Working on the farm this week was especially satisfying because of the bright sunshine and cool weather. We harvested sunchokes otherwise know as Jerusalem artichokes. Sunchokes are the edible tuber of a species of sunflower native to eastern North America. Check out these recipes for sunchokes roasted, pickled, puréed, or made into chips. Our CSA members will get sunchokes in their vegetable share. We will also have them available in our online farmstand.
While harvesting sunchokes, we discovered a patch of pawpaw seedlings! Apparently the pawpaw seeds we tossed into the field last fall took root and sprouted. We were so excited, that we took the time to plant them in pots. Hopefully, they will over winter and we will plant them in the spring.Monday marked week one of the 25 week long Woodland Steward Training. Armed with simple tools: axe, saw, hoe, and loppers, interns Josh, Kelsey, Heather, and Andrew will immerse themselves in learning biology, ecology, and restoration design while their labor helps to regenerate the Horn Farm landscape. Welcome!

What is regenerative agriculture? In week four of this 12 part series, we’ll consider this indicator of an ecologically healthy farm system: increasing water quality and quantity. 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. As we weave the woods and streams back into the farm, we are adding structures like check dams. The check dams slow the velocity of water flow so that erosion is reduced or eliminated.As we layout the stream side planting, we are planting trees on contour to help slow, spread, and sink rain the falls on the fields.We are always thinking of ways to restore healthy water cycles on the farm. This allows us to be resilient in the face of future floods and drought. Our water stewardship also affects everyone downstream. We take great care to make choices which make us good neighbors.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Shares
Here is what we plan to include in this week’s CSA shares:
Potatoes
Kale
Sweet peppers
Hot peppers
Onions
Garlic
Winter squash – Acorn & Butternut
Beets
Sweet potatoes
Sunchokes
Leeks
Parsley
Sage

Upcoming events:
October 26 – Offal: Tongue, Brains, and More!
November 17 – Bread Baking Full Day Workshop
November 17 – Foraging: Roots
December 8 – Foraging: Winter

See you at the farm!

On October 26,  join us in the summer kitchen for Offal: Tongue, Brains, and More! Learn to prepare brains, heart, and tongue just in time for All Hallows’ Eve! Find out for yourself just how amazing these weird bits can be! Offal may sound bizarre, but in fact it is an important part of sustainable eating. Space is limited, so register today!

What is regenerative agriculture? In week three of this 12 part series, we’ll consider this indicator of an ecologically healthy farm system: increasing soil quality and quantity.  Soil is the basic infrastructure on which most of life depends. Only plants, fungi, microbes, animals, and insects can build this infrastructure. Our role is to create the correct conditions so they can do their jobs. This includes eliminating the use of pesticides and herbicides, keeping living root systems intact, keeping the soil covered, and preventing erosion. Check out Understanding Soil Health and Watershed Function for more details.

Our relationship with food was once, and arguably should always remain, one of our deepest connections with the biotic community, for it ultimately determines what kind of fellow beings we are. At this crossroads in the earliest 21st century, we face a revolution of no small proportions in how our food and fiber will be produced and at what economic, social, and biological costs. Our society will determine, through policies and purchasing habits, through personal and communal commitments, what landscapes we support and what species remain on them. –Daniel Imhoff, Farming with the Wild

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Shares
Here is what we plan to include in this week’s CSA shares:
Potatoes
Kale
Sweet Peppers
Hot peppers
Green beans
Scallions
Onions
Garlic
Summer squash
Winter squash – Delicata
Beets
Leeks
Mint

Upcoming events:
October 13 – Foraging: Wild Soup
October 14 – Harvest Festival & Annual Open House
October 16 – Bread Baking Basics
October 26 – Offal: Tongue, Brains, and More!
November 17 – Bread Baking Full Day Workshop
November 17 – Foraging: Roots
December 8 – Foraging: Winter

See you at the farm!

Our friends Johann of Fields Without Fences and Jared of Wild Ridge Plants traveled from New Jersey to check out our regenerative agriculture projects.We toured the fields, stream corridors, and woods talking about the best ways to interact with the land for  our mutual benefit. In this photo, Wilson explains the design and construction of a lean-to check dam, which is our best performing design for preventing sediment of all sizes from moving downstream. Our goal is no loss of soil from the farm.

What is regenerative agriculture? In week two of this 12 part series, we’ll consider this indicator of an ecologically healthy farm system: decreasing dependence on external inputs. As we design different operations of the farm, we keep in mind ways to reduce the materials and services we purchase. Some examples of things include compost (we could make our own), plant stakes (we could grow our own), seeds (we could save our own), potting soil (we could make our own), electricity, propane, diesel, and gasoline. By redesigning and replanting certain areas we can reduce our need for lawn mowing. By building a composting toilet system we can eliminate porta-potty maintenance. What other things or services could we provide for ourselves?

Interested in beekeeping and don’t know where to begin? Join us for Beekeeping for Bee-ginners! This two-hour class on October 11 is an introduction to the fundamentals of keeping bees. You’ll gain an understanding of honeybee biology, basic beekeeping practices, and guidance on how to start keeping bees. There are only three spots left, so register today!

We harvested two raised beds of sweet potatoes this week. After harvest, one was planted with spinach which will over winter and be ready for harvest early next year.  In the second bed, we’d originally planned to plant garlic, but realized that we’d have to cover the bed with row cover early next year to prevent the allium leaf miner from laying eggs on the garlic. The hoops and row cover are too short to protect the combined height of the garlic plus raised bed, so the garlic will get planted in a flat part of the farm. Once the sweet potatoes cure, they will be distributed to CSA shareholders.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Shares
Here is what we plan to include in this week’s CSA shares:
Potatoes
Kale
Sweet Peppers
Hot peppers
Green beans
Scallions
Onions
Garlic
Summer squash
Winter squash
Mixed mints

Upcoming events:
October 7 – Children’s Discovery Series: Let’s Bee Friends
October 11 – Beekeeping for Bee-ginners
October 13 – Foraging: Wild Soup
October 14 – Harvest Festival & Annual Open House
October 16 – Bread Baking Basics
October 26 – Offal: Tongue, Brains, and More!
October 20, 21 – Wilderness Skills Overnight Immersion
November 17 – Bread Baking Full Day Workshop
November 17 – Foraging: Roots
December 8 – Foraging: Winter

See you at the farm!