Hello from the farm, 

We're excited to have a fruit share available to pick up at the farm from North Star Orchard this season, and want to give you more information and links for learning more and signing up. 

 

North Star Orchard has been growing heirloom and unique varieties of tree fruits for twenty years, and has offered a very popular CSA Fruit Share for 9 years. The Fruit Share consists of an 8.5 pound bag of unique and high-quality varieties of fruit each week for 12 or 15 weeks, whichever you choose when you become a member. Fruit selections include peaches, nectarines, plums, pears, Asian pears, and apples, starting the first week of August.

You can learn about the Fruit Share and sign up for membership directly on the North Star Orchard website: http://www.northstarorchard.com/csa_fruit.php
Members of the Fruit Share will receive their bag of fruit each week (starting in August) when you come to the Goodwill at Homefields farm to get your vegetables, and will receive an email from North Star Orchard each week detailing the varieties which are in the share.  A slide show of their fruit is at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/northstarorchard/sets/72157628765638177/

A bit about North Star Orchard: 

North Star Orchard, owned by Ike and Lisa Kerschner, is a small diversified farm in Chester County specializing in unique varieties of high-quality fruit. Ike and Lisa sell the farm's produce directly to consumers at area producer-only farmers' markets and through their CSA; they do not sell through wholesale channels. Their farm is best known for its abundance of apple varieties (now numbering in the hundreds!), unique Asian pears, and the high standard of quality in all of its fruits and vegetables.
Ike and Lisa have always been interested in both growing unusual varieties of fruit and vegetables and in using the newest ideas in production, training and trellising. They are highly concerned about the environment, and work hard to farm in a manner as sustainable and safe as possible.

Fruit Share members have said:

"On behalf of our family, I just wanted to say thank you. My 5-year-old has never eaten as many plums as he has this year. The quality of the fruit from your farm is outstanding." -2010 Member Stephanie

"Your fruits are wicked good!" -2005 Member Shelly R.

"Our family would like to thank NSO for the phenomenal Fruit Share this summer. It gets better every year. My son asked me what was 'wrong' with the apples we got from the store....priceless!" - 2010 Member Anna C.

"I wanted to thank you for such a wonderful season of delicious fruit! Our whole family is in the habit of eating fresh fruit now, it's so wonderful! My four young kids inhaled your pears, peaches, apples and plums like you wouldn't believe (well, maybe you would believe). So many thanks to YOU and your wonderful crew who made all of this possible. We'll definitely be back next year!!" -2006 Member Carrie E.

Looking forward to a great harvest season.  Fresh salads, berries and veggies will be here before we know it.

Scott 

February Farm update: what's happening, King Corn, and what you Love about the farm

Hello from the farm,

The planting season is quickly approaching and we've got a bunch of new ideas and inspiration for it in part thanks to the farm conference this week at Hershey.  The sessions on organic growing used to be few and sparsely attended, but now all are pretty much packed.  Look for us to be experimenting with fabric for weed suppression in the pick your own field and possibly unrolling round bales for weed suppressing mulch between the vegetable beds.

Free Farming Movie:  King Corn

Can a farming movie be fascinating?  Yes.  As of last check, when my wife and I watched it two weeks ago,  King Corn is available to watch for free at hulu.com.  It follows the adventures of two city boys who head to Iowa to grow an acre of corn and find out what modern corn farming is like.  Funny, sobering and educational all in one, it makes you appreciate local and sustainable all the more.

What you Love about the farm:

(as we prepare for the new season, these are the things that shareholder wrote about last season--it's a great encouragement to us)

• Exposed me to veggies I don't normally eat. Discovered how much better fresh veggies are than frozen.
   
• Having my children experience a farm, knowing that their food does not come from Giant, and that someone is working hard to produce this food.
   
• Being connected with the land and the people who grow our food feels natural and reassuring, more like how I grew up. Providing meaningful work for people, growing more food and PRESERVING Lancaster County farmland makes me a shareholder for life. Think about selling lifeshares...
   
• Great people, fantastic food that is free of chemicals & pesticides, pleasant surroundings
   
• Friendly staff
   
• Truly enjoyed the experience of coming out to Millersville once a week, especially enjoyed picking the flowers and other pick your own.
   
• bringing the kids out to see, harvest, eat, and enjoy  picking stuff ourselves
   
• My kids experience visiting a farm each week
   
• Having a sense of community with the farm staff and families participating in the CSA. The hands-on family friendly atmosphere is admirable and refreshing!
   
• Well, you all just rock.
   
• The fact that I don't have to go shopping as often and don't have to decide what to buy. :-)
   
• Forces variety in our diet and teaches us to be satisfied and creative with what we get. I grew up with a garden, and now that I live in the city, it gives me the benefit of having a garden without having to have the land for it. I also like that it keeps me in touch with the seasons, the weather, and what's going on. In a strange way I like it when we get too much eggplant or too few potatoes, because then I get to ask why, and find out what's going on at the farm and in the county.
   
• Recipes and serving suggestions for unfamiliar things like Napa cabbage, bok choy, and garlic scapes (I really LOVED the pesto).
   
• Knowing my food is grown locally and sustainably, and by the world's most comprehensively amazing Farmer!
   
• We love the "iron chef" challenge to find tasty ways to clean out the crisper bins!
   
• The physical beauty of the farm, especially berry-picking on cool summer mornings.
• Showing my daughter how important it is to eat well and know where our food comes from. The FLOWERS! Oh, how I LOVED picking my own flowers!
   
• great variety!
   
• Friendly farmers and workers ready to answer questions.
   
• I like going out into the PYO fields. 

Soon the little sprouts will be popping up by the thousands, as we anticipate sun-warmed strawberries and tomatoes, green beans and edamame and farm fresh salads once again.

See you soon,

Your farmers 

Survey says, new for 2012, and preparations underway

Hello from the rained on frozen fields,


January, a time for reflection on the past season and preparation for the season ahead. Thank you for your feedback, suggestions and great ideas for the farm for next season. Comments from the survey show that:

--you really enjoy the farm experience, and that people with children or grandchildren like the learning and experience that children have at the farm.

--you appreciate the fresh flavors and nutrition of well-grown chemical-free food.

--you're glad that the Pick Your Own field is included in the share price: you like the opportunity to pick your own flowers, herbs, hot peppers, and berries, both for the experience and for choosing the size and ripeness that you prefer.

--you received a lot of food for the money that was tasty and relished varieties that are not available in a store.

--you like the friendly atmosphere of the farm, the staff, and the mission of helping and employing people with disabilities, blended with the growing of sustainable food and preserving farmland.

--things you wished had happened differently: (us too!) that the potatoes would have done better (they suffered from the cold wet spring) and that the berries would have had more fruit (they didn't get the sunshine they needed to prosper). The beets were missed by some people (they didn't germinate well at all), and the squash and pumpkins were not real happy about 30 inches of rain in September, causing high losses to rotting and mold. The Asian pears were rendered inedible by stinkbugs. Okra lovers were disappointed with the variety of okra that we planted - it got woody very quickly, so we'll plant a different variety this year. Some of you felt overwhelmed by crops that did almost too well - sweet peppers, bok choi and Napa come to mind. Feel free not to take them if it's too much - we send the excess to the food bank.


So what's happening for 2012?

We will be a pick up site for a Fruit Share from North Star Orchard. Ike and Lisa Kerschner are long time fruit growers, enthusiasts and breeders of outstanding and well grown fruit. They have nine seasons of tree fruit CSA under their belts and we are excited to offer this opportunity to you--heirloom and modern apples, pears, plums, and more. For more information, pictures and videos on their farm and fruit share check out: http://www.northstarorchard.com/csa_fruit.php. Their fruit harvest begins in mid-August. Sign up and payment is through their site, we are simply a pick up site. More info in February.

We will continue to include the fruit (strawberries, blueberries, grapes, melons, berries, and our Asian pears) that we grow in our half and full farm shares.

We will patch that pothole in the driveway!--heckle us a little if we need a reminder :-) We get focused on the crops. We'll also try to make the driveway entrance more visible.

We'll be giving sweet potatoes another try this year using a clear mulch as an experiment. Past methods did not result in many sweet potatoes.

You've asked for seedless watermelons, so we'll be doing some trial plantings of them in addition to our regular favorite melons that do have seeds.

Sign up for the 2012 Season is Available now at http://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members

Word of mouth is the way most people find out about our farm and CSA. Please let others know about us and of course, sign yourself up if you haven't yet. You'll notice prices of everything seem to be increasing, but our shares will be the same price again this season. It's outstanding food for you at a great price while caring for your health and the community. If the lump sum cost of the share is tricky, feel free to break it down into months, there are five months before the harvests begin.

Your farmers 

Hello from the farm,


It seems more like winter now here at the farm as we wind down the season and winterize the fields, greenhouse, equipment, plants and buildings.  The old furnace in the barn needed to be replaced, and the heater in the greenhouse was also overhauled.  We spent some time cutting  and chipping brush and the leaning-over trees from the ever-encroaching fence rows.  Thank you to shareholder Bruce Sullenberger of Sullenberger services for once again letting us use the chipper.  If you have property caretaking needs, give Bruce a call at 284-2742.  Thank you Butch Bixler for building a hitch system which reduced the equipment jockeying steps by a factor of five when needing to move things around.

Three guys grinning about the chipper/spreader "train" 









The farm crew built well over a thousand gift boxes and we have some for sale still--email or call us about getting some. 




Self Harvest Update: 

There are plenty of radishes, red turnips, kale, collards and cabbage out there as well as cilantro, arugula and others.  We've had a few nights around 20 degrees, but mostly the fall has been fairly mild, so the crops are in good shape.  Enjoy while it lasts--the hard sustained freezes are not far off.  We've also invited Burmese refugees and Water Street Ministries to glean the fields.

Your farmers

Hello from the farm,

It's was a warm misty morning at the farm this morning as a half year of harvests comes to a close this weekend. The garlic is all planted for next season, the pick your own fields is cleaned up, there are a few cover crops to plant yet, and we have been working on cleaning up the fence row, and getting ready for gift boxes. The crops did really well this year over all. Remember when spring was so cold and wet that we couldn't get seeds or transplants into the ground because it was wet cold muck?  And then summer arrived with intense heat and a lack of rain, and September brought us almost a year's worth of rain in a month's time. 

Some non-weather moments were beginning to work the new ground to the east and the arrival of the orange tractor for tillage and harvest. We had a seasoned group of trainees as well as a bunch of new faces, and the veteran farm staff efforts of Kim, Law Reh, and Elizabeth shone through in everything that they did. Thank you! 

Gift Boxes for Sale--order before Dec 9th by send us an email or by phone. See the link below for more details. The small box is 17.95 and the large is 24.95. Wilbur Buds, coffee, peanut butter pretzels, apple butter...can't go wrong. 

 http://www.yourgoodwill.org/farm/homefields_giftboxes.php

We value your input on the season.  
To give us feedback, please fill out the survey at:  www.surveymonkey.com/s/KHJM8HG.  Thank you Elizabeth for setting this up!

Get on the Farm Wagon for next Season and save $20.00 

Reserve you share in November to save 20.00 on the 2012 season.  Go to http://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members

Thank you for an excellent, abundant, and memorable season!

Self Harvest Begins Monday Nov 21st.  

Mon-Saturday 8AM-dusk, come on out to glean the fields of the crops that remain. Take what you can use for your family, and if you know of anyone who has fallen on hard times, please take some for them as well.  We'll have a map here at the distribution area for you as well as plastic bags if you need them.  This is open to all current members and continues until the ground is frozen continuously, usually around Christmas time. 

Turnip Sauerkraut--or what to with all of those turnips--make sauer ruben

from http://cityfarmgal.wordpress.com/tag/turnip-kraut/

 see also this pictorial recipe on the web:http://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/making-the-sauerruben/

Turnip Kraut is pretty easy: top and tail, peel, shred in whatever shredder device you have, weigh, add 1/2 tablespoon of salt per pound and leave overnight.  Next day, pack into crock and push down.  The turnips should be covered by about 2 inches of briney water.  If not, add salty water to the tune of 1.5 teaspoons of salt per cup of water.  I also add some whey, about 1/4 cup, to kick off the lactic fermentation. Then cover mine with a double layer of muslin and weigh with a board and a large mason jar filled with water.

After about two weeks, it has krauted.  Which for me is just the start because I process my kraut in jars.

And I flavor it.

With all kinds of flavors.

In individual jars.

I am pretty sure this is against all kraut rules, but I really hate eating the same thing over and over again.**  But I am not a big processed food gal and I can’t make food from scratch every day and keep my sanity. So, I tend to make a base of something and then make variations I can pop on a pantry shelf for later.

So, my turnip kraut is going to get dressed up in all manner of guises when it goes into the canning jar. This year, I am making:

Spicy Kimchee-Inspired But Spanish Really Turnip Kraut
I make this with pimentón — and yes, it makes me feel so clever. Even if it makes you think I am culinarily insane. Basically I make a fire-y paste with the pimentón, homemade garlic powder and the kraut liquid, dump it into the jar with the fermented kraut and process it.  Totally not traditional, I know. You are supposed to add the heat as part of the fermenting! Kimchee is made with Napa cabbage! I know, I know. So, don’t get your underwear in a bunch and then don’t even think of then turning around and asking me for a recipe after you try it after bashing it.

This stuff, this is good for hangovers served along side some scrambled eggs. But you can’t have a hangover for at least a month or so because the flavors need to blend.  So, be careful there, my friend.

Boatloads of Fresh Bay Turnip Kraut
I happen to have a bunch of Bay that has been hanging around for a while and three trees for the garden on the way so I don’t need to dry it.  I love fresh Bay. I use too much of it in everything I can.  This can be an awesome way to complement a mild hot dog, if you make your own hot dogs or buy them from a reliable source.  If you don’t let me know where to send the flowers.

Caraway Turnip Kraut
You can mess with the cabbage-y part, sure, but don’t mess with the flavors of choucroute, Yo.  I put a bunch in the bottom of the jar before filling up with the kraut.  Seal and leave until choucroute time to marry the flavors.

Ode To Rob Levitt Fennel, Coriander and Chili Flake Turnip Kraut
As I continue to make the meaty things Rob tells me to make, it will be handy to have a complementing kraut on the shelf.  Rob is obsessed with the fennel-coriander-chili flake combo.  If this turns out, I’ll bring him some just to say thanks for being an awesome dude.

Ramp-y Turnip Kraut
Duh, it’s spring. Ramps. For this, I will actually be making a smallish batch of krauted ramps to add to the turnips at canning.  To make a smallish batch of basically any kind of kraut, pile vegetables into a quart canning jar, add 2 tablespoons each of whey and salt and fill with filtered water to the top (for all you “tap water is fine” folk, know that the chlorine messes with the fermentation).  Again, I cover with a cloth to keep everything submerged and then, using a used lid, screw on the cap and leave on the counter for a few days before moving to a cooler place to ferment.

Turnip Kraut is a spring thing, because the turnips are sweeter in Spring than in the Fall.  So, make some now or just come over in the fall and eat mine.

Thank you for being a part of the farm and appreciating the food and what we do, 

Your farmers 

Hello from the frosty fields,

As the sun came up this morning, the frost-covered leaves of the senposai, collards and kale gleamed in the light. Each season has its aspect to relish, and now the crisp cold air, the beauty of the frost, and the warm season weeds disappearing due to freezing are a few things that we take satisfaction i

Final Harvest Days for this Season: Nov 10, 11, 12

Looking forward to another season of great veggies? Sign up in the month of November to save $20.00 on your 2012 share. To reserve your fresh food for next year go to: http://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members

 

                                                COLD hot Peppers!


Farm Program Gift Boxes for Your Staff, Clients or Family:

As our growing season winds down, we will be making gift boxes again for Christmas time. Filled with local tasty treats like Wilbur Buds, College Coffee Roasters coffee, peanut butter pretzels, and apple butter from Kauffman's fruit farm, they are a great gift and a support to the farm program.
The small box is 17.50 and the large, which has 1/2lb of coffee and also pear butter is 24.95. For more details see: 

http://www.yourgoodwill.org/farm/homefields_giftboxes.php

To order, send an email to sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org or call 871-3110

Order Deadline Dec 9th

Gift Box Pickup at Barn Dec 14,15,16

 

Survey Says: We appreciate your feedback on this growing season

Elizabeth set up a great and easy to use survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KHJM8HG Please let us know how you experienced this season, your input will help shape next season\'s crops and amounts.
Thank you for helping us to improve each year.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest:

**the pick your own field froze repeatedly--gone until next season** 

Bok Choi: this is great in stir fries, goes well with rice, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and other Asian seasonings.
Napa Cabbage: this mild Asian cabbage is preferred by many to regular cabbage. It can be sauteed, used in salads, or made into kimchee or coleslaw.
Salad turnips: if you turned up your nose at old Purpletop as a kid, try out the white salad turnips--they are best raw--sweet and mild. Thumbs up! The visually stunning Scarlet ones are great too, also milder than the traditional turnip. Asian greens: tatsoi, mizuna, senposai, they are all good in salad or stir fry.Arugula: this is great in salads with apples and pears, and nuts
Popcorn: using peanut oil or other hi-temp veg. oil preheat oil on HIGH with 3 test kernels--when they pop, put in the rest of your corn, cover, shake the pan until popping slows considerably.Indian Corn: These are beauiful for decorating with and make an outstanding cornmeal, or put them out for the creatures to enjoy in your back yard. We have a grain grinder here if you want to shell your corn and bring it in for making excellent corn bread. 

Sweet peppers: these are fading away, enjoy. so many shapes and colors when ripe. They are easy to freeze, halve, core and freeze on a baking tray, then put into freezer bags.
garlic: great in everything--except cake and ice cream, and even then.... ;-)
cilantro: excellent on a ham sandwich, salsa, salad, liverwurst sandwich and on and on.

Enjoy the last few weeks of fall harvests. Self-harvest will follow.

Your farmers

Hello from the farm, 

The steady moisture and mild temperatures are making for a great harvest of fall crops. This week we are planting garlic for next year's harvest, and are pleased that the garlic did so well this year, that we have enough saved to plant our entire crop. The garlic bulb is broken apart into cloves, and each clove is planted basal side down in October or November before the ground freezes.  During the winter it puts down roots and exhibits a bit of top growth, and then takes off running in the spring in order to mature for a late June/early July harvest. 

Millersville Parade Detour:  The Millersville parade is this Saturday. Getting to the farm: you can use 999 to Blue Rock Rd to South Duke if coming from Lancaster, or go to New Danville and use Long Lane, then Stehman Rd to bypass Milllersville altogether, or, if coming from north or west, use Donnerville Rd to Letort Rd. 

Final Harvest Days for this Season: Nov 10, 11, 12

Farm Program Gift Boxes for Your Staff, Clients or Family:
As our growing season winds down, we will be making gift boxes again for Christmas time. Filled with local tasty treats like Wilbur Buds, College Coffee Roasters coffee, peanut butter pretzels, and apple butter from Kauffman's fruit farm, they are a great gift and a support to the farm program. 
The small box is 17.50 and the large, which has 1/2lb of coffee and also pear butter is  24.95. For more details see: http://www.yourgoodwill.org/farm/homefields_giftboxes.php  
To order, send an email to sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org or call 871-3110
Order Deadline Dec 9th
Gift Box Pickup at Barn Dec 14,15,16


Survey Says:  We appreciate your feedback on this growing season
Elizabeth set up a great and easy to use survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KHJM8HG   Please let us know how you experienced this season, your input will help shape next season's crops and amounts.
Thank you for helping us to improve each year. 

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest:

 Bok Choi: this is great in stir fries, goes well with rice, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and other Asian seasonings. Napa Cabbage: this mild Asian cabbage is preferred by many to regular cabbage. It can be sauteed, used in salads, or made into kimchee or coleslaw. See recipe below. Salad turnips: if you turned up your nose at old Purpletop as a kid, try out the white salad turnips--they are best raw--sweet and mild. Thumbs up! The visually stunning Scarlet ones are great too, also milder than the traditional turnip. 
Asian greens: tatsoi, mizuna, senposai, they are all good in salad or stir fry.Arugula: this ist  great in salads with apples and pears, and nutsPopcorn: using peanut oil or other hi-temp veg. oil preheat oil on HIGH with 3 test kernels--when they pop, put in the rest of your corn, cover, shake the pan until popping slows considerably. 

Indian Corn: These are beauiful for decorating with and make an outstanding cornmeal, or put them out for the creatures to enjoy in your back yard. We have a grain grinder here if you want to shell your corn and bring it in for making excellent corn bread.
Sweet peppers: these are fading away, enjoy. so many shapes and colors when ripe. They are easy to freeze, halve, core and freeze on a baking tray, then put into freezer bags.
eggplant: almost finished. Italian or Asian type, they are the same in use and taste and come in stunning colors. great on the grill with soy sauce and oil brushed on.
Red storage onions: these store well, yummy--salads, burgers, cuke and tomato salad, carmelized.
garlic: great in everything--except cake and ice cream, and even then.... ;-) 
cilantro: excellent on a ham sandwich, salsa, salad, liverwurst sandwich and on and on. 

Enjoy the last few weeks of fall harvests.  Self-harvest will follow. 

Your farmers