July
18, 2013
RFP
Update
Lexington's Community Farming Committee has been
meeting regularly to evaluate the proposals,
including LexFarm's - to choose the best proposal
for operating a community farm on the Busa Farm
property starting in 2014. On Thursday morning,
July 18th, they met with representatives from
LexFarm and Community Farms Outreach Executive
Director
Claire Kozower who answered
questions about the LexFarm proposal. Although
Lexington Town Manager Carl Valente has said that
the decision on the winning bid will be made by
the end of the summer, we believe that the
decision could come as early as next week. Stay
Tuned!
News
From LexFarm
Goat Yard
For those
who have not yet heard, we have experienced some
big changes at the goat yard this past week: The
herd of nine Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats has been
reduced to four as their owners have sold some of
the goats to a new farm. New mother
Naya
and her two bucklings,
John Snow and
Snoopy,
along with old friends
Sapphire and
Salt
moved to their new home on Monday, leaving
Ionia,
Ella,
Pepper and baby doe
Lilac.
Although such is the reality of a farm operation,
we do apologize for the short notice, especially
to those regular visitors who didn't have a chance
to say good-bye. We also apologize for an earlier
communication that indicated Salt would be staying
through the summer. Unfortunately, that didn't
work out. Please come and learn more about farm
life with dairy goats every Sunday from 1 - 3 at
the LexFarm Goat Yard, weather and volunteers
permitting! And follow our goat yard blog here:
http://lexfarm.org/category/goatyard_blog/
If you'd like to help and can commit to a regular
shift (1 - 2 hours/week), please contact
Josh
Vatsky:
jo...@lexfarm.org.
Please note: all volunteers must be LexFarm
members:
lexfarm.org/membership.
LexFarm
Digs Into
Reading
Librarians from
Arlington's Robbins Library
Children's Room invited LexFarm to
participate in a special program in honor of this
year's summer reading theme, "Dig Into Reading."
Children's librarians
Pam and
Sophia
arranged for children to paint plant pots while
LexFarm's Farmer
Charlie Radoslovich taught
them about seeds and the lifecycle of plants. When
their pots were dry, the children planted herbs to
take home, and then as a group they planted flower
seeds and radishes in a box in the courtyard that
can be observed when the children return to the
children's room over time. A selection of books on
the subject was assembled and everyone learned a
thing or two while enjoying a summer afternoon at
the library!
Children's Farm Plot
Our
Children's Farm Plot is growing strong, with
radishes and lettuce, kale, chard, summer squash
and herbs ready to harvest or cut and come
again. We will have to wait a little longer for
the tomatoes and peppers, and the carrots and
potatoes will not be ready for a while yet. We
could use help pulling the radishes and lettuce
and there is weeding to be done, plus we can
re-plant the areas where the radishes and
lettuces are harvested. Join us on Thursdays
from 1:00 to 2:00 and go home with some salad
fixings!
Sign-up
here
Membership Corner
Show
Your Support, Become a member
A donation of $20.00 for an
individual membership or $35.00 for
a family membership will help us meet
our current expenses and plan for the future.
You can sign up online here or send a check payable to LexFarm
at P.O. Box 554, Lexington, MA 02420.
If you have any questions, contact Brenda
Netreba at membe...@lexfarm.org.
Wild
Edible Plant Series
This
series covers wild
edible plants
found in New
England as told in
Russ Cohen's book,
"Wild Plants I
Have Known... and
Eaten." If you
haven't had the
chance, take some
time to read this
delightfully
informative book
to find out more
on wild plants for
sustainable
eating.
Note: If you are unfamiliar
with harvesting wild edibles,
please consult a plant expert
before attempting to forage on
your own.
Part Nineteen: Evening
Primrose (
Oenothera)
The
Evening Primrose is a thick, cactus-like
biennial plant that can be found among wild
flowers and in sandy soil near river and ocean
shores. They can easily be detected during
mid-summer, when their bright yellow flowers are
in full bloom, indicating it is in its second
year. They can grow up to six-feet tall and
have stems covered in narrow open-seeded pods.
In it's first year at the start of spring, they
sprout up as long-leaf rosettes low to the
ground with tinges of red around the edge of
each leaf. At this point, the roots of the
plant are edible and ready to be dug up for
eating. They are known to have a somewhat
spicy, peppery flavor and make a great
substitute for horseradish or turnip shredded
into a dish. They are great eaten boiled and
fried as well. They should be boiled for up to
10 minutes, however, may cause slight throat
irritation and itchiness for some consumers that
may be sensitive to their plant properties.
Further Thinking
Higher Ground, Boston's very first
open-air rooftop farm and the second largest in
the world, has opened this week thanks to the
help of over 100 volunteers. To learn more
about it, go here.
We welcome your feedback
Please write us at newsl...@lexfarm.org
with your feedback regarding the Update or if
you have suggestions for area events that we can
announce.
Jeanne Lin and Allison
Moody
