Concord’s Verrill Farm to Introduce CSA

Of course, doing it their own way.

  After years as a conscientious objector, Verrill Farm is introducing a CSA option that adapts the popular community-supported agriculture model in ways Steve Verrill says should work for both the farm and the customer. “There seem to be quite a few people who are interested in a CSA,” said Verrill. “If somebody really wants one, they would buy it someplace else and we don’t really see them for the summer.” That should change this year, as Verrill Farm unveils its “Farmer’s Market CSA.” Where the “Farmer’s Market” aspect comes from is that the Verrill Farm CSA won’t force seasonal vegetables upon customers, but will put all the week’s offerings out in bins and let customers fill their basket with whatever they wish. Verrill said this …

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About Town

A Fine Autumn Weekend

Discover West Concord Village Day was a rousing success, and Judith Broggi returns to her Park Ranger duties.

  Oh, man, wasn’t this weekend’s weather simply superb?? I just love days like that in the middle of autumn; they take you by surprise and make you all happy. SO nice to be outside, enjoying the sunshine, especially after the crazy rain on Friday. For anyone who didn’t make it over to Discover West Concord Village Day, well, I feel very sad for you, because you missed a great party. I don’t always go to events like this, especially on a Saturday when I’m mostly driving from one sporting event to the next. But I decided to carve out an hour to go check it out, ended up spending two, and never made it past the railroad tracks. Which is unfortunate, because I didn’t make it to the Vintages wine tasting, or any other delectable delights up …

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Concord Farms: A Community Tradition

The Good and Tasty Life at Backyard Birds

By giving their animals space to graze in pasture and feeding them organic grains, Pete Lowy and Jen Hashley produce some of the freshest eggs and meat in town.

If Pete Lowy is tired at this point, he sure isn't showing it. Lowy never stops bouncing around as we meet the 40 pigs and around 525 egg-laying hens he keeps with his wife Jen on the aptly named Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds on Wheeler Road. Whether Pete is crouching low to give one of his piglets a healthy slap on the back, or making sure every last water tank and giant feed container on the hen pasture is full, the hop in his step and wide smile on his face are constant. Lowy has reason to be a bit exhausted --after all, he's spending his precious lunch break from his other job as assistant farm manager at Verrill Farm next door talking to a reporter. But as the midday sun beats down on the hen coops, and the pigs a mile down the road …

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Buy Local/Eat Fresh

Time to Eat Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a vegetable that is given fruit status and fruit treatment.

Fred and Ginger, Ben and Jerry, peanut butter and jelly- the list of famous pairs goes on and on. This week is about the latter half of the dynamic duo strawberry-rhubarb.   In New England rhubarb first appears about a month before the local strawberries ripen.  Most people probably know the basics about rhubarb:  It is a vegetable that is given fruit status and fruit treatment.  It has a broad stalk that is edible, but its leaves contain toxic oxalic acid.  Garrison Keillor croons about bebop-a-rebop Rhubarb Pie. Verrill Farm (11 Wheeler Road) is harvesting their own rhubarb, and that continues through the summer.  Check Verrill Farm recipe page for some proven recipes that are sure to become favorites.  If you don’t have the time or …

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Buy Local/Eat Fresh

Let the Season Begin!

Some of the earliest arrivals are available at local farm stands.

Farmers are busy in their fields and greenhouses right now – readying their land, planting, and hardening off plants (which means gradually transitioning them from greenhouse to the outdoors) and even harvesting.  If you visit some of the local farms, you won’t yet find the heaping baskets and crates of fresh produce.  However, this is still an exciting time when some of the earliest arrivals area available on the front porches of a few local farm stands.    While native crops and products conjure images of apples, maple syrup and corn, Concord once claimed to be the “Asparagus Capital of the World.”  The asparagus beetle devastated the crops and brought asparagus growing to an end.  Not completely, though.  Some of the sweetest, most …

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About Town

Update: Garden Tour on Horizon; Share the Harvest

CSAs and garden tours in Concord.

Concord is a historic town, so it’s not surprising we have a museum. The Concord Museum has cool memorabilia documenting some of the events our town is famous for, as well as exhibits showing life as it was from the time our little town began. They have great programs, both for school kids and adults, and fun events like the Family Trees exhibit at Christmas time. And other than memberships and admission fees, just how do they fund such a fabulous resource? Well, one way is through their annual Garden Tour. If you’ve never done the Garden Tour, you really should: the profusion of colorful plant life will set your heart singing, and banish all thoughts of the past winter once and for all. It’s a gateway to summer. There are usually between …

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