Views from the Drumlin

Volunteers are the backbone of Drumlin Farm

The support our staff receives from over 1,000 volunteers gets us through the year. Many people lend a hand for a onetime event – Pancake Breakfast, Woolapalooza, the Nature’s Art Festival, Fall Harvest Fest or Tales of the Night. Our staff could not stage these large events without the many volunteers that man the food stations, work at the admissions table, face paint our young guests, and assist with parking. We just completed our two evening Tales of the Night event where over 65 volunteers gave their time. A special thank you to all those “zombies and witches” who lost their voices while enthusiastically playing their parts.

Our core, “regular” volunteers help us with the day to day behind the scenes tasks. Sheep, cows, chickens, pigs, hawks, owls, opossums, woodchucks, and the many additional livestock and wildlife animals at our sanctuary need plenty of care. Cage cleaning, mucking and making up food mixtures is not very glamorous but by helping with these daily chores our volunteers get to know these animals up close and personal. Other volunteers monitor our cavity nesting bird boxes– citizen science at its best.
Drumlin Farm’s crops and property staff also benefit from volunteers whether they are individuals, school or corporate groups. This summer helpers weeded, mulched, planted, harvested and watered our farm fields. Our property staff had help pulling invasive plants, clearing trails and preparing a new grassland. Garden volunteers kept our flowers beds in  prime shape. Many hands really do make light work.

With winter around the corner, life on the farm slows but before we know it, it will be time for maple sugaring, Pancake Breakfast and early spring chores. Keep an eye on the Drumlin Farm website and blog for volunteer opportunities. We appreciate your help.

- Pam S., volunteer coordinator

Across the Watershed

Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farm is committed to working with youth across the SuAsCo watershed to help them gain an appreciation and increase their knowledge about their local habitats. Some of our most exciting programs take place in the great city of Lowell-- really, a hidden treasure in the upper reaches of our watershed. In Lowell, we have found not only amazing habitats, but wonderful partner organizations to work with such as Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Community Teamwork, Inc. and Lowell National Historical Park. We offer between 2-3 after school programs per season, a week-long summer environmental leadership program for teens, and seasonal explorations for the general public in addition to programming in local schools. Sally F., one of our teacher naturalists offers this report from two of our afterschool programs this fall.

"The students of the Robinson Middle school which sits on top of the Christian Hill drumlin in Lowell are busy meeting Drumlin Farm wildlife and exploring the schoolyard discovering plants, insects, mammals, and birds including red tailed hawks and turkey vultures. They are looking after the trees previous groups planted! Next week they will share their discoveries with students at the elementary school next door, plant some flowers and recycle trash. They have become good stewards of their local habitats and the earth.

The students at the Phoenix Ave. Family Center prove that no wild area is too small to explore and save. We have spent the fall discovering amazing plants and animals living in a small pond and forest which is sandwiched between  Route 495, shopping malls and industrial parks. With trucks and cars roaring past, we have probed the forest soil finding red backed salamanders, sow bugs, centipedes and more. Plants include, white oak, red maple, blueberry, may flower and wintergreen. The students have also spent many afternoons exploring the pond which is surrounded by cattails and is home to mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies, water beetles, frogs, and even a school of goldfish. Predators such as great blue herons, mallard ducks and hawks visit this small but rich habitat. The students have been recording their observations and are planning on following these habitats through the seasons by using charts and maps. The Drumlin Farm wildlife visitors have also been a big hit.  Led by site leader Saul R's interest in the natural world, the students at the Phoenix Center have become enthusiastic earth stewards! "

Brian C. of Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust and Sally F., Drumlin Farm teacher/naturalist are having a wonderful autumn sharing these small but amazing habitats with these enthusiastic Lowell students. We greatly appreciate the support of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Youth Reach Initiative which makes these exciting explorations possible.

- Kris

Drumlin Farm Construction Update

If you’ve been visiting Drumlin Farm regularly for the past several years, you’re aware of all the renovations and improvements that have been taking place. Thanks to a successful $3.7 million capital campaign we’ve been able to create a new entry drive and parking area, construct a new Welcome Area and farm stand, grade the hill path to make it all persons accessible, renovate Bird Hill, create a new Forest Discovery Trail, build and new greenhouse, renovate the poultry house, build a new pig barn, renovate the sheep and goat shed, and build new bathrooms at the Red Barn. We’ve added new interpretative panels and interactive exhibits throughout the sanctuary. Despite all these changes, Drumlin has maintained the informal style and rural character that has made it beloved to generations of visitors for over 50 years.

Now we are embarking on the most exciting project to date. We've begun construction of our new Farm Life Center classroom building to be located between Bird Hill and the farm yard. This building will replace the existing Farm Life Center which will be removed next spring. The new Farm Life Center will have two classroom spaces, one with a demonstration kitchen, and an area where visitors can get information and get warm. 

The building will be extremely energy efficient and will incorporate green building materials. The lumber for siding and decking will come from red pines harvested and milled right on Drumlin Farm last summer using a horse logger and a portable sawmill. When completed, the building will be a centerpiece for a new “green trail” at Drumlin that highlights all the green elements in our new and renovated buildings.

While Drumlin will remain open during construction, access routes to the farm yard may change. Just follow the signs. In addition, there may be times when some of our birds and mammals will not be on display. These animals may be sensitive to construction noise which causes them undue stress.  Our visitors have graciously accepted the minor inconveniences our various construction projects have caused. We appreciate your continued patience. We know you will be pleased with the end results.

- Christy

Farm to Table: Eat Local, Eat Healthy!

A WCCA Parent Education Panel

Please join us for this wonderful (and free!) event, open to the public on Monday, November 9 from 7:00-9:00 pm. It will be held at the Weston Public Library, in the community room.

Learn the importance of eating locally and how to source your family's meals with nutritious community-farm raised products such as organic vegetables, grass-fed beef, sustainably-harvested fish and free-range chickens and eggs.

Panelists will take your questions and provide insight into the benefits of supporting local agriculture and direct farm-to-consumer relationships.

* Christy Foote-Smith, Drumlin Farm
* Jen Hashley, Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds
* Niaz Dorry, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance
* Angela Sanfilippo, Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association
* Melanie Hardy, Land's Sake Farm

Learn how supporting area farms and family-run operations is better for your health, your community, and the environment!

For more information contact Jean Arturi at jcarturi@yahoo.com

Wondering About Emma's Calf?

Emma (one of our cows) is “well,” actually doing too well thank you. She is just plain fat and not pregnant. A false pregnancy to be exact.  She showed all the signs of being pregnant. She fooled all of us!

On another note, Truffle was checked today as well, 60 days. She is confirmed pregnant but we will check again at 90 days. No promises.

We once induced a ewe that I spent the entire night with, waiting for her to go into labor and she never had anything. It was the same story-showing all the signs etc. We called that a “hysterical pregnancy.”
I guess that’s  “LIFE ON THE FARM.”

Emma is going on a strict diet and we’ll try again. 

Thank you for your concerns,
Caroline

The Drumlin Dirt #20

Oh my goodness, it’s the last week of the CSA!  It is still hard for me to believe that twenty weeks have gone by this quickly and I am getting sadder and sadder by the second. Although it is nice to know that nature is telling us things need to wind down—hard frosts this past weekend and this week are bringing the season to a close pretty well.  

With all the struggles of the season, including late blight, the loss of our tomatoes, and heavy rains, we had beautiful harvests and a really abundant CSA share. The greens, garlic, and brassicas were lovely and our root veggies are enormous. Despite the blight, we had a great potato crop, which was good for our summer CSA and essential for our upcoming winter CSA, as potatoes are one of the staple winter items. Hakurei turnips, yellow/purple/Romanesco cauliflower, and our late-season carrots were definite stars. 

But most of all, our farm team has been fantabulicious. All of our farm apprentices- Jason, Emily, Hannah, Greg, and Pay- worked incredibly hard this season to produce amazing food . Working with the land, in all sorts of high heat, humidity, rain storms and finger-freezing cold, they have given their energy, time, and care to the land and we have all reaped the benefits. If you love the land, it loves you back!  Anne and Fred have been our dedicated crops volunteers, without whom our trucks, tractors, and weeds would be out of control. And Matt, who continues to farm seven days a week, has really put everything he has into this farm. 

So, thank you to our CSA members who invested up front, to our crops volunteers, to our farmer’s market customers. And thank you to the glacier that formed the lake that became the healthy soil of our fields, to the killdeer who nest there, to the Great Blue Heron who flies above them, to the monarchs and woolly bears and red dragon flies who hatch out in them, to the frogs who sing in their low wet places, and to the seeds that contain everything in their smallness and bring new life each year. 
See you on the farm,
Ellie

FOOD in the NEWS:
• A writer’s struggle with the meaning of meat featured this weekend in the New York Times

• Food banks going local in California, also from the New York Times

COOKING TIPS: 
Parsnipsare new to this week’s CSA share. The parsnip is a root vegetable and a relative of the carrot.  Parsnips contain high amounts of potassium and dietary fiber and are super sweet. Try roasting them with carrots and maple syrup or adding them to soup. Or try this simple recipe for pureed parsnips.

Recipes and Cookbooks recommended by our CSA members
• Sweet Potato Pancakes (Recommended by Jacquie)
• Red Cabbage Salad (Recommended by Alice D.) Alice recommends  doubling the amount of mixed spice and to add fresh pepper.
• A garden-centered cookbook by Gaining Ground, a farm in Concord (Recommended by Joan W.)

FOR CSA MEMBERS ONLY

THIS WEEK’S SHARE:  * Bok Choi * Tatsoi * Daikon Radish * Cabbage * Mizuna * Swiss Chard * Lettuce * Parsley * Parsnips * Radish * Scallions * Spinach * Sweet Potatoes * Carving Pumpkin
PYO SHARE: * Perennial Herb Garden

At the Chef's Table: Tastes of Drumlin Farm

Our very first dinner in our series of fall fundraising dinners was a raging success! A sold out crowd dined on fresh Drumlin Farm veggies and lamb expertly prepared by Bob Sargent of Flora. The most unusual and from what I hear particularly scrumptious dish was the smoked mackerel and beet salad. There were also oohs and aahs around for the delectably delicious peach cobbler with homemade ginger ice cream! Our crops manager Matt was in attendance and spoke about the importance of farm apprentices, and the surge in interest he's seen recently in local farming. If you missed out on this great dinner, join us for our next dinner at Rialto on Sunday, October 18. To purchase tickets, please call Henrietta at 781-259-2239, or email her at hyelle@massaudubon.org.

 

The Drumlin Dirt #19

When the maple trees start dropping their leaves and our fields are growing more rye and oats than veggies, it is truly fall on the farm. I have to say that this fall I am feeling the nostalgia for summer particularly strongly knowing that my last growing season at Drumlin is coming to an end. The last cucumbers! The last summer squash!  When I am feeling sad about harvesting something for the last time at Drumlin, I remind myself of how grateful I am to be farming on such generous and healthy land, and that the land is what is truly lasting. For farmers, the slower pace of fall affords us time for reflection on the intense and productive work of the spring and summer. And although I love pumpkins and winter squash and warm sweaters, there is still that hard autumnal feeling that the land is heading towards rest and the cold is about to set in.

We are starting to gear up for our winter CSA, which will require lots of big harvesting sessions of our root veggies and careful storage in our root cellar.  This week we will be planting 300 lbs of garlic that will be harvested come next spring. Matt has switched from seeding oats, which dies back in the winter, to seeding rye, which is winter-hardy and can withstand freezing temps. Rye is a great cover crop because it grows rapidly and its roots hold soil in place against the forces of wind and water and prevent soil compaction.
 
See you on the farm,
Ellie

 
 
COOKING TIPS:
Celeriacis a new veggie in this week’s CSA share.  Celeriac, also known as celery root, is a white root vegetable that tastes just like celery. It is great as a substitute for celery in soups or mashed with potatoes and butter. It is also amazing cubed and roasted with potatoes and carrots and flavored with sage or oregano.  
 
Celeriac Slaw
 
Slice off the outer layer of the celeriac. Grate the celeriac. Grate a bunch of carrots and one red cabbage. Toss the grated veggies with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil or vegetable oil, salt, fresh pepper, and a little cayenne. Chill in the refrigerator before serving. 

FOR CSA MEMBERS ONLY
 
This Week’s Share:  *Arugula *Spinach *Tatsoi *Mizuna *Lettuce *Bok Choi *Kale *Broccoli/Cauliflower *Cilantro *Parsley *Cabbage *Leeks *Daikon Radish *Radish *Celeriac *Sweet Potatoes *Winter Squash
 
PYO Shares: *Raspberries *Perennial Herb Garden

The Drumlin Dirt #18

This week on the farm we had our second light frost. With the knowledge that the frost was coming, we gathered our abundant pumpkin crop out in the field and covered all of the pumpkins with tarps to protect them from frost damage. Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped move, toss, wash, and cover hundreds of carving and pie pumpkins! 

The season is beginning to slow down and the days are getting shorter.  However, our farmer’s markets are still going strong as evidenced by our record-breaking market totals! New at our fall markets are gorgeous winter squash, huge cauliflower, celeriac and parsnips. Brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collards, etc.) are particularly happy with this cool, temperate weather. 

This past weekend I traveled up to Maine for the annual Common Ground Fair.  The fair is an incredible celebration of local farming and local food. Being there, surrounded by thousands of people who support organic farming, made me feel so happy to be farming at Drumlin Farm and reminded me of how important our work as farmers truly is.

See you on the farm,
Ellie

KNOW YOUR FOOD:
Join us for Know Your Food: Eating Locally with Nutrition in Mind on October 6, lead by Robyn DeCiero, one of our CSA members! To register call 781-259-2206 (preregistration is required).

FOOD in the NEWS:
• New York Times article about the USDA’s plan to support small farmers

COOKING TIPS:Recipes for daikon, carrots, and Napa cabbage from our CSA Members.
 
Pickled Daikon Radish (from Deborah R.)
1.25 lbs daikon chopped very fine or shredded
1 Tbsp. salt
1.5 Tbsp vinegar (rice vinegar is delicious, but apple cider vinegar is good too)
2 Tbsp. sugar
1.5 Tbsp Red Pepper powder or chopped hot pepper (optional or to taste)
1 Tbsp. crushed garlic
 
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Let sit 30 mins or so.  Strain the liquid before serving or storing.  Serve chilled for maximum flavor.

Pickled Carrot (from Deborah R.)
2 med. large carrots, shredded or chopped in matchsticks
 
Put the carrot in a bowl and cover with rice vinegar mixed with 1.5 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp sugar.  Mix thoroughly and let sit 1 hour.
Try mixing the carrots and daikon and pickle them together!
 
Napa Cabbage Salad  (from Henrietta Y.)
1 large head of Napa Cabbage
2 pkgs Ramen or Chinese curly noodles
1 small pkg sliced almonds
1 small bunch scallions
½ cup sugar
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup white vinegar
1 – 2 tablespoon(s) soy sauce
 
Wash cabbage thoroughly, dry and slice/shred.  Slice scallions and add to cabbage.  Crush the Ramen noodles while they are still in the package.  Put a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, add crushed noodles (without spice packet) and sliced almonds. Heat on medium to high until noodles and almonds are toasted.  Be very careful not to burn. Keep your eye on the pan.  Add cooled noodle mixture and mix well. Mix last four ingredients thoroughly for dressing. Add dressing just before serving.
 

FOR CSA MEMBERS ONLY
 
This Week’s Share:  * Arugula * Basil * Bok Choi * Tatsoi * Broccoli/Cauliflower * Carrots * Chard * Daikon Radish * Broccoli Raab * Hot Peppers * Kale * Leeks * Lettuce * Parsley * Radish * Sweet Potatoes * Hakurei Turnips * Winter Squash
 
PYO Shares: * Raspberries * Perennial Herb Garden

 

The Drumlin Dirt #17

This past Saturday night we had our first hard frost on the farm, which means the end for most of our summer squash and cucumbers, and some of our low-lying eggplant. The frost came early this year. Thankfully we had finished harvesting all of our winter squash- red kuri, butternut, acorn, delicata, carnival, blue hubbard, queensland blue, buttercup, and kabocha- before the frost hit. We also began our pumpkin harvest this week with two of our most gorgeous pumpkin varieties- the bright red cinderella pumpkins and the Long Island Cheese pumpkins, both of which are great for baking. The winter squash and pumpkins are now sweetening up in our greenhouse. We will continue to harvest our carving and pie pumpkins this week so we can begin to sell them and get them in, away from the danger of another hard frost.  This week we put our last transplants in the ground- we planted about four beds of scallions, lettuce, and bok choi. So the only big planting left for the season will be our garlic in mid-October. We are hoping for some rain so that we can seed more cover crop- so put your energy out there for rain this week!

See you on the farm,
Ellie

COOKING TIPS:

Here are a few recipe ideas for veggies in this week’s CSA share:
• Stir Fried Bok Choy and Napa Cabbage
• Delicata Squash with Rosemary, Sage and Cider Glaze
• Delicata Squash and Gruyere Dip
• Broccoli Raab, Goat Cheese and Lemon Zest Pizza

FOR CSA MEMBERS ONLY

This Week's Share:  * Basil * Bok Choi * Broccoli * Napa Cabbage * Carrots * Broccoli Raab * Eggplant * Kale * Lettuce * Leeks * Peppers * Radish * Summer Squash * Sweet Potatoes * Delicata Winter Squash * Hot Peppers

PYO Shares:  * Raspberries * String Beans * Perennial Herb Garden