Event updates – September

On Wednesday, September 1st, Andy and Jackie King of A&J King Artisan Bakers gave an informative, lively and ultimately yummy demonstration of pastry-making using fresh, seasonal fruits:

Everyone left very happy, with a fresh peach tart and even a loaf of bread!

On Thursday, September 9, Frances Moore Lappe, author of the revolutionary book Diet for a Small Planet, spoke in the Gould Barn. Frances was an energetic, positive speaker whose talk on the importance of a local diet sparked a lively discussion.

On Wednesday, September 15th, we welcomed local herbalist and lecturer Betsy Williams:

Not only was Betsy an entertaining and instructive speaker, she provided samples of her delicious herbed creations, including butter, mustard, nuts and soup.

Also, we have had three book discussions so far: one in the Library meeting room, one at Masconomet Middle School, and one at Masconomet High School.  (Two more are coming up on September 28th and October 14th.) We have also been screening documentary films on Friday nights at the Library: on September 10 we screened Food Inc., and on September 17th we screened The Garden.  Our next film screening will be Friday, September 24th and we will be showing The Future of Food.

Thank you to everyone who has made all of our events so far successful!

Harvest Updates

8/17/10: 1 cueball squash, 6 cucumbers, 5 tomatoes, 1 lb. lettuce, basil, thyme, sage.

8/27/10: 7 tomatoes, 3 beets, 1/2 lb. lettuce, pole beans, eggplant, cucumber, basil.

8/31/10: 3 beets, 8 tomatoes, 2 eggplants, 2 cucumbers, 1 lb. pole beans, ½ lb. lettuce, ½ lb. basil, large bunch parsley, large bunch sage.

9/7/10: 8 lbs. tomatoes, 5 cucumbers, 4 beets, 2 eggplants, 1 lb. pole beans.

9/14/10: 8 lbs. tomatoes, 3 cucumbers, 4 beets, 4 eggplants, 3 lbs. pole beans.

Veggies in peril!

The good news: our tomato plants have really started producing many fresh, red, ripe tomatoes and we’ve been able to harvest some large batches.  The bad news: someone other than the intended recipients of our vegetables has been enjoying them:

Event updates

In case you hadn’t noticed, A Book Grows in Topsfield is now officially underway.  Our new website is up and running, linked to the Library’s homepage, but we want to continue to maintain this blog as a narrative version of this project and of course, our garden. On August 21st, we held our kickoff party at Alfalfa Farm Winery:

There was food from Lantern Hill Catering, music by Mason Daring and The Band That Time Forgot, and of course tastings of wine made from Alfalfa’s own vineyards.

Last Wednesday, Joyce Bergstrom of the Historical Society and our Children’s Department led by Children’s Librarian Jane Johnson co-sponsored Mr. McGregor’s Tea Party.  Over 100 children and adults packed into the Gould Barn for an afternoon of tea, stories and crafts:

The fruits (and vegetables) of their labor:

Finally, last Friday, August 27th, we invited Ian Cheney, producer and star of the acclaimed documentary King Corn to join us for a screening of his film and a Q & A session after:

As always, stop by the library for a complete event schedule and more information.

Basket of color!

More of the vegetables in our garden have started producing, and our harvests are certainly more colorful these days.  Last night Amanda and Jackie’s harvest included eggplants, tomatoes, beets, cucumbers, and string beans. It adds a nice rainbow to our usual haul of lettuce, herbs and squash.

Speaking of squash, it looks like ours might be done for the season:

The squash plants, in July the shining stars of our garden, have been rapidly declining these last few weeks of August.  We removed the left-hand one last week, and it looks like the right-hand plant, of which the above picture was taken, will soon follow.  Even the squash plants that we transplanted, that now live in the back of the garden, are definitely finding their days to be numbered.  But at least we had a steady supply of squash lasting us well into August.