CSA Newsletter – August 14

Last week’s CSA share

The Weekly Share

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

  • Cantaloupe
  • Celery
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Garlic
  • Herbs – basil and purple shiso
  • Hot peppers
  • Onion
  • Potatoes
  • Scallions
  • Squash
  • Sweet peppers
  • Swiss chard
  • Tomatoes

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in the weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

Tomato Season

Tomato season is officially here! Cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, so many varieties get seen throughout a CSA season. Tomatoes are high in vitamins A, C and K as well as potassium. There are several different kinds of tomatoes you’ll see in your share – cherry, paste,  salad, and beefsteak. Any tomato is delicious raw as far as I am concerned and it’s hard for me to have too many tomato sandwiches or salads.  That being said some are better for cooking than others. Beefsteak tomato varieties are the large ones that traditionally get sliced fro sandwiches.  I also love them with a little oil salt and pepper or just mayo on their own. Paste tomatoes are oblong and are denser than other tomatoes with more flesh than liquid. As the name suggests they are great for making tomato paste and sauces. Salad tomatoes are larger than cherry tomatoes but not as big as beefsteaks, they great for salads, sandwiches or soups.  Then there are the smallest tomatoes, the cherry varieties. Nothing beats a sun warmed cherry tomato straight off the vine for flavor. Cherry tomatoes tossed in a pan with olive oil and garlic and sauteed until they burst make a great simple sauce for pasta. Tomatoes do change their flavor and texture slightly when refrigerated but they also go bad quickly in heat. In a cool dry environment they can stay out of the fridge for a few days but keep an eye on them.  I usually veer on the safe side and eat some the day I get my share and then fridge the rest.

Beefsteak varieties

Paste varieties

On the right is the denser paste variety compared to the salad tomato on the left.

Salad tomato varieties like this red zebra

Cherry tomato varieties

Let’s Talk About Herbs

I think sometimes herbs kind of become the forgotten toss-up of the CSA share, an extra we don’t always know what to do with.  Here is a list of my favorite things to do with my CSA herbs:

  • Roasting – toss fresh herbs like oregano, rosemary or sage in anything you are roasting (meat or vegetable) for extra flavor.
  • Flavor my water – honestly 9/10 times those mint sprigs make it into my water bottle and give me water some zip to get me through the work day. Bonus – the added flavor makes me more likely to drink more water
  • Mix with fruit – ok, so when the mint isn’t in my water it’s topping some of my favorite fruit. Cut into ribbons and tossed in with your favorite berries or melon, refrigerate for a couple of hours to let the flavors blend, it’s a refreshing summer treat.
  • Drying – Not all herbs retain their flavor when dried but many do. More oily herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano are great dried. Just hang in a cool dry place to dry. Then place in a seal-able container.
  • Freezing – Lighter textured herbs like parsley and cilantro tend not to hold their flavor when dried but if you blend them with some oil and freeze them in ice cube trays they do hold their fresh flavor. Just save those ice cubes in a freezer bag for use later.
  • Marinade or salad dressing – Oil, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper – perfect combination for roasting meat or vegetables for grilling or a dressing for your salad. Fresh herbs add a kick of extra flavor that dried herbs can’t compete with.

Purple Shiso

This week expect something new – purple shiso or perilla.  This Japanese green is herbaceous and aromatic,it’s actually considered part of the mint family It can be cooked and used in dishes like stir-fry to add a citrusy flavor. It can also be used to make tea or cut into ribbons and mixed with fruit.  I’ll be experimenting with purple shiso this week, let me know what good uses you find for it.

Connect and Share

What is your favorite part of your CSA share? If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Share on social media with the hashtag #HornFarmCSA.

Horn Farm Happenings – August 11

Food - From the Ground UpLearn about food, from the ground up! What does healthy soil have to do with a healthy body? Everything! notes Dr. Daphne Miller in her book, Farmacology: Total Health from the Ground Up. York County Libraries invite readers to visit the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education on Saturday, August 19 from 10am – 12pm to discover the importance of having good, healthy soil to produce the food we need to thrive.

The morning’s activities include a 1-hour farm tour at 10 am. Meet at the corn barn (small barn). Produce will be for sale at the Farm Stand until noon. Children’s activities with Kreutz Creek Library include a story time and craft, a scavenger hunt, and then Music and Movement with Mark DeRose at 11 am. Admission is free.

Libraries throughout Central Pennsylvania are reading Dr. Daphne Miller’s Farmacology: Total Health from the Ground Up as part of A Summer Read, a partnership with Wellspan Health and WITF’s Transforming Health. Dr. Miller notes that agriculture has everything to do with medicine. She is convinced that a farm internship should be a required part of medical training, and vice versa. “My time spent learning from farmers and researchers has made me think beyond food as medicine to farm as medicine.” In her book, Miller discovers how healthy soil can produce a healthy immune system. Copies of Farmacology are available to borrow at participating libraries and will be available to purchase at the event. For more information on A Summer Read, visit http://transforminghealth.org.


This week two new Eagle Scout projects were installed at the Horn Farm.  Dalton Keller built and installed this purple martin house.

purple martin houseLiam Skroly built and installed two bat boxes. Each box can house up to 400 bats! Bats are welcome at the farm because they eat insects which like to eat our vegetables.Liam Skroly Bat Boxes
bat box install
bat box installation crewDalton is the boy second from the left, and Liam is the boy in the red shirt. Thank you Boy Scouts!


Horn Farm farm stand 2017The Farm Stand is open Saturdays from 9 to noon. In addition to tomatoes, we’ll have onions, potatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, green beans, cantaloupe, fresh cut flowers, and more! All grown here at the Horn Farm using better than organic methods.


Upcoming events:
Foraging – August 12
Food from the Ground Up – August 19
MicroHerding Invertebrates – August 26
Hugelkultur – September 9
Cooking Venison – September 9
Roasted Vegetables – September 12
Foraging – September 18
Tending the Susquehanna Riverlands – September 22/23
Pawpaw Festival _ September 23/24
The Art of Seeing and the Science of Observation – September 24
Edible Ecosystems Emerging: Food Forestry for the 21st Century – October 13 – 22

See you at the Farm!

CSA Newsletter – August 7

CSA share

The Weekly Share

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

  • Beets
  • Cantaloupe
  • Carrots
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • Green beans
  • Herbs – basil and sage
  • Onion
  • Potatoes
  • Scallions
  • Squash
  • Sweet peppers
  • Tomatoes

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in the weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

Meet Your Farmers – Andrew Horn

“Andrew asks questions that start really interesting conversations.” – Alyson Earl, Executive Director

Andrew Horn is the Assistant Field Manager at the Horn Farm. Andrew is a York county native but it was his travels that brought him to the Horn Farm. After studying business management and playing football at Shippensburg University, he played semipro football in Finland which is where he caught the travel bug and the desire “to seek different experiences.” His travels took him to New Zealand as part of the WWOOF program. He spent six months there working on organic farms and traveling. Of his time there, Andrew says, “It’s a green paradise … I learned about life in general, making connections and building relationships.” His experiences eventually led him to be an intern at the farm last year and this year a job as an employee on the farm. “I am happy to be here and to be a part of this,” he says of his work on the farm, “I love what I’m doing and love what I’m learning.” Andrew’s inquisitive, knowledgeable, and friendly, if you see him at the farm stop and chat he has much to share and his positive attitude is contagious.

Tomato Season

Tomato season is officially here! Cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, so many varieties get seen throughout a CSA season. Tomatoes are high in vitamins A, C and K as well as potassium. In the next newsletter we’ll talk more about the different varieties we’ll be seeing in our shares and how to best use them. What’s your favorite way to enjoy tomatoes?

Connect and Share

What is your favorite part of your CSA share? If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Share on social media with the hashtag #HornFarmCSA.