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Friday, May 26, 2017

Lettuce, garlic, spinach, oh my!

Lettuce for days
News from the fields:
Wow, I can't believe June is almost upon us. I'm sitting in my office watching the sweet spring rain saturate our fields. This week we transplanted tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, scallions, and our first generation of cucumbers. We also direct seeded carrots, radishes, arugula, cilantro, and the week isn't over yet. We are plowing in the last sections of cover crop on the farm to prepare our fields for summer and fall crops.

Busy town! This week we had work done
on the well and put in some new fencing
When we aren't out in the fields we have been preparing the farm for Spring Fest. Please join us on Memorial Day from 10-3. There are a ton of vendors, activities (including farm tours!), and a great band. Swing by the farm stand and check out the renovations! The farm stand will be open and fully stocked.

CSA details:
Cultivating beets
I have received a few inquiries recently asking when the CSA will start and how the half share rotation will work. If you have a half share and your last name begins with a letter A through L you will pick up on odd share weeks (1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,18,19). If your last name starts with a letter M through Z you will pick up on even weeks (2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20).

Week 1 or the CSA is scheduled to start Tuesday June 13th!

The farm crew is really excited for the start of the farm season. The farm just isn't the same without you.

Your farmer,

Lush cover crop building our soils

Zannah


Transplanting broccoli
 






 






Thursday, May 18, 2017

New's from the fields



The farm is so lush this year

 
Plowing in preparation for cucumbers
Wow, spring is in full swing here on the farm! We have several killdeer nesting in the fields, swarms of insects buzzing around (both pests and beneficial insects). The farm has really come alive in the past few weeks. We have had a really nice balance if rain and sunshine this spring. The farm is incredibly lush. We seeded a lot of rye and vetch cover crop last fall that did not germinate very well due to the drought but this spring it has come in incredibly lush and vibrant. Good cover crop reflects a healthy soil biome. And healthy soil means healthy, robust crops!




Tomatoes!
On dry days we have been hustling to get the fields prepared for transplanting and seeding. Wet days are ideal for transplanting spring crops(strawberries, lettuce, onions, scallions, beets, broccoli, kale, spinach, and Swiss chard). Over the next few weeks we'll be transplanting the first of our hot weather crops like tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
 
 

The piglets are outside and
ready for you to visit!
 
This week we welcomed our summer field crew. Jeff, Tim, Kurt, Paul, and Emily (who will join us in June) are critical members of the farm team. The field crew spends their days transplanting, weeding, harvesting, and moving irrigation equipment. They work behind the scene on the farm but we all get to enjoy their handy work. Please welcome them if you see them around the farm.

 
Springfest is right around the corner. The farm stand will be open and we will have spring produce for sale. We will also have your favorite farm stand products as well as lots of new offerings. Their are tons of activities planned including the annual trail run, farm tours, kids activities, vendors, Powisset Cafe, and much more.
 
Add a fruit share to your summer vegetable CSA!
We are thrilled to offer a FRUIT SHARE as an add-on to your 2017 CSA at Powisset Farm - if you’re interested, please read on below and follow the link to sign up. 

DETAILS:
- Local, seasonal, delicious fruit! 10 weeks for $100. 

- For 10 weeks we’ll have fruit from Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, Mass., ready for pickup alongside your veggie CSA on TUESDAY of each week.  

- The share includes 1-2 items per week (for example: 1 quart of strawberries; or 2-3 pounds of apples; or 1 pint each of blueberries & raspberries). 

- Berries generally come in smaller quantities as they are higher-value and more labor-intensive to harvest (pints or quarts);  peaches, plums, pears and apples come in 2-3 pound bags. 

- Generally, here’s what you can expect (but just like the veggie CSA, things may change with the weather and show up earlier or later!): 
 
early-mid June: strawberries, cherries

 
early-mid July: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries

early August: peaches, nectarines 

late August/early September: pears, apples 

About the orchard: 
Cider Hill is a family farm, owned and operated by Glenn & Karen Cook (read more about them & their farm here). Cider Hill is a leader in renewable energy sources on farm. Their fruit is not organic; they use IPM (integrated pest management) to track pests & diseases and spray only when necessary. The quality and flavor is excellent! 
If you want to sign up, click here and bring a check with you to the first CSA pickup (week of June 12). 
Please note that fruit will arrive at the farm each Tuesday of the fruit share; we will keep fruit in our walk-in cooler but recommend you pick up on Tuesday as it’s best enjoyed when very fresh! 

2017 Summer Beef CSA:
 
We are also excited to announce that The Trustees are launching our first ever Summer Beef CSA!  

 
As a quick overview:
The Summer Beef CSA includes 2 lbs. of beef per week distributed over the course of 20 weekly pick-ups.  This will total 40 pounds of meat over the course of the season.

The meat CSA begins in June 2017 and ends in October 2017. Pickups will be held every week, for a total of 20 pick-ups.

Pick-ups are offered at the following locations and times:
  • Powisset Farm, Tuesday 2-6PM, Thursdays 10AM-6PM, Saturdays 10AM-4PM

Meat CSA members can choose the time that is most convenient.

The cost of the Summer Beef CSA is $22 per pick-up, or $440 for the season. On average, these prices represent a cost of $11/lb., which includes all cuts.  This is the same price as the Winter CSA

For more information and to sign up, visit: thetrustees.org/meatcsa


Your farmer,

Zannah



Friday, May 5, 2017

Powisset Happenins!

It's been a while since I wrote so I thought I would fill you in on all of the exciting things going on at Powisset in the near future...and this summer!

In case you didn't notice, its May and Mothers Day is coming up. On Sunday, May 14th we are hosting our 2nd Annual Mothers Day Brunch. Join us as we toast Mom with delicious food catered by Bonne Bouche, listen to some music by the Sharon Music Academy, visit our animals including our newly born piglets, and kids will have the opportunity to make a craft for Mom. Tickets are going quickly so get yours now!

2 weeks later, on May 29th (Memorial Day) we host our biggest event of the year, Springfest! This is when we do a little dance and celebrate that CSA season is about to start! The event, which starts at 10am is preceded by the Powisset Farm Trail Run (starting at 8am) organized by SunMultisport. The lineup for Springfest includes music by The Railroad House Band, The Powisset Cafe will be open for breakfast and lunch, the farm stand where we will be selling veggies and other local products.We will be offering 2 farm tours, we'll have our goats friends on hand (including 2 goat milking demos), a pie-eating contest, a bike blender (whipping up smoothies), lots of local vendors, and much more! Check out our whole line up here.

Looking for something to do with your pre-schooler this spring. We will be hosting a 4-week series program called "Pre-School Farm Explorers", held Wednesdays from 10-11am, May 17th-June 7th. Every week will be different and we'll be doing activities such as collecting eggs from our chickens, planting some veggies and/or herbs, reading a farm-friendly story and perhaps even learning about seasonal foods.

Looking ahead to June and beyond....for anyone who has enjoyed our Friday Farm Dinners, we will be holding 7 of them this season - every other Friday starting on June 30th. Didi Emmons will be our chef for all dinners, and we will of course have music, lawn games, beer & wine for sale...and lots of family-friendly fun! To check out all of the dates, please see the "Things to Do" section of our web site.

We're Hiring! We are still looking to hire a Cook to prepare yummy local food for our Powisset Cafe this summer. The Cafe will be open from June 13th thru mid Oct from 10-2pm. If you or someone you know are interested in learning more about this position please contact me at nnacamuli@thetrustees.org.

On behalf of the Powisset Farm team, we hope to see you around the farm!