The Farm Season Line-Up

One of my first and most awesome farmer mentors used to compare the farm season to the baseball season.  The spring training, the early season games, the all-star break and the striving to make the playoffs, all make for a perfect description of the flow of the farm season.  What I most love about the baseball metaphor is the thinking about our farm crew as a team.  Each of us learning our positions, honing our skills in order to be flawless on defense.   Together, crafting the perfect batting order; finding out who is great at lead off and who is our clean-up hitter.  Each farmer on this incredible team pushes hard through each day and through the long season we’ll have our wins and we’ll have our losses.  All season long, you, our members will get to enjoy the delicious bounty from games well played.  And at the end of the season, we’ll all remember the highlights, the glorious triumphs and note the things we all want different for next year.  Because the thing about the farm season, like baseball, is there’s always next year!

Here’s the line-up this year:

meryl, in the winter woods of western mass

Hi! I’m Meryl, Powisset Farm Manager for the last nine years in these beautiful fields!  This is the thirteenth year of my farming career! Yikes! I grew up down the road in Holliston, MA, headed into Boston for college and then spent a few years on the West Coast and in Mexico before returning east to try my hand at farming!  The years I have spent at Powisset Farm have been the most fulfilling, joyful, challenging and awe-inspiring.  I have grown as a person, a farmer and a manager and am deeply grateful to every crew member, volunteer, visitor, CSA member and friend who touched this farm with their hands and hearts.  You all made it the special place that it is today.  This will be my last season managing at Powisset, so I am enjoying every last moment here!  I hope you will join me this year, in celebrating our incredible farm and community!

The full time crew:

Devin!

devin, loving donuts

This is Devin’s second season on the farm as an apprentice, and his second season farming! He digs most farm tasks, but really loves the joys///challenges of operating tractors, strategically packing the walk-in cooler to the brim with bins of vegetables, and harvesting tomatillos (what? yes). Farm life has really taught him many things, but he especially loves the idea embodied in a quote by Masanobu Fukuoka that: “the ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings”. While unsure of what will come next after this growing season, he will always have bounds and bounds of energy to contribute to building a more just, ecological, and compassionate society. That's a promise. When not farming, Devin is usually holding a cat, riding his bicycle, eating ice cream, dancing like a fool or going on adventures. Also, consider this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb58GaJNpsA

Russell, being outdoorsy, like he does

Russell!

Hello! My name is Russell Gutterson, and I’m one of the assistant growers at Powisset Farm.  I grew up in Westwood, MA, worked on the summer crew here at Powisset a few years back, and am excited to be here for the full season this year.  For me farming is all about connecting people to each other and the landbase that supports us through our most basic interaction with the environment: the food we eat.  And I’m thrilled to be part of that here at Powisset. 

becca, rocking strawbs harvest

Becca!

Hello world! My name's Becca and I'm super psyched to be an assistant grower at Powisset this season. After having an incredible time on the summer crew in 2013, I couldn't resist the temptation to come back to these fields for another delicious season.  I'm in the midst of getting my BS from UVM and I am hopeful that I will continue farming veggies once I graduate a mere 330 days from now.  When I'm not farming I can be found sleeping in my bed, trying to start Gran (my '96 Toyota Camry), eating foods I shouldn't be eating, snuggling the farm cats, and hanging out in The Cottage.  Go team!

kyle, being cool in the forest

Kyle!

Kyle is a full time grower-apprentice who aspires to one day own and manage his own vegetable farm.  He is a recent graduate of Boston University where he studied marine science and has since applied his love of the natural world to growing and cultivating plants.  Kyle is extremely excited to be a member of the Powisset Farm team and hopes to grow the best vegetables possible for our CSA!  Also, he is always looking for new recipes and cooking ideas and would love to exchange culinary knowledge anytime.

New position! Meet our Distribution Coordinator!

nicole! looking profesh, as always!

I’m Nicole Lewis – the new Distribution Coordinator which means I’ll be managing the Farm Stand and the CSA Distribution. I’m so thrilled to officially be a part of the Powisset Farm team!  I’ve been a CSA member here for 8 years and also been a member of the PEP (Powisset Education Programming) Committee for the past year. As Meryl can attest, I’ve been bugging her for years about working here at the farm. And as much as I love my vegetable gardening (I have 11 garden beds at home!), I’m not quite ready for the farming life – so being a part of the Farm Stand and Distro area is perfect! My background entails a colorful combination of early childhood education, public health education, restaurants, and most recently early parenting education. My interests and skillsets are varied as well:  photography, making my own beauty products, gardening, cooking, fitness, wellness and the farm-to-table “movement.”  I live in Medfield with my hubby, two daughters (ages 11 and 7) and a cat. I can’t wait to connect with all you all! See you on the farm!

New Hire!: (picture to come!)

Nicole just started as Engagement Site Manager at Powisset Farm. Nicole comes from the educational travel industry where she worked for 9 years on the management and development of travel programs all over the world. She also volunteered as the Events Manager for Slow Food Boston, organizing events from cooking classes and tastings to cookbook author talks and swaps, introducing the community to the bounty of local foods, chefs and artisans.

Her love for the outdoors, hiking, food, cooking, and savoring the area’s local farms is what also brought her to the Trustees. She hopes to bring similar events, programs and passion to Powisset Farm!

Nicole will be working with the farm, CSA and stewardship staff to continue growing the excitement at Powisset Farm. We are thrilled to have her on our Northeast region engagement team.

She can be reached at: nnacamuli@ttor.org

Summer Crew & Work Shares!

We have an incredible part-time crew and volunteer crew that makes a whole lot of magic happen at this farm!  I'll introduce them later! 

The crew! After our first harvest of 2015!

What's in the share this week:

in the barn: lettuce, beets, radishes & turnips, scallions, garlic scapes, choice of greens, broccoli!

in the fields: strawberries & peas!

What's New in the Barn?

The first two weeks of the CSA and Farm Stand have been so much fun. It's been so interesting to see what everyone is excited about - ice cream seems to be the top contender...along with the veggies, pie, bread and the Blue Moon Power Booster bars!

I'm excited to announce that the beef has arrived! Our beef is coming from High Ridge Meadows Farms located in the hills of East Randolph, Vermont. This family farm raises grass fed beef. They pride themselves on their animals that are raised using organic standards with ample room to graze on their certified organic pasture. Check the big white freezer in the Farm Stand and grab some for meals this week. Maybe steaks or ground beef for grilling to accompany your farm fresh Powisset Farm veggies?