The Final Block Party on the Farm!

CT NOFA had our final Block Party on the Farm this past Saturday at Urban Oaks Organic Farm in New Britain, CT. We had a lot of fun touring Urban Oaks' fields and six greenhouses. 

Linda Glick and Mike Kandefer told the group about Urban Oaks' history.  Built up from an abandoned city lot and surrounded by brown field, the site used to be owned by Sandelli Greenhouses Inc.  Urban Oaks opened in 1999 and has grown to be a larger farming operation with a greater variety of produce every year since.  Now the farm's produce is in demand around the state (Urban Oaks' arugula has been named the best in Connecticut, and their Connecticut-grown grapefruit is remarkable in that it is truly Connecticut grown!)  Bill Duesing talked about CT NOFA's work in the past thirty years, and the central role farms like Urban Oaks play in Connecticut's local food and farms movement.  Urban farms especially address gaps in food access, and provide an opportunity for inner-city populations to become familiar with farming and have access to farm education.

We set off on the farm tour through Urban Oaks' greenhouses, which raised everything from seedlings, to peppers, to herbs, to indoor orchards.

Fig trees create a canopy in the greenhouses.

The fig trees are huge, and the figs are delicious.  Below Mike points to his grape fruit tree, (and the thorns he hadn't realized would grow from the branches when he planted it) and Melissa splits a fig in half.

This greenhouse grew fruit trees (including avocados, grapefruit and meyer lemons), separated by trellises growing cucumbers, with collard greens and kale growing on the ground,  and a path lined by huge rosemary bushes.  They were also growing hot peppers and a variety of herbs.

After the tour it was time for dinner! The block party pot luck included chile, homemade salsa, quinoa salads, homegrown vegetables and fruit, homemade sauce, sweet potato and regular local potato salads, local apples and yogurt for desert, iced tea donated by Steaz and seltzer from Urban Oaks.  Adam Matlock played the accordion while attendees shared the potluck feast over hay bales and picnic tables.  

Thank you to our friends at Urban Oaks Organic Farm and to our supporters that have helped us celebrate our thirtieth anniversary this summer. CT NOFA can't continue to do this work without the help of Connecticut's wonderful farmers, activists, environmentalists and food-lovers.  We have enjoyed meeting with many of you this summer at our pot lucks! There are lots of ways to become more involved with CT NOFA, and please consider joining to continue to support us and enjoy all the benefits!

Hope to see you at another of our events soon!
Kristiane

Join us for our Third Block Party on the Farm!

Urban Oaks Organic Farm is a wonderful place to come relax as the summer winds down.  It's also an impressive site to learn about - this healthy and productive farm represents a success story of brownfield remediation and site renovation.  This article from a couple years ago provides an overview of Urban Oaks' history, starting back before Urban Oaks existed.  Here's an except that talks a little about the farm:

Urban Oaks Organic Farm opened on a portion of the Sandelli site in 1999. The farm provides education for residents and school groups in organic gardening methods, sustainable agriculture, nontoxic farming techniques, composting, and other environmentally friendly farming techniques. The establishment of the organic farm has helped enhance the urban environment by demonstrating farming responsibility, non- polluting techniques and soil amendments, pest control utilizing natural predators, and by providing greenspace in a dense and urban area.

You can learn more about the history of Urban Oaks and founding farmer Mike Kandefer by checking out this more recent Edible Nutmeg article.  Stop by this Saturday and listen to some live music, enjoy a potluck meal, and learn more about a farm that is a model of community engagement and investment.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BLOCK PARTY AND RSVP HERE.

Thanks to all who came to our Block Party!

CT NOFA had another lovely Block Party last Saturday at Hidden Brook Gardens in Ledyard, Connecticut.
Bill kicked off the Block Party with a welcome to the guests. He introduced Bill Sokol and Anita Kopchinski, the owners of Hidden Brook and second career farmers who only started six years ago.

The first destination of the tour was the Hiddne Garden's Greenhouse, which currently houses many many pepper plants.  

Anita explained some of their growing practices and efforts at using biodynamic growing principles.

Anita shows us the field behind their house, surrounded by a tall NRCS-funded deer fence.

Hidden Brook Gardens' dog, Collins, who was very happy to have so many visitors (and so much food to be dropped on the ground!)

The tour heads through the brussel sprouts.

Garlic!

Grape vines covered in an organic clay-based product that keeps pests away but allows light through for photosynthesis.  This can only be used on the parts of the plant that aren't consumed because it's difficult to scrub off.

This field is closer to the road and hosts more hot peppers, eggplants, and 400 tomato plants!

In 2009, Hidden Brook Gardens started working with Allyn Orchards, and are maintaining their orchard and have transitioned the orchard to organic in the past three years!

People who love farms and food make for great pot luck participants.  Attendees enjoy dinner over hay bales.

It was a great evening! We had guests of all ages, and the staff enjoyed meeting so many new people interested in organic farming! Thanks so much for coming!

If you've missed our first couple of Block Parties, don't worry, you have one more chance! Save the date for our Block Party in New Britain at Urban Oaks Farm on September 15, 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

A big thanks to Chabaso Bakery for bringing us lots of delicious olive oil bread sticks, to Steaz tea for our drinks, and to Bill Sokol and Anita Kopchinski for sharing their beautiful farm with us and a number of strangers.  On their website you are able to make appointments to visit their farm, and you might want to check it out! Look out for Hidden Brook Gardens at the Old Lyme and Milford Markets, or for their produce at the Oyster Club in Mystic, CT.

Join us for our 2nd Block Party on the Farm!

Our first Block Party on the Farm back at the end of June was a huge success, but if you missed it fear not!  We are holding a second block party this Saturday July 14 from 6-9pm at Hidden Brook Gardens in Ledyard.  Admission is FREE, but please bring a potluck dish to share.  Gather with your friends and neighbors to enjoy a farm tour with farmers Anita Kopchinski and Bill Sokol, and delicious potluck meal, with organic teas provided by Steaz.  What a great way to spend a summer's evening, relaxing on the farm!

It's not too late to register!

Email us or give us a call at 203.888.5146 to register for this event.  Learn more about our Block Parties here.

We can't wait to see you there!
-Melissa

Thanks to all who came to our Block Party!

CT NOFA's Block Party on Saturday was so much fun for us, and we hope (and are reasonably sure) it was fun for all of you who came (and for those of you who didn't come - we have more coming up this summer!)

CT NOFA's president, Bettylou helps move the sheep before the event

A few of CT NOFA's Board members enjoy the evening in the foreground.

The Hickories looked beautiful and it was the perfect summer evening for our party.  Dina lead an informative and entertaining tour of her farm and answered all of the attendees questions about her farm.  We enjoyed talking to attendees about the momentum and excitement building behind Connecticut's sustainable food movement.

Dinner from the Taco Pacifico Truck was shared over hay bales.

We loved this beautiful little herb garden of Dina's.

The tacos were delicious!

Block Party on the Farm!

Cupcakes anyone?

Dinner from Taco Pacifico!

Taco Pacifico served delicious Mexican food, smokey beer, courtesy of Southport Brewing Company and organic wines donated by Cellar XV.  Not a cupcake remained by the end of the night, due to their tempting flavors and  sweet presentation by The Cake Box.  Bill Duesing closed the evening with remarks about CT NOFA being 30 years strong, and the need to create 1000 more farms like the Hickories in order for Connecticut to feed itself and provide food security for its citizens in the future.


A special thanks to our headlining sponsors:

 Our regular sponsors:

 Hines & Associates ~ Landscape Architecture

And to businesses that donated food and drink!

Join us for our next Block Parties!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

6:00-9:00pm Hidden Brook Gardens

Ledyard, CT 

Saturday, September 15, 2012 

Urban Oaks Organic Farm

New Britain, CT

I hope to see you at one of our upcoming Block Parties!

Best,

Kristiane