Pennypack Pickings

Volume 12, Issue 14 | August 24, 2014

FARM POTLUCK

Sunday, September 14

5:00 - 8:30 P.M.

Please join us for a potluck dinner on Sunday, September 14, 5:00-8:00pm. Bring a dish to share and bring your own plates, utensils and napkins. Dinner will be served at 6pm.

Where: Pennypack Farm at the Highlands

7005 Sheaff Lane, Ft. Washington, PA 19034

For more information email

Julie Singer or

Debbie Steinberg

PFEC HARVEST FESTIVAL

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4

Save the date of Saturday, October 4, 2014 for the annual Harvest Festival at the Horsham Farm. Open to the public, this is a wonderful family-friendly event with lots of activities for the kiddies. Vendors, food, and hayrides!

Traditionally, our Harvest Fest is held the first Saturday of October. We realize that for 2014 Yom Kippur is observed on that date. We understand that many folks may not be able to attend Harvest Fest this year as a result of these overlapping events. We will miss those whom cannot be with us on October 4.

HORSHAM UPDATE

by Devin Barto

Heirloom Tomatoes The season is buzzing by, it is already mid august. Tomatoes have been taking up most of our time, picking and picking for hours. It is very laborious hauling around several thousand pounds of tomatoes each week, but it is well worth the effort. It is that time of year when the staff gets tired easy, and the rest of a weekend can't be beat. We are all feeling pleased with how things have been going thus far. Most of our crops have done well, and our fall crops are 90% planted. There is still a lot of summer to be had as our eggplants, tomatoes, peppers are still ripping right along as are the cherry tomatoes and a fresh crop of green beans is on its way. We have lots of great carrots and beets in the ground waiting to be harvested and the sweet potatoes are sizing up nicely. This past week our interns ended their internships; it was sad to see them go. They were a great group of people and their efforts added a lot to the success of the season thus far. They all had a great attitudes and strong work ethics.

KIDS CLASSES IN SEPT.

Mark your calendars and register now! I will be having classes for kids, aged 2 - 5 on Tuesday mornings beginning Sept. 9. We'll meet from 10 - 11 in the Edible Classroom at The Highlands and explore how plants grow, learn about good and not-so-good bugs, sample some tasty veggies fresh from the farm, make compost and learn about all those cool machines the farmers' use around the farm. Grab your boots, gardening gloves and meet us at the farm!

LOCALICIOUS
Friday, September 26

Invitations for Localicious were mailed this week - we hope you received yours in the mail.

Join farm friends to honor Missy Barnhart, our Volunteer of the Year, and Judy and the late Mark Dornstreich, our Sustainable Living Leaders.

Buy your tickets today for Pennypack Farm's Annual Celebration, held each year at Spring Mill Country Club. Chef Nick is already hard at work on the menu, featuring PFEC produce and other localicious treats. The evening features a silent auction, program, and much more - don't miss this chance to honor your farmers and celebrate the season.

Tickets are $55 per person ($30 deductible).
Buy your tickets online today!

Can you donate an item for the silent auction, or do you want to congratulate our honorees with an ad in the program booklet?

Email pennypack.localicious@gmail.com

for more information.

WE NEED YOU...

to help make the Harvest Festival a success

Please come out on Saturday, October 4 and enjoy a fun-filled day at the farm by volunteering. Three shifts are available:

Shift 1 is 10:45 - 1:15, Shift 2 is 1:00 - 3:15 and Shift 3 is 3:00 - 5:15.

Volunteer opportunities are available for the following stations:

Harvest Fest 2013 Volunteer table

Ticket Sales Table

Food Sales Table

Hayride

Pumpkin Painting

Scarecrow Making

Face Painting

Eggcarton Caterpillars

Sprout a Seed

Please contact Jocelyn at ppfharvestfest@gmail.com and indicate the shift and station you are interested in.

KIDS & CAMPS

By Diane Diffenderfer

The first 2 weeks of August were awesome!

Watermelon Boy We had kids from the Hatboro-Horsham YMCA Day Camp and our first-ever Highlands-PFEC camp. Campers learned about common farm pests and all the equipment the farmers use to grow great food. They also sampled beans, peppers, had a cucumber-tasting party, made cob tile keepsakes, met the hens, chowed down on home-crafted salsa and more! The weather was perfect and I'm already looking forward to next year!

WINTER SHARES

You Won't Believe This!

Winter shares for the 2014-2015 season will go on sale Labor Day, Monday, September 1.

We have added mega upgrades to the winter program, most of it in response to your suggestions over the past several seasons. These upgrades are designed to make the winter share even better that it has ever been.

First, we are leasing out 2 additional greenhouses on another farm to grow more greens in the winter. Last winter was so cold and hard on the greens, and we want to add more greenery to your winter mix so we'll be utilizing greenhouses at Branch Creek Farm.

We've added a mini-share option for winter. The mini-share is a 4 unit share and is ideal for one person or a any household that is challenged to use all their produce before the next pick-up. Many of you have asked for a smaller share size.

COMING SOON - Sign up online!
Thats right, with our new online system you can sign up online, pay by credit card and choose from different payment plans. You can still pay by check also, just register online and send in a check.

Price drop. We have actually lowered the price for the regular share and the mini-share is even more affordable at under $300.

Increased flex pick up. This season you can pick up either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday from 1230 to 7 pm. Come during those hours on any of those days.

We will also be doing all the pick-ups at the Horsham site this year. As we were challenged by treacherous road conditions and freezing temperatures at the Highlands last season, we thought it best for safety and energy conservation to have all pickups at one site.

So be sure to grab a winter share early, as quantities are limited.

Pennypack Farm & Education Center

685 Mann Road, Horsham, PA 19044 | 7005 Sheaff Lane, Ft Washington, PA 19034

215-646-3943 | info@pennypackfarm.org | www.pennypackfarm.org