I've spent the last week on a "mini" excavator... big enough, about the size of an SUV.  Valerie is under the impression that it's "fun" to operate one of these, especially if you're a man. Men and their tools.  Well there probably is something to that.  I do like tools.. they make it possible to get things done.  Anyway, for me, the first three or four hours in the excavator are pure frustration as you have to use both your right and left hands to operate the bucket and depending one whether you flick this way or that and the combination between the two hands will determine what happens.  If you're only doing this on average about once a week per year, getting up to speed in a state of calm can be a real challenge.  Especially with a full schedule of digging, plowing and brush clearing planned.

Lots of outside work to do.  First, while the ground is still frozen, hauling in a few loads of compost a week and ordering a delivery of 5-10 tons of yellow sand will get the soil improvement regimen off to a start.  We have a PASA (Pa. Assoc, of Sustainable Agriculture) conference to attend of Friday and Saturday (4th, 5th Feb) where we listen to keynote speakers, attend lots of workshops and make new connections, etc.   Before and after that, the lower field needs to be cleared of brush and young weed trees so that the earth can be tilled, compost added and that area's use planned.  Where to put the chickens has to be worked out and on the weekend of the 20th, a mini-excavator will be rented to fix the upper irrigation pond (which is leaking to the point that it doesn't hold water), install the small vineyard (by digging 6ft deep by 3 ft wide trenches, removing the clay, adding drainage, then a combination of screed [ground limstone] and clay so the soil will drain well, dig holes for the various fruit trees that will be planted in mid April, excavate the fish "tanks" for the tilapia fish operation, move the topsoil from where the hoop houses will go (compost and sand will be added to the topsoil and put back in minus all the perennial weeds) and level out the area where the large herb garden is going to go.  All in two and a half days.  Of course I'm hoping that the soil is only frozen down the first twelve inches or so at that point, and that we're not in the middle of a blizzard.  When I'm not in the machine, I'll be working with Beth and Olivier (CSA members) who are going to show me how beer is made, and to further excite the schedule, we are going to attempt to make some kind of cheese since we can get raw milk from a neighbor.

Last night I worked out how many cubic yards of compost we need for this year.  I drive a Ford F-150 with a long bed and if you fill the bed entirely and add a heap on top of that you get 3 cubic yards.  Well, we will need at least 90 cubic yards which means 30 trips.  Since working outside is still something of a challenge considering the frozen ground, etc. , at least half of these trips will have to be made this month.  I could have it hauled in by a tracker trailer, but they charge alot for the haulage and it would all have to be dumped at the entry to the farm.  so I make the trips with my pickup (adding some chores on the round trip) and run the loads out to the various needed sites around the fields.  Fortunately I don't have to load the pickup- unloading (a shovel operation) takes about 45 minutes.  

February 5-6    PASA conference

Once a year, farmers and many others involved in sustainable agricultural practices attend a two day conference at the Penn Stater.  Last year I was very excited to attend; this year I wanted to continue field preparations I had started during the week but since there was a rather large snow event on the way dragged myself  to the conference hoping it would be worth the 300 plus dollars we had spent in admission, etc fees.  It was well worth it.  What I learned was worth a great deal more.  Two of the highlights were workshops on preventing Downy and Powdery Mildew (and possibly Late Bight) and Biochar. 

 The workshop on Biochar in particular was very exciting.  Biochar is another name for activated charcoal and without getting into the details too much here, when you add it to the soil, there are many, many benefits.  It is not a feritlizer at well but makes the soil more microbiologically rich which in turn makes plants thrive more readily.  It also has a sponge like quality, reducing the loss of nitrogen and phosphorus from the soil.  You can't buy it... but it can be made on site.  More about this later.  It should make a huge impact on the quality of what we grow this year.  I will be adding a pound per 10 square feet to start and expect to be able to create about 100 lbs a week minimum.  It has to be "inoculated " first.  This is done by putting it in some compost and letting the compost/biochar mix "assimilate" for a few weeks before incorporating it directly into the raised beds.  Since you are adding carbon too the soil (where it will remain for 1,000 plus years) you are also reducing your carbon "footprint". 

The third workshop on cheese cave construction was also very informative and currently I am trying to figure out if I can build one sometime during the spring of this year.  Since I have no extra time that might proove be something of a pipe dream until next year.

February 26

Seedlings are doing very well thus far.  The artichokes look large, healthy,  impressive and will soon need to be transplanted into individual containers so their tap root will have room to grow.  Kiwi fruits are up; asparagus, all the onions, rhubarb, peppers, tomatoes... only the thai papaya refuses to show but I am told it could be three weeks for that seed to germinate.   the hot-house is coming along and, though behind schedule, should be ready for seedlings in a couple of weeks or less.  Running out of room in the carraige house.  The heat from the flourescent  lamps keeps the place at 70 degrees- no other heat source needed except at night when they are turned off. 

The ground is beginning to thaw so the excavator work will be scheduled for the first weekend in March.  A bit later than ideal to set up hoop houses so beets and broccoli will be started indoors so as not to get behind.  Picked up an antique cheese press which, once it's rebuilt will take its' place in our arsenal of tools... also purchased a 130 year old cider press in good condition which can be used to press cider, grapes and other berries and cheese as well.  Got a 10 gallon crock at that auction too for pickling or making saurkraut.

Click here to print out a membership form (pdf).

We are a unique CSA.  First of all, when you join and send in your deposit, you are establishing a debit account with us.  Everytime you recieve goods, or pick up additional goods from our booth at the downtown State College Tuesday Farmer's Market, your account is debited for those goods recieved.  If you are going out of town, or have too many vegetables on hand,  you can contact us the Friday before the next delivery date by email only that you would like that delivery cancelled.  As long as you contact us, you won't be charged.  If you forget to pick up your goods however, you will be charged as all produce is harvested the day before especially for you.  If you have special needs or cannot eat (or won't) certain items (peanuts for example), just let us know and your account will be noted.  Our first priority is produce for our members, our second priority is to the market.  If we have limited availability for raspberries, mushrooms, or artichokes, the members will recieve them first.  We have a very extensive and diverse produce season planned for 2010.

Farming is a very challenging business to be in.  There are days when it's really tough going so one has to be reflective looking back on what has been accomplished and looking ahead to the benefits of success.  Anyway, we consider ourselves a "gourmet" CSA.  We are pursuing this concept by creating a cookbook ( which you will find in the "recipes" section on the website), holding a couple of "Dinners' at Eight" events and of course, growing a very diverse variety of crops.  We are a small CSA.  Currently we have 40 plus families and expect to grow to between 70 and 90 this season.  We have had alot of inquiries, so if you  are interested, do let us know right away by sending us an email at: howardsendfarm@gmail.com.  We offer full shares and half shares.  Full shares give you $26 worth of produce each week for a period of 30 weeks, and half shares give you $14 worth of produce for 30 weeks.  If you sign up and pay in full by April 15, you recieve a discount.  Full shares receive a discount of $35 (instead of $780 it would be $745) and half shares $20 (instead of $420, $400).  You can opt to pay 50% of the full or half share total by April 15 and the remaining 50% by July 15.  Contact us if you would like to offer some other arrangement.  As I mentioned before, at the end of the season, if there is any money left in your account, you can receive a refund or credit the amount to the forthcoming year.  We are interested in getting to know you and learn what you do.  We view our CSA as an extended family. 

 Thanks again,  Addison Hoffman and Valerie Anderson

 We are offering an internship program for anyone who would like to learn how to farm.   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.
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 (and how to build one, etc).
14. Mushroom cultivation, harvest and processing.
15. Planning ahead and managing your time, the chores, future plantings.  How to troubleshoot problems. The advantages of diversity planting.  Keeping dailly logs.
16. How to make a living.  What to do first, second and third.  The options you have.  Pastured Beef? Hogs in the Woodlands? Niche farming.  How much land do you need? 
17. 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.

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 .  We live in a beautiful valley about a half hour's drive from State College and Penn State University.  By the end of the season you will know whether farming is for you or not.      

What we don't realize however, mostly because it isn't all that obvious is that the food which we have been buying at the supermarket is different than what we were previously buying before the advent of the supermarket.  Something else changed at the same time (mostly during the 1950's) and what changed was how farmer's farmed.   The 1950's brought forth the baby boom generation (I am one of them) and new concepts in the suburbanization of the U.S. and big corporations, agricultural concerns, colleges, scientists, all touted the new idea that crop productivity could be increased with the use of chemical fertilizers.  You could increase yields with chemicals, kill the bad bugs with chemicals, and could kill the weeds with chemicals; in fact chemicals were the answer to providing more produce to the rising population. What most of us don't realize is that for the most part, prior to the 1950's, all farms were organic.  This certainly had not occured to me. 

O.K. so back to the supermarket.  Supermarkets are a big business and for profit.  In order to reduce spoilage and maintain sales, vegetables being sold had to at least look fresh.  Wax was added to fruit to minimize moisture loss, and everything was picked before optimal ripeness so that by the time it reached market, it would be ripe.  Varieties that did not travel well, or had delicate skin, were not sold at market.  New varieties were created that  traveled well and did not bruise easily and looked ripe even though they weren't.  Again, people have written books on this subject, so ... onward.

Finally, chemicals do make crops grow and they do kill bugs but only for a time and with a very high cost.  The reason that the Chesapeake bay and a very large part of the Gulf of Mexico is a dead zone is due to chemical runoff from farms (and suburban lawns I might add).  50% of the nitrogen fertilizer added to the soil is utilized for plant growth, the other 50% turns into nitric acid.  Heavy metal fungicides (coppers) do not break down in the soil.  Without natural crop rotations (or a very limited rotation) salts build up in the soil.  All of these chemicals disturb the microflora in the soil which is essential to healthy soil maintance.  In the end, the net result is this: the vegetables harvested have less nutrition in them because the soil has less nutrition to give.  The soils of this country have lost 40% of their fertility.  Being an organic farmer means not only the use of natural methods to grow crops, but the maintance and rebuilding of the soil.  You simply can't take out more than you put back.  A good organic farmer not only provides you with chemical free produce but produce that has a far higher nutritional value as well.  Eating organic produce is a very beneficial health insurance policy in itself.

Herbs:   Basil, Marjoram, Dill, Summer Savory, Summer Thyme, Red Shiso, Root Parsley,

             Borage, Watercress, Fennel, Sage, Chervil, Purly Chives, Chinese Leeks, Leaf Parsley

             Rosemary, Greek Oregano, Santo Cilantro, French Sorrel, Erba Stella, Valeriana,

             and Lemongrass

Fruits:    Bartlett and Bosc Pears, European and Japanese Plum varieties, Montmorency Cherries

             Figs, Papaya, Kiwi, Pomegranate, Persimmon

Berries:  Earliglow Strawberries, Red and Black Raspberries, Blackberries, Red Currants, Elderberries

              Huckleberries, Ground Cherries 

                                                                                                                                                         Wild: Fiddlehead Ferns, Ramps (harvesting these, not planting them)

Mushrooms:   Shiitake, Oyster, Pioppino, Golden

Corn:  Black Aztec Sweet, Oaxacan Green, Silver Queen, Butter & Sugar, Snow Puff Popcorn

Vegetables (two or more varieties of each):  Turnips, Carrots, Broccoli, Raddichio, Cabbage,

               Kohlrabi, Broccoli Raab (Rapini), Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Romanesco, Parsnips,

               Beets, Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Asian Greens, Shungiku, Scorzonera, Radishes, Sugar Snap

               Peas, Snow Peas, Shelling Peas, Fava Beans, Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Lima Beans,

               Banana Melon, Watermelon, Cantalope, Muskemelon, Spinach, Red Choi, Bok Choi,

               Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Hot & Sweet Peppers, Eggplant, Paste, Drying and Eating Tomatoes,

               Flowers, Kale, Mustard Greens, Okra, Celery, Celeriac, Rutabaga, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes,

               Edamame Beans, Shallots, Summer & Winter Squashes including Pumpkins, Barley, Hops,

               Sunchokes, Cardoon and Imperial Globe Artichokes, Greek Giant Amaranth, Collards,

               Tomatillos, Asparagus, Cucumbers including the African Horned, and Red Orach 

The Tuesday Farmer's Market commences on the first Tuesday in June. and will end sometime before Thanksgiving in November.  It is never cancelled and is held rain or shine.   The market commences at 11:30 am and finishes at 5:30 except in November (at 5 pm).  There is quite a diversity of vendors and each year there is more produce and other items, such as baked goods and crafts for sale.

For 2010, Howard's End Farm will be selling a much broader range of produce than it did in 2009 which was our first year at market.  Along with produce, we plan to be offering ceramics for sale as well.  These will be designed and produced by Addison, who regards himself not as a farmer but as an artisan-farmer.  He's been an artist for most of his life, only having just discovered the joys of farming.

The produce that Howard's End offers at market is all organic without exception.  It is also picked-that-morning fresh.  You also might find that some of the produce is unusual for central Pennsylvania such as Imprerial Globe Artichokes, Peanuts, Black Aztec Sweet Corn and Shungiku.  We are always looking for the unusual and one of our goals is to offer unique varieties for those wanting a gourmet experience.  We will be raising pastured chickens, mushrooms, and Tilapia fish as well this season.  If the CSA doesn't gobble them all up at first, we might manage to bring some to market.  We are also hoping to bring fresh artisan-baked breads to market as well.