Join a New Crew at the Horn Farm!

Restoring land and reviving ecosystems takes time and a team. That’s why the Horn Farm Center is bringing together our core values of community and education through a new, dedicated volunteer program that offers more ways for our community to engage with nature and regenerative land stewardship. Through the Horn Farm Community Crew program, volunteers will be able to train with Horn Farm staff and play a key role in specialized projects focused on ecological restoration and bolstering our wild areas: healing the land and our relationship to it.

Perks of membership include ongoing training and education with experienced staff, a free t-shirt, volunteer social events, and the ability to log hours spent volunteering to redeem free class vouchers / other perks.

Over time, we see this program as another way to cultivate a vibrant network of earth stewards dedicated to helping nature thrive! By learning and tending together at the Horn Farm Center, members can take the skills and experiences of land-based volunteering home and further spread the knowledge, determination, and confidence that our communities need to bring ourselves back into balance with nature.

You can learn more about this new volunteer initiative by visiting the link below and signing up for our first training day on Sunday, May 21st!

Click here to Become Part of the Crew!

Claim Your Share: Horn Farm CSA

From June to October, CSA members receive a weekly box of seasonal, organically-grown produce. Here’s what you can expect:

• Spring: lettuces, spinach, kale, swiss chard, spring onions, beets, herbs
• Summer: kale, swiss chard, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, beets, summer squash, watermelon, cataloupe, onions, herbs, and more!
• Fall: garlic, beets, turnips, winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, swiss chard, spinach

Fill your plate with local flavor this year! Become a member of the Horn Farm CSA to support local, regenerative farmers and the Horn Farm Center’s land-healing mission.

Pick-ups are at the Farm Stand located at 4945 Horn Road on Wednesdays from 2:30-6:30pm. 
Full Share:  $825
Half Share: $440

Sign up-today to claim your share! Registrations close May 31st.  

Click here to register

Horn Farm Plant Sale on May 6th

Our greenhouse crew has been hard at work sowing and transplanting for the Horn Farm’s 11th annual Plant Sale, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Stop by between 9am and 3pm on Saturday, May 6th for a wide selection of annual vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs, flowers and flowers starts, and native plants (from herbaceous perennials to grasses to trees!). 

Besides the plants, this year’s sale will include additional farm vendors alongside creations from Virtue Local Art Market, refreshments from On My Grind Coffee, live music from Nodding Onion (a project of Tim Seifarth of Earthbound Artisan), and a native landscaping talk by Tony Campisi of Campisi Property Service.

Click here for more information.

The Story Behind the Tubes

If you’ve driven past the Horn Farm lately you may have noticed an unusual amount of plastic; the landscape is dotted with rows and clusters of tree tubes.

Although they are an eyesore, these temporary tubes are placeholders for a long-term vision: a diverse farm-scale ecosystem that benefits our wildlife and community. 

We’ve been working hard over the past 5 years to restore the Horn Farm back to optimal health. The tree tubes are just part of the big picture and help to protect young saplings from deer pressure.

In some areas, we transformed degraded farmland into multifunctional riparian buffers. In other areas, we are reclaiming overgrown woodlots that suffer from low levels of ecological diversity, are choked by vines and invasives, and are ultimately inaccessible to humans and wildlife.

This has been the focus of our latest project, just north of the farmhouse (thanks a very determined board member, Cindy Pizziketti, and funding from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation). By removing prolific non-native trees, shrubs, and vines, our staff and volunteers are making space for a new edible restoration landscape, inspired by a forest garden design.

What’s a forest garden you ask? A forest garden is a low-maintenance, sustainable, food production system designed to mimic woodland ecosystems. Using this same design concept, we are establishing an edible restoration landscape filled with native and edible perennials including: chestnut, hickory, American plum, apple, pear, pecan, serviceberry, black cherry, hackberry, and mulberry.

Sound interesting? We have a few ways to learn more and get involved:

• Tree Planting Volunteer Day – Sunday, April 2nd
• Tree Planting Volunteer Day – Saturday, April 15th
• Food Forests for Landscape Restoration Workshop – Sunday, April 16th

Hope to see you at the farm!

Welcome Greenhouse Intern: Sylvia Mote

Sylvia is currently pursuing her B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy at Wilmington University. She has a diverse background and is most proud of her two years of AmeriCorps service and two seasons with the USDA Forest Service. Through these programs she performed work in conservation, disaster relief, small scale farming, food education, and more. Sylvia is excited about the Horn Farm Center’s mission because it blends her interests in the food system and ecology.

Sylvia will be helping our greenhouse operations run smoothly this spring. In addition to learning the ins and outs of organic seed starting and propagation, our interns will play an integral role in preparing for the Horn Farm Center’s 11th Annual Plant Sale on May 6th from 9am to 3pm.

One Month Until the Plant Sale!

The buzz in our greenhouse can’t be beat as we continue to grow and prepare for the 11th annual Horn Farm Plant Sale, taking place on May 6th from 9am to 3pm.

Check out this video link to see a timelapse of our busy bees working in the greenhouse!

We’re also seeking community members to assist throughout the day. Volunteers are invited to join us for a shift or help for the full day.

Mark your calendars for the 11th annual Plant Sale at the Horn Farm, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

History Mystery at the Horn Farm

No, that’s not a lawnmower! This week, GeoView Inc. conducted ground penetrating radar on two small areas of farm fields, just north of the farmhouse. This geophysical investigation is part of an ongoing history mystery here at the Horn Farm!

It all began with a 1700s map of the Ruby property, now part of the Horn Farm. The map was hand-drawn by landowner and surveyor, Samuel Ruby and details the orchards, production fields, and boundary lines of the Ruby property. The buildings depicted on the map, including a log cabin, pre-date the Horn Farm’s farmhouse and barn buildings and are believed to be located where Route 30 stands today. The Horn Farm’s farmhouse was built many years later in 1844 (est.), north of where the original log house is depicted on this map.

The map also has a number of unidentifiable notations and marks, two of which are the subject of our history mystery. Local historian Joseph Brillhart and geologist Jeri Jones of Jones Geological Services are leading the efforts to uncover the truth behind these curious markings.

Joseph Brillhart is a long-time friend of the Horn Farm Center and descendant of the Ruby Family. After many years of genealogical and historical research on the Ruby family, Joseph Brillhart, with the help of Jeri Jones, has located what we believe to be the location of the mystery plots. Joe’s thorough research has provided a few educated guesses as to what we might find: a family cemetery and a small outbuilding that may or may not have been used as a whiskey still.

It will be a few weeks until we have the results of the ground radar. Although it is a long-shot, we are hoping to uncover new insights into the history of the Horn Farm. If the ground radar reports indicate disturbances in the soil, we will have more clues as to what history lies beneath our feet.

We’re often searching for the stories that the land can tell us, be they ecological or cultural. That’s why we’re looking forward to potential discoveries that might enrich our knowledge of the farm’s history: to grow our records, find ways to honor our past, and put our present work in proper perspective.

Click here to discover more Horn Farm History

Welcome Greenhouse Intern: Shannon Phifer

“Growing up in Lancaster County and spending my summers up in the Pine Creek Valley, I had a deep-rooted connection to the beauty and wonder of nature and the great outdoors from a very young age….

I am humbled to be able to continue on in my exploration and education as one of the interns at the Horn Farm Center. When I am not interning at the farm, I work as a farm educator at Heritage Creek Farm Camp and Education Center in Mt. Joy.  I look forward to an amazing growing season and all the skills I will be able to take with me.”

Our greenhouse is buzzing with activity this spring as we welcome two new Greenhouse Management Interns! In addition to learning the ins and outs of organic seed starting and propagation, our interns will play an integral role in preparing for the Horn Farm Center’s 11th Annual Plant Sale on May 6th from 9am to 3pm.

What’s Going on with the Farmhouse?

We are rebuilding! On the night of October 25th, lightning struck the Horn Farm Center’s historic farm house, destroying the 2nd and 3rd floors.  Since then, recovery and rebuilding efforts are underway.

To learn more about our plans, process, and timeline, please visit: rebuildhornfarm.com