Author Archive: Alyson Earl

Horn Farm Happenings – July 24, 2020

fresh flower bouquetsOur farm partner Betsy’s Flowers at the Farm is offering fresh cut flower bouquets for for sale at the Horn Farm farm stand (inside the small barn). Her beautiful bouquets will be available for the next three Saturdays (July 25, August 1 and 8) from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The jar bouquets cost $10.

produce on farm standFresh organically-grown produce from Kilgore Family Farm, another farm partner, is available on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the small barn at the Horn Farm Center. This week you’ll find cherry tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, red onions, sweet onions, summer squash, and zucchini.


compost bin in farm fieldBackyard Composting

In partnership with the York County Solid Waste Authority, we are offering this Backyard Composting workshop that emphasizes affordability and simplicity. Each participant, no matter their level of knowledge or experience, will leave with the understanding and confidence to start producing their own compost at home. This is a hands-on workshop and will include plenty of time during the process to ask as many questions as necessary.

The class will first choose a site for a new compost pile and construct a bin. The low-cost bin utilizes welded wire fencing that creates a 3×3 cylinder. Participants will add leaves and kitchen scraps (and/or whatever materials are readily available and appropriate) in layers just as they would at home. Participants will also get the chance to turn/mix/flip a pile that is pre-existing and see an active pile that is late in the decompositional process.

Participants will leave with their own 12 foot roll of welded wire that can be set up and used immediately, a composting brochure that highlights details that were covered in the class, and an appreciation for the natural process we call decomposition.

This class is being led by Andrew Horn, Horn Farm Center Field Manager. This class will be held multiple times.  Two additional dates are planned for October. The material covered is the same in each class.  To register, select the date that works best for you:

Saturday, September 5  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 12  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.


wild-lands-immersion

Photo: Michelle Johnsen

They’re back! Wild Lands Immersion: Primitive Skills – Fall 2020, Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., beginning September 19.
Five full-day workshops designed to reconnect you to the land and develop essential survival skills. Register for individual days or the whole series. Students will gain hands-on experience with basic, pre-industrial, woodland-style survival skills/bushcraft. This includes gathering wild foods and medicine, building debris-huts, animal tracking, fire-making techniques such as hand-drill and bow drill, making basic hunting implements such as a survival bow and simple traps, and much more! These classes are being offered as stand-alone one-day workshops but as a group provide a well-rounded introduction to these skills. Discounted package for those signing up for the full five-class session. This class is geared toward adults, but we welcome students 15 years or older. Students age 12-14 may register with paying adult. Classes will be held outdoors and are limited to eight participants per workshop. Participants are required to bring and wear a mask when proper social distancing cannot be maintained.


Upcoming Events:
Saturday, July 25: Summer Foraging – July Plant Walk
Tuesday, July 28: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, August 1: The Living Landscape
Tuesday, August 4: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, August 8: Summer Foraging – August Plant Walk
Tuesday, August 11: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Tuesday, August 18: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Tuesday, August 25: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Thursday, September 3: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, September 5: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 5: The Living Landscape
Saturday, September 12: Backyard Composting
Saturday, September 12: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, September 19: Wild Lands: Art of Seeing and Science of Observation
Saturday, September 26: Wild Lands: Shelter Building and Finding Water
Saturday, October 3: Wild Lands: Art of Fire by Friction
Saturday, October 10: Wild Lands: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
Saturday, October 10: Foraging Wild Roots for Coffee and More
Saturday, October 17: WildLands: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
Monday, November 2: Woodland Steward Training Program 2020-21 begins
Saturday, November 7: The Living Landscape
Saturday, December 5: The Living Landscape

See you at the farm!

York County has moved into the green phase for dealing with COVID-19, so we are resuming some on farm classes with modifications. Classes will be held outside and are limited to 10 participants per class. If more than one class occurs on the same day, start times will be staggered to reduce the number of individuals arriving at the same time. Multiple hand sanitizer stations are available. We will adjust as needed as time passes and things change. Participants are required to bring a mask and wear when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. Except for family members physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained.

Horn Farm Happenings – July 17, 2020

wild-lands-immersionThey’re back! Wild Lands Immersion: Primitive Skills – Fall 2020, Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., beginning September 19.
Five full-day workshops designed to reconnect you to the land and develop essential survival skills. Register for individual days or the whole series. Students will gain hands-on experience with basic, pre-industrial, woodland-style survival skills/bushcraft. This includes gathering wild foods and medicine, building debris-huts, animal tracking, fire-making techniques such as hand-drill and bow drill, making basic hunting implements such as a survival bow and simple traps, and much more! These classes are being offered as stand-alone one-day workshops but as a group provide a well-rounded introduction to these skills. Discounted package for those signing up for the full five-class session. This class is geared toward adults, but we welcome students 15 years or older. Students age 12-14 may register with paying adult. Classes will be held outdoors and are limited to eight participants per workshop. Participants are required to bring and wear a mask when proper social distancing cannot be maintained.


Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, July 21: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, July 25: Summer Foraging – July Plant Walk
Tuesday, July 28: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, August 1: The Living Landscape
Tuesday, August 4: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, August 8: Summer Foraging – August Plant Walk
Tuesday, August 11: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Tuesday, August 18: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Tuesday, August 25: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Thursday, September 3: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, September 5: The Living Landscape
Saturday, September 12: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, September 19: Wild Lands: Art of Seeing and Science of Observation
Saturday, September 26: Wild Lands: Shelter Building and Finding Water
Saturday, October 3: Wild Lands: Art of Fire by Friction
Saturday, October 10: Wild Lands: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
Saturday, October 10: Foraging Wild Roots for Coffee and More
Saturday, October 17: WildLands: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
Monday, November 2: Woodland Steward Training Program 2020-21 begins
Saturday, November 7: The Living Landscape
Saturday, December 5: The Living Landscape

See you at the farm!

York County has moved into the green phase for dealing with COVID-19, so we are resuming some on farm classes with modifications. Classes will be held outside and are limited to 10 participants per class. If more than one class occurs on the same day, start times will be staggered to reduce the number of individuals arriving at the same time. Multiple hand sanitizer stations are available. We will adjust as needed as time passes and things change. Participants are required to bring a mask and wear when proper physical distancing cannot be maintained. Except for family members physical distancing of 6 feet must be maintained.

Horn Farm Happenings – July 10, 2020

farmer in training working in the field

Hot, hot, hot! Except for a few days, the high temperature for each day since the start of June has been above 80 and often above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This has been hard on the people and hard on the plants. In order to have a steady supply of fresh produce, we plant the same item multiple times across the season. This successional planting means that we seed, and then transplant a crop like kale, cucumbers, or summer squash every four to six weeks. Transplanting is stressful to the plant, so optimally daytime temperatures will be in the 60s or low 70s during these transplanting periods. There has been no relief from the heat for the past few weeks, and this will affect crop yields.

Looking to next season and considering that these weather patterns may be the new ‘normal’, we are designing a transplanting pattern which may involve a pause during the hottest days of the summer. This is just one of the ways that we have to adjust ‘how we always do things’ to accommodate the changes in environmental conditions.


Join Field Manager Andrew Horn for some time in the farm fields! Every Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m., Andrew will be holding an ‘open field day’ called Tuesday Afternoon at the Farm. There will be time for getting to know each other, discussing what’s happening in the fields and on the farm, plus there will be opportunities to help with the farm work.
Planting, harvesting, weeding, and mulching are always needed on the farm, and many hands make light work! Join us for any or all of the two hours. Depending on the week, we may have projects with which children could help. If you plan to bring a child younger than 12, please contact Andrew in advance, at fieldmanager@hornfarmcenter.org, to make sure we will be able to provide a positive experience for you and your child(ren). Thanks! The event is free, but pre-registration is requested by Monday at noon so that we know to expect you.


Join our staff:
https://hornfarmcenter.org/job-postings


Upcoming Events:
Tuesday, July 14: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, July 11: The Living Landscape
Tuesday, July 21: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, July 25: Summer Foraging – July Plant Walk
Tuesday, July 28: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, August 1: The Living Landscape
Tuesday, August 4: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Saturday, August 8: Summer Foraging – August Plant Walk
Tuesday, August 11: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Tuesday, August 18: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Tuesday, August 25: Tuesday Afternoon on the Farm (free! pre-registration requested)
Thursday, September 3: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, September 5: The Living Landscape
Saturday, September 12: Foraging for Wild Teas & Drinks
Saturday, October 3: The Living Landscape
Saturday, October 10: Foraging Wild Roots for Coffee and More
Monday, November 2: Woodland Steward Training Program 2020-21 begins
Saturday, November 7: The Living Landscape
Saturday, December 5: The Living Landscape

See you at the farm!

York County has moved into the green phase for dealing with COVID-19, so we are resuming some on farm classes with modifications. Classes will be held outside and are limited to 10 participants per class. If more than one class occurs on the same day, start times will be staggered to reduce the number of individuals arriving at the same time. Multiple hand sanitizer stations are available. We will adjust as needed as time passes and things change. Participants are required to bring a mask and wear when proper social distancing cannot be maintained.
Except for family members social distancing of 6 feet must be maintained.