Howard's End CSA Farm

Howard's End Internship Program

So you want to be an organic farmer?

Howard's End farm is a new 20 acre farm a 30 minute drive from downtown State College, Pa., nestled in the little Nittany valley.  It is a year round CSA and currently has a membership of over 80 families.  We view ourselves as being a progressive organic (currently uncertified) farm which seeks implement better methods of farming with the ultimate goal of creating a methodology that would provide a farmer with greater security through diversification of crops, livestock, fruit and berry production and value added products via the establishment of a CSA, farmer's market and/or buyer's club venues to provide a reliable ongoing business cash flow.  Low tech efficient farming methods to keep capital outlays to a minimum are pursued in order to establish and accomplish sustainable ecological and financial goals.

These goals create an ongoing challenge at Howard's End.  We have made great strides towards their realization but as always, much work remains to be done.

                                                    We are offering an internship program for anyone who would like to learn how to farm.  This is a volunteer position and if you complete your agreed upon time committment you will earn an honorarium at the end of your stay. 

                                           The Contract:

                                           We teach you

                                          You work for us.

                                   

 You will learn:

  1. How to start seeds, grow and transplant seedlings, harden-off and water seedlings, dig and sort transplants,thinning and weeding.
  2. Planning your fields.  Where your rows will be and how to lay them out.  What to grow and where. Getting to know your local micro-climate.
  3. The components of soil.  How to build soil, (including making and incorporating biochar), earthworm culture, adding compost, sand and other organic amendments, soil drainage, aeration, solar sterilisation, soil testing.
  4. Hoeing and tilling, deep digging, using a stirrup hoe, flaming, mulching (different methods), conservation through terracing, and irrigation (gravity and pump-fed) systems.
  5. Watering: inground, above ground and natural. Drip irrigation and gravity fed systems. 
  6. Good Bug/Bad Bug.  What they look like, how to invite them or get rid of them.  Use of row covers and natural chemicals to combat them, how to make your own natural insectisides, etc.
  7. The basic rules of crop rotation, how to do it and when and why it is important.  Successional plantings, soil building and replenishment, green manure, cover crops.
  8. What to plant and where.  Companion planting, Were to plant and not plant your corn, onions, potatoes and tomatoes.  The different root systems of plants and what you need to know about soil depth and composition in relation to what you are planting.
  9. Wildlife, fencing, deer, raccoons, dogs, cats, groundhogs and how to keep them out of your rows.  Use of electric fencing, both permanent and portable.  How to protect the chickens from coyotes,hawks and owls.  Shooting or trapping groundhogs.
  10. Harvest vegetables and berries.   Cutting, cold dipping, and spin drying lettuces and other greens.  Preparing crops for market.  Gathering, sorting, weighing, and bagging produce for market.  Keeping track of everything.  Accounting.
  11. Growing, cultivating, and harvesting mushrooms. Different growing mediums.  Why not to pick wild mushrooms.  Finding Fiddlehead Ferns and Ramps in the woods.  Other edibles.
  12. Market set up, CSA set up and selling at market. How to engage customers and tell them about your produce, your farm, and your CSA.
  13. Making Cheese (hard rind) and managing a cheese cave- we are actively building a cheese cave so you will be participating in its construction.  Cheeses to be made: Mozzarella, Ricotta, Cheddar and Blue cheese (and perhaps some others such as Gouda)
  14. Walk in Cooler: Designing and building a 12 by 12 walk in cooler using "Coolbot" technology and straw bale construction.
  15. Solar Fruit and Vegetable Dryer: Designing, building and using a solar fruit and vegetable dryer.  Harvesting fruits and vegetables and their preparation for drying.  Packaging and storage of dried fruit.
  16. Wild Fermentation: the craft of live-culture foods.  Making sauerkraut and kim chee from cabbage.  Making yogurt and kefir. Making a honey mead. Making a yarrow beer. 
  17. Fruit Trees and Fruits:  Soil types. Pruning. Grafting, Dormant oil sprays.  Growing berries.
  18. Hops, Barley and Beer:  Growing hops, barley and making beer.  Hops vine trellising options. Harvesting. Making a barley malt.  Making a pale ale and other beers.
  19. Ducks and Geese: Raising ducks from eggs.  Waterfowl needs. Processing
  20. Building with straw bales. An overview.
  21. Value Added Products: Extending the CSA product line by offering jams, jellies, syrups, pizzas, breads, etc. Costing out a product.  Commercial kitchen licensing, etc. 
  22. Chicken management.  Pastured chickens and chicken tractoring.   
  23. Working with and maintaining a bee hive.  Honey collection. Monitering mites and other health matters.
  24. Designing and building low-tech hoop houses and their management.
  25. Planning ahead and managing your time, the chores, future plantings.  How to troubleshoot problems. The advantages of diversity planting.  Keeping dailly logs.
  26. How to make a living.  What to do first, second and third.  The finances of farming.
  27. Raising sheep and pigs.  The ins and outs of pasturing, how to feed your pigs for "free", butchering and gaurd dogs.
  28. Basic construction skills.  How to build a shed, a chicken pen and how to install a fence.  How to cut down a tree. How to build stone walls and mix concrete.
  29. Biochar- the role of activated carbon in the soil. How to build a double furnace to produce biochar.  Biochar test beds.
  30. Bread Oven- building and using a wood-fired bread oven. design and implementation.

          All topics in a spiral bound booklet you will recieve upon arrival at the farm. 

                                                       Features

                       The longer you stay, the more you learn.

                       A 6-8 week time span (longer or shorter) is suggested but negotiable.

                        5 work days- 50 hours weekly

                        Gas allowance to and from farm (30 mile radius) for commuters

                        Room and Board for two or three interns possible.

                        Tuesdays and Saturdays- Market Days

                         Volunteer Internship Honorariums

                        8 weeks completed               $ 500

                       12 weeks completed               $ 750

                       16 weeks completed               $1,000

                                                                      

That should be enough to give you an idea of what's going on at Howard's End.  If you are interested and have further questions, just send me an email at: howardsendfarm@gmail.com.  It is hard work, but never boring and you will learn a great deal .  By the end of upir stay you should know whether farming is for you or not.