Farm share

[magid]

I got confirmation that I have a farm share again this year, from Waltham Fields Community Farm. I'm not sure exactly when the veggies will start this year; likely sometime in late June.

Along with the re-up letter there was a chart listing veggies, quantities, and estimating the value compared to store prices. I think their valuations were a bit low, and even so, it came out to be more than the price of a share. This does not, of course, include any of the intangibles, such as knowing where the produce was grown, knowing when it was picked, supporting local agriculture, and supporting getting fresh food to those in need (the farm donates a lot of food to food pantries, etc).

Last year (according to their chart), I received:

• 55 heads of lettuce
  
• 44 bunches of leafy greens (includes arugula, swiss chard, spinach, kale, collards, Asian greens)
  
• 10 bunches of herbs
  
• 46 pounds of tomatoes
  
• 17 pints of cherry tomatoes
  
• 36 pounds of eggplants
  
• 30 pounds of peppers
  
• 15 pounds of specialty peppers (includes hot peppers and sweet ethnic peppers; I think I got more, since towards the end, they were offering as much as you wanted to take...)
  
• 22 pounds of summer squash and cukes
  
• 22 pounds of pumpkins and winter squashes
  
• 32 "pounds or bunches" of carrots and beets (I find it strange they put these together, myself.)
  
• 25 pounds of melons
  
• 2 pounds of garlic
  
• 15 pounds of onions and leeks
  
• 4 pounds of broccoli
  
• 3 pounds of cauliflower
  
• 8 pounds of peas
  
• 8 pounds of potatoes
  
• 2 bunches of celery
  
• 35 bunches/pounds of "specialty crops" (includes tomatillos, kohlrabi, garlic scapes, turnips, radishes, celeriac, salsify, brussels sprouts, etc.)

According to their estimates, this is worth $686.10.


I decided to switch from the Central Square pick up location (which was changing from the church) to a new place, somewhere on the Cambridge side of the Davis-Porter line. Veggies are available a bit earlier, and it gives me flexibility to go to the Diesel for a while if I want (since pickup is on Tuesdays). This year I want to take advantage of the right to go pick certain things (peas, flowers, herbs, stuff like that) on Sundays more (well, at all). If anyone is interested in joining me for a quick jaunt west some summer Sunday morning, let me know...

One who gets condiments to the troops has mustered mustard.
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Comments

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I would love to go pean-and-flower-and-herb picking with you one Sunday. :)

A.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Me too, me too!

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Man, that's a lot! 55 heads of lettuce, 46 pounds of tomatoes? Either of those sounds like a lifetime supply for me. I like the sunday-picking idea, and I'd be delighted to come along on one of those, but I think a farm share would be beyond my abilities to keep up with. I'll just eat what I grow in my little 10x10 garden plot...

[magid.livejournal.com]

Well, we didn't get that many heads of lettuce at once, which helped significantly. If I had a little 10 x 10 garden plot, I would have much less incentive to get a farm share: I manage some herbs and maybe a tomato plant on my porch.

Last summer I made posts each week about what I got in that week's share; mostly I got through it (or gave some away to friends), though I admit there were one or two science experiments, which made me feel extremely guilty.