Happenings

This week the Horn Farm Board of Directors learned more about how a woodland restoration is a key component of regenerative agriculture.Woodland Steward Wilson Alvarez shared information about forest ecology and the progress being made clearing and building trails. The bulk of the work is being done by students from Columbia High School who are part of a vocational training program. In the fall, when the students first started coming to the Horn Farm they acted withdrawn and unenthusiastic and were reluctant to participate. As they learned about the ecology of the forest and how to restore it with proper use of simple hand tools, both they and the woodland were transformed. For example, one student named Jerry now reads the landscape and decides where the next stretch of trail should go. His confidence in his own abilities has soared and he eagerly welcomes and trains new volunteers. We recently learned that school attendance rates have gone up since these students began volunteering at the Horn Farm each week.

This project is good for the woods, good for the farm, and good for the people who reconnect to the land!

We’ve been as busy as bees! There’s so much work to do that we’re excited to announce that we are hiring! The Horn Farm is growing and we are looking to hire our first ever Executive Assistant. This is a part-time position. We seek applicants who share our passion for regenerative agricultural practices. Preference is for applicants interested in transitioning to full-time employment as the organization grows. Click here for a complete job description and application instructions.

Volunteers! Have you got a few hours to spend telling people about the Horn Farm? We are looking for volunteers to represent the Horn Farm Center at these upcoming events:

Sunday, April 22 — Pachamama Alliance Earth Day Event: Awaken the Dreamer: 2-6pm at 1031 Sprenkle Road, Spring Grove, PA 17362

Saturday, June 2 — Riverlands Trail Festival: 10 am to 3 pm at Columbia Crossing

Saturday, August 11 — York County Master Gardeners’ Open House at Rudy Park 9 am to 12:30 pm

We will supply you with information to display and brochures to share. To volunteer or for more information, please email us!

The Community Garden season kicks off tomorrow! Orientation for new gardeners takes place at 10 am. We still have some plots left, so reserve your space today and start gardening tomorrow!

Upcoming events:

April 14 – Community Gardens Open/Orientation 10 a.m.
April 14 – Wilderness Skills: Shelter & Water
April 21 – Wilderness Skills: Fire
April 21 – Monthly Foraging
April 28 – Garden Planning
April 29 – Low-tech Mushroom Cultivation
May 4 – Give Local York
May 4 – Horn Farm Pizza Night at John Wright Restaurant
May 5 –  Heirloom Plant Sale
May 5 – Wilderness Skills: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
May 9 – Making Bone Broth
May 12 – Raising Insects for Food and Farm
May 12 – Wilderness Skills: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
May 13 – MAEscapes Native Plant Sale
May 15 – Tuesday Evening Work Crew (begins)
May 17 – Monthly Foraging
May 19 – Insect Identification and Management
June 2 – Introduction to Permaculture
June 16 – Monthly Farm Tour – Third Saturday
June 16 – Introduction to Plant Communication
June 23 – Cycle the Solstice

See you at the farm!

It has been cold and rainy outside, but inside the greenhouse it’s warm and plants are flourishing.There are still more crops to seed.And plants to ‘pot up’ into larger containers.
The Heirloom Plant Sale takes place just four weeks from tomorrow! We hope to see you there–rain or shine.

We’re excited to announce that we are hiring! The Horn Farm is growing and we are looking to hire our first ever Executive Assistant. This is a part-time position. We seek applicants who share our passion for regenerative agricultural practices. Preference is for applicants interested in transitioning to full-time employment as the organization grows. Click here for a complete job description and application instructions.

On Friday, May 4, the Horn Farm Center will be participating in the first ever Give Local York! Give Local York is a 24-hour online day of giving to benefit hundreds of York County nonprofits. We will be celebrating the day at John Wright Restaurant eating delicious pizza topped with Horn Farm produce. John Wright donates a portion of the sales to the Horn Farm Center. Save the date!

Cycle the Solstice takes place Saturday, June 23. This year we will have 20, 30, and 60 mile routes connecting local farm businesses throughout York and Lancaster Counties. Come ride with us!

Here’s a video about Ecological Forestry from a series that we are really enjoying called The Woodlanders.

April 7 – Wilderness Skills: The Art of Seeing and The Science of Observation
April 14 – Wilderness Skills: Shelter & Water
April 21 – Wilderness Skills: Fire
April 21 – Monthly Foraging
April 28 – Garden Planning
April 29 – Low-tech Mushroom Cultivation
May 4 – Give Local York
May 4 – Horn Farm Pizza Night at John Wright Restaurant
May 5 –  Heirloom Plant Sale
May 5 – Wilderness Skills: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
May 9 – Making Bone Broth
May 12 – Raising Insects for Food and Farm
May 12 – Wilderness Skills: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
May 15 – Tuesday Evening Work Crew (begins)
May 17 – Monthly Foraging
May 19 – Insect Identification and Management
June 2 – Introduction to Permaculture
June 16 – Monthly Farm Tour – Third Saturday
June 16 – Introduction to Plant Communication
June 23 – Cycle the Solstice

See you at the farm!

We just added two new classes for organic gardeners: Garden Planning on April 28 and Insect Identification and Management on May 19.Kilgore Family Farm will have pots of strawberries and pots of mixed herbs at our Heirloom Plant Sale. It’s just five weeks away! We’ll have plants for your garden and homestead grown organically by our Incubator Farmers and Farm Internship program participants. Our annual Heirloom Plant Sale takes place Saturday, May 5 from 9 to 3. Come early for best selection.  Plant pre-orders end March 31.

No space for a garden at home? Join us at the Horn Farm and grow your own vegetables and flowers! There are only a few spaces left in the Horn Farm Center Community Gardens! Each plot measures 20 x 20 feet. The plots are open from mid- April through October 31. We say the mid-April because the day the seasonal gardens opens varies from year to year. We have to wait until the ground thaws and dries enough for the tractor to be able to till the soil.  Click here for more information and to reserve your space today: Community Gardens

We can build our community’s resilience by being prepared to provide for our own basic needs for food, water, fire, and shelter in the face of sudden changes in weather or economic circumstances. Can you build a fire without a match or lighter? We can teach you how!Our wilderness skills classes are designed to reconnect people to the land and develop essential survival skills. 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, and making basic hunting implements such as a survival bow and simple traps. The spring Wild Lands series of workshops begins April 7.

Upcoming events:
April 7 – Spring Volunteer Work Day
April 7 – Wilderness Skills: The Art of Seeing and The Science of Observation
April 14 – Wilderness Skills: Shelter & Water
April 21 – Wilderness Skills: Fire
April 21 – Monthly Foraging
April 28 – Garden Planning
April 29 – Low-tech Mushroom Cultivation
May 5 –  Heirloom Plant Sale
May 5 – Wilderness Skills: Foraging, Hunting, Trapping
May 9 – Making Bone Broth
May 12 – Raising Insects for Food and Farm
May 12 – Wilderness Skills: Advanced Primitive Hunting Techniques
May 15 – Tuesday Evening Work Crew (begins)
May 17 – Monthly Foraging
May 19 – Insect Identification and Management
June 2 – Introduction to Permaculture
June 16 – Monthly Farm Tour – Third Saturday
June 16 – Introduction to Plant Communication
June 23 – Cycle the Solstice

See you at the Farm!