Summer is upon us and so are many of the summer crops everyone’s been waiting for. We’ve been picking tomatoes and peppers, eggplants and summer squash. We still have broccoli and cauliflower on the way. One of the staples of summer—corn—is looking unlikely for this year. I’ve not yet had luck tracking down a source for local, organic corn. The wet spring did a number on many farms’ corn crops. I am hopeful, however, that next year we’ll be able to grow our own supply of corn! We are busy working on plans that may involve growing land-intensive crops across the street in Nahanton Park. For those of you who must have corn, I recommend checking for local, organic corn at farmers’ markets in and around Newton.

All this talk of corn and tomatoes, eggplants and squash, raises a question I think is worth addressing: why do crops from our farm look different from the produce you buy in the grocery store? In the next few installments of this newsletter I’d like to discuss a few of the reasons for the differences.

As you may have noticed, we often have holes in our produce. Why? Well, because bugs put them there. While this may make some folks feel a little queasy, I hope when you really think about it you realize that the bugs are there to make the holes because we don’t spray our crops with poison. A piece of advice: be wary of perfect produce! We have yet to use any sprays on our crops. The only thing we’ve used besides sunshine and water is compost to feed our soil. This is something that, as a father of young children, I feel very good about. It also brings up an important point of clarification.

I have had many people ask me if NACF is an organic farm. We are not. This does not mean that we use poisons—as I have just said, we have not sprayed our crops with any herbicides or pesticides. It simply means that the USDA has not certified us as an organic farm. Organic certification has costs—both in terms of money and in terms of the time involved in filling out the paperwork. We have not yet decided whether organic certification is something that we will pursue. However, I can assure you that I will continue to practice farming in as sustainable a way as I can, and avoid spraying as long as possible. In the event that I do need to spray, I will only use products approved by the USDA for use on organic farms.

This may mean, however, that our cabbage or chard have more holes in them than you would find in grocery store produce. This is a trade-off that I, for one, am willing to make. While local, organic produce may not look perfect, its not poisoning you or the earth, and it sure tastes good!

Next month: the role of youth and volunteers in harvesting at NACF.

Greg Maslowe, Farm Manager

Please contact Farm Manager, Greg Maslowe, at 617-797-1611 or NewtonCommunityFarm@comcast.net if you are able to donate any of the following. (We can now give you our new tax-exempt id number!)

grease board (white board) or chalk board
chainsaw
gas weedeater
large cooler and ice packs
galvanized buckets (all sizes and shapes)
metal posts
6' tomato stakes (oak or flanged metal)
market tent/awning
folding table (preferably 6 foot)
rubber bands
plastic or paper bags

Please help us celebrate our first harvest and all the hard work of our farmer, CSA members, volunteers, and supporters.

The Harvest Festival will be at the farm on Sunday, October 22nd (time to be decided).

Have any experience planning events? Have no experience but want to meet some really nice people? Just want to learn a little more about the farm? Please join Sam Fogel for a planning meeting on Wednesday, August 23rd, 7:45pm, at Sam’s house (55 Halcyon Road, Newton Center). His phone number is 617-969-9039. His email is sam@fogel.com.

Plans to be discussed include tours of the farm, demonstration of tilling using the new tractor, activities for kids ("seed to harvest"), activities for adults (biodiesel), vegetable cooking demonstration (by Greg or local chef), music event (any ideas for musicians?), farm displays (history of Angino Farm, what's been grown so far, information on other CSA's, plans for the future), food table, and hot apple cider.

Thanks to an internship from Williams College in Newton, Liz has been a steady presence on the farm this summer. She can often be seen at the farm stand or in the field digging, planting, weeding and harvesting. She has also taken on the daunting task of visiting other community farms and preparing an educational plan for Angino Farm. Liz has created a children’s garden and treasure hunt at the farm and will be documenting her ideas for educational programs (for children and adults) as her summer break comes to a close.

From Liz: “I am a political science major at Williams and I am minoring in Environmental Studies. I'm mainly interested in food, our food systems, and organic farming. I first worked on a farm in Williamstown last summer, so I was thrilled when I saw that a farm was starting in my own town. This summer has been a very different experience for me from last summer, given the age of Angino farm. Though Angino farm and the farm in Williamstown are both small, alternative farms run by one farmer and committed to selling locally, their methods of planting are very different.

“I have loved seeing the farm go from nearly bare to full of so many delicious vegetables! I'm so glad that I've had the opportunity to participate in this project, and I can't wait to see the developments in coming years.”

Photo: Liz (on the right) is supervising the work on the children’s garden

On a recent Saturday, as I arrived at Newton Angino Community Farm, the farm was buzzing with activity. Volunteers of all ages, from 7 to over 60, were busy planting, transplanting, and weeding—bringing the farm to life. Thousands of square feet of vegetables were thriving on what had been a fallow field for over 20 years—vegetables grown using sustainable organic practices, with minimal dependence on fossil fuels for production and transport of produce. Families were arriving to pick up their pre-purchased produce, and others were shopping at our recently opened farmstand. One of our high school interns was helping younger children to plant eggplant, and volunteers were weeding asparagus, raspberries, and tomatoes.

On seeing all this I was struck by how fortunate we are to have saved Angino Farm—Newton’s last farm. The farm is already enriching the lives of countless Newton residents. Years ago, Jerry Angino, Newton’s first school guidance counselor, used the farm to help transform the lives of troubled youth. Today, the farm is being restored, and is transforming the lives of Newton youth once again. In the early summer, we were visited by students from the Brimmer & May School. Campers from the Nahanton Park Outdoor Adventure Camp also had the opportunity to visit, learn about, work at, and enjoy our community farm. We are working with parents and faculty from the Bowen school to create a pilot farm curriculum for the public schools. Plans are also in the works for our first annual Fall Harvest Festival.

Newton Angino Community Farm is now at a turning point. As we complete our first season of operation and the successful launch of the farm, we now begin to turn our attention to longer-range goals such as expanding educational programming and restoring our historic barn. Therefore, it is fitting that we just received word from the IRS that our application for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status has been accepted. We are now officially a charitable organization. The farm is already a tremendous success, but our ambitions are large. Imagine a thriving community farm, producing thousands of pounds of produce for Newton residents, feeding people in need, teaching Newton residents of all ages about sustainable gardening and sustainable living, and preserving a piece of Newton’s agricultural history. Imagine working with the Newton Conservators, the Green Decade Coalition, the City, and others to transform the historic barn into a center for environmental education and advocacy with year-round programming, enriching the lives of Newton Residents for years to come.

As our young non-profit organization moves from the “launch” phase to a focus on growing to achieve our full potential, it’s an exciting time to be involved with Newton Angino Community Farm. If you are interested in assisting with fundraising or strategic planning please contact me at (617) 244-0736 or berkowitz.regosin@verizon.com.

Jon Regosin, President, NCF

As always, donations to the farm are greatly appreciated. Please make checks payable to Newton Community Farm and send them to NCF, 303 Nahanton Street, Newton, MA 02459. For more information, contact Jon Regosin at (617) 244-0736 or berkowitz.regosin@verizon.com.

Farm Manager, Greg Maslowe, can be reached at (617) 797-1611 or NewtonCommunityFarm@comcast.net.

For information on volunteering on the farm, working on the farmhouse, or planning the harvest festival, please contact Sam Fogel at 617-969-9039 or sam@fogel.com.

For contributions to our newsletter or website, or if you would like to be added to our e-mail list, please contact Rebekah Smillie at 617-641-2012 or rsmillie@rcn.com.

For information on giving to Newton Community Farm, please contact Jon Regosin at (617) 244-0736 or berkowitz.regosin@verizon.net.

NewtonCommunityFarm.org