Happenings

Early bird registration discounts end January 31 for our Vegetable CSA and Betsy’s Flower CSA. Sign up today for your weekly or biweekly share of vegetables or cut flowers!
Not sure what a CSA is? Our Field Manager, Andrew Horn, explains:

Anyone who isn’t exactly sure what “CSA” means, Allow me to explain the best I can…CSA = Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA program is more than just exchanging $$$ for produce. When you purchase a “share” you are making an investment in what you believe to be a worthy organization.
The small scale, local farmers benefit from the income the CSA generates early in the season and are able to plan accordingly and adhere to the budget more effectively.
Of course, a planting/harvest plan must be flexible due to the unpredictability of weather, pests (insects/animals), and unexpected (but almost guaranteed) crop loss. There are, however, situations where certain crops flourish and provide more than expected. Shares are then adjusted accordingly. With a share purchased at the Horn Farm you are guaranteed a weekly share that has a $25-$30 value. (Sometimes more if you take advantage of the 2nds and extras!)
A relationship is then built based on your invested interest and the farms commitment to provide fresh, nutritious, chemical free produce. We send a weekly “What’s in your CSA” newsletter to inform members what delicious veggies they can expect and often times recipes or methods of preparation/preservation. As the Field Manager, I will be present on as many pickup days throughout the season as possible. Happy to answer any questions that folks may have.

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Also in 2018, we welcome a new farmer to the farm business incubator!

Betsy Dorbian wanted to switch careers and decided to participate in our Farming Internship. Betsy learned enough to launch her own farm business! This year Betsy is offering a weekly or biweekly share of cut flowers delivered to multiple pick up locations. Get more information or sign up here.

Thank you to New Belgium Brewing for selecting our project Being Ecologically and Economically Responsible – Integrated Perennial Agriculture to receive $3500 in funding for Water Conservation and Restoration. This money goes toward our Woodland Restoration Project which involves restoring a six-acre woodland and stream corridor next to the fields used for our Farm Internship and Incubator Farm Project. This strategic integration of farm fields with wildlife habitat will yield improvements in soil health, water retention, water quality, biodiversity, biohabitat, as well as additional crops such as nuts, berries, mushrooms, and medicinals. We’re looking out for people, planet, and profit! You can be part of this, too, by volunteering your time and/or sending us some dollars! https://hornfarmcenter.org/donate Thanks!

Upcoming events:

January 23: Bread Baking Basics (rescheduled)
January 27: Introduction to Permaculture (waitlist)
February 20: Bread Baking 201
March 24: Bread Baking Full Day Workshop
2018 Foraging Intensive
Bowmaking
Wild Lands Immersion – Primitive Skills

See you at the Farm!

Happy New Year! We’re back at work and excited about seeing you on the farm in 2018.

Are you reading seed catalogs and dreaming of playing in the garden? The popular Community Garden program offers soil lovers and aspiring farmers the opportunity to grow fresh, chemical-free food on prime farmland in the company of other enthusiastic and dedicated gardeners. Each plot measures 20 x 20 feet. Seasonal garden plots are open from mid-April, weather permitting, until the end of October. Seasonal plot registration can be found here. Horn Farm offers a limited number of year-round plots for more serious gardeners who wish to manage and tend a plot through all four seasons. (Contact us for details on year-round plots).

In addition to what we grow for ourselves, we can also find food growing wild. Foraging is the act of finding and gathering wild foods. For the majority of our existence on this planet, human beings lived as hunter-gatherers. By engaging in this age-old practice, we can provide ourselves with healthy and FREE food and medicine, become more self-reliant, and connect on a much deeper level to the landscape in which we live.

Back by popular demand is our Foraging Intensive. Over the course of nine months, you will go from learning foraging basics to incorporating wild plants into your everyday life and gain the knowledge to confidently share what you know with others. More information and registration here. Monthly foraging class schedule and registration will be posted soon!

This year we will be talking a lot about regenerative agriculture which basically means we grow our food in ways that leave the land better than we found it. And it all starts with soil. Soil is more than particles of sand, silt, and clay; it’s the combination of those particles interwoven with all the living organisms along with the byproducts of their activities in the soil. Check out this short video from the Soil Carbon Institute (one of our favorite websites) which demonstrates the importance of living soil: http://soilcarboncoalition.org/flour-bread-demo. Also from the Soil Carbon Institute are these Soil Health Principles:
• Much of soil life is fed by liquid carbon produced by photosynthesis, exuded
through living plant roots. Keep living roots in the ground as long as
possible.
• Soil life needs protection from heat, pounding rain, and wind. Keep soil
covered year-round.
• A diverse system is more resilient than a monoculture. Use plant diversity to
increase diversity in soil microorganisms, beneficial insects, and other
species.
• Soil life is hard at work building underground structures we depend on for
water, carbon, and nutrient cycling; and for structural stability for our own
infrastructure. Try not to disturb soil structure with tillage.
• Like any other living system, soil ecology will succumb to overwhelming
stresses. Minimize chemical, physical, and biological stresses.
• A healthy landscape stores and filters water, cools the surrounding atmosphere,
creates mist and clouds, and prevents flooding and drought. Complex systems
involving all kingdoms of life are responsible for the water cycle on land. Plan
with the whole water cycle in mind.
• Nature never farms without animals. Animals move nutrients, create small and
large pores in soil, manage flows of water, pollinate crops, balance predator/ prey
relationships, and replenish soil microbes. Plan to integrate and welcome a
diversity of animals, birds, and insects into the system.
• Every place has unique strengths and vulnerabilities. Get to know the context
of the land.

Upcoming events:

January 16: Bread Baking Basics (waitlist)
January 27: Introduction to Permaculture (waitlist)
February 20: Bread Baking 201
March 24: Bread Baking Full Day Workshop

Please support our work by making a financial contribution. Donate today!

See you at the Farm!

Field clean up is finished. The barns are organized. The garlic is planted and mulched. Allium Leaf Miner can be a problem on the farm in the garlic, onions, and scallions. We can address this by understanding the insect’s life cycle. The adults emerge from March to May, so we’re planning to protect the garlic with row cover for that period. Remembering that the ground may not yet have thawed in March, Field Manager Andrew placed the hoops before the ground froze. Speaking of ground reminds os of soil! Do you know the connection between soil health and the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Check out this publication on Soil Carbon Basics (the layout is a bit wonky as it is meant to be printed and folded as a brochure; read the right-hand column on page one, then page two, then go back to the left-hand and center columns on the first page).

Upcoming programs and events:
Farming Internship
Horn Farm CSA (early bird discount through January 31)
Betsy’s Flower CSA (early bird discount through January 31)
Bread Baking (Bread Baking Basics, Bread Baking 201, Bread Baking Full Day Workshop)

It’s time to take a break–to rest and reflect on the year. Starting December 16, we will be taking time off to celebrate the holidays. We’ll be back in January refreshed and ready to plunge into 2018. If you want to support the work we do, please take a moment to make a financial donation. Thank you!

Happy Holidays! We look forward to seeing you at the Farm!