THE YOUTH FARM at the High School for Public Service

NEWSLETTER

Week of June 24th 2013

2013 This week is our first week of our 2013 Flower Welcome! CSA, and we couldnt be happier to share with you some of our favorite flowers! We love the bright blue bachelor buttons and the contrast with the amni visnaga and cilantro flower. We have a few flower shares still available for the flower lovers out there. What makes our flowers special (on top of being grown in Brooklyn at an educational farm) is that they are both seasonal and organic. For those of you that dont know, the conventional flower industry has some of the worst labor practices and health standards around. This is based both on the heavy heavy use of toxic chemicals for growing and preserving, as well as the demand for the same type of flowers all year long. We want to share with you the joys and challenges of running an organic educational farm, so you can fully appreciate what we produce. With that in mind we have some bad news to share. Last year we discovered that we have a horrible soil pest on the farm. Symphylans. BOO! UPCOMING EVENTS ON THE FARM: Wednesday July 3: FIRST FARMERS MARKET! 2:30-6:30pm VOLUNTEER DAY & FARM OPEN, 2:306:30pm

Symphylans are a small white centipede looking insect that eat the new root growth on plants.

This Weeks Share: Red Lettuce Kale Radish Greens Baby Carrots Garlic Scapes Mint Sage

What this means is that it is taking our plants a very very long time to grow, because as much as they try, their new roots keep getting eaten. They thrive in loose high organic soil, the exact same conditions that organic farmers strive for; making them a very difficult pest to get rid of. Symphylans are not very common in the North West, we think because they dont do well over very cold winters. However, with the warmer and warmer climates, the introduction and population of new pests is starting to become a serious problem. We are not giving up though! We have been battling them for the past year, compacting our soil (gasp), trying to cut down on organic matter content in the soil (double gasp), but to no avail. So this past week we stepped it up, and applied billions of parasitic nematodes to our beds. The nematodes will hopefully find the little buggers, lay their eggs in them, and decrease the symphylans population. Please wish our little nematodes luck! We also want to let you know, that because of these horrible pests, some of our produce will be late, and some we may just not be able to grow. Unfortunately this is one of the really hard truths of organic farming. Thanks for your understanding, and strong thoughts for our nematode friends.

Saturday July 6: VOLUNTEER DAY, 10-2pm WORKSHOP: Watering for Soil Health 23:30pm

Ever wonder whether your watering techniques have an effect on your soil health? Come to this interactive workshop to learn best practices for maintaining healthy soil and happy crops. We'll practice watering techniques using a variety of implements commonly found used in NYC gardens and small farms.

www.HSPSFarm.BlogSpot.com

THE YOUTH FARM at the High School for Public Service

NEWSLETTER

Week of June 24th 2013

2013 GARLIC SCAPES The botanical term "scape" generally refers to a long internode forming the basal part or the whole of a peduncle. Typically it takes the form of a long, leafless flowering stem rising directly from a bulb, rhizome, or similar subterranean or underwater structure. Garlic scapes, emerge from hard-necked varieties of garlic--normally in June. The stalks wind up as they grow and form eccentric curlicues. Snipping off the scapes before the flowerheads mature allows the plant to direct more energy into the developing garlic bulb, and so we snip them off for a garlic scape harvest in midJune. When the garlic scapes are still in full curl, they are tender and succulent. They have a garlicky taste that is milder than the eventual garlic cloves, with the tender snap of just-picked asparagus. In fact, we often say that you can prepare garlic scapes pretty much any way you'd use asparagus--and more.

MEET AN APPRENTICE:

TARI AYALA
Tari Ayala is an apprentice on the HSPS Youth Farm this summer and has kicked off her training on the CSA and Farmer's Market rotation. Tari has spent most of her life living in New York City. But she was deeply impacted by the two years she spent living on the rural west coast of Puerto Rico where she had the ability to pick fresh mangoes, avocados and harvest pigeon pea beans for family meals when she was a teenager. Her recent decision to pursue certification as a holistic nutritional coach paved the road for her to join the 2013 apprenticeship program. Tari was drawn to the Youth Farms educational programs and learning more about farm management but is currently finding she has a penchant for weeding and cannot wait to learn more about propagation and composting. She encourages everyone to come out to the farm to see where it all happens. I want to share my excitement for farming with everyone I meet!

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO

10 large garlic scapes 1/3 cup unsalted pistachios 1/3 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Kosher salt and black pepper 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil Make the pesto: Puree the garlic scapes, pistachios, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a food processor until very finely chopped. With the motor running, slowly pour the oil through the opening. Season the pesto with salt and pepper to taste. (The pesto keeps in the fridge, covered, for 1 week or frozen for a month.)
More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pasta-withGarlic-Scape-Pesto-395769#ixzz2X6B5djOQ

Farmers Market
Our Farmers Market is open every Wednesday from 2:30-6:30pm, July 3rd - October 30th, right on the farm at 600 Kingston Avenue. Both HSPS Summer Youth leaders and Adult apprentices help run our market as part of their farm training. We pride ourselves on selling community favorites like Collards, Callalloo, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, fresh flowers and more! We accept EBT, WIC, Health Bucks and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Coupons.

www.HSPSFarm.BlogSpot.com