On the Farm
BRR!
This cold is no joke. Little bit frustrating for this time of year. We don’t have anything out that could be in danger, but nights in the low 20’s to teens always give me anxiety. At the temps we’re seeing for the next few days, a heater failure could be disastrous. Upper 20’s and above and most plants would actually survive a failure. The greenhouses keep the air inside of them about 3-5 degrees warmer than the outside temp!
We finished up pruning the blueberries last week! Ahhh, back when it was warm and sunny and spring-y. This is our fourth season at the patch we manage in Richmond. It’s a beautiful piece of the old Richmond Blueberries property, and owned by a couple that have become close friends of the farm. In exchange for going out each spring and pruning their bushes (over 800!) they allow us to pick for the blueberry share in the summer. The first couple of years we spent quite a bit of time getting the bushes into the shape that I learned to prune blueberries to, but this year we were really just able to focus on maintaining. It sped the process up considerably. We’ve taken the oldest wood out over the past couple of years, so this year we could focus on identifying the strongest new shoots we wanted to prioritize.
The greenhouses are humming along and we’re excited about harvesting some new varieties for shares this week! More below!
SPRING SHARES WEEK 3
IMPORTANT: WE WILL NOT BE WASHING GREENS ON WEDNESDAY DUE TO WEATHER
When it is this cold out, I can’t make anyone, including myself, stick their hands in the freezing wash water. It isn’t safe for our farmers and is downright painful–even on the warmer early spring days. Below 20 in the morning is beyond our threshold.
Another week of shares! I’ve been eating so much spinach the last couple of weeks. Popeye would be proud. More spinach this week, as well as a few new varieties.
Garlic will keep going out til it’s gone. Pea Shoots are the microgreen this week. I have been so excited to harvest from the trays. They are looking beautiful. We underseeded microgreens a little bit for the first two weeks, but we’ve added more trays into the rotation, and there should be a good haul of pea shoots this week. Next week we are expecting a large microgreen harvest. Shallots will be in shares this week! These have held over from the fall extremely well. I’ll include a recipe with shallots below. Spicy Salad Mix is new! It is a mix of brassica greens, primarily arugula, and is especially flavorful. One of my favorite greens mixes. Spinach! More! This week we will be harvesting from our baby spinach beds for the first time. It is absolutely gorgeous. And sweet. Can’t wait to share with everyone. Turnip Greens are a little bonus from an overseed in the greenhouse. The rows are a little too thickly seeded, so we’ll be thinning out some plants and bunching them for you folks. I love turnip greens. They are great added to a salad or sauteed.
Shares Week 3:
Garlic
Pea Shoots
Shallots
Spicy Salad Mix
Spinach
Turnip Greens
Egg Share: 12 Week + 6 Week Share
Bread Share: Roasted Potato
LINK: Easy Shallot Vinaigrette
I love shallot dressings. This would go perfect with the spicy greens mix, or over wilted turnip greens.
Ingredients
| ▪ | 1 small shallot, peeled, finely minced (about 1/4 cup) |
| ▪ | 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar |
| ▪ | 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard |
| ▪ | 1 tablespoon honey |
| ▪ | 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil |
| ▪ | Coarse salt and ground pepper |
| ▪ | 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano, (optional) |
Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together shallot, vinegar, mustard, and honey. Slowly whisk in oil until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in oregano, if desired.
| Summer CSA Shares! Summer Shares are available! Right now we are at about 70% sold on shares, and orders keep coming in every day. We have a 16 week full share or an 8 week half share available. The full share gets a basket every week, and the half share gets one every other week. They feature staples and as well as lesser known varieties. In total we grow about 30 unique veggies for the summer season! Home delivery is available in 11 towns. Dublin, Fitzwilliam, Harrisville, Jaffrey, Keene, Marlborough, Nelson, Peterborough, Rindge, Swanzey, and Winchendon. Flexible payment plans so you don’t have to pay all at once. |
Monadnock Earth Day Film Festival
LINK
APRIL 20 – 22, 2022
MFCC, producer of Feast On This! Film Festival, will partner with the Monadnock International Film Festival and the Monadnock Food Co-op to transform the annual in-person Monadnock Earth Festival into a virtual film festival. The Monadnock Earth Day Film Festival will take place from April 20 – 22, 2022. This free online event will feature films and host panel discussions to celebrate and cultivate a more resilient world.
“Uniting our Film Festivals into one energizing and impactful event is such a win-win for MFCC and the region,” said Roe-Ann Tasoulas from the Feast On This! Film Festival. “We’re able to offer our community 3, ag-related short films addressing climate change, resiliency and equality. ”
FILMS:
FARM FREE OR DIE – 2022
Climate Change | English | 28 mins
Farm Free or Die highlights the need for transformative agricultural policies that improve farming livelihoods and open market opportunities for carbon sequestration and removal. Farmers on the front lines and investors around the world identify carbon sequestration as their best weapon against severe environmental and economic adversity, while simultaneously creating immediate financial opportunities and incentives for innovation in the agtech industry. Directed and written by Roger Sorkin. Sorkin will be available for audience questions and answers following the film.
GROWING WITH THE GRAIN – 2019
Food Sovereignty | English | Hudson River Valley Food Hub | 15 mins. Panel discussion follows screening. Growing With the Grain.
Synopsis: Upstate New York used to be a breadbasket of grain growing. Westward expansion yielded more ideal climates for growing and production shifted to the midwest. Scientists, farmers, bakers and brewers take part in a grain trial test that hopes to produce a new generation of grain suited for the northeast, bringing sustainable and more localized grain production back to the region. New England Grainshed Alliance members, Sarah Cox of Tuckaway Farm, and Christian and Andrea Stanley of Valley Malt/Ground Up join Keene’s Sam Temple of Fire Dog Bread in a discussion how distilleries, farmers, brewers, and bakers can be a part of the Grainshed movement!
FARMER CEE — 2019
BIPOC Farming | Social Justice | Land and Food Access | 12.07 mins. Panel discussion follows screening. Farmer Cee.
Clarenda “Cee” Stanley is currently the CEO/President of Green Heffa Farms. From an agrarian family in Alabama’s Black Belt, Cee did not see herself as a farmer. But in 2018, she co-founded Green Heffa Farms and was selected to be the 2019 Featured Farmer for Hemp History Week. However, in 2019, Cee also found herself being solely responsible for Green Heffa Farms and from there, she began to reimagine the legacy she wanted to leave for her children and grandchildren. A panel discussion will follow the screening. More coming…
“MONIFF is thrilled to partner with the Monadnock Food Co-op and Feast On This! Film Festival to celebrate Earth Day by bringing the community together through diverse films and thoughtful discussions,” said Dee Fitzgerald from Monadnock International Film Festival.
This event is free.
Workshare!
Don’t have the time to commit to an entire season? The workshare position is perfect for folks that want to spend a day out of the week working and learning on a farm! We love having workshares on the farm because it is an opportunity to meet members in the community. The farm feels more alive with lots of people around. Workshares fill a wide variety of roles on the farm.
| ▪ | Lunch Prep |
| ▪ | Farmers Market |
| ▪ | Harvest |
| ▪ | Weeding |
| ▪ | Wash/Pack |
| ▪ | Field |
| ▪ | & Delivery Drivers! |
In exchange for working seven hours per week on the farm, workshares are fed lunch on their workday and receive a weekly basket of produce with the bread and egg options included. Typically those hours are completed in one day, with the exception of the lunch prep workshare.
If you are interested in a workshare position, please call or email Jack:
443-994-4629 — Farmers@traciesfarm
Tracie's Community Farm 