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6/21/2016 Gmail - September 2014 Newton Farmer

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Jenn Martin <[email protected]>

September 2014 Newton Farmer

Newton Community Farm <[email protected]> Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 6:11 PMTo: John Doe <[email protected]>

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September 2014

Table of ContentsFrom the Farmer

Education

Fall Festival

Barn Ribbon Cutting

Fermenting and Freezing

Recipes

Farmers' Market

FarmStand

Volunteer Hours

In a very thoughtful and heartfelt way, Greg writes this month about TomatoIssues and whether Newton Community Farm is organic.

Susan Tornheim Newsletter Editor

From the FarmerEach month at our board meeting I’m asked to give a fiveminute presentation ona farmrelated topic. At last month’s meeting I delivered a diatribe called “Why IHate Growing Tomatoes.” I thought that in this month’s newsletter I’d explain thatsentiment, as well as discuss late blight, deep organics, and why I run NCF theway I do.Don’t get me wrong―tomatoes are wonderful. In fact, I eat them almost everyday, yearround. It’s actually somewhat shocking how many quarts of cannedtomatoes my family goes through between the end of tomato season one yearand the first harvest the next. But I hate growing them. They’re hard work.They’re fickle. Then they up and die on you. Not my idea of a great crop. Butdefinitely one that we can’t do without.

Let’s start at the beginning. We plant our first tomato seeds in the greenhouse inmidMarch. We plant about 60 seeds per slot in trays that have 10 slots, so that’sabout 600 seeds per tray. Over the course of March we plant in the neighborhoodof a few hundred trays. The numbers start to make my head hurt. After about amonth of careful attention we then “pot them on,” that is, we prick the tightly



spaced seedlings out of their trays and

transplant them into larger cells (now only 50

per tray instead of 600). We then grow them

out for another month or so until midMay

when we begin planting in the field.

Tomatoes love hot weather and warm soil. In

order to get our soil nice and warm for them

we lay black plastic—in our case a

biodegradable plastic made from nonGMO

corn—and drip tape (since they won’t get any

rain under that plastic). That, of course, is

after we’ve plowed up the beds a few times to

kill the cover crop, integrate fertilizer, and

make a nice bed. Then we get to plant, about

1,000 plants at a time. Most seasons we do

this three times.

After a few weeks of growing it’s time to put in

the stakes—one for every two plants,

pounded into the ground. It’s a great shoulder

workout, although sometimes, toward the end of the day, you get sloppy and end

up hitting yourself in the head with a 15pound weighted stake driver. Ouch!

Then we get to trellis. Most of our tomatoes get trellised between three and five

times. The later trellisings aren’t so bad, but those early ones, close to the

ground, can be backbreaking.

Finally we’re ready to pick. And pick we do. Ask any high school student who’s

gone through our high school intern program, and they can tell you what it’s like

to spend three or four hours doing nothing but picking tomatoes and carrying 40

pound buckets back to the barn. Usually everyone’s excited the first day. But only

the first day. So why do we go through all this work? Because tomatoes are

awesome! I’m sick to death of picking them. But they’re awesome.

What’s really tragic about growing tomatoes in New England is that all this work

can often be in vain. Late blight, the scourge that caused the Irish Potato Famine

and can also kill tomatoes, has become commonplace here over the last six

years or so. It can take your crop from yielding hundreds of pounds every few

days to nothing in no time. Isn’t there anything organic farmers can do about it?

Answering this question gets complicated fast. Organic growers (of which we are

technically not one, due to the fact that we don’t certify with the USDA) are

allowed to use things like copper to help prevent late blight. Copper is purely

preventive, so you have to start spraying it before you actually have the disease.



Conventional growers, on the other hand, can use system fungicides that will

actually stop late blight in its tracks. This makes managing late blight difficult, to

say the least, for organic growers. You have to decide to spray before you

actually have the disease.

The UMass extension office sends out lateblight reports on a regular basis.

When they determine that late blight is likely in your area they recommend that

organic growers start spraying their tomatoes with copper every 10 days, or after

every rain, whichever is sooner. Do we at NCF do this? No. Why not?

There’s some disagreement over the toxicity of copper. It can clearly be toxic to

humans: people spraying copper are required to wear protective clothing

covering their entire body, rubber boots, rubber gloves, eye protection, and a

respirator. People eating tomatoes sprayed with copper are advised to wash the

copper off before consuming. Copper is a heavy metal, which means that it

accumulates in the soil. When I’ve asked about the longterm effects of spraying

tomatoes with copper I’ve been assured that it is being sprayed in low enough

doses, and infrequently enough, that it would take years for the copper to build to

unsafe levels in the soil. Okay, but if I’m having to spray every 10 days or after

every rain—and doing this every year—it seems like I’m spraying a lot!

I’m not a soil scientist, nor a pathologist, so I can’t say that my feelings about this

are very scientific. I just worry that the more I listen to the “expert”

recommendations for organic growers, the more it sounds like we’re being told to

farm like conventional growers: spraying on a regular basis, just using different

sprays. So I’ve resisted using copper on my tomatoes. I know that this is a tough

call when our tomatoes get wiped out in August. But I can’t help feeling that

spraying copper is becoming commonplace, and that worries me. Eliot Coleman,

a pioneer of organic farming, makes a distinction between “deep organic” and

“shallow organic.” The latter is basically farming like a conventional farmer, just

using inputs (sprays, fertilizers, and so on) that are approved for organic use.

The former, however, is what the organic movement originally was all about:

building soil; managing pests and diseases with minimal use of poisons; paying

attention to fair wages and labor practices; engaging in a local economy. It’s a

much richer notion of what it means to be organic.

I’ve held off going down the path of spraying our tomatoes with copper because,

at the end of the day, I don’t want to run a farm that relies on spraying to keep

our crops healthy. We’re running into the same issue with other crops, for

example, downy mildew in basil. We don’t have any more basil; we haven’t had

any for a few weeks. And the same was true last year. I try increasing the

spacing between plants and growing resistant varieties; next year we’ll try

growing it in a hoophouse. But pretty much by August everyone’s basil is dead

due to this new disease, except the growers who are spraying. And I don’t want

to join them.



Whenever I’m asked if NCF is organic I make answering the question an“educational moment” (since it’s not a straightforward answer). I ask what peoplemean by that. Usually they mean, “Do you spray?” I tell them that “organic”doesn’t mean “no spray.” There are lots of things you can spray as an organicfarmer, including copper. And I do spray some things, sometimes. But the mainmessage that I try to leave people with when answering the question of whetherwe’re organic is that I live here, on this farm, with my family. My kids eat foodstraight out of the field without so much as a rinse. I want to keep them, and all ofmy customers, safe, so I adopt a minimalist approach to dealing with pests anddiseases. I only spray if it really seems like I’m going to lose the crop, and thennot always. I weigh the benefits of spraying against the cons, like longtermbuildup of heavy metals in the soil. And if I do choose to spray, I start with theleast toxic thing I can, escalating only when I can do so safely and effectively. Where I’ve come down, at least for now, is that spraying copper for late blight isneither safe nor effective (at least on the scale of this farm), so I choose not to.It’s a tough choice, especially when the tomatoes die all at once in the middle ofAugust. But I think it’s the best choice for a farm that has a mission to teach andpromote sustainable agricultural and environmental practices. I want to find otherways to grow organic food in New England besides relying on spraying.Hopefully we can. Greg Maslowe Farmer

EducationI know that I have said this before, but I am forced to say it again: I really don’tknow where the time has gone. As I mentioned in previous editions of ournewsletter, the summer has been busy with Farm Sprouts, Little Diggers, Farmerin Training, and Socially Aware Young Farmers. Regardless of the age of thestudents, there has been a lot of fun, laughter, and learning. For the first time theparticipants in the older youth programs were responsible for setting up andmanaging a farm stand for our Farm Sprout families. This was a huge highlightfor everyone involved: the pride that the older students took in displaying theproduce that they had both harvested and selected, the anticipation of whetherpeople were going to visit their stand, and the glee in the Farm Sprouts as theywere able to choose their very own vegetables and carry them home. Onemother commented, “I am sure he has been eating more vegetables since wehave been buying them after class.” We have made new friends and connectedwith old friends, as for some this was their third summer in the program. I wantedto thank everyone who has visited and supported the farm this summer. We haveloved getting to know you and your family. As the summer months come to anend we also say goodbye to our summer instructors Kat Roush and RachelEmus, who have both done a fabulous job. We wish them both all the best andhope that they will continue to be a part of this wonderful community.



Kids_farm_stand_for_9_14.JPG

Fall ProgrammingSo as our attention switches back to the school year I wanted to let people knowthat we are now enrolling for our fall programming, which includes old favoritessuch as Farm Sprouts. With the completion of the barn renovations we areexcited to be able to extend this program into December. I think there may be hotcocoa involved in future classes! Also coming up this fall we have our finalgardening class of the year, beer brewing, apple cider brewing, and other funthings on offer. For more information and to register please visit our Web site atwww.newtoncommunityfarm.org/education. Please remember that preregistrationis required for all of our programs. School GardensAs we go back to school please keep us in mind for any school garden projects.Over recent years we have collaborated with a number of local preschool andelementary schools to help raise awareness of not only the gardens themselvesbut also why locally grown food is so important. When children grow vegetablesthemselves they are more willing to taste the food they have grown. This washighlighted earlier this year at Countryside Elementary School where both thehomegrown kale and salad mix, while maybe not everyone’s favorites, were wellreceived and tried by the majority. For more information on our outreachprograms please contact me directly at [email protected]. All this talk of gardens, sharing produce, and raising awareness reminds me totell you not to forget Food Day on October 24. Food Day is a “nationwidecelebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food.”Individuals, organizations, schools, church groups, and places of work can all beinvolved. Simply organize an activity or event―it can be as simple as sharing ahealthy potluck dinner with friends―and spread the word. If you wish to beinvolved or have been doing your own thing for several years now, we would loveto hear from you at [email protected]. For more informationon Food Day and ideas on how to get involved visit www.foodday.org. Happy September, and I hope to see you at the Fall Festival. Alison (Wilson) ScorerEducation Coordinator



Fall FestivalOur Fall Festival is right around the corner. Please join us on Sunday, September

28, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is open to the public. Many activities are

free; food and select activities require a fee. Volunteering at our annual Fall

Festival is not only fun but also a great way to complete your CSA work hours.

This includes baking, too! Sign up to volunteer at the Fall Festival. Click here to

contribute to the community bake sale.

We have two new events taking place at this year’s festival: a pie judging contest

and a prized vegetable contest.

Pie contest details:Bake your best apple pie and enter it in our first pie judging contest. Pies must be

delivered to the farm between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on the day of the event.

Judging will take place at 1:30 p.m. by a small group of local “celebrity” judges.

After pies are judged they will placed on sale at the bake sale.

Prized vegetable contest:Enter a tomato, an eggplant, and/or a squash grown in your home garden.

Vegetables will be judged by Farmer Greg and a few other farm “experts.”

Vegetables must be brought to the farm between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on the day

of the event. Vegetables and ribbons can be picked up at the end of the event.

Please direct any questions to Mara at [email protected].

Mara Gorden

Barn Ribbon Cutting at Fall FestivalThe farm community will celebrate the opening of the renovated barn at an

Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony during the Fall Festival on September 28. This

is a big accomplishment for our community and the entire city of Newton. Now

we will use the barn, with its new kitchen, heating, plumbing, and lighting

systems, yearround for educational programs and community events. Please

join us!

Peter Barrer



Summer 2005

Summer 2008



Summer 2014

Fermenting and FreezingWhile I have done several batches of jams and fruit butters this season, I haven’t

yet cranked into high preserving gear. Mainly, that’s due to the hot weather; until

just a few days ago, I had been loath to heat up my kitchen. But I have been

experimenting with lactofermenting of vegetables.

Lactofermenting sounds scientific and scary, but it’s just the very old practice of

plunking vegetables in a saltwater brine (and your favorite spices) and letting the

natural bacteria turn them into pickles. These are the oldfashioned pickles some

of you may remember from big barrels in equally oldfashioned deli’s. There are

myriad advantages to this kind of pickling. First, fermented foods are good for

your health in that they have the good bacteria that aid in your gut’s own micro

biome. Second, this is a way of preserving foods for weeks to months, if you

have a cool corner of the basement to use as cold storage, or a spare fridge.

Long before refrigeration, previous generations used pickling as a way of having

food through the winter.

I’ve been finding some great Internet resources for pickling this way; the most

thorough of them is Cultures for Health, http://www.culturesforhealth.com/. I also

had a great conversation about pickling with Greg this week when I picked up my

share, and he told me about adding grape leaves to my fermentation crock to

add tannins to the mix that will keep my pickles crunchy. In addition, there will be

a series of classes at the farm in the fall on fermentation, from beer to pickles. I’m

looking forward to enhancing my understanding of lactofermentation and finding

new foods to preserve in this way.

With the bounty of tomatoes we’ve been getting these past few weeks, I’ve been

laying in my store of chopped, frozen tomatoes. While I will be canning tomato

sauce and chopped tomatoes over the next week or so, up until now I’ve simply

washed them, cut out the blossom end, chopped them, and put them in quart

bags for the freezer. I don’t even take off the skin. What do I do with them? Each

quart makes a perfect amount for adding to a recipe of soup, stew, or other

winter dish. If you don’t want to go through the extra steps of waterbath canning,

freezing tomatoes is an excellent way to preserve the harvest.

Lisa Janice Cohen



Recipes

Now that we’re getting into potato season, take a look at the farm’s list of shared

recipes, the wiki, which you can reach through the farm’s Web site. Among the

many potato recipes is PotatoLeek Chowder, a warming and more substantial

soup for cooler weather.

Susan Tornheim

Farmers' Market

Location: Elm Street, West Newton

Time: Saturdays, 10–2, running through the end of October

FarmStand

Farmstand hours for September: Tuesday through Friday, 1:30–6; Saturday,

9:30–1. Please check our Web site, and Facebook page for updates.

Volunteer Hours

Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.–10 a.m., and again from 10:30 a.m.–12:30

p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.–noon, May through October.

Please contact us if you have any questions about this newsletter or ideas for futureissues, or if you want to be added to our mailing list. Just email Susan Tornheim [email protected]. For more information about the farm, email our farm manager,Greg, at [email protected] or check out our Web page atwww.newtoncommunityfarm.org (or click on the image at the top of the page).

updates on class listings, events, NCF news, and more!

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Newton Community Farm

303 Nahanton Street

Newton, Massachusetts 02459

www.newtoncommunityfarm.org

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