Author Archive: Alyson Earl

July 15 is the 3rd Saturday of the month, so you’re invited to a guided tour of the farm! Get a close up look at the farm fields, the summer kitchen, and the community gardens. Meet at the corn barn (the small barn) at 10 a.m. While you’re here, pick up some fresh produce and flower bouquets available at our farm stand. The farm stand is open from 9 a.m. to noon each Saturday through October.
There are still a few spots left in the Cooking with Eggplant workshop being held Tuesday, July 25.

Now is the time to think about storing some of the abundance for the winter. Explore various methods in the hands-on Preserving Herbs workshop on Thursday, July 27. Both classes will be held in the newly restored historic summer kitchen here at the Horn Farm.

If you are craving some farm time that involves getting your hands in the soil, the Tuesday Evening Farm Crew works from 3 to 7 p.m. each week and the First Saturday Work Crew meets from 9 to noon on the first Saturday of each month. Come for all or part depending on your schedule. It’s helpful if you register so that we know you’ll be joining us. Thanks!

See you at the farm!

This week, Executive Director Alyson Earl returned from a 9-day permaculture design course. This immersion in hands-on ecological design work left her ready to shepherd the existing Land Use Management Plan for the Horn Farm to the next level. While in Vermont, it rained every day–over 6 inches in one week. This allowed for lots of practice designing earthworks for directing the movement of water across a landscape!

On the final day of the course, the group looked far into the future and planted oak trees in an area of the forest that is being restored to include plant species which were lost during previous clear cuttings of Vermont’s forests. Planting trees now is a gift to future generations.

Much of the work we do is focused on the future. By restoring habitats, we also affect the quality of our water, air, and soils. This spring we began regular volunteer work days in a degraded woodland adjacent to our farm fields–building trails and removing overly abundant plant material. We will be posting more opportunities for being part of our woodland restoration next week.

This October, we are pleased and proud to be hosting:

Edible Ecosystems Emerging:
Food Forestry for the 21st Century
A 9-Day Forest Garden Design Intensive

FGDI2017Flyer
We hope you can join us!

Coming up on the farm:
Cooking Eggplant
Preserving Herbs

And every Saturday from 9 to 12, the Farm Stand is open!

See you at the Farm!

As you may know, in 2016, we were thrilled to achieve two of our dreams when the County of York (from whom the Horn Farm Center leases the farm property) agreed to extend the terms of our lease to 99 years and they also placed the 189-acre Horn Farm property in a farmland preservation program.

Also in 2016, we completed our first Land Use Management Plan which we affectionately call the LUMP. Our goal was to conduct a comprehensive inventory and gain additional knowledge about the property as it currently operates while identifying obstacles and opportunities for land use. This will allow the Horn Farm Center to allocate resources appropriately while determining multiple uses for the available land.

We spent hours walking the property and compiling data. The LUMP is a working document with a written narrative as well as maps like the one above which shows current uses of various sections of the farm. The written document includes site-specific information about:
1. Climate
2. Landform
3. Water
4. Access/Circulation (roads)
5. Vegetation and Wildlife
6. Microclimate
7. Buildings and Infrastructure
8. Zones of Use
9. Aesthetics/Experience of Place

For 2017, Horn Farm Center Executive Director Alyson Earl was named a York Federal Fellow. Her proposed project was to conduct a year-long investigation of the best examples of regenerative agriculture in the eastern United States. This project was funded by a grant from the York County Community Foundation’s York Federal Fellows Program. The Fellows Program offers outstanding nonprofit executive leaders the opportunity to spend a year developing professionally while expanding their leadership skills.

From June 23 through July 2, Alyson will be in Vermont attending a hands-on, skills-based permaculture design course focused on building resiliency and regeneration on a commercial-scale farm site roughly the size of the Horn Farm property. She is looking forward to returning with practical ideas to share about developing ways to meet human needs while participating in our ecosystems in mutually beneficial ways.

In addition to being an incubator for new farmers and beekeepers, to holding classes and workshops, to hosting 102 community garden plots, and growing delicious, fresh produce, we also consider ourselves multigenerational stewards of this land. The Horn Farm Center Board of Directors is about to enter another strategic planning process with our grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren in mind. Small changes today can make a big difference tomorrow.

Like the work that we are doing? Please donate today!