Our Big Expansion!  

    Last month we introduced Sandy our new farm helper. Now we'll tell you about what we've been planting at NHCSA at Spring Hill Farm in Chester. A selection of some of our offerings in the ground are  items that where hard to get last year. We planted 2,000 Red and Yellow Onions, 3,000 Red, Russett and Blue, yes blue, Potatoes. Salad Turnips, and along with big Beefsteak Tomatoes we planted baseball sized slicers too. Two different Cucumbers, many different Peppers like Chocolate Peppers.     

     Muskmelons, Watermelons, Tomatillos, Squashes and Pumpkins.

     At first we'll have greens like, Russian Kale, Rainbow Chard, White Russian Kale, Napa Cabbage, Red Lettuce, Jericho Lettuce, we've been busy!  

     Out in the pick your own: Chives, Yellow Pear Tomatoes, Raspberries, Strawberries, Cilantro, Sunflowers, Flowers and more!

     This is a selection, so much more is coming and we're excited to share this with our members.

PS, We planted Asparagus too but it takes 2 years to produce. 

A new study that came out last month shows a link between early exposure to a commonly use pesticide called chylorpyrifos to human brain abnormalities.  These pesticides are in the family of organophosphates and work effectively by blocking a critical enzyme in insects. It is the same enzyme found in the human nervous system. The pesticides are acutely toxic to insects but the research on its possible effects on people is disturbing.  It is used on over 50 crops on commonly consumed foods such as apples, sweet corn, citrus fruit, soybeans and peanuts. In the study coming out of the Proceedings of the National Institute of Health the children studied were followed from birth and had MRI's done once they reached the ages of 6-11 years old.  Cord blood samples were sent to the CDC to test for blood level concentrations of the pesticides. Children who had the highest level of prenatal pesticide exposure had abnormal growth in their cortex, the part of the brain that affects important functions such as intelligence and personality.  The cortex had enlarged areas and reduced volumes significantly different to a normal brain. These findings have been found in animal studies as well. Other studies have linked these pesticides to lower IQ and reduced memory.