January
17, 2013
RFP Update
This
is the year that a Community Farm will
move from a concept to reality as the Town
of Lexington issues the Request for
Proposals (RFP) for the farming use of the
Busa property.
Town Manager Carl Valente has placed this
piece of business at the top Town
priorities for 2013. While the timeline is
not definitive, we have learned that the Town
expects to issue the final RFP in late
February and select the winning
proposal by early summer.� LexFarm is busy
gearing up to prepare strong proposal that
will include a plan for a self-sustaining
nonprofit farm operation, farm-based
education programs, and many other
benefits for the surrounding community.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more
information as we have it! - Ken
Karnofsky
LexFarm
Cheese-Making Class
If you haven't signed up yet, now's the time!�
Join
LexFarm 
and the
Belmont Food
Collaborative in cheese-making 101.
Meet Lisa
Fox and Joan Teebagy,
our cheese-making specialists.� Come learn
how to make soft cheeses like
chevre, ricotta
and
paneer and try your finished
product afterwards. The class will cover the
basics on cheese-making, including milk election,
curd textures, and starters, in addition to what
tools and techniques to use.� Take home recipes
and other information to help get started on your
own.�
Two classes are available at the following
locations:
Lexington:
When:� Sunday January 27, 2013, 2 -
4 pm
Where: Church of Our Redeemer, 6 Meriam
St., Lexington, MA.
Sponsored by
Lexington
Community Farm Coalition (LexFarm)
Fee: $20 or $10 for LexFarm members
lexfarm.org/class-registration/
�
Belmont:
When:� Sunday, February 3, 2013, 2 - 4pm
Where: First Church in Belmont, 404 Concord
Ave., Belmont, MA.
Sponsored by
Belmont
Food Collaborative, Inc.
Fee: $20
http://belmontfood.org/projects/education/basic-cheese-making-course/
Class size is limited, reservations required,
so sign up today!
News
from the Goat Yard:� Congratulations, Naya!
The LexFarm Goat Yard and goats are
owned and cared for by Kim Goldinger,
with LexFarm providing volunteer
opportunities and educational programming for
the public. We are grateful to Kim for her
offer to include a "preganancy watch"� in our
updates, as the goats are bred and we prepare
for kidding.
All seems
to be running smoothly at the
Goat
Yard. The herd is now together again after a
long weaning period for Salt and Pepper.� Ionia is
being 'milked through' this year - she will not be
bred and is still providing milk once a day in the
mornings. Both Sapphire and Naya were taken to be
bred, and we are excited to report that Naya is
pregnant! Our best estimate of her delivery date
is approximately April 20th.
The relatively warm weather and lack of snow (as
this was being written) have been good news for
the goats who have been spending lots of time
outdoors.� LexFarm member
George Erickson
has been visiting the yard and taking the herd out
for forage and exercise a few times per week. The
photo here is one he captured of the goats
venturing out in the snow for a January walk.
Leading is Ella, followed by Pepper, Sapphire ,
with Naya and Salt looking back at a very hesitant
Ionia. While they had a nice walk, they were all
happy to bolt back to the safety of their barn and
yard.
-
Kim Goldinger & Janet Kern
Want
the Dirt?
We try to list as many events and topics
related to food, farming and organic gardening
as we are able to in our bi-monthly LexFarm
Update newsletter, but for those who might be
interested in learning about some things
first-hand, we thought we'd share two
list-serves that we recommend:
Boston Food System [BFS]
The Boston Food System provides a forum to post
announcements of events, employment
opportunities, internships, programs, lectures,
and other activities as well as related articles
or other publications of a non-commercial nature
covering the area's food system - food,
nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take
place or focus on or around Greater Boston.� It
reaches over 700 subscribers and growing.
To subscribe: https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs
Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)-
Gardener's Forum
If you have questions about organic gardening,
NOFA's got the answers!� Share your questions
and your knowledge with other organic gardeners
across the state. There is a wealth of info and
advice to help one another.� Join the NOFA/Mass
Online Gardener's Forum.
To subscribe: nofa-mass...@lists.riseup.net
Climate Change and Agriculture Events
Presentation and Q & A
with Rancher and Restoration Ecologist,
Allan Savory on reducing carbon emissions
Friday, January 25, ASEAN
Auditorium, 3rd Fl., Medford,� 2 - 4 pm
�
"Reversing Global Warming while Meeting Human
Needs: An Urgently Needed Land-Based Option"
Allan Savory is the founder of the
Savory
Institute and originator of the Holistic
Management approach to restoring grasslands,
winner of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award,
finalist in the Virgin Earth Challenge and 2013
TED global Conference invited presenter.
While governments posture and dither, a
pragmatic��� practitioner and intellectual
entrepreneur, Allan Savory, has been developing
and demonstrating a powerful technique that can
reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
immediately while reversing desertification and
providing livelihoods and food for millions of
people.
This
event is hosted by the Fletcher School's Agriculture,
Forests, and Biodiversity Program of the
Center for International Envionment and
Resource Policy along with the Friedman
School's Agriculture, Food and Environment
Program at Tufts University.�
RSVP is required to attend.� To learn
more about it, visit here.
Lexington Community
Conversation: Climate Change: How can we
make a difference in Lexington?�
Tuesday, February 26, Keilty
Hall St. Brigid's Church, 6:45 - 9 pm
Join neighbors, town staff, LexFarm members and
other community groups to learn how other towns
are preparing for potential problems and share
your thoughts about this issue in Lexington.
This is an opportunity for those concerned about
our local food production to voice those
concerns and help place agriculture and organic
gardening on the list of priorities for
Lexington.
The
planning committee for this second annual
Community Conversation includes members of the
following Lexington groups: the League of
Women Voters; the Global Warming Action
Committee; Citizens for Lexington
Conservation; Sustainable Lexington; LexFarm;
the Planning Board, and the Town Manager's
office.
Membership Corner
Join or Renew your membership for 2013!
Are you a "lapsed" LexFarm member? If you're not
sure when your membership expires, you can email
membe...@lexfarm.org
and we'll let you know!
Help Wanted
�
Members needed for Children's Educational
Programming
The LexFarm Education Committee is extending
an open invitation to interested members who would
like to help review, select and develop children's
farm-based education programming for LexFarm.
Anyone interested is invited to join
Nancy
Gold in the planning process; she owns a
large number of excellent curriculum guides,
periodicals and books on the subject, in addition
to having experience with school gardening and
children's environmental education.
If you are interested in meeting to share, explore
and discuss the various possibilities or have any
questions, please email Nancy at
nancya...@gmail.com.
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 Lexington
Community Farm Coalition at P.O. Box
554, Lexington, MA 02420. If you have
any questions, contact us 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 Seven: Calamus
Similar
to the cattails, the calamus (
Acorus Calamus)
can be found growing in wetlands by rivers
and damp meadows, often found fully grown
between the spring and throughout the early
summer.� It grows in patches (20-50 feet in
diameter), only half as tall as cattails, and
has yellowish leaves.� It is also often referred
to as "Sweet Flag," resembling in appearance and
habitat to the poisonous "Blue Flag."� The
difference between the two plants is that the
calamus flowers are similar in color to its
leaves and grow on the side of the plant,
protruding out like a thumb, whereas the Blue
Flag plant's flowers are bright violet and
yellow, growing on the top of the plant stalk
instead.� The calamus plant can also be
distinguished by its spicy, ginger flavor,
especially found in its roots.� Chewing on
candied calamus roots had once been a common
custom as an after-dinner treat as well as an
aid to digestion.� In different cultures, they
are also used for medicinal purposes, such as
stimulating the appetite, soothing sore throats
as a tea, in addition to relieving digestive
problems.� The main edible part of the plant are
its hearts, or the young inner leaves of the
plant that have not fully matured, remaining
tender enough for eating.� They have a much
milder taste compared to their roots and are
best eaten as a raw addition to salads.�
Further Thinking
TedxManhattan is encouraging individuals and
organizations to host live viewing parties for
its upcoming event, "Changing the Way We Eat" on
February 16th.� To learn more about it and to
register as an official viewing party, visit
their site here.
We
welcome your feedback
Please
write us at newsl...@lexfarm.org
with all feedback regarding the Update or if
you have suggestions for area events that we
can announce.
Jeanne Lin and Allison Moody
