July Happenings at Natick Community Organic Farm

Heat-loving green beans, cucumbers, hot peppers, tomatoes and zucchini start coming out of the fields in droves. It’s a great time of year to be a local eater! The preteens and young teens in our Working Farmers program invite you to stop at their stand on Route 16, Monday through Friday between 9 AM and 4 PM so that they can sell you vegetables. If they seem like a super-eager salesforce, it’s because they’ll be paid a percentage of their sales at summer’s end.
In the flower fields, we time our pickings to the early part of the day, before the heat saps the strength of the plants and the farmers. Wave upon wave of brightly colored dahlias and sunflowers make their way into bouquets and bridal arrangements.
In every corner of the Farm, kids of all ages are learning, helping, and exploring. Three and four-year-olds are building fairy houses in the woods. Six- and seven-year-olds are handpicking Colorado potato beetles and feeding them to the chickens. The Teen Crew is fixing fences. They’re also cutting firewood, sweating in the heat, preparing for cooler seasons ahead.
Programming
There are still spaces in our summer programming for youth ages 3.5 through 14 in July and August. For full availability, please set up an account on our website, www.natickfarm.org. Plug in the age of your child and the program will let you know what’s available.
Croissants 101 July 15 (ages 15+) Learn the basics of mixing, laminating, turning, cutting and baking these buttery pastries. We’ll bake some off during class and send you home with frozen croissants ready to bake.
Maple Sticky Buns July 22 (ages 15+) We’ll start with a demonstration of how to mix the enriched dough, then it’s your turn to roll and shape your sticky buns, and coat them in maple caramel. You will go home with buns.
Field to Vase Workshop July 20 (ages 15+) We’ll show and teach you how to create your own, one-of-a-kind farmer-florist arrangement using a half-pin canning jar as a vase. We’ll go behind the scenes for a guided tour of our half-acre flower field, greenhouses, and hoop houses.
Natick Community Organic Farm is a nonprofit, certified-organic farm located at 117 Eliot Street offering productive open space, farm products, and hands-on education to people of all ages year-round. Our 27 acres are open daily during daylight hours with no admission fee for your visits and purchases.
Come down and see what’s “growing on!”