Greetings from Bayard Cutting Arboretum! I am writing to introduce myself and let you know a bit of what’s in store for the 2022 season. As you all know, Dana has moved on. My name is Lisa Chalif and I am super excited to be here. Farming is my second career, having spent many years in the visual arts as a museum curator. For the past two years, I was at Jamesport Farmstead, a CSA/market farm on the North Fork, and before that I was at Restoration Farm in Old Bethpage. I passionately support organic, sustainable, and regenerative growing practices and hope over time to incorporate no- or low-till methods in our fields here as I believe that everything we do on the farm depends on biologically healthy soil. I am looking forward to meeting all of you, working with those of you who volunteer, and growing delicious, nutrient-dense produce for our delectation!

I am just getting started with organizing for the CSA and would value your opinion about a proposed change. I would like to move to a market stand model, where members would select their produce from bins/crates/baskets, giving freedom to make your own selections. Usually, everyone would be receiving the same items, that is tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, etc., although you may prefer to take red onions rather than yellow, for example. At times, there may be options, such as the type of greens you might like to take, that is perhaps you would choose between arugula and baby kale. Certainly, this will vary week to week depending upon what is harvested. Given our current situation with Covid, I would like to know your comfort with this proposal, as opposed to us packing the boxes. I value any and all of your feedback!

I have been hard at work doing the crop plan and planting schedule. You can expect a varied selection of vegetables throughout the season, with perhaps more greens than we’ve done in the past, at least early and late, as long as nature cooperates.

I look forward to hearing from those of you who would like to share your opinion, and I look forward to meeting all of you once the season begins!

Thank you for your support of the Bayard Cutting Arboretum and our CSA Farm! Nothing that we do would be possible without you.

Lisa

Farm Manager: Lisa Chalif