2007 has been a strange summer for weather. We’ve had periods of high heat, but also more days than perhaps we’re entitled to with August temperatures in the 70s to low 80s. It has also been a fairly dry summer. When we’ve gotten rains, they’ve dropped a quarter inch or less of water on the fields.

In spite of the weather, as we make our way through our second growing season I feel like things are going pretty well. There are certainly places where we hope to improve in future years, but overall, things are good. One of the most trying aspects of this summer has been that our wonderful spader broke in late June. We had it to get most of the crops in the ground, but its been hard to keep up on planting—in particular, it’s been challenging to meet our goals for cover cropping. Not being able to plant as many cover crops this summer as I was hoping is one of those aspects of the farm I look forward to improving on in future years. Cover cropping is an important way to not only maintain, but to increase our soil’s fertility. Cover cropping and composting are the corner stones of sustainable agriculture. Tom and I saw a demonstration of a flail mower at another farm and are convinced that this will be an important purchase for the farm to help incorporate cover crops, and all our other crops for that matter, when it’s time to spade the soil. The flail mower shreds crops so they can easily be turned under. This allows all the organic matter represented by cover crops to be composted directly in the field.

With the last few weeks winding down before school starts, many of you are probably starting to think about fall. That’s certainly on our minds here at the farm. We’ve been busy planting the cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower and other cool weather crops that we’ll be harvesting in late September and October. I find myself already thinking about next year’s crop plan even while our tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are just getting going for this year. One of the gifts of each growing season is the ideas and excitement it generates in me for the future.

All summer long I’ve been asked about the tennis balls. Thank you to everyone who brought some. We now have plenty. The tennis balls are not for scaring away birds as many of you thought. They’re there to keep material from getting torn by the tops of the tomato stakes—material like row covers in the fall, and also farmers’ shirts. The row covers will be put on in the fall to protect the tomatoes against early frosts. But perhaps their greatest use, which was unintended, has been all the speculation and conversation they’ve elicited about the farm.

A couple more items that are on my mind. First, we really need your recycled plastic bags. We had a good size collection of them early in the season, but once the farmers’ markets started up we went through them really quickly. So if you get plastic bags from the store, please save them and bring them to the farm next time you visit. Second, I thought I should formally introduce Casey, our new farm dog. She comes from the Animal Rescue League in Dedham and has been a terrific addition to the farm team. Casey hunts voles and mice in the field, and chases deer off the farm at night. Some people have mistaken her at first glance for a fox or coyote. We do have both of these animals on the farm frequently, but if you see a reddish animal roaming the fields, it’s most likely to be Casey looking for her next rodent meal.

As we enjoy a growing harvest and new crop offerings such as raspberries (now available!) and asparagus (expected spring ’08), NCF continues to aggressively expand educational programming and make important site improvements. This year, from high school internships to after school programming, to a new initiative with the Learning Prep School, more and more Newton youth are visiting the farm. We have constructed a new farm stand, and plan to expand our greenhouse and restore our historic Angino-era cold frames. A special children’s garden is also in the works.

To move forward with this ambitious agenda we depend upon the generosity of a growing number of supporters who are generously contributing to our non-profit community farm. Please consider joining us on Tuesday, September 18, 6:30 PM, at Lumiere, as we celebrate the farm and raise funds for educational programming and site improvements. This four-course dinner with wine pairings, prepared by award-winning chef Michael Leviton, will feature produce from local farms ($150 per person minimum contribution). If we sell out this event, we will raise over $5,000 for the farm! For additional information see the email invitation that you should have received recently, or contact Jon Regosin at berkowitz.regosin@verizon.net or (617) 244-0736. Space is limited, so to reserve your seat, please RSVP promptly to Jon.

Thank you for your continued support!

NCF enthusiastically welcomes Ira Morgenstern to our Board of Directors. Ira is a birder with a strong commitment to the environment, environmental education, and community service. Both his 10 year old son and 13 year old daughter attend Newton Schools, and Ira actively supports the Newton Schools Foundation. He has been and remains active with a number of non-profit organizations including the Charles River Watershed Association, Eastern Mass Hawk Watch, and Summer Search. Professionally, Ira has been a Chief Financial Officer for the past ten years. We look forward to benefiting from his business and financial expertise in the realms of farm finances, fundraising, marketing, and communications.

Sunday, October 14th is the day of our Harvest Festival. As the picture from last year's event shows, everyone has lots of fun. There is much to do in preparation and we need your help with the following:

Food preparation: fruit and vegetable breads such as zucchini bread
Children’s activities
Music events
Physical layout and facilities
Presentations
Farm Demonstrations
Farm Tours
Literature and advertising

If you would like to participate in planning for this important and vital activity, contact Sam Fogel at 617-969-9039 or sam@fogel.com.

This month's wish list includes:
-Diesel truck, preferably flat bed. For farmers' markets and compost/manure hauling.
-Recycled plastic bags!!


If you can help us with these, please contact Greg Maslowe at 617/916-9655 or newtoncommunityfarm@comcast.net.