May Share Madness

Have you got the winter blues (and grays and browns)? Are you keening for some fresh greens?

Lettuce invite you to join May Share! Get your hands on the first crisp and tender greenstuffs to come out of the field! The first spring harvest of the season includes lots of fresh arugula and baby mustards, head lettuce, sweet (not spicy) red radishes and Hakurei salad turnips, as well as tart bright stalks of rhubarb and a few other surprises. Here are the details:

What: May Share! Two Tuesdays of around ten different spring-harvested crops for $62
When: Tuesdays May 21 & 28, 3:00-6:30pm
Where: Pickup at the farm (51 Vassar Farm Lane, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12603)

It’s also a great time to sign up for the main season CSA. Learn more, sign up, or stop by Farm Fest & Plant Sale for a CSA Q&A and guided farm tour!

Grower’s Row: Marching In Like A Lion

By Lauren Kaplan

The month may be off to a predictably cold start. But if the proverb proves true, the next four weeks will usher in some lamb-like weather. This means it’s time for us, the farmers, to start shepherding our fledgling crops.

In the first few weeks of March, we’ll be transitioning our greenhouse space -- which for much of the last few months has served as our winter wash station for high-tunnel greens and storage roots -- back to a nursery. Soon, the tables which now stand empty will be overflowing with trays of seedlings. Sprouts of all kinds -- everything from tomatoes destined for the high tunnels to perennial flowers, herbs, and vegetable starts for our Plant Sale -- will cover every available sunlit surface. They will be demanding water at all hours of the day, as their little cells dry out, as well as the opening and closing of doors to keep them warm (but not-too-hot). Tens of thousands of little lives we’ll have, every one eager to gather sun and spread their roots, to stretch their stems and swell their fruits. It will be chaos: glorious, riotous leafy-green chaos… and a welcome change from the gray quietude of winter.

Leon spreading compost

March is also a time, as the soil softens, to start preparing beds to receive these demanding little charges. The first step with all beds is to cover them in compost: a dark, biologically-active soil-like material rich in organic matter and nutrients. It’s a ton of fun to hop on the compost spreader (picture an oversized Radio Flyer wagon with spinning blades in the back), drive it into the fields, engage the PTO (or power take-off), and smell the earthy black richness as it spews wildly across the fields. We’ll be systematically covering the entire farm in compost over the next few weeks, as well as tilling in our winter cover crops, marking out beds, and generally getting ready to get into the ground.

What March has in store for us is anyone’s guess. Some days are damp and bone-chillingly cold, while others are harbingers of spring, soft with birdsong and warmed by the sun. As unpredictable as these days are, they all have one thing in common: the excitement at the start of yet another growing season -- PFP’s 20th! -- and all of the eager anticipation for the crops that are to come.

“Wait… learning can be FUN?”

“Wait… learning can be FUN?”
The benefits of garden-based education
By Chris Gavin, Garden Educator

One of the perks of being an educator with Poughkeepsie Farm Project is that the job turns you into a bit of a local celebrity, especially among the 5-10 year old crowd. I cannot walk into an elementary school in Poughkeepsie without being swarmed by excited kids who want to know what we’re cooking today, what’s growing in the garden, or looking for a bite of whichever fresh veggies I brought from the farm that day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a student I work with every week or simply met once on a field trip to the farm, the experience makes such an impact that they remember the lesson long after it’s over. Just today a kid stopped me in the hallway to say “thanks for making popcorn with us; it was delicious!” - and I made popcorn with his class nearly six months ago! Students from last year’s after school program still regularly ask me about the red wiggler worms in our vermicomposting bin (How’s Henry? Tell him I say hi!”) and want assurances that I’m taking good care of them. And believe me, every student remembers EXACTLY where in the garden they planted their carrot seed and wants regular updates on its progress.

When a parent finds out that their child is now in love with kale salad or has a sudden interest in helping out around the kitchen, they want to know how we did it. But there’s no magic alchemy to our work, the key is facilitating joyful educational experiences. There’s a common misconception that “real” education can only happen sitting at a desk while passively listening to a teacher dole out information. And if kids are having fun they must not really be learning, right? Our education team loves our reputation as the fun vegetable people, but that’s an oversimplification of what we do. Well-intentioned teachers and parents often think that our programs are something EXTRA that kids can enjoy once they’re done with their ACTUAL education. But I’m going to let you in on a little secret, we are doing something revolutionary. We are helping youth recognize that not only can education occur outside of a traditional classroom setting but it can also be a joyful experience that sparks a life-long love of learning.

But don’t think that just because the kids are having fun that our programs are light on content. Our work supports classroom learning by providing hands-on and student-centered lessons that reinforce academic concepts. We make what kids are learning in school more relevant to their lives by connecting it to real-world applications. Connecting food and farming to classroom content is something we do every day with students. To highlight this, here are a few of the topics we recently covered in our elementary after school programs.

• Students learn to be scientists as we plant seeds in the classroom, making predictions about when germination will occur and observing our seedlings with hand lenses.

• Students study history and social justice as we learn about the contributions of people of color in farming like inventor/educator George Washington Carver and farm workers’ rights activists Dolores Huerta and Caesar Chavez.

• We reinforce math skills as students learn to properly use measuring tools as we follow a recipe or when we estimate plant spacing in a garden bed.

• We support literacy through our love of children’s literature and by writing letters to pen pals in other garden programs in our region.

• Students build leadership skills as they practice teamwork, communication, and learn strategies for mindfulness and self-management.

For a student participating in the Poughkeepsie Food Power after-school programs, it may seem like all they are doing is preparing a healthy snack or carefully tending to a young plant in the school garden. But through our work we are helping to lay a foundation of joy, curiosity, and a life-long love of learning. We hope that our small acts will inspire the next generation of eaters to be more caring and empathetic to themselves, their community, and the world around them. I will leave you with a quote that regularly comes to mind as I’m leading youth in our programming. Paul Cezanne said “the day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.” And I hope our work is helping us all along the path towards that day.

Grower's Row: February: We Heart February (And Here's Why)

By Lauren Kaplan

Here’s 3 things we’ve got going for us in February:

1) More daylight. We start the month at 10 hours, and end it with 11.
2) Winter sports. Alternatively: hot beverages, fuzzy socks, and long hours to pore over seed catalogs / binge watch the Great British Baking Show.
3) It’s American Heart Month!

Yes. We have a whole month to focus on our hearts. With heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States, most of us could benefit from taking a closer look at our own heart health (right after we get up off the couch from watching the Great British Baking Show).

We all know the basics. Exercise and eat better (which usually translates to “eat more fruits and vegetables”). But how many fruits and vegetables do you eat each day? And how many, exactly, are we supposed to be eating?

a) 2 cups a day
b) 3 cups a day
c) 4+ cups a day

If you guessed c), you’re spot on -- according to the American Heart Association and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, anyhow. Eight servings (4-5 cups) is the daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables.

Now guess what percentage of Americans actually meet this requirement?

a) 50%
b) 20%
c) 10%

As it turns out, it’s actually less than 10%: As of 2018, only 9.3% of adults (and a measly 2% of high school students) are consuming the recommended 8 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

We’ve all heard the virtues of vegetables extolled at some point or another, and it goes something like this: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Why? Because fruits and vegetables are good for you! They are high in a whole alphabet of things, from antioxidants, fiber and minerals to phytonutrients (like flavonoids and carotenoids) and vitamins.

Conveniently, all of these good-for-you things come in a natural package -- “food”. Consuming food (instead of supplements) means you get the non-essential nutrients that allow your body to absorb and utilize all the essential ones. Nutrients are most potent when they come from food.

Best of all, not only are they good for you, fruits and vegetables are just plain GOOD. They’re good roasted, baked, braised, stuffed, steamed, shredded or fermented. They’re good sweet or spicy, drizzled in oil, lightly dressed, dolloped with sour cream, or totally naked and raw. They’re especially good when they’re fresh, harvested at peak ripeness, and stored at ideal temperatures… something your local farm (ahem) can do really well.

So. In honor of American Heart Month (and another holiday happening mid-month that also involves hearts), consider signing up for a share of the freshest Poughkeepsie-grown produce! After all, what better Valentine’s day gift is there -- to a loved one, or to yourself -- than a CSA share?

Never mind the flowers. Woo your sweetheart with a bouquet of kale. Forget the chocolate and oysters. Nothing says “I love you” like vegetables.

The Power of Herbs

Larissa Alvarado, Garden Education Assistant and Meditation Garden Steward

I was introduced to the Poughkeepsie Farm Project as a participant in a family cooking workshop and now I work here as an educator. I’ve always had a desire to learn about natural remedies and now I have access to the plants and the opportunity to learn under Beatrix Clarke, a bio-regional herbalist. As we walked through the herb garden the first time she told me, “you would be surprised that most issues can be resolved by using plants that you see regularly.” This kind of herbalism includes both looking at what is growing wild in the area as well as cultivating herbs locally. Under her guidance, I have become the steward of the farm’s meditation herb garden and we work together to make and sell herbal products that help support the educational mission of the farm.

My love for gardening and herbalism began as a child. Inspired by my mother who always had a garden while I was growing up and was very much into the natural world. She was a master improviser; she could create something out of nothing. We didn’t have much money so she had to get creative and use what was around us. My mother taught me how to grow food in the little plot of land in front of our apartment building. In addition to growing food, she would make things like lotions, soaps, and candles. I can remember going with her to the Adriance Memorial Library to check out books about herbal remedies and natural skin and hair care. My friends and I would go around the neighborhood collecting magnolia flowers to create our own perfumes and we loved making herbal steam baths for our faces.

As a kid I didn’t understand all the healing properties of each plant, but I always understood things from the earth are special and have value. My love for God, the creator of the earth and these beautiful weeds and herbs gave me the passion for wanting to use them and share what I'm learning with others. How loving it is to receive such a beautiful gift; the colors, shapes, textures and smells. I am truly grateful and I love what I'm learning! It's like good news! Who doesn't want good news?

Plants were here with their healing properties before pharmacies but most people have lost their connection to this traditional knowledge. In addition to relying on science and medicine, let's not forget the ways the natural world can promote healing. For example dandelions, calendula, and elderberries, just to name a few, can be used to make so many natural remedies! The list seems endless, but you can make digestive bitters, detoxifiers, tea infusions, fire ciders, herbal tonics, salves, herbal liniments, insect repellents, and first-aid remedies. I love working with herbs because it helps us get to the truth of what we're looking for and create supportive, economic remedies for what our bodies actually need to be healthy.

For me, jumping into a new project like this was exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming, so learning from an expert like Beatrix is incredibly valuable. This spring, she is leading a six-part series of workshops on using plants for health and healing. Each session will include the opportunity for you to make your own remedies to take home. The workshop topics include herbs for children’s health, herbal first aid, herbal skin care, winter health with herbs, using culinary herbs to aid digestive health, and herbs for strong bones and healthy joints. You can sign up for all six or take them individually, but if you are like me, once you attend one you won’t want to miss any. After attending just one workshop, it totally changed the way I look at plants I walk past every day. Now I understand their value and know how to use them to improve my own health, and well-being. I've even started making my own recipe book so I can share this knowledge with friends and family.

Now that I make my own herbal remedies, I’ve learned there are so many benefits to using these plants. I have gained a sense of independence, I rely less on pills and have taken control of my own body and health. It isn’t something that happens overnight, it's a lifestyle. So, if you are committed and keep it up you can really feel the long term benefits. Once you start, you realize that it is so simple and, inexpensive, and it is better for your body and the environment. I find it empowering because it helps me get one step closer to being healthier and happier.

From wild edibles to cultivated herbs, these ingredients are available to us right here in our community and you can learn more about them through the PFP. Please join Beatrix and myself for the herbalism workshops this spring. You can also support our work by purchasing our new line of herbal products at CSA distribution or by emailing me (larissa[at]farmproject[dot]org). If you would like to get your hands dirty, join us on Wednesday afternoons in the spring, summer, and fall as we plant, water, and weed the meditation herb garden. These work sessions are a great opportunity to share knowledge and gain experience caring for these medicinal plants. I really appreciate all the help from the volunteers. It’s fun for the whole family, and you’ll never leave hungry or empty-handed.

What can I say, I’m excited about using plants to heal! Nature grows all around us, but sometimes we don’t realize the wonderful benefits of these herbs, flowers, and even weeds. When it comes to taking care of your body, happy, healthy and empowered is the way to go!

Grower’s Row: January: Surviving and Thriving

By Lauren Kaplan, Farm Crew Leader

Farm fields in January

It’s winter, and the days are short. As I write this in the first week of January, we currently have 9 hours and 17 minutes of daylight.

As farmers, we often refer to this time of year -- when daylight falls below 10 hours per day -- as the Persephone period. During this period, regardless of the temperature, plant growth slows to a near-halt. The greens that we’ve been harvesting from for our Winter CSA put on most of their growth in October and November. (This is why the process for winter greens actually began on a 70-degree day in September!) These days, the plants are mostly hanging out, waiting for that critical increase in daylight hours to signal renewed growth.

High tunnel greens are healthy and awaiting harvest

Those of you who leave your office at 5pm to darkened skies are probably acutely aware of the brevity of daylight hours. But don’t despair: there’s a light at the end of the tunnel! Though it may seem (especially now that the holidays are over) that the winter stretches out, endless, ahead of us… the truth is that with the Winter Solstice behind us, the days are already growing longer.

For now, the farm crew -- taking a cue from the plants -- have also slowed down. We are taking advantage of more flexible time in the winter to rest and rejuvenate. While Leon is snuggling his new baby daughter, LK and German are both reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (which for German is the first of fifty books he plans to read in 2019); Chris has been doing lots of hiking with his curious and adventurous pup; and Laura is making jams from squirreled-away summer fruits and painting vegetable portraits (like this beautiful arrangement she made for Lauren’s going-away card!).

Speaking of Lauren McDonald, our dear friend is settling into her new home in Belfast, ME with her partner Julia and their rambunctious cat Turtle Bean. She’s preparing for lots of fiddle gigs, savoring every bite of her dwindling supply of purple carrots, and sending warm wishes to all of us (and you!) here while making new farming connections in Maine.

Surprise overwintered Hakurei!

Just like these candy-sweet overwintered turnips that amazingly not only survived the winter cold, but thrived -- so are we not only enduring these dark days, but enjoying them for all that they are. We hope your New Year is off to a healthy and happy start, and that you too are taking advantage of these Persephone period to snuggle up on the couch with a good book, enjoy a steaming mug of hot chocolate or tea, and generally adopt a Scandanavian winter mindset towards these short but precious days.

Poughkeepsie Food Power After-School Programs are Accepting New Students

Poughkeepsie Farm Project is running after-school programming at six schools in the Poughkeepsie City School District as a partner on their Empire State Extended Learning Time grant and with support from the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Twice per week at six schools, PFP educators engage students in garden-based learning in all subject areas through hands-on gardening and food activities. While caring for their school gardens, students conduct, science experiments, explore plant life cycles, write poetry, observe insects, prepare healthy snacks, design inventions, read and discuss literature, create art, and improve their academic and leadership skills.

If you have a student who attends PCSD who would like to take part, please download the form below and return to your child’s school or to Poughkeepsie Farm Project, PO BOX 3143, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. To register elementary students, please fill out the form below. Forms for Middle an High School students are coming soon. Please call or text 845-475-2734 to arrange to drop off forms at Poughkeepsie Farm Project’s office.

Program Registration Form (all elementary schools)

Poughkeepsie Farm Project’s Elementary and Middle School Programs
Poughkeepsie Food Power is the perfect place for your child to increase their academic and leadership skills in a nurturing environment. Through children’s literature and group projects, Poughkeepsie Food Power builds social-emotional skills which support school and life success. Students will build skills in all subject areas through hands-on gardening and food activities. While caring for their school garden, students conduct science experiments, explore plant life-cycles, write poetry, observe insects, prepare healthy snacks, design inventions, create art, and read and discuss high-quality children’s literature.

Poughkeepsie Farm Project’s High School Internship
Would you like to help care for your school garden, learn to cook healthy meals, and participate in fun team-building activities? Join the Poughkeepsie Food Power Internship at Poughkeepsie High School.

• Gain culinary skills while preparing delicious meals with garden produce

• Build leadership and relationship skills

• Explore career and growth opportunities in the food sector.

• Become active members of our local food system and work to create justice, equity, and power for all eaters.

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Here are some highlights from Our After-School Programs:

Warring students observe and draw parts of four different plants.

Morse students fill a bucket of water for the garden.

Krieger students in mash together chickpeas and sweet potatoes for a tasty hummus.

Morse students learn to prepare kale salad

Krieger students learn about flavors and decide how to season their popcorn.

Students plant trees at Warring School.

Students learn about the magic of seeds by planting and caring for microgreens.

Students learn about the magic of seeds by planting and caring for microgreens.

Students learn about worms, vermicomposting, and caring for a classroom worm bin.

Students learn about worms, vermicomposting, and caring for a classroom worm bin.

A Clinton student displays a design for a vegetable farm.

A student gets ready to plant rhubarb in the school garden.

Students show off the giant weeds they found while preparing the garden to be planted.

Larissa teaches the students about soil at Warring School.

Students learn to experiment and taste new things.

Ring in the New Year with a Healthy Relationship to Food

By Chris Gavin, Garden Educator

I’ve never really been one to participate in the rituals of New Years, especially the resolutions to change things about myself. I think my disconnect from this traditions is rooted in our cultural tendency to be hard on ourselves and focus on the things we want to eliminate from our lives. So many New Year’s resolutions - especially those related to food - are negative, things you need to stop doing in order to finally be that perfect version of yourself you’re always striving towards. Stop eating those high calorie snacks that we all know aren’t good for us, quit substances like caffeine or alcohol, give up carbs or dairy or meat or sugar. And we usually see our success or failure in austere terms, so when we inevitably slip up it is easy to feel like a failure and give up entirely.

Instead of focusing on the negative, remember that resolutions are all about wanting to be happier and healthier in the new year. Instead of getting sucked into the negative rhetoric around food choices that is so common this time of year, let’s focus on affirmative steps we can take to ring in 2019 with a happier and healthier relationship to food.

• Give yourself the gift of food with a CSA share.
  In addition to the incredible bounty of healthy and delicious food each week, there are other perks to membership. Being a CSA shareholder gives you the chance to revel in the natural beauty of the farm. You become a part of a community - you can chat with a farmer, share recipe ideas with other shareholders, and make new friends. And sign up for a working share so you can get your hands in the soil and help grow the food yourself.

• Share food with someone you love.
  Approach cooking and the sharing of food with joy, excitement, and gratitude. As we tell our students, when you cook for someone you are giving them the greatest gift because you are giving them everything they need to grow and thrive. A meal is a great way to reconnect with an old friend in this busy season.

• Have fun and experiment in the kitchen!
  Push your food boundaries, don’t let a recipe or an unfamiliar ingredient hold you back. If you don’t love a vegetable one way, don’t be afraid to change the recipe or try something entirely different. Use your intuition and revel in the alchemy of finding the perfect flavor combination.

• Cook more an home, even if it is just for yourself.
  Cooking for other people is great, but remember that you are worthy of that same care and love. Take the opportunity to indulge in one of your favorite recipes and cook with the freedom of knowing nobody is watching!

This January, be kind and forgiving to yourself when it comes to food. Embrace the new year with positivity, and happy eating!

Meet Tamika and Lindsey

Meet Tamika and Lindsey. Two students from Vassar College share their experiences of interning with Poughkeepsie Farm Project through the Office of Community-Engaged Leaning.

Ed. Note: This article has been adapted from pieces Tamika and Lindsey wrote for Vassar College's Office of Community Engaged Learning Newsletter. It has been edited for clarity.

Tamika is in the Meditation Garden. She’s in the brown t-shirt!

My name is Tamika and I am a prospective Environmental Studies major. I am an Education Intern with Poughkeepsie Farm Project this semester. I’m interested in local food systems and food justice. Since PFP is a local community farm project committed to making fresh produce accessible to the Poughkeepsie community, I am gaining real experience on how a community-minded food and agriculture organization operates. PFP offers community supported agriculture (CSA) shares of fresh produce to the local community and also provides a variety of programming both at the farm site and in the Poughkeepsie community. My work as an education intern thus far has primarily been with the meditation garden at the PFP site on Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve. I help out every week during the open volunteer gardening time, primarily with weeding and other maintenance of the plant beds and medicine garden. This work has made me realize how much hands-on love and care goes into growing plants. I have also learned a lot about herbalism and the many uses of plants from PFP’s volunteer herbalist, Beatrix Clarke.

Working at the meditation garden has really made me realize the relationship between the community and the garden, too. I definitely notice a difference in the amount of work we can accomplish and visible change in the garden on the days when we have lots of volunteers as opposed to the days when it is just me and the PFP staff. I think this really speaks to the importance of community support for PFP.

Lindsey in the plaid shirt teaching kids at a workshop!

My name is Lindsay Irwin - I am a Sophomore Drama and intended English Double-Major participating in a Community-Engaged Learning Opportunity through Vassar. I’m an Education Intern at Poughkeepsie Farm Project, which allows me to fuse my interests in Education, English and Drama. Each week, I bike up the road to the farm and prepare myself to spend 4-5 hours doing something different that feeds my love of nature and inspires me to write poetry and short creative pieces which will eventually culminate into one large or multiple small final pieces. Each time I’ve gone to the farm, I’ve contributed to my journal with notes and images that will eventually lead to my final creative project.

So far in my farm adventures, I have tabled for PFP at parent-teacher conferences at a local Poughkeepsie public school, led cooking workshops for local elementary students, planted garlic on Halloween to bond with the farm crew, and my personal favorite, directed a short play about the parts of plants starring students on a field trip to PFP. This community engaged learning opportunity has really pushed me to use my skills in a new way outside of the classroom and blended my passions, letting me pass on my enthusiasm to these local students, and learn from them as well.

Going off-campus for a few hours a week definitely puts me in a creative mindset and allows me to get a taste of what it would be like to teach kids theatre in the real world, work on a farm, and write professionally from natural inspiration.

Growers Row: Four Seasons Farming

Growers Row: Four Seasons Farming
By Lauren Kaplan

The tractor implements are stored for the season. The distribution tent is down. The fields are quiet, tucked away in cover crop. To a casual observer, it may look like a whole lot of nothing-much happening.

But inside the high tunnels, it’s another world. Look closer, and you’ll find a lush green world, bursting with kale and chard, spinach and salad greens, chicories and tatsoi and bok choy (oh my!). These heated tunnels, which we’ve been planting and weeding and watering, opening and closing (and mending) for the last three months, are now the heart of our winter activity -- and a welcome, semi-tropical respite from the frigid fields. Our greenhouse, which will be piled high with trays of seedlings and sprouts come spring, has been temporarily transformed into a winter wash station. And our coolers are well stocked with carrots, sweet potatoes and other root crops, cabbage, onions and winter squash.

We will spend the next few months buzzing back and forth between the tunnels, the coolers, and our wash station, harvesting and washing and sorting and packing out a beautiful assortment of produce for our Winter CSA.

We are really excited about our Winter CSA (a more traditional-style CSA) and the opportunity it affords to slow down a little with our members -- to talk with people, share recipes, and spotlight unique and different crops. As farmers, we’re also deeply grateful to have winter work. It keeps us learning, keeps us employed, and is one important part of the sustainability we strive to achieve here on the farm and across the organization.

For those of you who have signed up for the Winter CSA, we thank you for supporting us in this. We will see you for the SECOND distribution on Saturday December 15 -- and we hope you’ve made room in your refrigerator! Stay tuned for recipe ideas (including more for the ever-intimidating but vastly under-appreciated Black Spanish radish).

For everyone else, we wish you a warm and cozy, happy and healthy holiday season. Be safe, eat your greens, and we will look forward to seeing you in the spring!