Feels like fall!  It's Saturday morning and based on my outside thermometer, I should put on a fleece before venturing outside with Ollie, our new puppy.  I love this weather and from the looks of things in the EC, the cool temperatures agree with many of our veggies and flowers.  The cherry tomatoes are still going strong, cranberry dry beans are thriving, Asian Pears tasting great and figs are a ripening!

This week's Plant of the Week is the Fennel Flower!  Earlier this week, Devin and I were chatting in the EC at the end of the day.  As we talked, I pinched some flowering basil while Devin snacked on some cherry tomatoes.  We moved from bed to bed, finally ending at a bed in the back of the EC where the fennel flowers were standing tall and looking beautiful.  Almost in concert, Devin and I each picked a flower cluster.  These small, golden umbrella-flowers are really good!  True to the plant, they taste exactly like anise.  You can eat them directly off the plant, like we did, or  add them to your salad.  The flower is also prized for its pollen and is used as an herbal remedy for intestinal ailments .  Check out this link for additional information on the myriad uses for fennel flowers and be sure to stop by and taste a few for yourself.

I was fortunate to have several school and camp groups visit the EC at The Highlands over the summer. Even with a limited infrastructure, over 180 children visited the EC from the beginning of June through the end of August.  Kids ranged in age from 3 - 13 and participated in a variety of farm-based educational activities, including, but certainly not limited to: planting our straw bales with a variety of seeds and transplants, creating and planting lasagna beds, painting clay pots and planting them with beans as a souvenir, harvesting potatoes and ingredients to make fresh bean and herb salad and salsa.  The kids also toured the farm looking for identifying common farm pests and learned how to manage some of these pests in an organic and sustainable way.  I am looking forward to expanding our educational offerings as the EC comes together.

In addition to having kids educational programs at The Highlands, I also "took the farm on the road" and visited summer camp programs and day care centers.  This fall I am meeting representatives from local schools to discuss how PFEC programming can be integrated into school curricula, including the development of school garden programs.  It's an exciting time for our education program!  If you are involved with a school, scout or other child-related group you think would be interested in our educational programs, please let me know - my email is  education@pennypackfarm.org.  

Have a great week.