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Pennypack Pickings
Volume 7, Issue 9
June 6, 2009
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Pennypack Farm & Education Center
685 Mann Road, Horsham, PA 19044
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Quick Picks
Hope you're enjoying this new format of the Pennypack Pickings. In order to view all pictures your mail program might require you to "allow" or "load" images.
Sunday, June 7th at 7pm ~ Last minute invitation for a full moon Campfire and BYOP (Bring Your Own Picnic). See details below.
Campfire Volunteers Needed - The CSA Committee is looking for individuals or families who would like to organize one or more campfires. The duties are minimal! Make sure the fire pit is stocked with wood and lit; facilitate the s'mores making; and put out the fire and tidy up when it is over. Easy!
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President's Message
It's our great pleasure to be open for the season - I hope you all enjoyed being back on the farm, and to our new member families, I'd like to say Welcome to our farm community!
One of the first things you will have noticed is our new and expanded Local Foods Store. In previous seasons, we started making some local foods available for sale during the pickup days, and with Margot Bradley's initiative and help, we've taken it to a whole new level. At town hall meetings, you've told us that you would like to be able to get all your food at our farm - not just the veggies. So with the new Local Foods Store, you can get almost everything from our farm, all from within 100 miles - dairy, cheese, meats, bread from local bakery, mushrooms, etc. Please make Pennypack Farm your main weekly food-shopping trip! (I have one lingering question - the bison meat is very good, and very healthy, my family loves buffalo spaghetti sauce - but where are those buffalo within 100 miles? Margot probably knows....)
Next time you're picking up, think about the unique combination of old/traditional and new/hip that you see at our farm. Farming itself, one of the oldest professions (except one), over 8000 years old, then for a while gone out of sight, and now back in full force. Not just in our local area, but all over the country new local farms are thriving - it's very hip to belong to a CSA, but local farming is really very old and traditional. Now we have our local food store (Margot even adopted the look of the old country store) but it has a great modern and sign-of-the-times side to it. This is not quaint, it's hip! Our farm team (Andy, Fred, Dennis, Raina, Mike, Sam) is distinctly new and hip and not at all old and traditional. Except for the Ukelele. Don't be fooled - this is all about going forward, about responding to the status of food, health, energy, land-use, and economics. This is not an attempt to go back to the old days - we feel this is the next wave. Judging by the focus and attention to local farming, by Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver and the many authors and politicians, this is a forward movement. Judging by the growth in our membership, this is about innovation, not about nostalgia. So next time you're picking up, see if you notice the blended flavor of past and future - and let me know what you think - is Pennypack Farm pointing backward or forward? Or both?
Each year I have the same request to all of our farm families: please help us make this your farm, our farm, a true community? How? Participate in our activities, join our sunday suppers, help out on volunteer days, attend an education session. All of the above, plus one simple action: TALK to each other when you're picking up your veggies. We don't want to be a grocery store where you pop in and pop out. Please talk to your fellow farm members when you're picking up, when you're in the fields for a U-pick. Introduce yourself to the farm team, they like to get to know the farm families. Network the veggies - talk to each other and help us become a community!
I'd like to thank the Pennypack Farm board team for everything they do - this is one hard-working team. In the spirit of networking, please meet our board members, you'll see them at your pickup and during activities - and we'd like to meet as many of you as possible. Janice Blades (running the CSA program), John Borgman-Winter (secretary), Susan Curry (development director and instrumental to many environmental programs in our area), Pat Druhan (anti-hunger programs in Montgomery County), Joan Goldstein (recently joined our board team), Kristy Gregory (education director), Monika Hemmers (volunteering director), June Hallowell (our link to the College Settement of Philadelphia, Pennypack Farm's host), Jon Mead (on the PA state department of environmental protection), Mary Tobkin (treasurer), Geoff Wagg (web and technology), and Mary Wilson (joined the team recently). What a great team of dedicated professionals - I thank them all for their help, and I hope you have a chance to meet them during the season.
Again, welcome to the 2009 season at Pennypack Farm, and let's make it a great summer! Please send me your comments and suggestions at president@pennypackfarm.org.
Harm Scherpbier
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Farm Notes ~ June 4, 2009
From Farmer Fred
We've
just wrapped up the first week of summer share distribution, and we
hope everyone was happy with the strawberry bonanza. Not only were the
berries easy to find in the patch, they had mouth-watering flavor. But
let's consider the cold-hard cash value question. I just checked at
Whole Foods and saw that a quart of California organic strawberries was
selling for around $4. On Wednesday, June 3, Pennypack Farm members
could pick up to 3 quarts of strawberries, and take 3 more item
besides.
Those
three items could include a three-quarter pound bunch of kale with
fronds 18 inches long and stalks so tender and sweet they snap in your
fingers. Another two items (out of many to select from) could include
a half-pound each of spinach and arugula. Sorry to pound our own drum
here, folks. But the fact is that a Pennypack Farm share is a great
value. At a cost of $450, a small share works out to $18 a week over
the 25-week season. We strive to meet or beat an equivalent
supermarket shopping basket value each week. We're off to a good start
in that effort.
In
Community Supported Agriculture, members take the bitter with the
sweet, and we know that there will be crop failures as well as
triumphs. At the moment, some of our spring broccoli is looking a
little peaked. Broccoli needs a lot of available nitrogen, and we took
a gamble by trying to reduce our purchased organic fertilizer input.
Last fall we sowed a cover crop of legumes, which were supposed to add
a significant amount of nitrogen to the soil for following crops to
use. But it didn't seem to work out that way, at least not for the
broccoli beds. We will harvest less broccoli in the coming month than
we planned, but there will be much more coming in the fall, so we hope
to make up for any shortfall.
We're
trying another experiment in sustainability this season, which is to
use biodegradable, corn-based plastic mulch on some beds. Each season
we use thousands of row feet of disposable plastic sheeting as one of
our primary weed control methods. We'd love to reduce or eliminate all
this waste. But the corn-based plastic has only been commercially
available for the last year or so, and it may not function as well as
"real" plastic, or biodegrade completely in our conditions. I'll
report back on this effort later in the season.
The
weather this spring has been very cool and damp. One result has been
an explosion of slugs. We use organic slug bait on a few crops, but it
isn't that effective under these conditions. As a result almost all of
our leafy greens have some slug holes. We've even seen slugs on
mustard family crops like kale, which is quite unusual. Hopefully
we'll turn the corner on summer soon and the heat will end the slug
problem. Remember that week of 90-degree weather back in April? We're
ready for some more of that!
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Update from our volunteer
Facilities and Equipment team
Although we're not quite at the end of the first half of 2009, the harvest season is upon us, so here's a recap of what's been done over the previous five months to make the farm more workable, accessible and efficient for our shareholders. These projects could not possibly have been accomplished without the assistance of board members shareholders and friends.
Access & Convenience
The parking areas were noted as deficient, particularly with our current increased number of shareholders. A backhoe was bought in, woodchips moved further up the fence line and multiple truckloads of gravel bought in to expand the space,
The main entry path to the Harvest House was noted as too narrow to accommodate wide kid's strollers, so this was widened.
The shade tent had an obvious weed problem so weed cloth and a wooden surround were installed to house fresh woodchips and make this space more hospitable.
Outside security lighting under motion detector control have been purchased and the Harvest House is now reasonably secure with an electric keypad door lock.
A large picnic table and benches with shade umbrella has been installed near the pump house to offer shelter to our berry pickers on hot days.
Finally, College Settlement kids needed easier access to get into the farm (instead of walking the perimeter to our entrance) so a gate was installed down by the turkey pen.
Chicken Delight
Our roasters were very popular last year so we decided to start early this year in order to have chickens 'in the freezer' for our first harvest day. Early Spring equates to cold so the Nursery was given new insulated walls and ceiling to keep the chicks warm.
Additional chickens require additional free range outside pens, so these have been constructed and now are successfully in use.
Egg production has likewise been accelerated with an increased number of hens to meet shareholder demand. Again, early spring cold required the coops be more weather tight, so new sliding glass windows were installed.
Finally, the feed wagon was suffering predation, so it was mouse/rat proofed with internal aluminum.
Refrigeration & Plumbing
While serviceable, the existing cooler room was too small for farm needs and a far larger commercial unit has been procured and installed behind the Harvest House. See pictures at right.
A seedling warming unit was installed in the greenhouse and incorporates a water heater and table mounted tubing to deliver a seasonal 'head start' in vegetable propagation.
Again, Winter/Spring cold takes a toll so the propane heater which was ancient was replaced and a new wash station installed inside, in the greenhouse warmth.
Finally, the outside wash stations were getting direct, early summer morning, sun exposure so a lattice shade structure was installed to help keep produce cool and crisp.
Edible Classroom
Another shed (to be the kid's General Store) was constructed next to the Educational Manager's storage building.
Much activity continues: a new grape arbor, multiple trees, wash station and drinking fountain, redesigned beds, new shade structure approach, kid's greenhouse, et al.
Routine Maintenance
A lot continues to go on daily as equipment is maintained and structural repairs are accomplished. There is humor on occasion - when the Eagles didn't make it, we all suspect it was some fan who took it out on our green mailbox and decapitated it!
The loading of a mammoth dumpster this Spring was a sight to behold as it became a contest of wills as to who could heave the biggest board, beam, bag, tree or whatever furthest.
Finally, those volunteers blessed with pulling plastic weed cover from wet fields were in their own league - undistinguishable from the mud they were coated with, their sodden humor was infectious.
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Weekly Harvest
lettuce
spinach
various mixed greens
mustard greens
kale
garlic scapes
swiss chard
turnips
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CSA Pick-Up Tips
Pack scissors in your bag for each pick up so you can enjoy the fresh cut herb and flower offerings.
Wear sun protective gear.
Bring a water bottle - there is a water fountain in the edible classroom.
Consider bringing a cooler and/or freezer packs to keep your food cool.
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CSA Committee Meetings
The members of the CSA Committee welcome anyone to attend our meetings. The Committee is a wonderful way to get involved in the Farm community.
Thursday, July 2 @ 7pm
Thursday, August 6 @ 7pm
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North Star Orchard
Fruit Shares
The farm is a pick-up site for North Star Orchards' fruit share.
There are still 10 shares left for Monday pick-ups.
You MUST sign up before June 10th. Visit the North Star website for details.www.northstarorchard.com
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Save the Dates
Campfire
Sunday, June 7, 7pm
You and your family are invited to a Campfire and BYOP (Bring Your Own Picnic) this Sunday, June 7th at 7pm.
S'mores fixings are provided, but BRING YOUR FAVORITE S'MORES STICK.
It is a last minute invitation, but please join us for the full moon!
The last full moon campfire provided so much light the kids played
moonlight tag! The next scheduled campfire is Monday June 22 at 7pm.
There is no rain date for campfires.
Potluck Supper
Sunday, June 28, 5:30pm
Please
join us for the season's first potluck dinner! Bring a dish to share
as well as your family's plate, cup, flatware, napkin and beverage.
Sunday, June 28th at 5:30pm at Pennypack. Rain date Monday, June 29th
at 5:30pm.
Harvest Festival
Saturday, October 3Join
the fall festivities at the Pennypack Farm Harvest Festival on October
3rd, 2009. Volunteers are always needed to make our biggest community
building event of the year a success.
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New Cooler
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The Dirt on Education
All education programs are open to the public.
Pre-registration and pre-payment is strongly suggested.
To register for any program, contact Mike Hobbs at education@pennypackfarm.org.
Please provide the following
Names of all attendees, including children
Ages of children
Contact name, email and phone
Program name, date and time
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Little Sprouts
New topics for June & July with new times!
10:00am-11:15am or 2:00pm-3:15pmBring your curious preschooler down to the farm! These fun and educational programs are a great time for 3-5 year olds and their grown-up to experience a working vegetable farm in a safe and nurturing atmosphere. Each themed program will include time "being a farmer", reading a story, and doing a craft.Cost: $5/child (over age 2); under 2 may tag along free - no craft provided.
Preregistration is a must. Register in advance for all sessions & payment by check is very helpful. Call 215-646-3943 ext. 3 or email education@pennypackfarm.org.Tuesday, June 16 - Dance of the Bees
Tuesday, June 23 - Flower power
Tuesday, June 30 - Insect exploration
Tuesday, July 7 - Water cycle
Tuesday, July 14 - Garden Art
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 "Wildman" Steve Brill
Tuesday, August 18, 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Naturalist-Author "Wildman" Steve has been leading foraging tours in parks throughout the Northeast since 1982. Kids & grown-ups alike are welcome to sign-up, e-mail Mike Hobbs at education@pennypackfarm.orgCost: $20.00/adults $10.00/childrenCome learn with the best about the native edible foods that are growing in your own backyard! Click here to visit "Wildman" Steve's website for more information. |
Family Workdays
Every Friday through the summer (except 7/3)
10:00am - 12:00pm
Looking for a way to fulfill your share volunteer hours? Do you like spending time at the farm with your children? Please join us for family work days in the Edible Classroom. There will be someone on hand to lead the work but a to-do list is also hanging inside the shed.
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Four Worlds Bakery
YOU CAN NOW PLACE BREAD ORDERS FOR WEDNESDAY PICK-UP AT THE FARM!!
Pennypack Farm supports local food producers by featuring their products in our Local Foods Market and by supporting direct purchases from the producer. Four Worlds Bakery is a local producer based in West Philly.Michael "Challahman" Dolich, owner and head baker at Four Worlds, offers baked products rooted in a tradition where baking is an art form (thus artisan) and the breads are made with the upmost attention, hand work, care, and expression of our highest ideals. He buys locally produced ingredients (including spelt, wheat, cranberries, butter, and milk) as much as possible.Pennypack Farm is proud to assist Michael's marketing by being a drop site for his prepaid breads and pastries. Bread can be ordered for Wednesday or Friday pick-up.All orders and payment are made directly with Michael via his website. Visit the Four Worlds Bakery website to read more about the breads offered, sign up for the weekly emails, and place orders.
Click here to visit the Four Worlds website.
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Local Foods Market - Product List
Every week you will see here a complete list of products available in the local foods market. Bring your appetite and cash or checks at your weekly pick-up. Prices can vary.
Click on a suppliers name to link to their website.
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Eggs, Cheese & Dairy
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Pennypack Farm
Fresh eggs from the hens you know!
Lancaster Farm Fresh
Apple Tree chevre, garlic herb
Apple Tree chevre, plain
Hope Springs baby swiss
Hope Springs Sharp Cheddar
Misty Creek Hard goat cheddar
Noble Cave aged cheddar
Herbal Jack
Toy Cow Black Cherry Yogurt
Toy Cow Blueberry Yogurt
Seven Stars Dairy
7 Stars: lowfat maple yogurt
7 Stars: Plain Yogurt
Natural by Nature Butter
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Meat & Poultry
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Backyard Bison
Bison, ground
Bison, grillers
Bison: stew cubes
Bison, bugers
Griggstown Farm Market
Chicken, basil and tomato sausage
Chicken, broccoli rabe sausage
Chicken, white wine, garlic sausage
Chicken, mozzarella and basil sausage
Ground Turkey
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Fruits & Vegetables
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Lancaster Farm Fresh
Golden Delicious Apples
Cremini Mushrooms
Portabello Mushrooms
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Breads & Treats
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Metropolitan Bakery
Organic Spelt
Rosemary Olive Oil
Whole Wheat Baguette
Whole Wheat Sandwich
Granola 12 oz
Granola bars
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Pantry & Other
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Lancaster Farm Fresh
Honey: raw
Maple Syrup
This L. Piggy: flax cookies
Bobbi's
Black Bean Hummus
Garlic Hummus
Kalamata Olive Hummus
Kauffman's
Kauffman's Cider; 1/2 gallon
Sarah's Savories
Vrapple |
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