Spoutwood Farm Center

Help Clean Up at Spoutwood Farm!

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Tuesday, 30 June 2009 19:47

Come to the farm to pitch in and spend the day with some GREAT folks!

Saturday July 11 10am-5pm:  Chicken Barn (Crafts Castle) Clean up, Potluck at 5pm

Sunday July 12  12pm-5pm:  EZup Tent Maintenance and Sign Organization, Potluck at 5pm

Please contact Posie at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to let us know you are coming!

 

News from the CSA Gardens

Last Updated (Saturday, 27 June 2009 00:48) Thursday, 18 June 2009 19:22

Greetings, Spoutwood Farm friends!

Often this time of year sees us struggling already with drought, forced to irrigate regularly to keep our plants producing. This year, however, we are 4-5” above the usual rainfall for this time of year, and drought is the least of our worries. Still, early-morning rain and soggy fields did not prevent a healthy turn-out of shareholders to help us on this, our second harvest of the 2009 CSA season. We are deeply grateful to those who turn out to assist: although they’re fulfilling their contracted hours, they are doing so much more as well, including easing the burden of Spoutwood farm staff and apprentices, and helping to build the community we value. And there’s just something about seeing people of all ages, and especially families with children, in the garden together that is just a beautiful sight.

This week’s is a particularly bountiful harvest (see Harvest Guides for full details)! We have lots and lots of green leafy vegetables, including nice, large Chinese cabbages, and lettuces, some of which are also rather large. In the case of large shares, they will have two nice large Chinese cabbages to deal with, and no less than four lettuces! In addition, you’ll receive mustard greens, mizuna, arugula, Swiss chard, and bok choi. Radishes and beets also have edible greens. We urge you not to allow yourselves to become intimidated by your share! No matter how big it is, you are bigger! Make extra soup or stir-fry (Chinese cabbage is largely water, and cooks down a lot) and freeze it for Winter, or sometime when you may not get as many veggies in your share. Make lots of salads! Use the opportunity to learn to make fermented foods like kimchee (Asian sauerkraut). As a last resort, don’t feel bad about composting the excess. If you compost it, it’ll go back into the Earth and nourish new plants next year.

A couple of pages on composting:
http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/21/the-perfect-countertop-compost-container

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/accessories.html

Spoutwood Farm Center Website

(sounds trumpet)

Announcing Spoutwood Farm Center, Inc.’s, brand-new (well, just before the Fairie Festival) website! If you're reading this, you've found it, now please feel free to poke around and enjoy to your heart's content. Thanks to the tremendous work of CSA shareholder, graphic artist, and web designer Marc Hudgings – who also, with his lovely Queen Chrissy, is King of the Spoutwood Fairies this year, crowned for his myriad services – we have a lovely and full-featured website which includes sections for each of our major activities, including the CSA, and Forums to discuss topics of interest.

To access the CSA section of the site, simply click on that menu item in the small green menu in the left column. From there, you can access much useful information on our CSA, including past and present Harvest Guides. Speaking of which…

Harvest Guides on the Web

Last week’s Harvest Guide, which unfortunately was late in coming out, is now available on the website. By the time you read this, the current Harvest Guide (this week’s, from which you are now reading a slightly modified excerpt) should also be there. We are, in fact, moving toward distributing our weekly Harvest Guides exclusively through the website: that means that, in a few weeks, you won’t be getting them via e-mail, you’ll need to actually visit this website to access your Harvest Guide. While you’re there, we hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity to see what else Spoutwood has to offer, and maybe even participate in our interactive community through the forums.

Thank you for your participation, and bon appetit!

Midsummer Night's Benefits Cancelled

Last Updated (Wednesday, 17 June 2009 18:22) Tuesday, 16 June 2009 19:13

Dear friends, and particularly those who were kind enough to agree to play, present, or otherwise participate in Spoutwood Farm Center's "Midsummer Night's Benefit" events, as well as those who purchased tickets for either the "Rustic Elegance" Dinner or the Midsummer Faire and Concert,

It is with deep regret to inform you that due to low ticket sales, both events have been cancelled.  We are in the process of looking into some other options for a Spoutwood Fundraiser later this year.  Please keep checking back here to find out what will be coming up!

 Your friends at Spoutwood Farm

Midsummer Night's Benefit

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Wednesday, 13 May 2009 03:06

Come spend an enchanted evening or day in Spoutwood's magical landscape and support the work of Spoutwood Farm Center – a 501 (c) (3) non-profit educational organization – at the same time.  We are announcing our first "Midsummer Night's Benefit."  The Benefit has two parts:

1)  A semi-formal "Rustic Elegance" dinner, served under tents near the Spoutwood vineyard on Friday evening, June 19th, featuring local foods (including Spoutwood veggies!) catered by local chefs, and wine by Calvert Street Winecellars, featuring Spoutwood grapes! Entertainment is by local Celtic ensemble, Wherligig. Gathering begins at six o'clock, the dinner begins at six-thirty. Please dress in semi-formal "rustic elegance," or Fairie finery. The ticket cost is $45; all proceeds above expenses will go directly to the support of Spoutwood's education and community-supported agriculture programs.

2)  A Solstice Festival and Concert on Saturday, June 20th, features workshops, a farmer's market and bake sale/country kitchen during the afternoon; gates open at two o'clock, with workshops at two-thirty and four o'clock. The evening is given over to music and merriment with a dinner hour and open mike at five-thirty, a Benefit Concert featuring excellent local bands at seven o'clock, and a Summer Solstice Bonfire (and more music) at nine o'clock, the whole to conclude around ten. Workshops may include mead-making, herbalism, local food cooking, biodiesel, and living structures/green building. Don't forget blankets or folding chairs! Feel free to picnic if you wish. The cost of $25 includes the Concert, Drum Circle, and Bonfire, as well as the workshops (up to two, one at one o'clock and one at three) you select. As above, all proceeds beyond expenses will go directly to the support of Spoutwood's education and CSA programs.

Although the energy of the Fairie Festival – our major fundraiser for the year – was phenomenal as always, the attendance was down, undoubtedly due to the wet weather. Our Midsummer Night's Benefit is therefore all the more important to ensure that the good work Spoutwood Farm Center does in between Festivals – supporting 100+ families with its community-supported agriculture gardens, and teaching and promoting sustainable, balanced, and holistic living through its education program – is able to continue. Won't you help us, and have a good time in the process? Support your local farm and our education programs, and participate in Spoutwood's Midsummer Night's Benefit!

For more information, or to request a flier, please contact the farm at 717-235-6610 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please pre-register as soon as possible: no tickets will be sold at the door. Tickets are limited, so get yours now! Please use the following registration form, and send it, with your check, to the address provided. Spoutwood Farm Center thanks you!

Yours in service,

Tom Harbold
Education Coordinator
Spoutwood Farm Center, Inc.


------------------------------ Registration form attached ------------------------------

Registration Form

A Midsummer Night’s Benefit

Name ____________________________________________ Phone # ______________

Address ________________________________________________________________

City, State & Zip _________________________________________________________

E-mail __________________________________________________________________

Number of “Rustic Elegance” Dinner tickets @ $45/each   ____     =    $ ________

Number of Solstice Festival & Concert tickets @ $25/each ____     =    $ ________

Total  $ ________

Please mail with your check to:     Spoutwood Farm Center, Inc.
4255 Pierceville Road
Glen Rock, PA 17327

Checks should be made out to “Spoutwood Farm Center, Inc.,” with either “Rustic Elegance Dinner,” “Solstice Festival & Concert,” or both (as appropriate) on the item line.

Spoutwood Farm Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization. All proceeds, after expenses, go to support the community-supported agriculture and education programs of Spoutwood Farm Center.

Time to Clean Up!

Last Updated (Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00) Monday, 04 May 2009 16:50

All this week, Monday May 4 through Saturday May 9th will be Fairie Festival Clean Up.

There is much to do:  gathering tables and chairs, undecorating, helping tear down tents, and LOTS of straw raking!

 If you can come out to help bring the Farm back from Fairyland, please call 717-235-6610 to let us know when you will be able to help!  We will make sure there is something for you to do!

Thanks to ALL who came out to the Farm during our wettest Fairie Festival on record!

 KUBIANDO!