Farmstand Hours
Open Daily
8am - 6pm
Closed Mondays |
Winter Share This Week Includes:
Apricots
Arugula (our own)
Blueberries
Broccoli
Carrots
Daikon radish
Grapefruit
Green garlic
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Peas
Radish (our own)
Spinach (our own)
Zucchini
Distribution subject to change based on availability
Produce Available for Purchase includes: Apples
Apricots
Arugula (our own)
Avocadoes
Bananas
Beets
Blueberries
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard
Cherries
Cilantro
Cucumbers
Daikon radish
Eggplant
Fiddlehead ferns
Ginger
Grapefruit
Grapes
Green Garlic (local)
Kale (our own)
Lettuce
Melons
Mushrooms
Oranges
Pears
Peas
Potatoes
Radish (our own)
Rhubarb (local)
Shelling peas
Spinach (our own)
Sprouts
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Yams
Zucchini
Local Products:
Maple Syrup
Honey from Ipswich
Valley View Goat Cheese
Richardson's Milk
and Ice Cream
Our Own Eggs,
Chickens & Pork
Grass Fed Beef Appleton Farms
Atomic Cafe Fair Trade Coffee
Taza Chocolate |
Upcoming Events:
CSA Orientations
Friday, June 12 at 4pm
Saturday, June 13th at 2pm
Sunday, June 14 at 2pm
Orientations are for all members (returning and new). Please choose the day that works best for you. No sign up needed.
First week of Distribution: The Week of June 16th
If you have questions about your pick up day, or need to change it, please call our main office at 978-468-3720.
Foraging Walk and Talk with Russ Cohen
Sunday, June 28th, 4pm
Click here for full workshop descriptions. To sign up, please call our farm office at 978-468-3720.
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The Story of Stuff
From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
Click Here to For the Movie
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Farmer Andrew's Update
In the fields, we've been weeding and planting . A few members ask about helping out on the farm. The answer is YES! PLEASE! We are always short on bodies to help with transplanting and weeding. If you are interested, please come by the farm at 7am or 1pm Monday-Fridays. We work Saturdays until lunch so no need to come by in the afternoon.
Crops are looking very good for the most part. The strawberry plants  are loaded with green strawberries and the raspberries look particularly great. Blueberries, however, are not doing well. I brought in a blueberry expert from Western Mass to take a look at our plants. Sad news. The plants are suffering from an infestation of Winter Moths and, possibly associated with the Winter Moth, the plants are infected with PhomopsisTwig Blight. We are going to do our best to try and control the problem using organically-approved methods. Unfortunately, and to be extremely clear, the blueberry bushes will have a catastophic crop failure. There will be no blueberries this year. Starting in mid June we will spray an organically-approved pesticide to kill the winter moth. We will fertilize the bushes to try to encourage some regrowth. Then, starting in March we will have to prune back all the branches that are infected with phomopsis, and then every week until berries form we will spray an organically-approved fungicide. Hopefully this will be enought to fight back this disease. I'm as disappointed as you are about the crop failure. I think this was the cause of last year's failure. It's hard to believe that only two years ago we had more blueberries than we knew what to do with.
Two of our big pigs went to market on Tuesday. I will contact 8 pork shares in a couple weeks to schedule a distribution. It looks like our next batch of meat chickens will be ready the first week of July.
All varieties of vegetable seedlings are now out for sale including heirloom tomatoes, which are safe to plant in the ground now.
CSA News - Orientations are June, and the first week of distribution is the week of June 16th.
We have a small batch of baby ducks living in the grassy field next to the farmstand. Sometimes you can see them parading to their swimming pool. Most of the time, they like to hide in the tall grass. |
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Crew Spotlight: Sara Oski
 Sara is working in both the fields and in the farmstand. In 2008, she graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a dual major in both psychology and nutrition. She then worked for Shelburne Farms on their farm to school initiative before backpacking through Europe. In the future, Sara is hoping to get more involved with farm to school programs, and teaching kids how to eat better. Her favorite vegetables are peas and beets.
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Spinach
 The following information about Spinach is from whfoods.com:
Spinach is thought to have originated in ancient Persia (Iran). Spinach made its way to China in the 7th century when the king of Nepal sent it as a gift to this country. Spinach has a much more recent history in Europe than many other vegetables. It was only brought to that continent in the 11th century, when the Moors introduced it into Spain. In fact, for a while, spinach was known as "the Spanish vegetable" in England. Spinach was the favorite vegetable of Catherine de Medici, a historical figure in the 16th century. When she left her home of Florence, Italy, to marry the king of France, she brought along her own cooks, who could prepare spinach the ways that she especially liked. Since this time, dishes prepared on a bed of spinach are referred to as "a la Florentine."
Better Eyesight with Spinach and Eggs
Lutein, a carotenoid protective against eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and cataract, is found in green vegetables, especially spinach, as well as kale and broccoli. But egg yolks, although they contain significantly less lutein than spinach, are a much more bioavailable source whose consumption increases lutein concentrations in the blood many-fold higher than spinach,shows a human study published in the Journal of Nutrition. Although the mechanism by which egg yolk increases lutein bioavailability is not yet known, it is likely due to the fats (cholesterol and choline) found in egg yolk since lutein, like other carotenoids, is fat-soluble and cannot be absorbed unless fat is also present. To maximally boost your lutein absorption from spinach, we suggest enjoying this vegetable, whether steamed, sautéed or fresh in spinach salad, with a little olive oil and/or a topping of chopped hard-boiled egg to provide your body with some fats to help enhance the bioavailability of this fat-soluble phytonutrient. For a flavorful, quick and easy recipe featuring eggs and spinach, try Poached Eggs over Spinach and Mushrooms.
Toss steamed spinach with pressed garlic, fresh lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese.
Pine nuts are a great addition to cooked spinach.
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The Greens Card in Here!
 We've been trying to figoure out a way to accommodate the large number of people on our wait list. We don't have enough land to grow the CSA at this time, so we thought that coming up with a discount program would work well for those we can't fit into our CSA, or for customers who have a home garden but are regular customers of the farmstand. Well, here it is, the "Greens Card". It can be used as a regular gift card (great for teacher's gifts!) or as a special "thank you", if you spend $225, we'll charge it with $250. Good for any purchase at the farmstand. We've only had them for one week, and they've been selling fast!
Can you guess what famous painting we were inspired by?
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Lunch at the farm
We recently purchased some tables and chairs so that you can now eat your lunch while sitting in the shade near the pick-your-own field. In the kitchen this week, we've been whipping up some of the following:
Sandwiches Include: Mozzarella, Salami, Prosciutto with garlic mayo, Humus and Carrots, Apricot Jam and Cream Cheese, and of course, our famous BLTs made with Vermont Smoke & Cure Bacon.
Soups: Sweet Potato and Bacon Soup, Thai Chicken Soup
Salads: Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola, Toasted Walnuts and Prosciutto
On the Side: Our Own Cookies, Gourmet Chips, and Organic Fruit
Drinks: Organic Iced Coffee, Locally Brewed Sodas or Kombucha
The crew usually has their lunch between Noon and 1pm, so feel free to join them!
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Join the Cape Ann Fresh Catch
Cape Ann Fresh Catch (CAFC), Community Supported Fishery program, or CSF, is a collaboration of shore-side residents and the local fishing community. CSF members receive 12 weeks of a variety of locally caught, fresh fish.
Cape Ann Fresh Catch (CAFC) will deliver a variety of the freshest haddock, cod, flounder, hake, dabs, grey sole, monkfish, Pollock, and redfish and possibly other seafood such as clams, lobsters and scallops.
WHAT WILL YOU GET?
The fish will be dressed (cleaned and gutted, NOT filleted), and packed on ice. There will be a free demonstration of the art of filleting your fish and how to cook with whole fish at the start of the session.
A 12 week subscription to the summer CSF will start in early June. Instructions and recipes on cooking with whole fish. Half share of whole fish: 4 to 6 lbs per week. Full share of whole fish: 8 to 12 lbs per week. Full shares are $360, half shares are $180 (roughly $3 per pound)
Green Meadows Farm is a potential pick up site. Distribution sites are now being decided, so if you'd like to pick up at our farm, please let them know within the next few days. Click here for the full brochure and check off that you'd like to pick up at the farm.
Note: Green Meadows Farm is not taking any sign ups, and we are not running this program. We are just supporting the program and giving the CSF a potential distribution site. Any questions should be directed to CAFC.
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New in the Farmstand:
Skinny Crisps
We're pretty excited about these new crackers. Made in a gluten free facility, they contain high quality ingredients including: ground almonds, chickpea flour, organic ground golden flax seed, psyllium husks, organic turbinado, olive oil and sea salt plus spices and assorted toppings. All of these are combine to produce a tasty cracker, which can be used with dips, cheese, tuna salad and in many cases as a substitute for toast or bread.
Skinny Crisps flavors include: Toasty Onion, Seeded (fennel, black & white sesame), Cinnamon Crisps and Chocolate Chip Brownie Crisp (wonderful with cream cheese!).
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