Week #24 October 2, 2014 Part 1 and Part 2 mailings combined.

Happy Autumn and Happy Farm to School month*!

LAST CHANCE TO TOUR OUR FARM THIS YEAR! Saturday, October 18th, is the day we’ll have our annual CSA Pumpkin Picking Farm Tour at Green Thumb Farm. See below, #4 and #7!

Bring bags with you to the CSA! If anyone is picking up for you at the CSA…tell THEM they need to bring bags!!!
Put bags in every vehicle you own or might end up driving.
Bring an assortment of bags…cloth, plastic, paper…as you’ll find them all useful. Basic bagging issue is separating wet food from dry food so one doesn’t start the rotting process of the other. Tomatoes like to be stored in paper, not plastic.

Are you Jewish? Just asking because the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur starts tomorrow, Friday, at sundown, so if you can’t make it to the CSA on Thursday night due to holiday related travel/activities…now is the time to see if you can get someone else to pick up your food and hold it till you can pick it up!

Emailed to me by CSA member Debra Ettenberg…for all of our CSA members who are observing Yom Kippur tomorrow, or for anyone who’d like to either learn or have explained some commonly used Yiddish worlds…
http://www.jspacenews.com/seniors-explain-yiddish-charming-video/

Want BULK TOMATOES to can for the winter (sauce? stewed? freeze? dehydrate for the best sundried Tomatoes ever?)? Call our farm (631-726-1900) from 9:30am to 4:30am any day and order a 22 lb box of their certified organic Red Roma/Plum Tomatoes for $45.00 and they’ll be delivered to the CSA for you!

If you’d like to visit our farm (Green Thumb Farm in Water Mill) on days besides our CSA Pumpkin picking in October, the farm stand is now open 7 days a week until Sunday, December 7th. Tell them at the farm stand that you’re a CSA member and it’s sure to bring a smile!

Seriously…put this phone number (631-385-1079) in your cell phone, on your fridge, or wherever you put phone numbers you’re glad to have when you need them! It’s the hall phone of the UUFH to be used only on Thursdays from 3pm to 8pm. We’ve already had a few people who wished they had it and didn’t, and others who had it and found out how handy it can be! 

*
Join the National Farm to School Network (it’s free) and you’ll be entered to win $1,000 for a farm to school or farm to preschool project in your area (and can download Organic Valley coupons for members only)!
http://www.farmtoschool.org/join

This email contains…

1. Your CSA does not need you this week! However…
2. WE WEIGH!!!
3. This week’s list…
4. Notes from the Farm
5. What you actually got last week
6. Vegan cooking classes for the holidays…
7. Events Listings…
8. It’s not too late to start your garden, or start it up again!
9. Click, tap, or swipe here to help make the world a better place…
10. And now for something completely different…



1. Your CSA does not need you this week! However…

You can ALWAYS stop by the CSA a little before 3:30 or 5:30 to offer to help in case someone doesn’t show up (or is late) without letting anyone know…life happens! 

If you didn’t get a confirmation email from Judi (occasionally it’s me), you’re not scheduled to work this week.

And if you got an email from Judi asking you to confirm that you’re working…you need to respond to that in the time frame stated in the email otherwise she’s going to try and find someone else to take your place.



2. WE WEIGH!!!

It’s time to weigh our food!

A. Check the wall chart before taking any food so you know what you’re taking and how much to take…assume nothing and ask questions! 

B. Bring your reading glasses or ask someone to help if you can’t see the numbers on the scale clearly.

C. PLEASE DO NOT GO OVER THE AMOUNT STATED on the Wall Chart. Please err on the under side of the weight posted…NEVER over. It may not seem like much to you but we have 51 members and if every person is off by ONE OUNCE (for crying out loud! It’s only an ounce!!!) …that means we’ll be short over THREE POUNDS of produce and some CSA members won’t get the food they paid for. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want it to be you!

D. IF you are asked to weigh more than one food item at the same time…please follow the directions given to you and weigh in the order you are asked (you might not think there’s a good reason to be doing this but our farmer does and that should be enough of a reason right there…if you want a further explanation – ask suzanne…there is a method to the madness )



3. This week’s list (subject to change without notice because…farming is like that!)…

October 2, 2014
Week #24

1. Lettuce
2. Tomatoes*
3. Carrots
4. Beans, Snap: Green
5. Squash, Summer

Total Items: 5

*To put in the fridge? Or, not to put in the fridge? THAT…is the question! 
http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/why-you-should-refrigerate-tomatoes.html



4. Notes from the Farm

August 19, 2014

Summer is almost over. Our fall crops have been planted and some are already being harvested. We’re still waiting for some rain as there’s only been 1/2 inch since August 13th (in an ideal world the farm would get one inch of rain every week so we’re already 1 ½ inches behind on the amount of rainfall needed). It seems to be raining at times all around us but not here!

Our Winter Squashes are being picked and look very good and there are new varieties this year including Spaghetti Squash! We’ll start bringing all types in shortly. Our Sweet Potato harvest will start next week, so look for those in October after curing for a couple of weeks.

Our Annual Fall CSA Pumpkin Picking Farm tour will be held on Saturday, October 18th (rain…unless it’s a torrential downpour, or shine). It’s a riding tour of our home farm on a trailer pulled by a tractor. The tour times are 10am, 11am 12pm and 1pm. Reservations are required as space on each trailer is limited. The tour is 1 hour in length, and everyone gets to take home a Pumpkin (in full disclosure, the Pumpkins are NOT organic and are not grown on our farm as Pumpkins used for carving, while they are edible, are not the variety of Winter Squashes you grow for eating). There is no charge for the tour or the Pumpkins. Call the farm any day of the week at 631-726-1900 between the hours of 9:30am and 4pmto make your reservation.

Please keep in mind that this event is only for CSA members and their immediate family members. If you are sharing a CSA share with someone, only one person and their immediate family is allowed to take the tour and if it’s not the CSA member who is going, you need to make your reservation in the name of the CSA member. Often people who share a CSA share have one person go in June for Strawberry picking and the other person goes in October for the Pumpkin Tour (if there’s more than that, and there have been…I guess they pick straws!).

The is our CSA members’ last chance to see your farm and talk to Farm Bill this year (if you have any gardening questions about your own home garden…this is the chance to talk to someone who knows something about growing things that are local and edible)!

Organically yours,
Farmer Bill (Halsey)



5. What you actually got last week

September 25, 2014
Week #23

1. Lettuce: Romaine – 1 head - $2.75
2. Tomatoes, Mini*: Cherry, Yellow - 1 pt - $4.75
3. Kale, Lacinato – 1 bunch - $3.50
4. Beans, Shelling: Lima** - 1 lb - $3.50
5. Okra*** - ½ lb - $2.50
6. Squash, Winter: Butternut, OR Watermelon: Red – 1 - $2.75

Total Items: 6
Total Amount: $19.75
(We pay $18.50 per week for our CSA share. Our farmer has give us $2.00 more this week than the $18.50 which we paid for so, the total so far is $16.00 more than what we’ve paid so far this season)

Herb Share – Sept 2B
Chives AND Thyme

6. Vegan cooking classes for the holidays…

Join The Purple Elephant’s vegan chef/owner, David Intonato, for one or both of the rare opportunities to take a cooking class with him that will include a one hour interactive lesson/demonstration, a food tasting of the dishes prepared, along with a tasting of organic/biodynamic wine pairings!

The dates and topics…

Tuesday, November 11th – Appetizers, Soups and Sides
Tuesday, November 18th - Main Dishes

Cost - $75 per person, per class (payable by cash or check)

To reserve your spot, email Chef David at…
thepurpleelephant@me.com
Subject line…Cooking Class
Include in the message part…
I would like to join the fun on…



7. Event Listings…

Thursday, October 2nd to Sunday, October 5th

10am

The Long Island Fair
Old Bethpage Village Restoration
Old Bethpage
Admission prices range from FREE to $12 (check website)
For more information:
http://www.lifair.org/index.html

Fun for the whole family since 1842! There will be music, puppet shows, dancing, agricultural exhibits, magic, juggling, storytelling, craft exhibits, and more!


Thursday, October 2nd

7 to 8:30pm

iEat Green Cooking demo with Bhavani
Floral Park Library
17 Caroline Pl
Floral Park
FREE
For more info:
516-326-6330


Saturday, October 4th

3pm

Rural Route Film Festival
Queen Library
40-20 Broadway
Long Island City
FREE
For more info:
718-721-2462
Please join the Peconic Land Trust for a screening of its award-winning short documentary, “Growing Farmers,” as part of the Rural Route Film Festival’s Green Screening at the Queens Library.
The film, co-produced by Hilary Leff and Michael Halsband, won the Audience Choice Award for best short film at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2012. It serves to focus attention on the challenges of new farmers seeking to get a foothold on Eastern Long Island and the work of the Peconic Land Trust to assist them in getting started. Also screened will be Growing Cities about urban agriculture. There will be a post-film meetup at the Queens Kickshaw (one of my favorite restaurants in Astoria, Queens).

Tuesday, October 7th

6:30pm

Herbal Medicine for Health and Happiness
American Herbalists Guild – Long Island Chapter Meeting
Oyster Bay Public Library
89 E Main St
Oyster Bay
FREE

Join the Natural Nurse, Ellen Kahmi, RN, and Angus J. Towse, BS (Hort), L.Ac, LMT for what I’m sure will be a very informative and entertaining event.


Thursday, October 9th

noon to 4pm

Food Day – early but that’s when they’re celebrating it!
Farmingdale State College
Campus Center
2350 Broadhollow Rd (Rt 110)
Farmingdale
RSVP:
Lisa Eicher eicherl@farmingdale.edu
516-380-3218

Educators, farmers, food demo by iEat Green with Bhavani, food activists, and more.

5:30 to 8pm

Medicinal Herb Workshop w/Terese Hoffman and Potluck
Farmingdale State College
Sustainable Garden
2350 Broadhollow Rd (Rt 110)
Farmingdale
$5.00
RSVP:
thesustainablegardenfsc@gmail.com


Saturday, October 11th

1pm

Global Frackdown – Stop Port Ambrose Offshore LNG Facility
Long Beach Boardwalk
Boardwalk at National Blvd
Long Beach
For more info and to RSVP:
http://www.globalfrackdown.org/events-2014/


Tuesday, October 14th

7:30pm

Let’s Eat! Food on Film presents…The Sturgeon Queens
Cinema Arts Centre
Park Ave
Huntington
$10 Members/$15 General Public (includes reception with classic Jewish dairy dishes)
For more info and to buy tickets (it will sell out):
http://www.cinemaartscentre.org/event/the-sturgeon-queens/

Co-presented with Slow Food North Shore (formerly Slow Food Huntington), the Cinema Arts Centre presents the story of the Jewish immigrant family that created the beloved New York City Lower East Side establishment Russ & Daughters that spans 100 years, 4 generations and 1.8 million lbs of pickled herring! The director, Julie Cohen, will be in person for a Q & A after the film and the reception will include such classic Jewish dairy dishes as Kasha Varnishkes, Latkes, Smoked Salmon with Horseradish Cream!


Saturday, October 18th

10am to 2pm

Green Thumb CSA Annual Fall Pumpkin Picking Farm Tour
Green Thumb Farm
Montauk Highway
Watermill
FREE (for CSA members and immediate family only)
For reservations:
631-726-1900 (call any day between 9:30am and 4pm)

Held rain (unless it’s a torrential downpour), or shine, this is a riding tour of our home farm on a trailer pulled by a tractor. The tour times are 10am, 11am 12pm and 1pm. Reservations are required as space on each trailer is limited. The tour is 1 hour in length, and everyone gets to take home a Pumpkin (in full disclosure, the Pumpkins are NOT organic and are not grown on our farm as Pumpkins used for carving, while they are edible, are not the variety of Winter Squashes you want to grow for eating). There is no charge for the tour or the Pumpkins.

Please keep in mind that this event is only for CSA members and their immediate family members. If you are sharing a CSA share with someone, only one person and their immediate family is allowed to take the tour and if it’s not the CSA member who is going, please make your reservation in the name of the CSA member. Often people who share a CSA share have one person go in June for Strawberry picking and the other person goes in October for the Pumpkin Tour (if there’s more than that, and there have been…I guess they pick straws!).

The is our CSA members’ last chance to see your farm and talk to Farm Bill this year (if you have any gardening questions about your own home garden…this is the chance to talk to someone who knows something about growing things that are local and edible)!


Friday, October 24th

Food Day…a nationwide celebration and movement for healthy, sustainable and affordable food
For more info and event listings…
http://www.foodday.org/

Local events listed on the website…

10am to 8pm

Bareburger (all organic and local everything…craft beers…not doing anything special but it’s an appropriate place to be eating today)
32 Middle Neck Road
Great Neck
http://eatreal.org/locations/bareburger-middle-neck-rd-ny/

noon to 3pm

Farmer’s Market
Plainview Hospital
888 Old Country Rd
Plainview
RSVP:
mgurlide@nshs.edu
516-719-2333

noon to 3pm

Eating Local on $4 a Day
North Shore University Hospital
Employee Cafeteria and Main entrance
300 Community Drive
Manhasset

Pretty impressive actually…they’ll offer local produce and homemade foods, patients will be getting Applesauce made from NY State Apples, and in the cafeteria they’ll be offering free range Eggs and Antibiotic –free Chicken cutlets and Beef patties, and they’ll be planting Spinach and Garlic somewhere (hospital garden?).


Saturday, October 26th and Sunday, October 27th

10am to 5pm

Oktoberfest at Garden of Eve Farm
4558 Sound Ave
Riverhead
$15 – tickets must be purchased in advance and include one tasting from each of the brewery in attendance/21 and under FREE
For more info and to purchase tickets:
http://www.gardenofevefarm.com/Oktoberfest.htm

Rain or shine, enjoy craft beers from (to be confirmed) Greenpoint Harbor Brewing, Long Ireland Brewing Company, Pt Jefferson Brewery, Rocky Point Artisanal Brewing and Southampton Publick House. None of these breweries are organic but they are all local. There will also be Pumpkin picking, live music, craft vendors, food, hay rides, pony rides, games and petting zoo. This is a benefit for WUSB radio, out of SUNY Stony Brook.


Friday, January 23rd to Sunday, January 25th

Soil: The Root of the Movement
33rd Annual Organic Farming & Gardening Conference
Saratoga Hilton & City Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
For more info:
http://www.nofany.org/events/winter-conference

Keynote speaker: Wes Jackson, The Land Institute
http://www.landinstitute.org/
Farmer of the year: Lakeview Organic Grain, Klaas & Mary-Howell Martens
http://www.lakevieworganicgrain.com/

There’s a children’s conference (ages 6 to 13) and childcare available (ages 3 to 5) as well so it’s fun for families, single folk, young and old. The food is local and/or organic as much as possible in January and accommodates all styles of eating (raw, vegan, gluten free, paleo).

It’s too early to register so either get on the NOFA-NY email list (not a bad thing to do if you’re interested in eating organic food or gardening organically), or joining NOFA-NY (same as I just said) so you can be apprised of when registration starts.

Want to go for free (well, almost…you still have to pay for room and board)???
Enter the Annual Winter Conference T-shirt Contest by October 22nd and if you win you get your registration paid for and 2 t-shirts when your design is printed (and the cool factor of having your t-shirt be THE t-shirt for the NOFA-NY Winter Conference)…
http://www.nofany.org/tshirtcontest



8. It’s not too late to start your garden, or start it up again!

Planted a garden this year (or wish you did and think it’s too late to start now)? Get certified organic Herb (many varieties), Vegetable (many varieties) and Flower (some…ask!) plants grown at your farm, Green Thumb Farm! To order plants, call the farm at 631-726-1900 between 9:30am and 4pm any day of the week/weekend and have a credit card on hand for payment. They will be delivered with the next available CSA delivery! I’m hearing from the people who bought these plants so far that they’re doing GREAT!!!

35 plants you can plant now for an Autumn Vegetable garden…and you can get some of these plants from our farm, Green Thumb Farm!

http://www.hgtvgardens.com/vegetables/15-vegetables-you-can-plant-now-for-fall-harvest?nl=HGG_093014_featlink1&sni_mid=157626&sni_rid=157626.10001.307464&c32=%7bBCDCFEB0-D404-4C4E-827D-738DA4C551F0%7d

http://www.hgtvgardens.com/photos/vegetables-photos/a-guide-to-leafy-vegetables?nl=HGG_093014_featlink2&sni_mid=157626&sni_rid=157626.10001.307464&c32=%7bBCDCFEB0-D404-4C4E-827D-738DA4C551F0%7d



9. Click, tap, or swipe here to help make the world a better place…

A. Stop Syrgenta’s Bee killing plan…they want to increase the allowable amount of a particular bee killing pesticide by 40,000%...
http://act.credoaction.com/sign/syngenta_bees?sp_ref=.4.9402.e.36086.2&referring_akid=.380222.mmqQc_&source=mailto_sp

B. A world out of balance…Koyaanisqatsi (Hopi word for “life out of balance” and a good movie that an old acquaintance of mine did the location scouting for)…

Sea lions are starving because of overfishing of Sardines in California! As much as I like Sardines (maybe you don’t, but SOMEBODY’S eating them out of existence…or they’re being used for pet food or something), I’m willing to do what I need to do (stop eating them?) to let the population replenish itself and put the ecosystem in a better state of balance…
https://takeaction.takepart.com/actions/save-the-oceans-feed-the-world?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2014-09-26

C. Watch this cool (and smart) video featuring Moby, the musician, about the Bees on his property and why he wants to save Bees (they need a lot of help, we’ve lost half of this country’s Bee population in the past few years)…
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=14814

D. Join this Facebook page if you’d like to ban plastic bags in Huntington (I’m thinking they mean the plastic ones in grocery stores)…
https://www.facebook.com/BanPlasticBagsHuntingtonNY



10. And now for something completely different…

Restaurant owner wanted customers to LITERALLY become addicted to his food!
http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/09/chinese-restaurant-poppy-opium-noodles.html

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