March
14, 2013
LexFarm
presents... "Farming: Then and Now"
Sunday, March 17, LHS Main Auditorium, 1
- 3 pm
 As part of the
celebration of Lexington's
300th anniversary of the town's
incorporation, LexFarm will be presenting a farm
history panel titled "Farming Then and Now"
on March 17th from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at
Lexington High School. The panel of four
distinguished speakers will explore who the
town's farmers have been and the strategies they
have pursued to keep their farms sustainable in
response to regional, national, and global
developments in agriculture.
In addition to being treated to lively slide
presentations, attendees will be invited to join
in the conversation about the important turning
points in local and regional farming and the
many factors that contributed to changing
understandings of what a "farm" can be.
The panelists will include August
"Gus" Schumacher, Jr. who grew up on
a farm in Lexington, served as Commissioner of
Food and Agriculture for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, and currently serves on the 21st
Century Sustainable Agricultural Task Force of
the National Academy of Sciences.
The event is FREE; We have 25 "Golden
Tickets" available for priority seating
available to any LexFarm
member who arrives before 12:45 pm.
LexFarm members click here to
reserve a ticket.
Nourish Newsletter
 We want to
highlight the great work Karen Masterson
is doing in the community through her
restaurant, nourish.
In addition to being a great partner and holding
fundraising programs for LexFarm, Karen provides
a delicious menu of responsibly (and often
locally) sourced food at reasonable prices in
Lexington center. We hope you'll consider
subscribing to her e-newsletter and stay up to
date with the many programs and menus available
through nourish. Read
her March 6th newsletter here
and click the button to sign up and receive
it every week.
And mark your calendar now for May 21st...the
next Wild Edible Walk with Russ Cohen and lunch
at nourish to benefit LexFarm!
Farm Share
Fair- TODAY
March
14, Cambridge, 5:30 - 8:30 pm
 Believe it or not, it's time
to start thinking about the summer harvest. If
you haven't already joined a CSA farm share, you
may want to attend the Farm Share
Fair taking place in Cambridge TODAY,
from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.
Or you can try one of the following area farms.
They all have have available shares for 2013 and
offer certified organic or organically-grown
produce. Share prices refer to vegetable
shares (some include fruit), but several farms
also offer fruit, flower, or egg shares at
additional cost:
Busa
Farm - pick up at the Lexington farm
stand, $400/full share, $200/half share,
pesticide-free
Drumlin
Farm - pick up at the Lincoln Farm,
$630/share, organic practices
Enterprise
Farm - several pick-up locations
(including Arlington and Winchester), $700/large
share, $500/small share, certified organic
First
Root Farm - pick up at the Concord farm or
in Somerville, $650/share, organic and
sustainable practices
Land's
Sake - pick up at the Weston farm,
$715/share, sustainable practices
Lindentree
Farm - pick-up at the Lincoln Farm,
$900/large share, $750/small share, certified
organic
Picadilly
Farm - several pick-up locations
(including Arlington or Winchester), $670/share,
certified organic
Red Fire
Farm - several pick-up locations
(including Somerville or Cambridge), $530/main
season share, certified organic
Siena Farms
- pick up at the Sudbury farm or in Cambridge,
$1000/peak-season share, organic and
sustainable practices
The
Farm School - pick up in Cambridge or
Watertown, $625/share, certified organic
The Food
Project - pick up at the Lincoln farm or
at several pick-up locations (including
Arlington), $700/on-farm share, $500/off-site
share, sustainable practices
Waltham
Fields Community Farm - pick up at the
Waltham farm, $650/share, organic practices
World PEAS Cooperative CSA - several
pick-up locations (including Lexington),
$810/large share, $540/small share, organic
practices
This list is certainly not complete. To find
additional CSAs in the area, check out LocalHarvest.
News from the Goat
Yard
 Despite over
a foot of snow that fell on the Goat Yard on
Friday, March 8th, by Wednesday it had all melted,
and the herd was enjoying the warmer weather and
promise of more spring-like days to come. Pictured
here are Naya, the mom-to-be (left) and Ionia, her
mother. Naya is expected to kid in May and appears
very healthy.
The LexFarm Goat Yard will be closed on Sunday,
3/17 and Sunday, 3/24 so that we can
host the farm panel and our annual meeting. We
hope to re-open on Sunday, March 31st, weather and
volunteers permitting!
Membership Corner
LexFarm
Annual Meeting
March
24, Depot in Lexington Center, 2 - 4 pm
LexFarm will be holding it 3rd Annual
Meeting on Sunday, March 24 from 2:00
- 4:00 pm at the Depot in Lexington
Center. In addition to our business
meeting and a special Thank You to members, we
will hear from nourish Restaurant
owner Karen Masterson about the work and
challenges of sourcing locally and responsibly.
Karen has been a great friend and partner to
LexFarm, and we hope that you'll come and learn
about how we can support her work.
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 Eleven: Beach Plums
(Prunus Maritima)
 Beach plums grow as bush plants
commonly found on Plum Island and along the
coastline of Essex County. Similar to
juneberries, beach plums can be easily
identified when in bloom in the spring time,
however, their fruit doesn't ripen until late
August to mid-September. They are best eaten
when three-quarter of an inch in diameter and
taste similar to cultivated plums, yet have a
slightly bitter, but not off-putting flavor.
They can be eaten freshly picked and also make
for delicious jams and jellies.
Further Thinking
In A
Simple Fix for Farming in the New
York Times, Mark Bittman highlights the benefits
of crop rotation as a convenient method in
organic, sustainable farming and a feasible
alternative to pesticide use.
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
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Membership Corner
Wild Edible Series
Area Events
Note:
member prices refer to membership in the
organization hosting the event.
March 16 & 17,
Drumlin Farm, Lincoln, 9 am - 1 pm
Sap-to-Syrup
Farmer's Breakfast
Real Vermont maple syrup on fresh pancakes is
the centerpiece of Mass Audubon's Drumlin
Farm's annual Sap-to-Syrup Farmer's Breakfast,
but don't forget about the homemade sausage
and roasted potatoes! Before or after
your breakfast, walk the sap-to-syrup trail to
explore the natural history of maple trees,
and see how sap is collected from Drumlin
Farm's sugar bush.
$15 for adults, $12 for children, Free for
children under 2
March 16 & 23, Newton Community
Farm, 9:30 - 11 am
Defensive
Urban Gardening
You have just spent your weekend planting your
little seedlings only to come and inspect your
work a day later to find that some local
critter has had a tasty snack!! Ways to
outsmart local critters, birds and insects is
just one of the topics to be covered in this
two part class. You will also address issues
such as protecting against extreme
temperatures, fungi, birds and insects using
methods such as nets, row cover and even some
more creative techniques.
$45 non-member, $40 member
March 18 & 24, Via Lago,
Lexington, 5 - 9 pm
Mondays
in March for Lexington Farmers' Market
Sit down and dine at Via Lago any Monday
evening in March and Via Lago will donate 20%
of sales to the Lexington Farmers' Market.Â
Don't forget to mark your calendar for the
Market's grand opening on Tuesday May 21st.
March 19 & April 2,
Drumlin Farm, 6:30 - 9 pm
Working
with Wool
Join Drumlin Farm for an exploration of wool!
Sheep were the earliest domesticated farm
animal and wool is one of the most ancient and
important fibers in the world. You will move
through all the stages of preparing fleece -
cleaning, carding, and dyeing, and then learn
ways to use the fleece you've prepared -
spinning, felting, and simple weaving. You
will meet the ewes and lambs that produce the
wool and try to spend time with them each
session.
$48 non-member, $40 member
March 23, Land's Sake, Bill
McElwain Sugar House, 9 am
Sugaring
Off
Join Land's Sake to celebrate the end of
another Maple Season. Come for a pankcake
breakfast, live music from The Whiskey Boys,
tours of the sugar house and of course their
very own maple syrup.
Free
March 30, Newton Community Farm, 9 am -
12 noon
4
Season Gardening: Garden Structures and
Planting
Assist in the building of a simple three bin
composting system and learn how to incorporate
and build simple trellises and arbors into
your garden infrastructure. Begin early season
planting and learn about transplanting and
direct sowing as well as tips on watering.
$45 non-member, $40 member
Conferences/Seminars
March 22 - 23, Concord, NH
New
England Meat Conference
The goal of the New England Meat Conference is
to enhance the production, processing, and
marketing of sustainable, nutritious,
humanely-raised, and delicious meat from New
England farms by providing educational and
networking opportunities for meat producers,
processors and consumers.
Board members
Janet Kern, President
Ken Karnofsky, Vice-President
Derek Moody, Treasurer
Ellen Frye
Jay Luker
Brenda Netreba
Charlie Radoslovich
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