Welcome to our blog! Learn about our farm operation, public programs, and the people behind our work through the Notes from the Field and Education sections. Peruse the Recipes section for some staff favorites.
Waltham Fields Community Farm (incorporated as Community Farms Outreach, Inc.) is a nonprofit farming organization focusing on sustainable food production, fresh food assistance, and on-farm education. For more information about Waltham Fields check out our website!
Fall Learning Garden programming started last week and BOY are we happy to be out on the farm this time of year! Learning Garden educators Dede and Sir Fuzzy Carrot led an farm expedition to find out what was growing in the fields and Learning Garden. Even as cooler weather approaches, they were still able to find lots of delicious veggies to chop up for tasting, including 8 different types of tomatoes!
Chopping up a Green Zebra tomato
Eat the Rainbow: A Tasting Plate
Sir Fuzzy Carrot and Alex enjoying some fresh veggies
The Harvest Moon and Jupiter greet us into the fall season Midnight, September 23, 2010, Waltham The vernal and autumnal equinoxes occur when the sun is moving directly between the north and south poles, right along the celestial equator*, giving us a day of approximately half daylight and half darkness. It is from this point until the December solstice that the northern hemisphere will experience increasingly less daylight. Of course, it's just the opposite for those living in the southern hemisphere; today marks their vernal (spring) equinox, in which their days will continue to "grow longer" until the December solstice!
Earth image by NASA; diagram constructed by Dennis Nilsson (2007).
*The celestial equator is an imaginary circle around earth in space; it parallels the terrestrial (Earth's) equator, inclined 23.4 degrees to the ecliptic plane due to our planet's axial tilt.
Did you know:the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox is called the harvest moon?
Media (text and images) created and published by Rebekah Carter (2010) unless noted otherwise.
The chill in the air signals the return of autumn and cold-weather crops, such as those in the Brassicaceae family. Here's a fabulous and healthy recipe that puts the spotlight on Brassica oleracea, otherwise known as cabbage.
As always, feel free to switch things up with different ingredients! This dish is low-fat, vegan, gluten-free*, and delicious.
Fresh Produce:
1 head of cabbage, shredded (red cabbage shown; also good with Napa variety)
onion OR scallions, sliced very thin
hot peppers, sliced (optional)
Essential Extras:
sesame seeds, toasted
slivered almonds, toasted
crispy/chow mein noodles (optional; not shown)
The Dressing:
1/4 cup vinegar (red wine, rice wine, or apple cider work well)
3/4 cup oil (olive or vegetable work well)
1/2 cup sugar or sweetener of your preference
2 tbsp soy sauce*
*For those on a gluten-free diet, make sure to purchase gluten-free soy sauce as some brands contain wheat.
How to Make it:
Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage head. Shred or thinly slice the cabbage (if you have a mandolin, use it to shred the cabbage; if you do not own such equipment, a large knife will do the job just as well) and place it in a large bowl. Slice the onion or scallions and pepper and add to the cabbage. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator while making the dressing and toasting the nuts and seeds.
The dressing is so simple! Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil for a minute; let cool.
Toast the almonds and sesame seeds separately as the seeds toast faster than the almonds. Even so, the technique is the same: place nuts/seeds in a small pan over medium heat, stirring constantly (don't leave your stove top as the nuts and seeds will burn quickly when left unattended). Toast until the nuts/seeds begin to brown.
Take your bowl of cabbage out of the refrigerator; drizzle on the dressing and toss. Sprinkle on the nuts, seeds, and noodles (not shown) and enjoy.
Media (text and images) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
Tomatoes are a popular heirloom crop in the US (below)
Heirloom crops are plant varieties from earlier periods that are not used in modern industrial agriculture. While large-scale farming relies heavily on monoculture due to production size, high yield, lower cost, and durability (many monocultures have been adopted because of their resistance to damage during mechanical picking and transport), more and more people are growing or seeking out heirloom vegetables for reasons such as taste, historical interest, and the maintenance of genetic diversity in the plant kingdom.
The exact definition of an heirloom crop is contested. Some argue that an heirloom variety must be at least 100 years old, while others argue it must only be 50 years old; still, some would say that a true heirloom has to have been cultivated prior to 1945, marking the end of World War II and the beginning of industrialized agriculture in the United States. Others claim that a crop can only be considered "heirloom" if it has been cultivated and handed down from one generation to the next over several decades. Regardless of age and familial ownership, most do agree that true heirlooms are open-pollinated and have been cultivated in a specific area over a number of years, typically increasing the variety's resistance to local diseases, pests, and weather extremes.
What kinds of heirlooms do you enjoy growing or eating? Try our "Heirloom Tomato Salad" recipe below!
Be sure to find Waltham Fields Community Farm representatives at Waltham Day this Saturday, September 18th, on the Waltham Common (at the intersection of Main and Moody Streets).
Come one, come all!
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
Here's a quick and easy recipe to try out while New England's beautiful heirloom tomatoes are still available. This dish is best served immediately, so only prepare as much as you (and your family or guests) will consume. This dish is low fat, low sodium, vegan, and gluten-free.
Start with the reduction since you can prepare the fresh produce while it simmers. Place the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Let simmer until the vinegar is reduced by 1/2 to 2/3 the original amount. Although it will naturally sweeten as it reduces, you can make your reduction even sweeter with the additional of sugar; about 1 teaspoon to 2 cups of vinegar (which will reduce to 1 cup or less) is a good ratio to keep in mind while making your salad. Once reduced to your desired consistency, let it cool.
Wash the tomatoes and cut into bite-sized chunks; transfer tomato pieces over to their individual serving plates. If using mozzarella, also add the cheese while plating the tomatoes. Chop the basil and onion and sprinkle generously over tomatoes. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
WHAT'S YOUR SPIN? Don't feel limited to using only heirlooms; the choice is yours! Try it with beefsteaks, plum or cherry tomatoes, or just about any other vine-ripened variety. Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
The Children's Learning Garden is getting set to start another season of programming this fall. There's still time to sign up for our after-school and preschool programs!
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
After six weeks of programming, it was hard to believe that summer was ending so soon! We spent our final day of camp harvesting crops, cooking, and tending our harvest fair table to share our favorite snacks and stories with parents and friends at the CSA pick-up.
What have you got today?
We had an amazing summer with all of our campers. Be sure to check out the blog for weekly posts featuring details on workshops, programs, and events held by Waltham Fields, healthy recipes, information on diet and the environment, and local food and farm events.
We hope to see you this fall and next year!
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
Watermelons originated from southern Africa and are thought to have been cultivated in the Nile Valley as far back as the second millennium BC, as evidenced by watermelon seeds in tomb of King Tut. In the United States, it is believed that watermelons were being cultivated by Native Americans by the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, watermelons are available in all sorts of colors, sizes, and even shapes!
Watermelon is good source of vitamin C, beta carotene (vitamin A), and lycopene. It's delicious chilled, frozen, or as a base ingredient for sorbet (see our post on making sorbet).
One day while doing some garden work, someone noticed that almost all of our melons were gone, ripped clean from the vines! A few days later, we discovered the culprits: coyotes! Due to the drought we experienced this summer in New England, animals such as coyotes we forced to find alternative water sources to prevent dehydration; apparently, the farm's watermelons (about 150 of them) were the best substitute they could find.
A baby watermelon in the morning sun (above) Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
In trying to encourage the kids to become excited and interested in the food they eat, we challenged them to name the season(s) in which certain crops can be grown and distributed locally within the northeast.
Talking about seasonal produce with the kids often leads to discussion of their local climate, what their state or community is capable of growing or raising throughout the year, and issues of distribution such as cost, transport, and access.
We also like to have the kids discuss the origins of their favorite foods and meals so that they can better understand where and how their preferred foods are first grown and prepared as separate components to be processed into singular goods.
Can you break down your favorite food?
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
We were lucky enough this summer to see some local Cooper's Hawks around the farm and Learning Garden. In August, we even got to watch one have a snack (a vole)!
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
The tomato is an essential ingredient in our modern culinary world. The fruit originated in South America but is believed to have been first cultivated by the Aztecs of Central Mexico. Spanish colonization of the Americas resulted in the fruit's transport to the Caribbean, the Phillipines, Asia, and Europe, where it was commonly cultivated by the turn of the 17th century.
Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C and vitamin A and a good source of potassium, vitamin K, and the antioxidents lycopene and anthocyanin.
Tomatoes can be enjoyed raw, canned, sauteed, stewed, stuffed and baked... just about any way you can imagine!
Sweet and delicious (above)
Some CLG tomato plants in June (above)
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
A monarch butterfly on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma of the same or another flower or from a male cone to a female cone in coniferous plants. Successful pollination leads to fertilization, which in turn leads to the production of a plant's fruit and seeds. Pollination may be performed by insects, birds, bats, wind, and humans. Here are some pollinators and flowers we spotted at the farm this summer.
Unknown flowers at GROW (above)
Cosmos with a bee (above)
A sunflower with a bee (above)
Marigolds and a big bee (above)
A female Eastern Black Swallowtail landing on a zinnia (above)
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
One of the most successful snacks we tried this summer was our homemade sorbet. Although there are other methods for making this dessert, we used ice cream balls to "churn" the fruit mixtures into sorbet. If you have a blender or food processor, feel free to use these to puree and blend the mixture prior to churning. Keep in mind that the more fruit you add, the chunkier your sorbet will be; the more liquid, the smoother it will be. The options are limitless as far as flavor and ingredient combinations, but here's what we tried out this summer:
Fresh produce (select one or more fruits):
strawberries, diced
raspberries
blackberries
watermelon, diced
cantaloupe, diced
peaches, diced
nectarines, diced
mint, chopped (optional)
Essential Extras:
water or fruit juice
liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, or simple syrup)
lemon juice
And for the ice cream balls (not to be consumed):
lots of ice
rock salt
How to Make It:
Wash and chop all produce as instructed. In a bowl, mash fruit with a fork until pureed. Add your preferred sweetener, water or juice, and a splash of lemon juice to the pureed fruit. Blend well and pour into the metal container of the ice cream ball (the mixture should reach about an inch below the rim of the metal container in the ice cream ball; add more water or juice, if needed). Seal tightly!
Flip over the ice cream ball and add ice until the ball is about 2/3 full with ice. Sprinkle in a couple tablespoons of rock salt* and tighten the lid. Shake the balls continuously for at least 10 minutes or until sorbet becomes solid.
Enjoy alone or with toppings of your preference!
*The rock salt is required to melt the ice but keep the water at freezing (32 degrees F) so that the sorbet will congeal (change from liquid to solid).
Other flavor/ingredient ideas to try at home:
coconut milk or flakes
banana, mango, papaya, kiwi, or another exotic fruit
chocolate (pieces or cocoa powder)
mocha (chocolate and coffee/espresso)
citrus (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit)
Shake it!
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
Green Rows of Waltham(acronym: GROW) is a city-owned community garden located at the UMass Field Station alongside eight acres of Waltham Fields' farmland and the Boston Area Climate Experiment (acronym: BACE). GROW provides Learning Garden participants the opportunity to see what other people are growing locally and is a great place to test out plant identification skills! We also examine the individual garden plots for ideas to bring to our Learning Garden.
Who's teaching who?
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
An herb is any plant used for its flavor, scent, medicinal, or other qualities other than its food value. Although many automatically associate the word "herb" with "leaf," herbs come from a variety of plant parts, including leaves, roots, stems, barks, flowers, seeds, resins, and berries.
We grew THREE herbs in our garden this year.
Can you identify the TWO herbs in the picture to the right?
HINT: One is usually used when making pickles; the other is often used in Italian cooking.
Can you remember the ONE other herb we grew, seen here with our cantaloupe sorbet (left)? HINT: This herb makes your mouth feel cool (no sorbet necessary!)
The answers are below!
Can you think of any other herbs or spices we used this summer?
ANSWERS: The two herbs in the top photo are basil (light green leaves) and dill (wispy green leaves and little yellow flower heads). The herb in the bottom photo is mint.
Other herbs and spices we used: chives, cilantro, cumin, curry (contains a number of spices), ginger, pepper, and thyme.
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
From a Farm, Not From a Farm is a simple game we like to play in the Learning Garden. The kids are divided into two teams. At the starting line, one member from each team is given a product (often represented by an empty food package); the child must race to the "From a Farm" and "Not From a Farm" buckets, deciding along the way in which of the two buckets to place the item.
Help from team members is welcomed.
After all items have been given and the final participants have returned to the starting line, we sit down and discuss the results.
The exercise is a great reminder of the necessity of farms to humans for food and other products we use in our daily lives. It helps teach the children how to identify plant and animal-based products and packaging apart from synthetically-made materials.
Decision made!
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
Another favorite snack amongst the kids this summer was our rendition of crostini and bruschetta. It's a quick and easy snack that can double as a fancy hors d'oeuvre (pronounced "awr-durv," meaning "appetizer" in French).
*Gluten-free alternatives: non-wheat crackers or bread
Preheat your oven/toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash and cut fresh items as instructed. Combine fresh ingredients in a bowl and gently toss with olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the tomatoes). Put aside.
Thinly slice the baguette or preferred bread (bread that's going stale works great, too!). With a basting brush or clean finger, lightly coat both sides of each slice with olive oil. Place bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet; toast for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish with a spoon full of bruschetta.Bon appétit!
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
Husk cherries, also know as groundcherries, are fruits of the nightshade family and a close relative of the tomato. They grow in temperate and subtropical regions, fairing well even in poor soils. The fruit is easily recognized by its papery husk, which turns light brown when the fruit is ripe and ready for picking. Ripe husk cherries are creamy yellow to orange in color. Their flavor is reminiscent of tomatoes with a mild tartness.
Husk cherries are a good source of cryptoxanthin, a carotenoid and antioxidant. Cryptoxanthin is converted to retinal, a form of vitamin A necessary for human vision.
Husk cherries are rarely found at the grocery store but may be found at some farmers markets. Don't let limited availability get in the way of trying this fruit. Try growing some for yourself!
The CLG husk cherry patch (above)
Media (text and image) created and published by Rebekah Carter 2010.
Whether garden friend or foe (and sometimes both!), Waltham Fields Community Farm shares the land with numerous creatures, some of which we happened to catch on camera.
Rabbits
What a life!Just another morning at the farm
Grasshoppers
Click on the photo to get a close up of this guy's armor!
Chopping up a Green Zebra tomato
Eat the Rainbow: A Tasting Plate
Sir Fuzzy Carrot and Alex enjoying some fresh veggies
