Clagett Farm

Quick schedule update

Here we are, in the midst of our final week of shares!  Honestly, when we were in the middle of this year's drought, I never thought we could make it all the way to the end of the season with reasonably-sized shares.  It feels like a miracle. 

Our last share pick up will be this Saturday, November 10.
Next week (probably Tuesday) we will be harvesting strictly for donation, mostly to Salvation Army and Reston Interfaith.  If you would like to join us, we would love your help.  We're not sure yet which days we will be harvesting, so if you'd like to make sure you are coming to help harvest rather than mulch garlic, give us a call first at 301-537-3038.  Next week we will also be emailing you a survey to find out what you liked and didn't about your shares this past year. 

Next weekend, beginning November 16, you are welcome to the farm to glean whatever remains in the fields. There will at least be lots of greens and herbs, and I have been told more than once by members in years past that they were eating salads from our farm's greens all the way through December.  Do you really want to get caught buying salad greens from the supermarket for Thanksgiving?  That would be silly.  We will post what's available on this weblog on November 15th, so feel free to check here if you would like to know in advance what you plan to pick before you come.  We'll post maps and signs around the farm to help you find what you're looking for.

Then the farm staff will take a much-needed break.  We'll resume making plans for next year, putting everything away for the winter, fixing up the new greenhouse, and lots of other chores after Thanksgiving.  Then Rob and I are expecting a baby in mid-January.  We're anticipating that this might delay when we send all of our returning members an invitation to sign up for 2008 shares.  So look for that in February.  New members will be invited to join by April.   Then 2008 shares will begin in mid-May! 

So that's the plan, at least.  We'll see you soon, I hope!

Your farmer,
Carrie

Fall Festival this Saturday; books to prisons

Just a reminder--our Fall Festival is this Saturday from noon to 4pm at Clagett Farm.
It's free and open to everyone.

Schedule:
12-2pm potluck lunch
1:15-2pm and 3-3:45pm hayrides
1-2 pm guided hike (West)
3-4pm guided hike (East)
2:30pm silent auction winners announced and items distributed
1-4pm CSA pick-up in the barn (instead of the washing station)
throughout:
Clagett Farm bluegrass band
children's crafts
help separate garlic cloves for planting
you-pick for shareholders
tour the farm at your leisure

Here are some photos from last year, taken by Roshani Kothari...

One of our co-workers, Kenji, helps with an organization called Books To Prisons, which mails books to prison inmates who request them.  He would happy to take your donations of used books, if you wish to bring to them to the farm. 

Donate for Fall Festival's silent auction

The Fall Festival is coming soon--Saturday, October 20th.  One of our traditions for the festival is an auction.  Years ago it was a pie auction with a live auctioneer.  But without an auctioneer among us any longer we've switched to a silent auction, and we've expanded our auction items to include more than just pies (although baked goods are still wonderful auction items!).  We hope you'll consider donating some things for us to sell at the auction.  And just to entice you to come to the festival with money, here's a list of the items people have already promised to bring:
-a handmade quilt
-a handmade baby afghan
-a $100 gift certificate to The Little Fountain restaurant
-homemade picante sauce
-homemade gingerbread
-handmade scarves
-baskets of handmade soaps and other natural care products
-some vegetable-themed trivets
-a wool sweater
-coupons for bread
-a farm-themed children's book
-a large framed Clagett Farm photo

The festival will be from noon to 4pm, but we'll end the auction at 2:30pm.
We'll also have a potluck lunch (noon to 2pm), hayrides (1:15pm and 3pm), hikes through the woods (1pm and 3pm), live bluegrass music (12:30-2:30pm), and we'll be prepping garlic for planting thoughout if you feel like taking a seat and lending a hand. 

Once again, the festival is free and open to everyone. 
Hope to see you there!
-Carrie

Enter the chili contest at the Anacostia Farmers Market

This is a fun opportunity for anyone who has been considering a visit to the Anacostia Farmers' Market.  Every year they have a chili contest and they're still looking for constestants.

If you'd like to enter your chili, download the entry form, and make sure you submit it by the September 5th deadline.

Download guidelines_and_entry_form_for_fourth_annual_chili_bowl_bonanza.doc , or call the market manager, Nadja Strucker, at 202-526-5344.

If you'd simply like to attend the Bonanza and try other peoples' chili, here's the details:

4th Annual Chili Bowl Bonanza

September 12, 2007

4:00-4:45 Competitors drop off chili to be warmed (no crock pots--no electricity!)

5:00- 6:15 Chili Tasting (community judges People's Choice, "celebrity" judges for other 4 categories)

6:30 Awards announced

This year we have 5 categories: All-Around Chili Champ, Four Alarm Fire House Hot Award, Best Vegetarian Chili Award, People's Choice, and Best New Classic with a Twist.

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty is scheduled to come so we all hope that he will be able to make it!

So just a quick reminder, here are some of our coming events:

• September 1, Clagett Farm benefit day at the Whole Foods in Annapolis
• September 12, Chili Bowl Bonanza at the Anacostia Farmers Market
• October 20, Fall Festival at Clagett Farm

See you there!

-Carrie

September 1st, shop at Whole Foods in Annapolis for Clagett Farm Day!

On Saturday, September 1st, the Whole Foods in Annapolis will be donating 5% of their sales to Clagett Farm!  There will also be a grill out front from which all of the proceeds will go to the farm.  So come buy lots of groceries and purchase something at the grill.  And tell your friends!  We benefit from any sales while the store is open (8am - 10pm).  The grill will be open between 11am and 6pm, and we'll be there too, with a tractor and the Clagett Farm bluegrass band, and some food samples prepared with our eggplant and basil.  This will be a big income boost for us, so we're extremely excited. 

And in case you were worried, we'll be leaving most of the staff at the farm to make sure we still have your share ready for you for the regular 1-4pm pick-up. 

And while you have your calendars out, our Fall Festival will be on Saturday, October 20th. As ever, we'll have hayrides, a pot luck lunch, a hike or two, and the silent auction.   And of course it is free and open to everyone.  This gives you plenty of time to think of something you'd like to bring to the auction. 

Thanks everyone!
-Carrie

Spring Festival

When: Sunday April 29, 2007, 2:00pm-4:30pm
Where: Clagett Farm
Who:  Everyone!  and it's free
What:  Meet your fellow members, take a tour, and explore the farm with a scavenger hunt (adults and kids)

We don't always have a spring event, but we heard from your surveys last year that you would have liked to get to know each other and the fields a little better. 

This is the perfect opportunity to introduce you to the farm staff, and to each other.  We'll offer some tours by hay ride or on foot, so you can ask questions about what we do and why.  And this is a great opportunity to bring friends who are curious about the farm and would like to learn more. 

Thanks to your fellow member, Tom Kleespies, we have a new farm map to debut.  The scavenger hunt will encourage you to find our various fields and discover where we're planting your favorite crops.

Please carpool.  You should have received an email from us with a link to a ride-sharing site and our group password.  If you haven't received that email, or you can't find a ride to the farm, call us (301-627-4662) up to 48 hours before the event, and we'll help you find a ride.

Since this is a mid-afternoon event, we'll provide a few refreshments, but there is no need to bring a dish to share.

We've scheduled hayrides for 2:15 and 3:15pm.  If there is more demand, we can offer a third one, as well. 

Calendar of events

We're gearing up our greenhouse operation now, so if anyone would like to join us on a weekday, give me a call (301-646-0282).

Here are a few other events here and elsewhere in the area we thought you all might be interested in:

Monday, February 19
Enviro Lobby Day
3:00 – 8:00 pm
Annapolis, MD

Join us in Annapolis to lobby your legislator on key environmental legislation like the Green Fund and Clean Cars. Location to be determined. For more information, contact Terry Cummings at tcummings@cbf.org.

Saturday, March 3
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Reducing Toxics in Your Home and in the Bay Workshop
CBF Headquarters
Annapolis, MD

Join us at a workshop to learn how to reduce toxic chemicals for general household cleaning, in the laundry, and in the garden.  We’ll also discuss the human health and ecosystem impacts of toxic pollutants, such as mercury, that are emitted from coal-fired power plants. To register, contact Marcy Damon at mdamon@cbf.org or call 443-482-2156.

Saturday, March 17
9 am – 1 pm
Monocacy Farm Stewardship Project, Stream Buffer Restoration
Mt. Airy, MD

We need your help! Volunteers will help restore 7,000’ of streambank on a large beef cattle farm by planting 1,300 native trees and shrubs in an area where the cows have been fenced out of the stream. Equipment, refreshments and tools provided. Project funders include: Chesapeake Bay Trust, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program. Project partners include: Natural Resource Conservation Service, Frederick County Soil Conservation District, Frederick County Department of Planning, MD-DNR Forest Service, Hood College, Thorpewood, New Forest Society, Federated Garden Clubs of Maryland,  US Fish and Wildlife Service, Monocacy and Catoctin Watershed Alliance.  For more information and directions, contact Marcy Damon at 443-482-2156 or email mdamon@cbf.org.

Tuesday – Thursday, April 10, 11, 12,
Saturday – Sunday, April 14 -15
Saturday, April 21
9 am– 1 pm
or
1 – 4 pm
Tree Nursery Workdays, Clagett Farm (that's here!)

(We'll be potting trees throughout April, so if those dates don't work for you, just call Rob at 301-646-0281 to schedule another day.)

We will be potting up several thousand tree seedlings, as part of our expanded nursery operation. All trees in the nursery are grown out for restoration projects in the Bay watershed. Dress for the weather, equipment and refreshments provided.  Choose morning or afternoon session. To register, send your complete contact information to Marcy Damon at 443-482-2156 or email mdamon@cbf.org

April 29 - Spring Festival at Clagett Farm!
Take this opportunity to get to know your farm and fellow members.  More details later.

Saturday, May 12, Bay-Friendly Landscaping Project, Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis, MDContact Marcy Damon at mdamon@cbf.org or call 443-482-2156 for more information.

Clagett Farm Festival

photos by Roshani Kothari and Fred Delventhal, text by Kathleen Davis

About 125 friends and family attended the annual Fall Festival at the Clagett Farm on Saturday, October 21, 2006. Revelers were treated to lots of activities including hayrides, pumpkin painting, corn holing, a silent auction, and a potluck lunch. Music was provided by The Clagett Farm String Band. And of course, regular CSA shareholders picked up their weekly share of vegetables and the CSA made its regular donation of vegetables to a local charity.

Carrie Vaughn welcomed everyone to the Festival and invited all to share in the potluck lunch and hot apple cider.

The Clagett Farm String Band gave its first performance at the Festival and delighted the crowd with toe tapping bluegrass and old time music. Band members are Craig Highfield (mandolin), Bart Merrick (bass), Rick Truett (hollow bodied electric guitar), and John Shields (rhythm guitar). Phyllis Saroff sat in with the band on 5-string banjo.

Susan Sanders, a CSA member, donated many jars of homemade jam, marmalade, chutney, and relish from Clagett Farm vegetables.

The silent auction raised seven hundred dollars, which is much more than any previous year.  That extra income helps us give away more food.  Friends generously donated many beautiful items for the auction including a hand painted silk scarf, a tea time basket of homemade goods, a soy candle, hand crocheted scarves, a painting of the Farm, theatre tickets, and framed photographs of the Farm. Special services for nurturing the mind-body connection - health counseling and yoga classes -were also donated for the auction.

The Festival was a big hit with kids. Pumpkin painting was particularly popular. The hayrides around the Farm were lots of fun. The kids also had a great time riding the bikes around the barns, making scarecrows, and playing ‘corn holing’ with Kenji.

A new woodland trail on the Farm was walked for the first time during the Festival.

Rita Calvert was on hand with her exhibit, “Working Food and Farmscapes”, and free samples of delicious Lady Calvert’s Chesapeake Popcorn. Rita also had some extra treats of chips, salsa, and guacamole from Chipolte’s Restaurant.

An informal poll of the merry makers at the Festival indicated that EVERYONE was having fun. The poll results also provided the following information:

Favorite activities on the Farm: (listed in order of popularity)

•   Strawberry picking
•   Playing in the sand tires
•   Talking to the cows
•   Chasing butterflies
•   Picking flowers
•   Harvesting basil
•   Weeding

Favorite vegetable, herb, or fruit: (listed in order of popularity)

•   Strawberries (especially in June)
•   Tomatoes
•   Kale
•   Sweet potatoes
•   Kohlrabi
•   Watermelons
•   Hot peppers
•   Okra
•   Zucchini
•   Basil 

The Fall Festival 2006 was a fine day at the Clagett Farm – dear friends, sunny skies, lots of fun. A good time was had by all.

Inaugural Hike this Saturday

Your Clagett Farm Educators have cleared a new hiking trail on the east side of the farm! Come join us for an inaugural hike after you've enjoyed lunch and music and silently bidding for auction items. This trail will take you to a set of woods that has been rarely explored in the past.

(Cindy at the trailhead, currently marked by the sweet gum tree)

We'll hike around 3 pm, leaving from the big barn.

New trails need new names--if you have any suggestions, please send them to Craig and Cindy!

(a glimpse of the new trail)

Fall Fest at Clagett Farm!

Dear Friends of the Farm:

Mark your calendar and start searching through your recipe books…Clagett Farm’s Fall Fest is coming up quick on October 21^st.

This year we will continue to enjoy a pot-luck of delicious foods, listen and dance to Clagett Farm Educator/Director - Craig Highfield’s live Blue Grass Band, take part in a silent auction, decorate pumpkins and celebrate the fall season with children’s crafts and hayrides.

Silent Auction items are still needed...
if you have a treasure in need of a new home, know an artist who would like to donate a piece of artwork, have a delicious dish or other creative ideas that you would like to donate to the silent auction, please contact Susan Topping (toppings@cfoodbank.org) by October 13th to make arrangements.

Can’t wait to see you there! For peeks at previous Fall Fest's at Clagett, look under the “Events” category to the left of your screen and scroll down.

U-bar!

Thank you to all for the wonderful potluck party last Saturday at the wash station. I was blown away by a huge surprise gift: a u-bar!

Here I am trying to explain what this weird looking thing is. The u-bar is an excellent hand tool for tilling soil, and it's much easier to use than it looks because it works on gravity: a person steps on it and the long tines go in. It's similar to a broadfork, but heavier and with longer tines. It is often used in biointensive farms and gardens. Where can you buy it? You can't. It has to be made by a good welder. That's what makes this gift so special.  Without me knowing anything about it, volunteer Sean O'Harra was approached by Clagett Farm colleagues and asked whether he can weld such a thing. He said, sure. And Sean not only made one, but two! One I'll take to Vermont, the other stays here at Clagett Farm.

The man behind Tricia McCauley is Sean. Roshani is on the right. Wonderful volunteers and good friends of the farm.

Gleaning--what's available

It's that time of year when our members, worksharers, and friends can glean whatever remains from our fields. Beginning tomorrow (Friday, 11/18) through Sunday afternoon, you can come to the farm anytime and harvest. At the washing station we will have a map telling you where to find everything, and around the farm we will post signs to help guide you to the fields. If you would like to come when we are there to help you, we will be around 9am-5pm Friday, 10am-2pm Saturday, and noon-3pm Sunday. A small volunteer group will come Sunday afternoon to help us glean what's left for a soup kitchen.

Here is a list of what is available to pick right now:

lettuce
spinach (very small; requires patience and good knees to harvest)
arugula (plenty)
spicy mix (plenty)
mizuna
red mustard
green mustard
turnip greens
collards
kale
small heads broccoli
tiny heads cauliflower
many immature heads cabbage
about 10 pounds small, slightly-soft sweet potatoes
about 20 pounds garlic bulbs
hakurei turnips
purple-top turnips
watermelon radishes
regular radishes ("cherry belle" and "easter egg")
jimmy nardello peppers (sweet, frying)
padron chiles (hot when larger than a golf ball)
lots of assorted, dried chiles scattering the ground where they were growing
dill
cilantro
garlic chives
oregano
mint
nasturtiums (peppery, edible flowers and leaves--some frost damage)
basil (doesn't win any prizes for appearance--frost damage)
anise hyssop (licorice flavored herb--great for hot tea! Some frost damage )

Please be warned that many of the above items are scattered in distant fields. These are items that were not harvested before because there was not enough to serve our hundreds of members, or it was so small or scattered it was not worth the time. By it's nature gleaning requires some patience and a keen eye for what might be hidden in a field that looks cleaned out. Please bring bags, and a knife will be helpful to harvest the small greens. If you're hoping for a couple pounds of salad greens, expect to squat or crouch for 15 minutes or more. Also, it's been cold and windy at times, so please dress appropriately for the weather, and wear comfortable shoes that you can get dirty. The frost on the grass will get your feet cold and wet until mid-morning.

If you would like to surprise someone with a Thanksgiving or Christmas wreath, we will have some for sale. Many include garlic, popcorn and chiles, so they are useful even after the holidays have passed.

If we don't see you this weekend, have a terrific winter!

Festival plans in case of rain

We've heard there's a good chance of scattered showers on Saturday. It's likely that it won't rain between noon and 3pm, but in case it does, we still plan to enjoy ourselves, although perhaps in a more intimate atmosphere. If it's actively raining, the band, auction, and all the food will be moved into the Education barn. We'll have kid's activities in the barn, as well. And if anyone is interested, we'll be separating garlic cloves so they can be planted next week. If it stops raining, we'll head back outside for the hayrides, bike tour, and games, as planned. See you then!

Festival date set for October 22nd

<p>Mark you calenders, folks!&nbsp; We've set a date for our fall festival on the farm.&nbsp; The steel drum band is booked to join us on Saturday October 22, 2005.&nbsp; We'll have hay rides and a pot luck and who knows what else.&nbsp; Everyone is invited!&nbsp; If you have any ideas for fun things we should do this year, let us know.</p>

Picnic

<p> Yesterday we had a wonderful picnic at the beach in appreciation of our volunteers and worksharers. It was a beautiful day, there was plenty of food (the grill stayed busy), swimming, bacce ball playing, badminton, and good conversation. It was fun to get together with volunteers and worksharers in a relaxing setting, since usually we get to see them under very different circumstances.</p> <p>Kudos to Lance Baldwin and Kathleen Davis for instigating and organizing this event.</p>

Fall Festival at Clagett Farm

It was a glorious autumn day last Saturday--perfect for a farm fall festival. It was great to see so many shareholders, worksharers and friends enjoying themselves. It was very nice to see several shareholders (from Anacostia and Dupont) who had never been to the farm before. We all had a good time.

Steel drum band in action (Jeff Crespi's photo):

<a href="http://kolya.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/steel_drums_at_the_farm_2.jpg"><img alt="Steel_drums_at_the_farm_2" title="Steel_drums_at_the_farm_2" src="http://kolya.typepad.com/testingweblog/images/steel_drums_at_the_farm_2.jpg" width="350" height="243" border="0" /></a>

Michael Heller pulling out with hayriders:

<a href="http://kolya.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/michael_and_hayriders_1.jpg"><img alt="Michael_and_hayriders_1" title="Michael_and_hayriders_1" src="http://kolya.typepad.com/testingweblog/images/michael_and_hayriders_1.jpg" width="350" height="229" border="0" /></a>

Shareholder Lorig Charkoudian and daughter (thanks for the photo, Jeff):

<a href="http://kolya.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/lorig_and_daughter.jpg"><img alt="Lorig_and_daughter" title="Lorig_and_daughter" src="http://kolya.typepad.com/testingweblog/images/lorig_and_daughter.jpg" width="350" height="296" border="0" /></a>

Harvesting the potluck (once again, Jeff's photo):

<a href="http://kolya.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/potluck.jpg"><img alt="Potluck" title="Potluck" src="http://kolya.typepad.com/testingweblog/images/potluck.jpg" width="350" height="249" border="0" /></a>

Carrie and her grandma (the farmer on the right side of the picture is Rob Vaughn):

<a href="http://kolya.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/carrie_and_her_grandma.jpg"><img alt="Carrie_and_her_grandma" title="Carrie_and_her_grandma" src="http://kolya.typepad.com/testingweblog/images/carrie_and_her_grandma.jpg" width="350" height="262" border="0" /></a>

Fall Festival!

With some encouragement from our members and co-workers, we've decided to schedule a fall festival. Mark your calendars for <strong>Saturday October 23, 2004</strong>. For those of you who cannot make it on Saturday, we will also offer a hayride the following Tuesday afternoon.

Saturday:
The first half of the day will follow our regular schedule. We'll harvest from 7:30am to 1:00pm, and we always welcome volunteers and work shares!
The pick-up for shareholders will run from 1:00-4:00pm, same as ever.
Bring lunch! We'll have a pot-luck meal at 1pm, and while you're eating, we'll entertain you with a pie auction. Not restricted to pies, we'll auction off just about anything you have to offer.
At 2:30pm we'll have a <strong>hayride</strong>.
We'll also have some games (a scavenger hunt? apple bobbing?).
Let us know if you have any other ideas for activities, or something you would like to share with our group.
Everyone is invited. Bring your friends!