FRESH CHICKEN
This weekend & next weekend too!
Yes, we have fresh chicken again, ALL WEEKEND, this weekend, and next week we will have FRESH chicken as well! While we normally space our harvests three weeks apart in the summer, this next harvest is a bit of a bonus week, but probably not for the reasons you think....(how's that for a lead in...)
Did you know that our baby meat bird chicks arrive at the farm via the mail? The United States Post Office (USPS) ships millions of live chicks every year to homes and farms from hatcheries located all over the country. Once hatched the birds are quickly boxed up and shipped out and are able to sustain 2-3 days of travel with no food and water. Most of the time they safely arrive at their destination, a bit thirsty and hungry, but usually in quite good shape. Unfortunately, not all shipments go according to plan. This year in particular there have been trucking delays due to Covid-19 and many chick deliveries are unfortunately going a bit awry with birds sitting on shipping docks or in trucks for much too long. When this happens, the chicks either arrive very weak or they die en route. We have had many chicks arrive at the farm this year in less then perfect condition and this last batch of birds that were just harvested is an example. When the chicks arrived 10 weeks ago approximately half of the birds that were shipped did not arrive alive. Since we carefully plan ahead of time how many birds we need to grow, this left us short of birds for the harvest this weekend. To make up the shortfall we immediately ordered another group of 300 chicks to arrive the following week. So this means, NEXT week we will have another harvest, since this week we do not have the full amount we had hoped for.
In the future we hope to work with a hatchery closer to the farm with the possibility that the birds can be driven to us directly from the hatchery, avoiding the stress and providing a better outcome for us all.
We will send out an email next week reminding folks when the fresh birds will be at the farm. Our loss is your gain...two weeks in a row of fresh birds!
 
Remaining Chicken Harvest Dates for 2020
August 21-24
September 4-7
September 25-27
October 9-12
October 23-26
FRESH CHICKEN ...details...
Friday @ 2pm thru Monday evening
Whole Freedom Rangers only this week
PLUS
split breast, boneless breast, thighs, leg quarters, drumsticks, wings, backs and giblets...
Pre-orders not needed
Self Serve - First Come - First to BBQ
THANKS AND GOODBYE!
By the end of this weekend we say adieu to some very hard working folks who helped us manage the farm this season. With their help we were able to keep all of the animals well fed and cared for (thanks Eli!), the store stocked and well tended to along with some beautiful flower bouquets (thanks Kayla!) and the grounds around the farm well groomed and many an egg washed and packed (thanks Turner!). Without their help the farm would not be what it is today. Best of luck to Kayla and Eli as they had head off to college and Turner...finally gets a little vacation time with his family before he returns to high school.
  
TURKEY TIME!
Thanksgiving is fast approaching and the turkeys are sizing up beautifully! Time to reserve your turkey before they are all sold out. This year the birds are being raised at Van Leer field on Old Sudbury Road (in Lincoln) instead of Codman road where many have seen them roaming around the past few years. We decided to grow the turkeys in a different field this year because it's important to rotate field usage to spread fertility and alter the impact the animals have on the land.
Starting with next week's chicken harvest, we will begin harvesting some small turkeys for retail sale...as we know many enjoy turkey any time of year, so keep an eye out for some 10-12lb birds at next weeks chicken harvest. They will be available first come, first serve! We will make an announcement in next week's newsletter. Keep an eye out. In the mean time ORDER YOUR TURKEY for Thanksgiving NOW!
Photo by Eli Newell
FRESH PRODUCE- THIS WEEK
Each week availability of produce and fruit shifts a bit. From now on, we will provide a "potential" list of veggies we will have for sale in the Farm Store. Availability will vary but we hope and plan to have these items fresh and in stock! Some of these items are grown by us using organic growing methods (We are not certified organic), most of the other veggies we buy in from local farms ARE certified organic and most fruit is NOT certified organic, but IPM (which means low spray or low use of chemicals, when possible).
Available this week
August 14-21
FRUIT
Blueberries, Peaches
VEGETABLES
Codman Farm fresh dug red potatoes& Codman farm cherry and slicing tomatoes
organic loose carrots, fresh onions, fresh green beans,
chard, kale, lettuce mix, eggplant, cucumbers, shiitake mushrooms
and sweet corn!
The hoops are now up on our new greenhouse! Yippee! Hopefully this coming week we will install the baseboards along the bottom, then the purlin pipes which add strength to the bows and also keep them properly spaced and then the hip boards which hold the plastic in place.
SWEET CORN!
Freshly harvested sweet corn will now be available every day in the Farm Store. We have partnered up with Cucurbit Farm to bring you freshly harvested sweet corn each and every day. Cucurbit farm leases land at Minuteman National Park, adjacent to where we are growing our pigs so we are in the area daily checking on the pigs...so we are picking up some corn everyday for you all to enjoy! It's sweet, crunchy, very fresh and tasty!
FARM STORE DELIVERY and SCHEDULE
As we get into more of a routine we wanted to share what to expect each week as far as product arrivals and days to expect certain items...here goes!
MONDAY
High Lawn Farm (early morning)
Fresh milk, butter, cheese, ice cream deliveries
Myers Distributor (early afternoon)
Our local distributor from Massachusetts grown farms -
Local and Certified Organic fresh veggies, fruit, cider, donuts, flowers, and other items
TUESDAY
Bread Obsession (by 11 am)
Fresh bread baked in Waltham; baguettes, whole wheat slicing loaf, durum levain, sourdough, multigrain
WEDNESDAY
Bread Obsession (by 11 am)
Fresh bread baked in Waltham; baguettes, whole wheat slicing loaf, durum levain, sourdough, multigrain
Cape Ann Fresh Catch
Fresh local fish usually including haddock, scallops, salmon, swordfish, grey sole, and catch of the day
12:30-2:30ish
THURSDAY
High Lawn Farm (early morning)
Fresh milk, butter, cheese, ice cream deliveries
Myers Distributor (early afternoon)
Our local distributor from Massachusetts grown farms -
Local and Certified Organic fresh veggies, fruit, cider, donuts, flowers, and other items
FRIDAY
Bread Obsession (by 11 am)
Fresh bread baked in Waltham; baguettes, whole wheat slicing loaf, durum levain, sourdough, multigrain
Mi Tierra Tortillas (by 11 am)
Fresh, local, organic corn tortillas
Sweet Tahini
Fresh, gluten free breads, and Israeli inspired sweets made with no processed sugars
Local Veggies
We will be harvesting our own veggies and buying seasonally available produce from local farms, as available
SATURDAY
Bread Obsession (by 11 am)
Fresh bread baked in Waltham; baguettes, whole wheat slicing loaf, durum levain, sourdough, multigrain
C&C Fresh Lobster and Fish
Fresh fish and lobster
10am- 12pm
MISC INFO...
1. We remain OPEN 24/7, so if you want to avoid contact with others, visit in the wee hours of the night!
2. MANDATORY MASKS: Please wear MASKS in all public places so be sure to have one on when you visit the store. They are a pain for sure but JUST DO IT! ;-)
3. THANKS: Farm store sales remain brisk and we appreciate your support!
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please contact pete@codmanfarm.org.
WEEKLY PICS
Pigs cooling off in a mudhole
Photos by Eli Newell
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