can; leave when you must)

We’ll finish jobs we started on the 4th, PLUS
Set up tables in the veggie prep shed [Not ready yet]
Start making compost piles
Paint and put shelves up in the tool shed
Haul more compost
Plant herbs and flowers [lay out herb garden]
Set up the deer fence.

Contact Brenda at 393-1245 or respond to this email to let me know who’s coming and what you might like to do.

Bring tools (pruning loppers and saws, rakes, shears, shovels) work gloves, water, and lunch.
If you’re planning to do carpentry, bring a hammer, tape measure, cordless drill and bits, safety glasses, etc.

Please do come and bring your energy and enthusiasm. It’ll be a great way to continue building our Boulder Knoll Farm community.
All are welcome.

Farm wish list

Newspapers in paper bags (please remove glossy ads) and large sheets of cardboard
1 gallon clean milk or water jugs with tops (lots are needed in April)
leaves for our compost and mulch (all the time!)
wood chips
sturdy metal fence posts (called t posts I think) the longer the better
large coolers (latch can be broken)
blue ice for coolers
battery powered radio and rechargeable batteries
a large sink or small tub
buckets
good sized watering cans
Rubbermaid tubs for harvesting
tool organizers for the tool shed (hooks, clips, magnetic strips)
garden tools (in decent shape, long and short handles, no old scythes please)
A decent riding mower that could pull a trailer

Any of these items can be brought to the farm on Saturday the 4th or 18th or call Brenda at 393-1245 for other options. We can always use fence posts and leaves, so keep them coming! Call me about any of the big items.

12 hour work shares

I am looking for a person who would be willing to be my liaison to the other sharers for scheduling work. This would entail organizing the membership list so we know who is available when. Also the person would call other sharers if I have work that needs doing including harvest and distribution. I need someone organized and not afraid of making a bunch of phone calls. You could do this for your 12 hour work contribution and if it takes more time, could pass it off to someone else. Please let me know if you are interested. [I got a couple of responses for this call – Thanks.]

Membership – We’re full as of 4/3/09. We may add a few more shares in July.

I will be publishing the membership list to our group. If you do NOT want your information included please let me know.

Hey Friends,

We could use your help at the farm in the near future. Want to help us get ready for the farming season ahead? Read on…

April 4th – 10 am to 4 pm (come when you can; leave when you must)
Folks needed to build a tool shed (please arrive as close to 10 am as you can and check in with the crew leader), clean up weeds and debris around building areas, build compost bins from pallets, build a simple frame to support water tank, move compost to gardens, build the herb garden. We could use a crew leader for the compost bins – contact Brenda at her e-mail below. Bring tools (loppers, rakes, shears, shovels) work gloves, water, lunch. If you’re planning to do carpentry, bring a hammer, tape measure, cordless drill and bits, safety glasses, etc.

April 18th – 10 am to 4 pm (come when you can; leave when you must)
We’ll finish jobs we started on the 4th, PLUS set up tables in the veggie prep shed, start making compost piles, paint and put shelves up in the tool shed, haul more compost, plant herbs and flowers, and set up the deer fence.

Please RVSP to Brenda, so we know how many people are coming, and let her know if you want to be involved in the tool-shed raising.  Contact her at brenda (at) boulderknollfarm (dot) com.

Cheshire Herald: Farming to Expand at Boulder Knoll

A nice story appeared on the front page of this morning’s Cheshire Herald about the Friends and our new lease with the Town of Cheshire. Support our efforts by becoming a member today.

“It was considered just an experiment last spring, but due to its success, the Friends of Boulder Knoll are planning to increase activity on local farmland over the next three years.

The Town Council extended the lease with the Friends of Boulder Knoll to continue using a two-acre piece of land on the former Boulder Knoll farm. The lease is for $1 a year and was continued until 2012.”