Give where you live! Today is the day! Friday, May 4 from midnight until 11:59 p.m. join us as we celebrate the generosity that benefits hundreds of nonprofit organizations serving York County! The goal: 200+ nonprofits. 24 hours. $1 million. Please remember the Horn Farm Center when you give! https://givelocalyork.org//designee/horn-farm-center-for-agricultural-education Give as little as $10–every donation counts!We will be wrapping up our Horn Farm celebration with pizza. Join us on the patio for Horn Farm Pizza Night at John Wright Restaurant on Front Street in Wrightsville. Proceeds from the sale of Horn Farm Pizzas, featuring fresh Horn Farm produce, will benefit the Horn Farm Center. Thank you for your support!

And tomorrow, Saturday, May 5th, plan to get your seedlings at our sixth annual Heirloom Plant Sale from 9 to 3. The sale takes place rain or shine at the Horn Farm Center, 4945 Horn Road, York 17406. More than 10,000 plants in over 300 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers will be available. Most plants are priced at $3.00. Please bring your own boxes or containers for carrying your plants home. See you at the farm!

Heirloom varieties are cultivars preserved by gardeners and farmers who hand-select seed for a special trait displayed in the parent plant. Heirlooms were commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but are rarely used in modern, large-scale agriculture.  All plants are grown from non-GMO, non-treated seed using organic methods. Come early for the best selection!

Also tomorrow, May 5, is the fourth class in the Wild Lands Immersion series: Food – Foraging, Hunting, Trapping. This class is a favorite! Learn how to identify wild edible plants, learn simple primitive snares and dead-falls to acquire wild meat. Learn how to use simple hunting weapons such as the throwing stick and the field expedient spear thrower. This event is one of five full-day workshops designed to reconnect you to the land and develop essential survival skills.

There are still a few spaces left in our latest Summer Kitchen workshop: Making Bone Broth.Collagen-rich and nourishing, bone broth is revered for it’s many uses. And it’s easier and less expensive to make than you may think. Learn about the how and the why of pressure cookers, instant pots and slow cookers. Sip your way to a whole new world of goodness. Making Bone Broth takes place Wednesday, May 9. Our instructor, Liza Naylor, is a certified personal chef. Liza expresses her joy of cooking while meeting the goals of healthy everyday eating and using fresh, local ingredients. She has cooked for York’s Farm to City Dinner, the Healthy World Café, and Leg Up Farmers Market. She now shares her talents by leading cooking classes around the region. Space is limited, register today!

Raising insects for food and farm use can be fun, entertaining and rewarding – and meet many different needs. On Saturday, May 12 join William Padilla-Brown for discussion and demonstrations as he takes us on a journey through many different insects and invertebrates – starting with our two ancient aquatic invertebrates, Brine Shrimp and Triops, then our Subterranean Red Wiggler worms, followed by crickets, roaches, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, BSF larvae, hornworms, their beetles, moths, and flies!

Participants will get hands-on time, setting up small habitats to take home with choice of crickets, roaches, mealworms, and/or Red Wiggler Worms. The course will end with a demonstration on how to cook with edible insects and participants who wish may participate in an Entomophagy (the eating of insects). Register today for Raising Insects for Food and Farm!

Upcoming events:
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
June 24 – Insect Identification
June 30 – Monthly Foraging
July 14, 15, 28, 29 – Bowmaking
July 26 – Preserving Herbs
July 31 – Knife Skills for the Home Cook

See you at the farm!

For the first time ever, on May 4, 2018, our community will be transformed into a community-wide celebration of generosity that benefits hundreds of nonprofit organizations serving York County. This celebration is called Give Local York. We are just one week away from the first-ever Big Give Day in York County! Give Local York happens Friday, May 4 from midnight until 11:59 p.m.! The goal: 200+ nonprofits. 24 hours. $1 million. Please remember the Horn Farm Center when you give!  www.givelocalyork.org

This year the Horn Farm Center will once again offer vegetable community supported agriculture (CSA) shares. We have five CSA options at the Horn Farm in 2018. Our Vegetable CSA, Betsy’s Flowers at the Farm Cut Flower CSA., and, new for 2018, we are partnering with Rising Locust Farm to serve as a drop off location for their Egg CSA, Pork CSA, and Mushroom CSA. There are still a few shares available! Season start is weather dependent and ranges from late May to early June. Sign up today!

Collagen-rich and nourishing, bone broth is revered for it’s many uses. And it’s easier and less expensive to make than you may think. Learn about the how and the why of pressure cookers, instant pots and slow cookers. Sip your way to a whole new world of goodness. Making Bone Broth takes place Wednesday, May 9. Our instructor, Liza Naylor, is a certified personal chef. Liza expresses her joy of cooking while meeting the goals of healthy everyday eating and using fresh, local ingredients. She has cooked for York’s Farm to City Dinner, the Healthy World Café, and Leg Up Farmers Market. She now shares her talents by leading cooking classes around the region. Space is limited, register today!

Raising insects for food and farm use can be fun, entertaining and rewarding – and meet many different needs.
On Saturday, May 12 join William Padilla-Brown for discussion and demonstrations as he takes us on a journey through many different insects and invertebrates – starting with our two ancient aquatic invertebrates, Brine Shrimp and Triops, then our Subterranean Red Wiggler worms, followed by crickets, roaches, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, BSF larvae, hornworms, their beetles, moths, and flies!

Participants will get hands-on time, setting up small habitats to take home with choice of crickets, roaches, mealworms, and/or Red Wiggler Worms. The course will end with a demonstration on how to cook with edible insects and participants who wish may participate in an Entomophagy (the eating of insects). Register today for Raising Insects for Food and Farm!

HEIRLOOM PLANT SALE!! Saturday, May 5, 9 to 3Plan to get your seedlings at our sixth annual Heirloom Plant Sale on Saturday, May 5th from 9 to 3. More than 10,000 plants in over 300 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers will be available. Most plants are priced at $3.00.

Heirloom varieties are cultivars preserved by gardeners and farmers who hand-select seed for a special trait displayed in the parent plant. Heirlooms were commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but are rarely used in modern, large-scale agriculture.  All plants are grown from non-GMO, non-treated seed using organic methods. Come early for the best selection!

Check out this article about regenerative agriculture in the New York Times Magazine: Can Dirt Save the Earth?

Upcoming events:
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’s time to get growing! To ensure a productive and efficient harvest season from our gardens, we must start with an understanding of the site and what our observations and assessment can tell us. Hone your skills and plan your 2018 garden by joining our Garden Planning workshop on Saturday, April 28. Participants will learn about indicator plants and what existing vegetation can tell us about soil quality. Learn about rotations and planting in succession for extended harvest as well as companion planting to create beneficial relationships in the garden. This class will begin in the classroom and conclude outside.

The 2018 Community Garden season has begun! We still have some plots left, so reserve your space today and start gardening tomorrow!Plan to get your seedlings at our sixth annual Heirloom Plant Sale on Saturday, May 5th from 9 to 3. More than 10,000 plants in over 300 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers will be available. Most plants are priced at $3.00. Heirloom varieties are cultivars preserved by gardeners and farmers who hand-select seed for a special trait displayed in the parent plant. Heirlooms were commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but are rarely used in modern, large-scale agriculture.  All plants grow from non-GMO, non-treated seed using organic methods. Plants are grown by Horn Farm Center Incubator Farm Project and Farm Internship Program participants. Come early for the best selection!

Collagen-rich and nourishing, bone broth is revered for it’s many uses. And it’s easier and less expensive to make than you may think. Learn about the how and the why of pressure cookers, instant pots and slow cookers. Sip your way to a whole new world of goodness. Making Bone Broth takes place Wednesday, May 9. Space is limited, register today!

For those of you who are following our regenerative agriculture journey, check out this 9 minute video: Regenerative Agriculture: A Solution to Climate Change. Ben Dobson is Farm Manager at Stone House Farm in the Hudson River Valley of New York State. He lead the transition form conventional corn and soy production to diversified organic production.

Upcoming events:
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!