A Certified Naturally Grown Farm - Saint Marys, Pennsylvania
“A Little Off The Top…Er, Bottom…Please!”
Returning to the Farm after a week away, I just never know quite what to expect. Weeds out of control? Something break? Japanese beetles show up weeks early? “Expect the worst, it can only get better” is pretty much the motto we follow. I…
The Drip Is In
With our solar-powered irrigation system installed in 2021, I sleep a little better during the Summer growing months, especially when I can’t physically be at the Farm. I know that x number of times per day for x number of minutes (frequency and duration…
Sub-Soiling Between Two Posts…Deep Thoughts
The time had come to begin preparing the large hopyard for round 2 of its existence, this time with better-prepared soils and hills. We (I) took out the remaining two hills in 2022 after we’d given up on the three initial hills about four…
Nose To The Grindstone
There is a saying that runs through my mind often. It was uttered by Sr. Evangelist, O.S.B., who has long since passed. But back in the days of my youth when I was an altar boy, she was part of the Sacristan tag team…
“The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With One Step”
There are a number of similarities I’ve found over the years between three of my passions; Farming, trail ultras, and mountaineering. The first of which is “slow and steady wins the race”, and winning doesn’t necessarily mean being the fastest, it simply means achieving…
“God Bless Us, Every One!”
Like most, it’s that time of year where we reflect on the good, the bad, the happy, and the sad of the year we’ve come through. It was a challenge for sure at the Farm – starting and completing a solar irrigation project installation…
2021 Season – “It’s Done”
Apologies upfront. I’d stepped away from the weekly blog in late Spring as we began in earnest on our Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) solar pump/irrigation grant project. Although we’d been awarded the grant back in 2019, with the pandemic running its course through…
And The Hits Just Keep Onnnnnn Comin’
Like most hop yards, we plan days, or most often weeks in advance for specific activities to take place on the Farm. Many of which revolve around the Solstice, June 21st. That’s the day hops need to be to the top of the wire…
“Sincerely Yours, the Breakfast Club”
If you’ve followed along with the blog posts from this season, you may note a trend. I’ve been pulling images, storylines, or quotes from popular media – television shows, movies, both present-day and ones from my younger years. I’ve then been tying them or…
“Compost Piles Full!”
As noted previously, we are very thankful to have a local source of good horse manure to use as a base for our compost. We turn this pile for many weeks, monitor and record the temperatures before using it as a mulch layer in…
