Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education

Horn Farm Happenings – October 18, 2024

Fall Tree Tending & Winter Willow Harvest

It’s getting colder outside but that doesn’t mean we will be spending all of our time indoors! Throughout the fall and winter seasons, Horn Farm Center staff and community crew members will continue to steward the land, especially in our newly established riparian buffers.We invite you to join us – to enjoy the fresh air, stay physically active, and learn new skills by caring for the land together at the farm.

Fall Tree Tending Work Days:

Discover why riparian buffers are important ecological features while tending our newly-planted trees! Activities may include monitoring tree health, removing problematic plants, fortifying tree tube bases with rocks to protect against voles, pruning, and harvesting live stakes.

Winter Willow Harvest

Learn about producing willow for basketry by coppicing, sorting, and bundling willow as part of our annual winter harvest. Discover the unique attributes of this regenerative agroforestry crop that helps to cycle carbon and protect our waterways.

Join us in making a difference at the Horn Farm Center. Sign up to learn, grow, and steward the land with us this fall and winter.

Discover More Service Learning Opportunities at Horn Farm

2025 Greenhouse Internships: Now Accepting Applications

Interested in learning about nursery plant production and greenhouse management? We have four internship opportunities available next year that will provide hands-on learning and personalized job coaching with Farm Manager, Jon Darby.

Throughout the course of the internship students will learn:

  • Production planning and seeding schedules
  • Seasonal greenhouse management
  • Plant propagation techniques
  • Materials & Methodology
  • Plant Anatomy, taxonomy, physiology, chemistry, biology, genetics
  • Irrigation – watering, water testing, understanding plant nutrition
  • Plant Health Management – foliar sprays, root dips, seed coats
  • Plant Sale Management – budgeting, pricing, product placement, retailing

We are accepting applications now through November 14th! Click here to learn more and apply. 

Become a Beekeeper Next Year

Join us for our 10th annual Beekeeper Training Program! Taught by Mark Gingrich of Gingrich Apiaries, the Horn Farm’s Beekeeper Training Program explores beekeeping from its scientific underpinnings to keeping a hive at home.

Over the course of this two year program, participants will work side by side with Mark and other program participants to learn all aspects of keeping bees.

At the end of year one, each participant will have the option of receiving a bee colony to be moved to their home property. During the second year, participants will benefit from repetition of some aspects of the program and learn more advanced techniques while managing their own hive at home.

A Coop for a Good Cause

Now until our 13th annual Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025 you can take a chance to win a small OverEZ chicken coop by participating in our winter Chicken Coop Raffle. Don’t miss the opportunity to win big for your flock while supporting Horn Farm Center’s land-healing mission.

  • $1200 Value
  • Handmade in Lancaster, PA
  • Houses Up to 5 Chickens
  • Moisture Resistant
  • Safe Against Predators
  • Easy to Assemble

Raffle tickets are now on sale for $10.00 each or five for $40.00.

Call 717-757-6441 or email education@hornfarmcenter.org to purchase your tickets. All proceeds support educational programs and regenerative land stewardship at the Horn Farm Center. 

A big thanks to OverEZ Chicken Coops for donating several chicken coops to the Horn Farm Center to support our efforts to incorporate animals into our production and demonstration systems at the farm!

Click here for More Raffle Info

Fall Foraging Foundations

Ready to hone your foraging skills? Whether you are a beginner or an experienced forager, this weekend-long session will provide foundational knowledge for building a relationship with the land and incorporating wild plants into everyday life. Enjoy a diverse array of lecture, conversation, general plant walks, hands-on exercises, and the opportunity to sample both raw and prepared wild foods.

Foraging is an invitation to rekindle our age-old relationships with the land beneath our feet – to develop the skills, knowledge, and practices that are a critical part of our sense of place. Through this work, we can provide ourselves with healthy, FREE food, become more self-reliant, and connect on a deep level to the landscape in which we live.

Learn the fundamentals of safe, ethical, and reciprocal foraging. Join the Fall Foraging Foundations weekend intensive on November 9th & November 10th at the Horn Farm Center. Sign up soon – space is limited!

Click here for More Info & to Register

Horn Farm Happenings – October 4, 2024

Get Cozy in the Kitchen This Season!

As the autumn season begins to unfold, it’s the perfect time to connect and learn with friends and nature. Join us at the Horn Farm Center for our fall kitchen classes! From baking to hand-made holiday gifts, these guided get-togethers in the kitchen are sure to spark your sense of community and creativity.Upcoming Kitchen Classes:

Due to the size of our kitchen space, these classes fill up quickly! Click the links above or below to register. Let’s gather around the hearth to share warmth and learning with one another!

Click here for more kitchen class info.

  

Gratitude & Reflections

For the Horn Farm Center’s biggest annual event, 2024 was a big deal!

Not only did we come together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the York County Pawpaw Festival; we also debuted our region-wide collaboration highlighting local tastes, crafts, and the many ways we can learn from the land right here at home. It all took root under the new canopy of Wild & Uncommon Weekend!

THANK YOU to the vendors, community partners, volunteers, sponsors and, of course, the many gracious and curious attendees who traveled from near and far to celebrate with us! All of you helped make this weekend one for the books!

As we like to say, pawpaws are far more than a fleeting native fruit with a funky flavor. They’re an invitation for us to foster deeper relationships with local landscapes. With their short-lived abundance, they remind us to savor the seasons, protect wild spaces, embrace experimentation, and steward biodiversity right where we live. From the kitchen to the forest, pawpaws bring us closer to our “place” on the land.

As we look ahead to the next 20 years, we’re excited to cultivate an even-more biodiverse and educational future for the Pawpaw Festival, now a part of the Horn Farm’s Wild & Uncommon Weekend! Like the pawpaws that call the Riverlands home, we hope you can continue to join us in animating our mission of ecological learning and action.

Photos from top to bottom, left to right:

  1. Attendees at the 20th Annual Pawpaw Festival at the Horn Farm Center.
  2. Liza Naylor of Locally Seasoned demonstrating how to prepare savory pawpaw galettes during Thursday’s Pawpaw Cooking Class at Leg Up Farmers Market.
  3. Attendees enjoying a boxed brunch, pawpaw refreshments, and an informative presentation about agroforestry with Dale Hendricks during Sunday’s Pawpaw Brunch & Learn event at Columbia Crossing River Trails Center.
  4. Participants enjoying desserts, mocktails, and chair massages at Firefly Hollow Wellness’ Wild & Uncommon After Party while HFC’s Andrew Leahy shares about our regenerative mission.

Thank You Sponsors!

The Horn Farm Center’s new Wild & Uncommon Weekend wouldn’t be possible without the support of local businesses who believe in our mission to foster ecological learning through land stewardship, community partnership, and hands-on experiences. We are grateful for their generous support!

Wild & Uncommon Swag

Share the excitement of Horn Farm Center’s inaugural Wild & Uncommon Weekend by treating yourself to our unique attire! Our new Wild & Uncommon t-shirts are not just fashion statements, they’re a celebration of the extraordinary abundance of our region’s community and Susquehanna Riverlands landscape.These exclusive t-shirts are now available on our online store for purchase. But hurry, stock is limited! Embrace your wild side and grab your t-shirt today.

Training to Make an Impact

Looking for ways to have a positive, lasting impact on struggling local ecosystems?

In partnership with Waxwing EcoWorks and Reviving Wisdom, the Horn Farm Center is now offering two immersive programs exploring how we can partner with nature to support long-term ecological wellbeing.

The new Ecological Restoration Certificate program offers practical training in restoring damaged ecosystems and building resilient wildlife habitats. Ideal for active or aspiring landscape practitioners, conservation volunteers, and landowners with struggling habitats, this 3-day program offers applicable fieldwork skills.

The Ecological Gardener Training Program at the Horn Farm Center, now in its fourth year, commences in February 2025 with 16 weekly sessions. Participants will explore native plants and regional landscape patterns vital for designing, creating, and nurturing biodiverse native habitat gardens. Beyond building a practical basis for ecological gardening, participants leave this program with a deepened sense of place and connection with local landscapes.

No prior knowledge or experience is required to participate! 

Are you ready to take root in the Horn Farm Center’s growing community of earth stewards? Don’t miss your chance to become a well-rounded, activated, and confident caretaker of the natural world this winter and spring!

Click here for More Info

Horn Farm Happenings – September 20, 2024

Pawpaws, Hikes & So Much More!

Next weekend is sure to be Wild & Uncommon! Don’t miss your chance to enjoy seasonal tastes, local crafts, learning adventures and more during Wild & Uncommon Weekend, a new expansion of the York County Pawpaw Festival.

Check out our line-up of events and offerings taking place at different locations across the Susquehanna Riverlands:

Thursday, September 26th

Pawpaw Cooking Class

Locally Seasoned at LegUp Farmers Market

Friday, September 27th

Lancaster Conservancy at Lavender Acres Winery
Market Tours & Shop Local Food!
Leg Up Farmers Market

Saturday, September 28th

Lancaster Conservancy at Kinsley Preserve
White Clover Farm
Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s Columbia Crossing River Trails Center
Lancaster Conservancy at Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve
Sweet Botanist at Firefly Hollow Wellness
Dark Hollow Biodynamic

Sunday, September 29th

Horn Farm Center at SNHA’s Columbia Crossing River Trails Center
Guided Hike: Wild Pawpaws and Zebra Swallowtails
Lancaster Conservancy at Turkey Hill Nature Preserve
Dark Hollow Biodynamic
Live Music & Flavorful Indulgences
Lavender Acres Winery

All Weekend Long

Pick Your Own & A Taste of Apple Schnitz
Flinchbaugh’s Orchard & Farm Market
Let’s Eat More Local Food!
Leg Up Farmers Market
Pawpaw Cocktails, Lavender Indulgences, & Local Wine
Lavender Acres Winery
River Discovery Boat Tours
Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s Zimmerman Center
Don’t miss out on these wild and uncommon experiences next week from September 26th through September 29th – all part of Wild & Uncommon Weekend! Some events and offerings require pre-registration so be sure to check out the program details by clicking on the links above.

Click here to Plan Your Weekend!

Thank You Sponsors!

The Horn Farm Center’s new Wild & Uncommon Weekend wouldn’t be possible without the support of local businesses who believe in our mission to foster ecological learning through land stewardship, community partnership, and hands-on experiences. We are grateful for their generous support!

Tickets are Going Fast!

The York County Pawpaw Festival will be held on Saturday, September 28th from 9am to 5pm at the Horn Farm Center!

In addition to pawpaw fruit and other unique seasonal foods, the event will feature local vendors, food trucks, plant nurseries, and educational activities at the Horn Farm Center.

To attend, purchase your tickets online today. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the door. 

This year, you may choose from 3 ticket options, including Premium Early Entry and VIP Tickets for parking on-site:

  • $7 General Admission – parking off-site with shuttle
  • $15 VIP Ticket – parking on-site
  • $20 Premium Early Entry – from 9am-10am only – parking on-site, priority access before the crowds
  • Free Admission for Children 12 & Under

Visit the Festival FAQ page for more information.

While the York County Pawpaw Festival is ONE DAY ONLY on Saturday, September 28th, you can explore the wider ecosystem of foods, makers, and experiences across the Lower Susquehanna Region by participating in our FIRST EVER Wild & Uncommon Weekend, taking place September 26-29th!

Dick Bono and his pawpaw trees growing at the Horn Farm Center. (Photo credit: Kat Arazawa)

Seeding a More Sustainable Future

Nationally recognized news site, Civil Eats, highlighted the 20th Annual Pawpaw Festival while speaking to the deeper meaning of this truly bioregional fruit! As we like to say, the pawpaw isn’t just a fleeting treat: it’s an invitation to learn more about local food and the natural landscapes we call home.

“At Horn Farm Center, where neighbors tend a flourishing community garden a short distance from young hazelnuts, persimmons and elderberries, Alexis Campbell hopes the pawpaw can be part of something bigger than itself. With that in mind, this year’s festival, now called Wild & Uncommon Weekend, will widen its scope beyond the pawpaw to consider a range of native fruits that are central to the farm’s regenerative vision. The broader focus can educate visitors about ‘bioregional living,’ a way of engaging with agriculture to elevate ‘what’s inherent and special about this particular climate, this particular land,’ Campbell says.”

Homesteading Programs Continue This Fall

We’re rounding the corner on our 20th Anniversary year at the Horn Farm Center! Join us as we continue our year-long tribute to Homestead Education Day–a popular annual event from our past that we’re commemorating in the present by offering special “homestead-themed” topics throughout the year.

Interested in exploring earth-conscious skills rooted in local food and hands-on crafts? Check out the following programs coming up at the Horn Farm Center:

Visit the Horn Farm Center this fall to learn new skills with the Homesteading Series programs!

Click here for More Info