OUR HOURS: Thursday, 3pm-7pm, Friday 11am-7pm, Saturday 9am-1pm. Like always, feel free to come during any of our open hours. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before we close to allow yourself time to gather your veggies.
FARM UPDATE: Last Friday brought us some epic rainfall here at the farm. Luckily none of our fields were freshly worked as newly tilled soil is much more prone to washing away with heavy rain. The volunteer team of Dilley brothers, Matt and Tom, are working this week to regrade the parking area around our loading dock and veggie washing station to help better manage water runoff. We pulled the last of our cucumbers out of greenhouse 2 and will be direct seeding carrots and green beans in there this week. The farmers have been steadily working to remove plastic row cover from where our spring crops were planted so that we can prep those fields for fall veggie crops or cover crops. We like to use cover crops to add nutrients to the soil. Cover crops also help choke out weeds and create stability in the soil by anchoring it in place with their roots. And finally, this week we'll be harvesting potatoes. We've been wanting to get to them for a few weeks now but weather, timing and mechanical issues have prevented us from doing so. Potatoes can keep for a while even after they're ready to harvest. We're lucky to have a few crops like this that can wait until we can get to them. Pictured above is Farmer Katie test digging to check the crop.
PICK YOUR OWN: Hot peppers are beginning to ripen! We have 12 varieties of hot peppers planted in the field this year. They range in heat from 1000-2000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU) in the Poblanos and Jalapeños to 200,000-500,000 in the Magnum and Chocolate Habaneros. They are planted in order from mild to hot, and we'll be putting signs up in front of each variety as they are ready to be picked. If you missed Dominique Didier's talk on how to use hot peppers last Saturday, email Katie at farmer@homefields.org and she can get you a copy of some of the recipes Dominique loves (you're out of luck on the samples, though!)
ADD ONS AND EXTRAS: In our minds its still Pizza Week! Share your farm pizzas with us by tagging us on social media and using #farmpizzaweek. It seems there was some miscommunication on my end about how to order Extras. We won't have any items for sale during pickup times at all this year. All Extras (veggies, bread, cheese, mushrooms and coffee) must be pre-ordered through Harvie. If you would like help doing this, just email me at farmer@homefields.org. Luckily, we will still have Feta and Shredded Herb Cheddar available this week if you missed it last week. We also always have mushrooms, Cheddar and Homefields Breakfast Blend coffee available as pre-order Extras.
UPCOMING TALKS IN THE FIELDS:
August 14th 7:15-8:15pm - Tai Chi and Gentle Yoga with Elizabeth Swope and Amy Finnegan. Join us for this popular and calming class. Tai Chi and Gentle Yoga honors our fluid lunar nature, and invites us to slow down and practice self-care. Gentle movements connect our mind, body and spirit to the farm and earth. Please bring a yoga mat. More information and tickets are available here.
August 22nd 6:30-8:30pm - Acoustically Survey Bats with Dr. Aaron Haines. Dr. Haines will explain how to use remote acoustic recording devices to record bat vocalizations and survey for rare bats in Pennsylvania. He will talk about the species of bats we have in PA and how bats are indicators of ecosystem health. The talk will end with a bat/bird hike and the use of equipment to identify bat species in active flight. Wear comfortable shoes. More information and tickets are available here.
Thank you from your farmers,
Katie, Elizabeth, Brad, Brian, Christina, Kelly and Matt
