Green Thumb Farm Huntington CSA

Happy summer!

Who didn’t get Parsley last week? I have 4 names (Brummel, Congdon Caldwell, Packert and Sky) but there should be 5 more people who didn’t get any. If so, give your name at the desk and there should be replacement Parsley (or something else of equal value) for you. The farm shorted us on the count (we do count most of what comes in before y’all start picking up AND we check at the end of the night to make sure our members haven’t accidentally taken more than their share (thereby shorting another member out of their food).

SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR (and only 4 weeks left for people to join)(!!! We still need to fill 41 spots to have the CSA filled for the year!!! You will be hearing about this until either they’re all filled or until Labor Day (when Farmer Bill stops accepting new CSA members) whichever happens first! Attached to this email is the contract for new CSA members, the CSA brochure AND a CSA fee sheet for the rest of the season. Please feel free to pass this on to friends, neighbors, co-workers and relatives who might be interested in joining the CSA this season! If we all were able to find one person to join…we’d be done in a minute. Please feel free to suggest places to leave the CSA brochures or names of individuals/groups to contact about CSA (either just to give info or to give a talk about CSA/local eating). I’m happy to do whatever is needed.

Miss the Exchange Table? We don’t have one if there aren’t enough people to staff the CSA. This year, we need to figure out if it’s because we have less members and/or less working members. Hopefully, in the next 4 weeks we can fill the CSA up and not have to contemplate everyone working more hours, or next year, putting a limit on how many non-working CSA members the CSA can sustain.

This email includes…
1. HELP!!! Your CSA needs you!! We’re looking for THREE (3) people from 3:30 to 5:30pm and ONE (1) person from 5:30 to 7:30pm
2. What you’re getting at the CSA this week (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)
3. It’s time to weigh our food!
4. Notes from the Farm
5. BRING BAGS!
6. Order Certified Organic Plants/Seedlings (grown at Green Thumb Farm) for your garden this season…
7. What you actually got last week (and the week before and the week before, etc)
8. Event Calendar
9. Cooking Classes


1. HELP!!! Your CSA needs you!! We’re looking for THREE (3) people from 3:30 to 5:30pm and ONE (1) person from 5:30 to 7:30pm

If you were sent an email from Judi or me, you are scheduled to work this week. If not, you’re not.

IF you can work, please 1) respond to this email, 2) call 631-421-4864 and leave a message before 1pm OR 3) just show up a little before 5:30pm and offer to help out. You can always show up a little before 3:30 or 5:30pm at the CSA and offer to work if help is still needed…you never know! Everyone that’s scheduled doesn’t always show up on time…or at all.



2. What you’re getting at the CSA this week (subject to change without notice…farming is like that!)

August 5, 2010
Week #16

1. Eggplant
2. Tomatoes, Mini – 1 pt
3. Peppers, Sweet
4. Beans (String of one color or another)
5. Squash, Summer
6. Cucumbers
7. Cantaloupe
Total Items: 7 (?)

Flower Share
Week #10
THE END



3. It’s time to weigh our food!

Yup! It’s that time of year. Sounds easy right? Put food in the scale and weigh it, right? Not exactly .

A. Bring reading glasses if you need them OR have the person by the scale read it for you

B. Please follow the instructions given by the person(s) at the scale. There may be more than one food item that needs to get weighed at the same time on the same scale. It may not make sense to you or seem necessary but our farmer has asked us to do so. Will be glad to explain if you want to know the specifics.

C. Most important…If you can’t get an exact weight (it happens), DO NOT GO OVER THE WEIGHT POSTED ON THE CSA WALL CHART!!!!
I can’t emphasize this enough. All we need is a few people thinking that it’s no big deal to be a smidge over the amount and….it becomes a big deal! Just think about it…1 oz…what’s that? Two Green Beans? So what???? Ok…we have 82 CSA members and if 32 of them go over by that 1 oz that adds up to 2 pound and it may mean that one or two people don’t get ANY Beans at the end of the night. Serves them right for coming late, huh? That’s not how the CSA works. Everyone paid the same amount to receive the same amount of food so it’s up to each one of us to make sure that happens.

D. Please stand directly in front of the scale and make sure the red line (weight indicator) has not “disappeared” behind the colored tape on the readout part of the scale. If you stand to either side of the scale…you can still see the red line but you’re going to go over the correct amount (it’s the customer’s equivalent of the story about the butcher that keeps their finger on the scale to skew the weight).

E. There may be a plastic bag in the scale…if there is, don’t take it with you! We use it to keep the vegetables from falling out of the bowl and, believe it or not, keep the weight consistant. Different plastic bags weigh different amounts. So, weigh it in the bag that’s in the scale and then dump the food into your own bag/basket/carrier. Thanks!

F. Please don’t drop the scales…the top sometimes sticks to the bottom and lifts it up when you’re getting your food out of the measuring bowl and so the bottom then drops on the floor and breaks…just be aware and please be careful…thanks!



4. Notes from the Farm

August 1, 2010

August is here and our summer crops are arriving. After a slow start, our Eggplants are beginning to appear. The hot and dry spell in early July dried all the blossoms so, no fruit. Since then, it has cooled somewhat plus, all the rain has revived the plants. Our 2nd planting of Beans suffered the same fate. The blossoms DROPPED OFF and no Beans could grow. However, more Beans can be expected soon as we have several more plantings on the way as well as Soy, Lima, Cranberry Beans, and Black Eyed Peas.

Tomatoes are coming in full force so we’ll be having those every week for a while. Summer Squash is also doing well, as are our Cucumbers. Still, we have more Scallions, Beets, Carrots and Swiss Chards coming along. So, enjoy what we have as it all goes by very fast!

Organically yours,
Farmer Bill (Halsey)

July 16, 2010

The heat finally broke for a couple of days this past week as Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday we received 2 ½” of rain. All of our crops had been VERY dry with no significant rainfall since the 2nd week in June! The many days of 80 to 90 degrees dried many things out quickly.

The heat and dryness seemed to help our Tomatoes. We started picking our Mini Tomatoes this week so will be bringing them in soon. The Large Red and Yellow Tomatoes take longer to mature but the plants all look very healthy this year (as opposed to last year with the Tomato Blight).

Summer Squashes of all types, Cucumber and Kirby Pickles and many types of Beans have also done well despite the weather. Expect many of these as the weeks continue. Lettuces have been effected greatly by the heat as the plants are bolting (going to seed ) early with no size as the heat continues.

Some herbs are doing well, other are not. Carrots, Beets and Scallions are all still doing well. Next week we will be transplanting our fall Broccoli and Kales into the ground. Something for us (and hopefully you) to look forward to!

Organically Yours,
Farmer Bill (Halsey)

July 2, 2010

Summer is officially here and so is the heat!

The last several weeks have been hot and dry and all our crops are being affected. Our Peas are coming in quickly and are bunching up as to when they are ready to harvest…all seemingly coming in at once. Theyr’e coming in so fast and being done just as fast. We had a good Strawberry season, coming in earlier as well, but the dryness and heat made for some very flavorful Strawberries. Our Tomatoes are doing very well. The dryness and heat serve them well. Beans and Summer Squash are about ready. Onions, Carrots, Fennel, Scallions and Fava Beans are all ready for harvest. There will still be a few more Peas coming in over the next couple of weeks. Basil and some summer Herbs, as well as more Lettuces and maybe some Broccoli, are all on the menu for the next several weeks.

Organically yours,
Farmer Bill (Halsey)



5. BRING BAGS!

What more can you say about this?

At the CSA, we bag our own food. I’d suggest to bring a selection of plastic bags (especially for things that are dripping wet like Lettuces and other Greens which we get later in the season when they are picked from out in the fields…as opposed to the greenhouse where they are probably coming from now) AND paper bags (for things that don’t like plastic like Tomatoes…the moisture that plastic attracts will make them rot faster).

Keep a stash of bags in every vehicle you own, and replenish when the stash gets low! That way you’ll never be without. AND, if anyone is picking up for you…please tell them about needing bags!



6. Order Certified Organic Plants/Seedlings (grown at Green Thumb Farm) for your garden this season…

Check out the attachment for instructions and plant list. This one has the phone number to the farm AND I put it as a PDF because some folks couldn’t open the Word version.



7. What you actually got last week (and the week before and the week before, etc)

Want to remember what you got when you get home? Got a camera in your cell phone? TAKE A PICTURE OF THE WALL CHART!!! Suggestion from a brilliant CSA member…though I can’t remember which one (you’re all brilliant!).

July 29, 2010
Week #15

1. Okra – 1/3 lb - $2.00
2. Summer Squash: Costata Romanesco, Eight Ball, Patty Pan – Green, Yellow Summer, Zucchini – approx 2 lbs
AND
3. Cucumbers/Kirby Pickles – approx 1 lb – 3 lbs total - $6.25
4. Peppers, Sweet: Green AND Purple – 2 (1 of each color) - $1.25
5. Swiss Chard: Golden, Rainbow, White – 1 bunch - $3.25
6. Italian Parsley – 1 bunch - $2.25
7. Tomatoes: Orange, Red, Yellow, Paste – Red, Paste – Yellow – 2 lbs – $5.00

Total Items: 7
Total Amount: $20.00

Flowers
Week #9
Statice


July 22, 2010
Week #14

1. Cucumbers/Kirby Pickles – approx 1 ½ lb
1. Summer Squash: Costata Romanesco, Eight Ball, Patty Pan, Yellow, Zucchini – approx 1 ½ lb – 3 lbs total - $6.25
3. Beans: Green OR Romano – 2/3 lb - $2.50
4. Beets: Chiogga – 1 bunch - $3.50
5. Basil – 1 bunch - $2.50
6. Lettuce: Leaf, Red – 1 head - $2.25
7. Tomatoes, Mini: Cherry, Grape- Red, Lemon, Sungold - 1 pt - $4.00

Total Items: 7
Total Amount: $21.00

Herb Share
July 2B
Chives, Garlic AND Sage

Flower Share
Week #8
Black Eyed Susan


July 15, 2010
Week #13

1. Summer Squash: Costata Romanesco, Eight Ball, Gold, Patty Pan, Yellow, Zohra, Zucchini – approx 1 lb
2. Cucumber and/or Kirby Pickles – approx 1 lb – 2 lbs total - $4.50
3. Beans, Green – 1 lb - $3.50
4. Carrots – 1 bunch - $3.50
5. Scallions – 1 bunch - $2.25
6. Lettuce: Crisp, Red – 1 head - $2.25
7. Mint OR Oregano OR Tarragon, French – 1 bunch - $2.25

Total Items: 7
Total Amount: $18.25

Flower Share
Week #7
Sunflowers


July 6, 2010
Week #12

1. Fava Beans – approx 1 lb
2. Summer Squash – approx – 2 lb – 3 lbs total - $7.50
3. Lettuce: Leaf, Green – 1 head - $2.25
4. Radicchio – 1 head - $2.25
5. Onions – 1 bunch - $3.25
6. Peas, Shelling – 1 lb - $3.50

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $18.75

Herb Share
July 1A
Basil, Thai AND Tarragon, French

Flower Share
Week #6
Snap Dragon and Ageratum


July 1, 2010
Week #11

1. Peas, Snow – ½ lb - $3.00
2. Peas, Sugar Snap – ½ lb - $3.00
3. Peas, Shelling – 1 ¼ lb - $4.00
4. Fennel – 1 bunch - $3.50
5. Lettuce: Crisp, Red – 1 head - $2.25
6. Savory, Summer – 1 bunch - $2.25

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $18.00

Flower Share
Week #5
Snapdragons



8. Fun, Cool & Interesting Stuff to Do (new events added weekly)

If you don’t mind trekking into the city, these are two email lists to get on that have a lot of very cool food-based (local/organic) events…
http://brooklynbased.net/
http://www.eatingintranslation.com/

Thursday, August 6th

7:15pm

Robots, Robots, Robots
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Ave
Huntington
$9 Members/$12 General Public

CSA member Dylan Skolnick knows this is a very cool show and is hoping people will show up (and is concerned they won’t)! It’s family friendly and hey…who doesn’t love Robots?
Film scholar and archivist Dennis Nyback returns to the Cinema with five mostly madcap short films about those emblems of 20th Century modernity: Robots. These mechanical creatures were omnipresent in science fiction, although in real life they mostly found gainful employment as factory workers. Techno-Crazy (1933) An Ub Iwerks cartoon where Flip the Frog reads a Technocracy magazine and builds a robot that runs amok. • The Inventors (1933) Two radio entertainers based their career on spoofing Technocracy. They were Stoopnagle and Budd. Here they star in an Educational Films two-reel short where they make a robot that runs amok in a girls school. • Robotics (1979) A Hearst Metrotone News report on modern robotics. • Robotics: Issac Azimov's Mechanical Man (1972) Legendary author Isaac Azimov talks about the history and development of science fiction.


9pm
The Animation of Ladislaw Starevicz
423 Park Ave
Huntington
$9 Members/$12 General Public

CSA member Dylan Skolnick knows this is an amazing show and is hoping people will show up (and is concerned they won’t)! It’s family friendly and this is one worth keeping the kids up for. It truly is amazing animation.
Dennis Nyback’s second presentation features the work of pioneer stop-motion animator Ladislaw Starewicz, (1892-1965) who was also known as Wladyslaw Starewicz and Ladislas Starevich. Born in Moscow to a family of Polish origin, Starewicz displayed early interests in photography and entomology. He began experimenting with animation in 1910, when the stag beetles he wanted to film fighting refused to cooperate. These experiments led to The Cameraman's Revenge (1912), a droll tale of insect infidelity. The Frogs Who Wanted a King (1922), an adaptation of Aesop's fable, is crowded with the odd little amphibians who petition Jupiter for a king–and pay dearly for their folly. The Voice of the Nightingale (1923) is a mesmerizing fairy tale that reveals why Nightingales only sing at night. Love in Black and White (1928) offers an unsettling vision of romance amidst a theatrical troupe. Both sentimental and frightening, The Mascot (1933) tells the dreamlike story of a toy stuffed dog who must make a terrifying journey through Paris to be reunited with a little girl.

Friday, August 6th

9am to 10:30am

Morning Meditation with Rev. Ratzlaff
UUFH
109 Browns Rd
Huntington, NY
FREE

CSA member, Rev. Paul Ratzlaff conducts a morning sitting meditation every Friday. The schedule is as follows…
9am to 9:45am – silent meditation
Bell is rung
Poem or Buddhist reading is read aloud
Check in with everyone
Reading a selection out of a collection of Buddhist stories and discuss it
The end!

Saturday, August 7th

11am to 2pm

Learn about Organic Beekeeping & Celebrate National Mead Festival
Hamlet Organic Garden
321 Beaver Dam Rd
Bellport
$5 (NOFA member)/$15 general public

Celebrate National Mead Day and the Hamlet Organic Garden (HOG), a 230 member CSA farm in Brookhaven Hamlet. In addition to fruits and vegetables, members receive HOG honey through a collaboration with bee keepers Desmond Lowe and Judy Calloway of Calloway and Lowe Apiary. First we'll learn about bees and their place on an organic farm, and sample some HOG wildflower honey. Then with Matt Bollerman and Matt Bobiak (official HOG home brewers) we'll learn about the history of mead, sample some local, Long Island brews, and sample our own HOG meads from last year's Mead Day. We will start a must, rack mead to secondary, add herbs, spices, fruits, and bottle a mead from secondary, showing the entire mead-building process.


Wednesday, August 11th

7pm

Sustainable Film Series
Fresh (the movie)
Molloy College – Suffolk Center
7180 Republic Airport
East Farmingdale
FREE
RSVP: 516-678-5000 xt 7562
Email: info@si.molloy.edu
For more info:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=135267159840444

If you missed it at the Cinema Arts Centre, here’s another chance to see a great movie about sustainable agriculture and the local food movement. Check out the Facebook site because I couldn’t copy the info off the Facebook page and it looks pretty good…local food, free popcorn and beverages, literature table and networking possibilities.

7pm

Farm Dinner
Queens County Farm Museum
73-50 Little Neck Parkway
$75.00 (BYOB)
For more info and tickets:
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/121544

Most of the ingredients will be harvested from the farm today.


Thursday, August 12th

7pm to 9pm

Introduction to Vegetarian Meat Alternatives
Sur La Table
1468 Northern Blvd
Manhasset
$40 (members of the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore )/$50 general public (closing date WAS July 26th but there were still spaces left so…)
Questions?.......Barbara Schaffer – 671-6592; Baysmusic51@yahoo.com

Eating a diet centered on vegetables rather than meat is healthier for our bodies and for the environment, but making the transition can be a challenge. Our own Bhavani Jaroff, of iEat Green, will show us how to transition from a meat-centered diet to a more plant-based diet while satisfying even the most steadfast carnivores.

Bhavani will prepare:
• Tofu Cutlets Parmesan and Tofu Stir Fry
• Seitan Marsala with Portobello Mushrooms and Seitan Shepherds Pie
• BBQ Tempeh, and Szechuan Tempeh with Broccoli
• Oatmeal Almond Linzer Tarts with Raspberry Filling

Saturday, August 13th to Sunday, August 15th

The 36th NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association) Summer Conference
University of Massachusetts Amherst
N Amherst, MA
For more info and to register…
http://www.nofasummerconference.org/

Be there or be squarer than square! Featured speakers this year are Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Institute and Dr. Fernando Funes, father of the Cuban organic agriculture movement.


Tuesday, August 24th

8:45am to 5pm

2010 Fall Gardening Symposium
Southampton Inn
91 Hill St
Southampton
$65 (includes AM coffee break, lunch & handouts)
For more info:
Caroline T. Kiang 631-727-7850 xt 337
Email: Ctk3@cornell.edu

11:30am workshop is Growing a Community Garden with featured speaker Peter Garnham, farmer/writer/Master Gardener and Board Chair of EECO (East End Community Organic garden).


Thursday, August 26th

7:30pm

Let’s Eat! Films on Food presents…The Botany of Desire
Cinema Arts Centre
423 Park Avenue
Huntington, NY 11743
www.cinemaartscentre.org

An event co-presented by Slow Food Huntington and the Cinema Arts Centre…more info to come!


Saturday, August 28th

The Hotline
Gunther’s Tap Room
84 Main St
Northport
631-754-9659

CSA member, John Morina is the drummer for The Hotline. If you like Blues, Rock, R & B or Funk The Hotline might be the band for you! They rock and provide a rockin’ good time….seriously  !


Sunday, August 29th

1pm

Tomato & Garlic Tasting
Biophilia Organic Farm
211 Manor Lane
Jamesport
www.localharvest.ort/biophilia-organic-farm-M10707


Wednesday September 1st

NY State Locavore Challenge
Sign up…
https://www.nofany.org/events/regional-events/ny-locavore-challenge-signup

NOFA-NY is hosting its first ever Locavore Challenge to run throughout the month of September 2010. The Locavore Challenge serves multiple functions for NOFA-NY and for the organic movement in NY State. The first is as a general awareness builder, the second is as a membership recruitment initiative and the third is as a major annual fundraiser for the organization. The goal is to have more than 4,000 participants throughout the state involved in this event.


Saturday, September 4th

12:30pm to 3:30pm

Wildman Steve Brill
Sunken Meadow Park
Parking lot by the Sunken Meadow Bathhouse
Suggested Donation: $15, under 10 years old $10
For more info and to reserve a spot…
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/

If you’ve never experienced Wildman Steve Brill and you like eating locally and/or organically…this is a must! You will leave with interesting things to cook for dinner, and may start to look differently at the “weeds” that come up in your backyard. You MUST read his website carefully and follow the instructions if you are to maximize your experience by dressing properly and bringing what you need to bring on this adventure. I’ve been told he’s corny…well, that’s true…but he’s also brilliant, and knows about eating and foraging in the wild like nobody’s business. Since he’s a fairly recent father, the event is a family friendly experience.


Thursday, September 23rd

Potluck Across NY - NY State Locavore Potluck Night
How to be a Potluck Host…
https://www.nofany.org/events/ny-locavore-challenge/potluck-across-ny

On a single evening in September (Thursday, September 23rd) groups of people will gather over potlucks across the wide state of NY, from Niagara Falls to the tip of Long Island, breaking (local, organic) bread together. These groups share a common interest in their concern over the current state of the US food system and a commitment to consuming food grown from local organic farms. We hope to eventually have potluck gatherings in each of NY’s 62 counties, and have thousands of individuals making this stance together, while remaining in their home communities


Saturday, October 16th

Green Thumb CSA Member’s Annual Tractor-pulled Hayride & Pumpkin Picking Farm Tour
Details to be announced


Sunday, October 24th

12:30 to 3:30pm

Wildman Steve Brill
Sunken Meadow Park
Suggested Donation: $15, under 10 years old $10
For more info and to reserve a spot…
http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/

If you’ve never experienced Wildman Steve Brill and you like eating locally and/or organically…this is a must! You will leave with interesting things to cook for dinner, and may start to look differently at the “weeds” that come up in your backyard. You MUST read his website carefully and follow the instructions if you are to maximize your experience by dressing properly and bringing what you need to bring on this adventure. I’ve been told he’s corny…well, that’s true…but he’s also brilliant, and knows about eating and foraging in the wild like nobody’s business. Since he’s a fairly recent father, the event is a family friendly experience.



9. Cooking Classes

1. (see August 12th above)

2. The Riverhead Campus of Suffolk Community College has some very cool cooking classes from October to November but I’ll be darned if I could find them on the website below where they “should” be. They’re under the “Professional Development & Continuing Education” curriculum. Maybe contact them to get a brochure.

The one that really caught my eye was 7pm to 10pm on Monday October 18th, Signature Foods of the North Fork using local Oysters, Duck, Pumpkins and more. Others were Fresh Pasta Primer, Easy Mediterranean Food Prep, Souper Soups and Brick Oven Pizza.
http://www3.sunysuffolk.edu/forms/FallSchedule.pdf

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