Allandale Farm Events

Visit us often to learn about upcoming events and workshops both on and around the farm.

2010 Upcoming Events

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

6th Annual Tomato Festival
11am-3pm at Allandale Farm
$7 per person
Children 12 and under free

Join us for a day of music, corn on the grill and generous samplings of tens and tens of tomato varieites: Heirlooms, hybrids, pastes and cherries will be available in abundance for tasting. We'll keep you busy between plates with hayrides and other activities. See you there!

Thursday's, beginning August 11th, 2010

1pm to 3pm at Allandale Farm
Blade Sharpening by On The Edge

On The Edge is a crackerjack knife sharpening service that will sharpen your cutlery, scissors and garden tools by hand to a razor's edge. On The Edge will work while you wait or you can drop off your implements and pick them up next week. Patty can be reached if you have further questions at boomerang12 [at] yahoo.com.

September 2nd-October 21, 2010

Agriculture Encounters Sculpture
Allandale Farm
10am-5pm daily

Stop by the farm this summer-into-fall for a self-guided tour of freshly installed and specifically created sculpture by artists from near and far.

"This fall, 16 guest artists will grace trees, pathways, ponds, structures and a few other corners and open spaces of this metropolitan Boston’s last working farm, with a wide range of interventions and installations. As the site is not a conventional art venue or dedicated show space, the interplay between the installations, spaces and the surrounding community will be both subtle and dynamic. Visitors are invited to experience fresh, meaningful encounters of their own. The show is our meditation on farming, land, nature, time, the implications of modern civilization and its sprawl, urban community dynamics, as well as the vast possibilities and sensibilities of the contemporary arts."

2010 Past Events

Wednesday, June 23rd

Edible Wild Plant Walk with Russ Cohen
6:00pm to 8:00pm at Allandale Farm

This Event is Full.

The Greater Boston area is home to over 150 species of edible wild plants, many of which are more nutritious and/or flavorful than their cultivated counterparts. Join Russ Cohen, expert forager and author of Wild Plants I Have Known...and Eaten, on a two hour ramble through Allandale Farm to learn about at least two dozen species of edible wild plants. Pending favorable weather conditions, several edible mushroom species may be encountered as well. Keys to the identification of each species will be provided, along with information on edible portion(s), season(s) of availability and preparation methods, along with general guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging. A $5 instructor/materials fee is payable to Allandale Farm on the day of the event. Space is limited to 25 participants. Email us to sign-up.

Saturday May 8th

Pruning Demonstration
10:30am-12:30pm at Allandale Farm

Join arborist Dave Anderson of Hartney Greymont as he shares expert advice on pruning trees and shrubs in your home landscape. Dave will lead an in depth discussion and demonstration with plenty of opportunity for questions and answers. Free. Email us to sign-up.

April 2010

Sunday, April 25, 2010
Kids Seeding Workshop
2pm-3:30pm at Allandale Farm

Join us for a kid-friendly seed planting event. This hands-on workshop will teach kids about how seeds grow and where food comes from. A mini-tour of the farm and greenhouses will round out the afternoon. Open to children 5 and older accompanied by an adult. We will provide seed and all necessary supplies. A materials fee of $5 is payable on the day of the workshop. Email us to sign-up.

March 2010

Saturday, March 27, 2010
Seeding Workshop Session #1: 1pm-2:30pm THIS SESSION IS FULL
Seeding Workshop Session #2: 3pm-4:30pm THIS SESSION IS FULL

Join us for a hands-on demonstration of seeding vegetable starts for your home garden. We'll begin with a brief discussion on seed selection and equipment and then dive right in to planting. We will provide seeding pots/trays and germinating mix. Bring your own seeds or purchase seeds from the hundreds of varieties we will have available for you at the farm. Materials fee of $10 is payable on the day of the workshop. Email us to sign-up for either session #1 or #2.

Sunday, March 28, 2010
"Spring into Gardening" with Bountiful Brookline
1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Pierce School
50 School Street, Brookline

Bountiful Brookline, an organization dedicated to promoting a healthy local food supply, is hosting a garden-centric gathering with something for everyone. Workshops will include subjects such as vermiculture, urban beekeeping, soil-testing & composting, seed selection, getting started, container gardening, raising poultry, and urban orchards. There will be opportunities to chat with local experts, purchase products for your sustainable home and garden, and rave about how your seed starts are coming along. Oh yeah, and we'll be there too! Stop by the Allandale Farm booth to say hello and check out some new items for your personal farmstead that we're pretty excited about. You can learn more detail and pre-register for the raffle at http://www.bountifulbrookline.org/p/events.html

February 2010

Saturday, February 27, 2010
Seed Talk: 10:30am-11:30pm at Allandale Farm

Planning is a critical component of getting a good yield from your garden. Which varieties should you choose? Which seeds do you start indoors and which do you sow directly? What is organic seed? What is open pollination? Join us for coffee and an in-depth discussion of seeding for your home garden. We'll discuss what to start when, successive planting, good container vegetable varieties, and more. We'll share some of our favorite resources for seeds and talk about equipment, from bare bones to more involved set-ups. Bring your questions and comments and let's get started! Free. Email us to sign-up.

2009 Past Events

November 2009

Wednesday, November 11th
"Cider in the City" 5pm to 7pm at Allandale Farm
Free and open to the public

Warm yourself on a crisp fall evening at our open house and heirloom apple extravaganza. We'll have Poverty Lane's Uncommon Apples and their Farnum Hill Cider available for tasting.

October 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 7 p.m.
“Creating Sustainable Food Production”
Farmers, Restauranteurs and Environmentalists Describe
How Changing Food Production Practices Can Reduce Damage

Join the EcoLogic Development Fund and Allandale Farm's John Lee for this lively panel discussion at the Boston Public Library. Please see this flyer (PDF) for more information.

Scarecrow Making Workshops
Thursdays in October (10/1, 8, 15, 22 and 29)
3pm to 4pm, rain or shine at Allandale Farm
$20 per scarecrow-making participant

Join us for this perennial favorite! Remember to bring a child-sized pair of pants and long-sleeved shirt. Other accessories are great too! Sign-up by emailing John Lee or calling him at 617.524.1531.

Hayrides
Saturdays and Sundays in October
11am to 3pm at Allandale Farm
$2 per person

Joins us for a tractor pulled hayride around the farm. The rides leave about every 20 minutes from the hill in front of the farm stand.

Cider Pressing
Saturday 10/3 and Sunday 10/4, Saturday 10/17 and Sunday 10/18.
2pm to 4pm at Allandale Farm
Free

Come try your hand on our new (old-fashioned) hand-cranked cider press. Sampling is encouraged!

Canning Talk and Tea with Eugenia Bone
Saturday, October 3
2pm to 4pm at Upstairs on the Square, Cambridge.
$40 per person

Eugenia Bone, author of Well-Preserved: Putting up Small Batches of Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables, is a New York food writer who grew up with an Italian father whose passion was preserving everything from olives to tuna. In her new book, she focuses on demystifying the canning process, sharing simpler methods like oil-preserving, curing, and freezing, as well as the conventional waterbath and pressure canning processes.

From 2:00pm – 4:00pm, Ms. Bone will host a casual conversation at Upstairs on the Square in Harvard Square over afternoon tea, where participants will have an opportunity to consult with her about their own experiences with canning, discussing the finer points of which processes work best for which food items, and the like. Copies of the book will also be included for participants.

Ms. Bone is also hosting a workshop at the Cambridge Culinary Institute from 10:00am-12:00pm, which is sold out. For full details and to purchase tickets, please visit the Edible Boston website

The Sculpture Show at Tower Hill Botanic Garden
September 26 through November 1 at Tower Hill in Boylston
Free with admission

The famed "Stone Show" formerly in Hardwick, Massachusetts, is expanding and moving to Tower Hill Botanic Garden to become “The Sculpture Show." The show will be larger and more inclusive in every way, with contributions from more than a dozen skilled artists from throughout New England and New York. See stunning works in metal, wood, cast stone and carved stone, set amongst the incomparable beauty of Tower Hill's exquisite gardens and woodland trails—especially breathtaking during the fall foliage season. Visit the Tower Hill website for more information.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Let's Talk Lilacs: 1 pm to 2pm at Allandale Farm. Free.

Join Roger Coggeshall and Evelyn King for a workshop on all things lilac. Evelyn and Roger, expert lilac growers and founders of Syringa Plus Nursery in West Newbury, will lead an open format discussion including topics such as the history of the lilac, cultivars and hybrids, pest/disease problems and remedies, culture and care, and anything else you want to know! A pruning demonstration is also on the agenda. Roger and Evie grow many varieties of lilacs, including unusual and hard to find plants. Please take a moment to peruse the Syringa Plus website as you will be able to special order lilacs on the day of the workshop for delivery to the farm the following week. All this sounds like too much for an hour? Fear not, Roger and Evie will be available after the workshop to chat further. They do love to "talk lilacs". Please email us to register for this free workshop.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Tomato Talk
11:30am-12:30pm at Allandale Farm

Join Farmer Jim as he discusses varuous types of tomatoes including topics such as fruit characteristics and best growing practices. It will be an open format chat with plenty of room for questions and discussion. Free. Email us to sign-up.

Saturday May 16th

Pruning Demonstration
10:30am-11:30am at Allandale Farm

Join arborist Dave Anderson of Hartney Greymont as he shares expert advice on pruning trees and shrubs in your home landscape. Dave will lead an in depth discussion and demonstration with plenty of opportunity for questions and answers. Free. Email us to sign-up.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Farm Tours
2:30pm-5:00pm at Allandale Farm

PLEASE NOTE CHANGES TO THIS EVENT:
Hayride tours will leave at 2:30 and 3:15.
Walking tour will begin at 4:30.

Join us at Allandale Farm for an informative talking tour of the farm. You'll learn about the history of the farm and its current growing practices. Both the hayride and the walking tour will cover similar material so it is not necessary to attend both.

• 2:30pm-4:00pm, Haywagon farm tours
• 4:30pm-5:30pm, Walking tour

Michael Pollan Lecture and Book Signing
7:30pm-9:00pm at the West Roxbury Branch Library

Join West Roxbury Reads for a captivating talk by the author of In Defense of Food, Omnivores Dilemna, and Botany of Desire.

• 7:30pm-9:00pm, Michael Pollan lecture and book signing

Monday, April 27, 2009

Organic Lawn Care
6:30pm-7:30pm at Allandale Farm

Pete Bottomley has worked in the Horticulture Industry his entire adult life and is now a regional expert on organic land care. This is a guy who’s passionate and knowledgeable about LIVING soil – In fact, he’s a Partner at Coast of Maine Organic Products! Come learn in simple terms how enriching your soil is the key to a healthier and more sustainable landscape. Remember to bring your toughest lawn and garden care questions! We will provide the snacks. Free. Email us to sign-up.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Hayrides
1pm-3pm at Allandale Farm

Join us for a spring-spin around the farm. The fields are being prepped and planted and the trees are in various states of bloom. It sure is pretty out there this time of year. For the sake of comparison, be sure to come back in the fall for another hayride! Free.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Kids Seeding Workshop
2pm-3:30pm at Allandale Farm

In partnership with West Roxbury Reads, join us for a kid friendly seed planting event. This hands-on workshop will teach kids about how seeds grow and where food comes from. A mini-tour of the farm and greenhouses will round out the afternoon. Open to children 5 and older accompanied by an adult. All materials provided. This event is free and open to the public however space is limited. Email us to sign-up.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at Allandale Farm

Basic Tractor Maintenance
4pm-6pm at Allandale Farm

Join EMASSCRAFT and Farm Manager Jim Buckle for a two hour workshop on servicing your inner tractor. Topics will include, oil changing, greasing and filter changing. So if you are a farmer or a wanna-be farmer, come and learn from a pro about tractor maintenance and how to keep your motors humming!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Allandale Farm: A History and Current Practices
7 pm at the West Roxbury Branch Library

In partnership with West Roxbury Reads, please join Allandale Farm's own John Lee for an informative talk and slide show at the West Roxbury Branch Library. This event is free and open to the public.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

PLEASE NOTE NEW TIME AND SECOND SESSION ADDED!
Seeding Workshop Session #1: 1pm-2:30pm
Seeding Workshop Session #2: 3pm-4:30pm

Join us for a hands-on demonstration of seeding vegetable starts for your home garden. We'll begin with a brief discussion on seed selection and equipment and then dive right in to planting. We will provide seeding pots/trays and germinating mix. Bring your own seeds or purchase seeds from the hundreds of varieties we will have available for you at the farm. Materials fee of $10 is payable in advance or day of the workshop. Email us to sign-up for either session #1 or #2.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Seed Talk: 2:30pm-3:30pm at Allandale Farm

Planning is a critical component of getting a good yield from your garden. Which varieties should you choose? Which seeds do you start indoors and which do you sow directly? What is organic seed? What is open pollination? Join us for coffee and an in-depth discussion of seeding for your home garden. We'll discuss what to start when, successive planting, good container vegetable varieties, and more. We'll share some of our favorite resources for seeds and talk about equipment, from bare bones to more involved set-ups. Bring your questions and comments and let's get started! Free. Email us to sign-up.