<![CDATA[The Seed Farm]]>http://www.theseedfarm.orgen-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssCopyright 2012The Seed Farm<![CDATA[Donate]]> 

To continue breaking the training, equipment and land barriers for new farmers, The Seed Farm needs support.
The Seed Farm appreciates both financial and in-kind contributions.

3 areas that need your support…

New Farmer Training

Training new farmers in the diverse skills they need to succeed takes time. Seed Farm apprentices and stewards re-ceive thousands of hours in training and mentoring in areas ranging from business and farm planning to pest and soil man-agement. Here’s how far your donation could go:

. $100 supports a day of training
. $300 supports a week of training
. $5,000 supports six months of training


New Farm Business Infrastructure

- $250 keeps our greenhouse running for one month
- $10,000 buys a walk-in cooler

- $60,000 enhances the pole building with bathroom, heated office and classroom space, and adds a washing and packing area


Equipment Purchases and Maintenance

. $90 provides new hand hoes and transplanters for six apprentices
. $500 maintains our BCS tiller and other small equipment  for one year                                                                                                                                                                                         $1,500 keeps our tractor running


The Seed Farm needs your support. Please contact us if you would like to make an in-kind or financial contribution to new farmer training today!

Click here to make a donation.

If you prefer to send a check, please make it payable
to: The Seed Farm.

Thank you!

610-391-9583, ext. 16

sara_runkel@theseedfarm.org

 www.theseedfarm.org

The Seed Farm

Suite 107

4184 Dorney Park Road

Allentown, PA 18104

 

]]>Fri, 18 May 2012 14:43:57 -0500<![CDATA[2012 Apprentices]]>Valerie Garcia

Valerie Garcia became interested in farming while studying nutrition in college. She was driven by a desire to know the origins of food that sustains us. She wanted to actually grow nutritious food, so she started a small home garden from seed. With that first bountiful garden she was hooked. Working as an intern at the Rodale Institute she has learned more from organic gardening to soil biology. She is excited because the Seed Farm Program offers a place to expand her knowledge and get hands-on experience in production, marketing and business management as well as tractor and farm equipment training. Valerie says, “I hope to be a part of the local, organic, and sustainable
movement by starting my own market garden and continuing to do what I love to do—grow and provide good, nutritious food to the local community!”

Jennie Merkel

From her early high school start reading Bon Appetite and making apple pies at sleep-overs, Jennie Merkel has always been interested in food. When she and her husband moved to their first house; eating perfectly ripe, super sweet strawberries still warm from the sun in her new backyard inspired her to start her first garden. And, like anyone who’s ever been serious about gardening, that initial garden grew and grew.  Finally Jennie and her husband decided to move to their new house, where Jennie is starting her first year running Merkel Mountain Farm.  She has a small mixed vegetable CSA, as well as a flock of laying hens, and a flock of broilers.  Jennie is taking everything she learns at the Seed Farm and putting it to use immediately on her own farm.  In the future she hopes to expand her CSA and maybe start a small flock of sheep.

Jason Slipp

Jason Slipp is a Instructional Technologist at Lehigh University. Since completing his Master’s degree in Environmental Policy Design focusing on urban food systems, Jason has worked to start multiple community gardens. He currently manages small-scale organic farming projects and the Lehigh University Community Garden. Jason’s dream is to operate a small scale farm selling directly to urban schools and businesses.

Judy Zarach

With four years of gardening and nursery experience at a family-owned landscaping business Judy Zarach wants to start a small-farm business. Her love of nature started as a child with mushrooms and berry picking in the forest and long walks in botanical gardens.  Hiking the forests evolved to stewardship of trails and employment at a family-owned farm growing landscaping plants. At the Seed Farm, she looks forward to learning the farm business as well as organic vegetable production. She hopes to join the Seed Farm Stewardship Program next year and grow vegetables for a wholesale market. Diversification with a farmers market will keep the business in the black. She is looking forward to learning the farm business as well as production ends, from farm logo and land options to tractor time.

 

]]>Fri, 18 May 2012 14:27:54 -0500<![CDATA[ Past Apprentices]]>Past Seed Farm Apprentices:

Christopher Akinwuntan - Newark, NJChristopher Akinwuntan

I am interested in The Seed Farm program due to the fact that I love farming. I have more than 25 years of farming experince. I obtained a Bsc degree in Fisheries Technology and a Certificate in General Agriculture. In Nigeria, before coming to the USA eight years ago, I farmed rice, corn, vegetables, soybeans, watermelon, and groundnuts. I also had a fish pond; reared goats, sheep, and pigs; and had a snailry pen. I am presently a social worker but want do what I love doing - I WANT TO BE A FARMER.

Blake Unis - Allentown, PABlake Unis

I currently reside in the West Side of Allentown. I was born in Allentown and spent most of my life in the Lehigh Valley. I have always respected the resident people’s appreciation of the local agricultural community. I desire to become part of this continuing relationship between the community and its farmers by becoming a knowledgeable steward of the land. After graduating from college, I went to work with Steve and Gayle Ganser at Eagle Point Farm. I was fortunate to have such great bosses, as well as mentors during my first full growing season. I look forward to farming with them again in addition to working at the Seed Farm. I felt sincerely fortunate that The Seed Farm selected me as an apprentice for the upcoming growing season. I intend to take full advantage of the opportunity presented to me in order to become a truly productive steward of the land.

Ken Dikeman - Emmaus, PAKen Dikeman

Ken Dikeman was born and raised in the Lehigh Valley. After attending Penn State, he spent a few years in New York and New Jersey before returning home to the Valley. Ken worked in chemical engineering for too many years before deciding a career change was essential. Ken’s motivation to become a farmer is based upon his desire to live a healthy and sustainable lifestyle and teach his 6 children how to live in so too. Having raised herbs organically for over 20 years, in recent years he expanded to organic vegetables and just this season added fruit trees as well. The animal menagerie living on Ken’s farm includes Boer/La Mancha goats, heritage Cayuga ducks, heritage Old English geese, and heritage Dominique chickens. He plans on starting a CSA this spring in order to help others live healthily and sustainably.

Victoria Ligon- Havre de Grace, MDVictoria Carr Ligon

Growing up my father taught me the value of having a kitchen garden to grow fresh vegetables during the summer. We composted everything we could from our kitchen and had beautiful black dirt wriggling with worms at the end of the season. This is where my fascination for farming started, in my backyard. I went to school for photography in the Berkshires of Massachusetts and fell in love with the local food movement there. That is where I had my first experience with Farmer’s Markets and buying fresh from the farmer. Recently I met my husband and with both shared a passion for nature. We want to have more involvement in stewarding the land by developing our own sustainable farm and joining the fresh local food movement. I was very excited to join the Seed Farm’s apprenticeship program to get more hands on experience and put the knowledge I have read in books to practical use. Upon completion of this apprenticeship, my husband and I hope to start our sustainable farm in Southern PA.

DeVida McKevitt - Philadelphia, PADevida with greenhouse construction

DeVida was the General Manager of the Merriam Theater for the last fifteen years.  She became a Master Gardener in Philadelphia County in January 2011.  She is currently the chair of two Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens in Philadelphia (vegetable and butterfly).  DeVida wants to grow old growing vegetables, raising a few chickens, goats and rabbits.

 

]]>Fri, 18 May 2012 13:49:33 -0500<![CDATA[Overview]]>

The Seed Farm offers a three-year new farmer training program and agricultural business incubator, in partnership with Penn State Extension's Start Farming program and Lehigh County. The first year of the program is a one year apprenticeship, consisting of both formal coursework taught by Penn State Extension Educators, and hands-on training in all aspects of running an agricultural business from business and crop planning to equipment use, production techniques and marketing. After successfully completing the Apprenticeship Program, apprentices may apply to the Farm Stewardship Program. Through the Farm Stewardship Program, beginning farmers can launch their agricultural businesses on the incubator portion of the Seed Farm. There they will produce and market their own products, while renting access to The Seed Farm's equipment and land at reduced rates. Farm Stewards will also receive continued guidance from experienced local farm mentors and the The Seed Farm's manager. Please follow this link to see profiles of 2011 Farm Stewards and Apprentices.

 

 

]]>Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:50:44 -0600<![CDATA[Apply]]>
Annually, six Seed Farm apprentices are selected to take part in a 9-month program that trains new farmers in all aspects of managing a diversified vegetable farm. The apprentices start seeds, transplant, and care for a two-acre market garden at the Seed Farm site near Vera Cruz, PA. Participants learn a variety of skills including: soil fertility management, safe operation of farm equipment, disease and insect management, harvest and post-harvest handling, and marketing. The first year program also includes formal classes through Penn State Cooperative Extension.

Number of Apprentices Selected: 6

Time Commitment: 20 hours per week February – November 2012.  Apprentices should expect to work some early mornings, evenings, and weekends.

Compensation: This is an unpaid apprenticeship. Meals and housing are not provided.

Responsibilities:
1. Apprentices participate in all aspects of running the Seed Farm market garden.  Duties include: greenhouse work, soil preparation, site maintenance (mowing and weed-eating), planting, cultivating, harvesting, and marketing.
2. All apprentices are expected to attend weekly farm walks and field demonstrations.
3. Each apprentice will be responsible for managing one crop in the market garden.
4. Attend courses offered by Penn State Cooperative Extension (Exploring the Small Farm Dream and Introduction to Organic Vegetable Production).

Qualifications:
1. One year of farming experience on a diversified vegetable farm.
2. All apprentices are expected to have a strong work ethic, commitment to detail, ability to take direction and also work independently when necessary.
3. Dedication to cooperative working and sustainable agriculture is necessary as is the ability to work well with staff and other apprentices.
4. Ability to lift 50 pounds.
5. Ability to work in all weather conditions, especially heat.

Applications for the 2013 season will be available in August 2012. For more information about the program contact Sara Runkel by phone at 610-391-9583 Ext 16 or by email at sara_runkel@theseedfarm.org

]]>Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:43:17 -0600<![CDATA[New deadline for apprentice applications on 12/15/2011]]>The deadline for apprentice applications for the 2012 season has been extended! The new deadline is December 15th. A description of the program and the application packet can be found in \"apply\" under the \"Join Us\" drop down menu. 

]]>Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:46:29 -0600<![CDATA[Farm to Table Dinner]]>Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:49:35 -0500<![CDATA[Managing Weeds Ecologically]]>‘Introduction to Organic Vegetable Production’ Students try the blue wheel hoe in a pathway, a long-handled cobra weeder in beets, and scuffle or hula hoes in fava beans. students gathered at The Seed Farm on June 11 to learn common weeds and how to exploit aspects of the weeds’ ecology to manage the weeds organically. Representatives from Green Heron Tools, LLC, explained the body mechanics and ergonomics necessary to get the job done without breaking your back.

If you’re an organic vegetable farmer, weeds can break you. It was a lesson I learned first-hand on Saturday morning. Charged with harvesting 10 small, clean, market-ready bunches of cilantro, weeds turned what should have been a 10-minute task into a frustrating half-hour-long nightmare. Weeds obscured and out-competed the cilantro, making it challenging and time-consuming to find and snip out cilantro with stems of the appropriate length, without also snipping out foxtail, scarlet pimpernel, common ragweed, and hairy galinsoga. When weeds get in the way of harvesting, they’re cutting into profitability, which is why “every farmer needs a weed management plan!” to quote Seed Farm director, Sara Runkel.

 

Know your weeds. Amidst intermittent rainstorms and in especially soggy fields, students learned the first step in every weed management plan: figure out what weeds you have on your farm. This spring the rainy weather made fields at The Seed Farm too wet to cultivate for many weeks. Then, the rapid switch to 90+degree-weather quickly baked soil in many of the fields to concrete, again preventing effective cultivation. Scott Guiser, horticulture educator from Penn State Extension in Bucks County was on hand to help students identify the resulting weeddiversity at The Seed Farm.  From perennials like yellow nutsedge and Canada thistle, to annuals like hairy galinsoga and yellow foxtail, students got lots of hands-on experience identifying weeds in their natural field conditions.

 

Learn their ecology. Are your weeds mostly annuals or perennials? Do they have a fibrous root system or a taproot? When to they germinate? Learning all of these characteristics about your problem weeds will point the way toward effective management solutions. For example, hairy galinsoga, a common weed in many vegetable systems, is a summer annual weed with a rather delicate, shallow fibrous root system that matures from seed to flower in less than a month and has no seed dormancy. While this list of characteristics may at first make hairy galinsoga seem like a formidable enemy, Saturday’s students learned how to spot this species’ weaknesses. The lack of a seed dormancy period and shallow root system, make hairy galinsoga seeds especially easy to clean out of your seedbank using false seed-bedding, a technique where the farmer tills the soil to stimulate a flush of weed seeds to germinate. Then, the farmer returns and cultivates out each flush of weed seedlings to clean the seeds out of the soil.

Manage weeds with the appropriate (sharp) tools. Ann Adams and Liz Brensinger from Green Heron tools arrived to demonstrate the ergonomically appropriate way to hand cultivate on a small scale. Dedicated to providing tools that maximize comfort, efficiency, productivity and safety, Ann and Liz inspired hope that there are ways to effectively manage weeds for hours on end without pain. Using tools with long handles to keep your spine in proper alignment and ergonomic grips to keep your wrists in a neutral position can go a long way to prevent the aching back and wrists often associated with many hours of weeding. Tianna DuPont, sustainable agriculture educator and course instructor, emphasized proper tool maintenance to keep the effort of actually using a tool to a minimum. Clean (with a wire brush), sharpen (with a bastard file) and oil your hoe/ pruners, harvest knife, etc. often – definitely after every use. A sharp tool will take far less effort and be much more effective than a dull tool.

 

Get ‘em when they’re small (aWhen a weed emerges can be the first clue as to when to implement a management tactic.nd definitely before they flower), is Scott Guiser’s cardinal rule of weed management. Whether you’re flaming a bed of carrots before the carrots have emerged, hand-hoeing cabbages or cultivating a field of fava beans using a tractor-mounted Williams Tool System, the best time to kill weeds is at the “white thread stage” – just after the weed seeds have germinated, but before they have true leaves. It’s not only the time when it’s easiest to kill weeds, it’s also the time before the weeds have exerted their competitive damage on the crop. If you miss them at this early stage, all is not lost, just be sure to mow them off or plow them under before they go to seed. Each weed can make thousands of seeds, so, to avoid contributing to next year’s weed woes, be sure to kill them before they set seed.

 

Despite the having to dodge raindrops, students seemed thoroughly satisfied by the day’s end. Having had a chance to:

  • learn about a wide variety of weeds and effective organic management practices for each,
  • experiment with and compare a wide variety of hand tools,
  • get some hands-on experience sharpening tools, and
  • examine and compare an array or tractor-mounted weed management implements

Yeawah Sano, an aspiring vegetable farmer said, “this class was totally worth the [3 hour] drive from Maryland!”

]]>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:09:53 -0500<![CDATA[Organic Vegetable Production Students Learn Seeding and Transplanting ]]>20 Beginning, diversifying, and prospective farmers learned how to start farming organic vegetables on Saturday May 28 at The Seed Farm in Lehigh County.
Sara Runkel, Seed Farm director, explains the Earthway Seeder to Intro to Organic Vegetable Production students.

Part of Penn State Extension’s Start Farming program, Introduction to Organic Vegetable Production is a practical, hands-on course for anyone considering making the leap to producing organic vegetables for profit. Saturday’s full-day session started with a crop planning exercise at the Lehigh County Ag Center. Students learned the ins-and-outs of planning a crop rotation to effectively avoid and manage soil-borne diseases, build soil fertility, and achieve their production goals. The afternoon portion involved demonstrations and hands-on experimentation with a dizzying array of seeding and transplanting equipment at The Seed Farm, a new farmer training program and agricultural business incubator in Lehigh County.

Sara Runkel, The Seed Farm’s executive director, started with a succinct and candid overview or each of the seeders: 1) The Earthway, 2) The European Seeder, 3) Johnny’s 6-Row Seeder, the Seed Stick, and the Glasier Pull Seeder. Students also examined brassicas started in plug flats vs. soil blocks. Plug flats add convenience and speed to seeding and moving trays of seedlings around, but the seedlings in the soil blocks were considerable larger than the plug flat seedlings and do not get root bound. The soil blocks facilitate air pruning of the roots.

Rotating between 4 stations in the field, students gained experience planting raw and pelleted carrot seed, beet seed, and summer squash seed.

At the Glasier pull seeder station, students struggled to get the seeder to work, even in the relatively fine seedbed. Driven by gear wheels that should have been turned by being pulled across the soil, the wheels just didn’t turn. Likely the Glasier just needs a good oiling and then the one-row Glasier Seeder would make seeding in the center of a bed much less of a gymnastic feat.

The Earthway was a much less frustrating experience for many students. The lightweight frame makes emptying seed and changing varieties an easy affair. On the other hand, some students found the lightweight plastic frame bounced quite a bit and was difficult to guide in a straight line down the field. In beet and carrot plots planted a few weeks back, students saw that the Earthway tends to seed a bit heavier than some of the other seeders .

Devida McKevitt, Seed Farm apprentice, Master Gardener, and longtime urban grower lead the group trying out the European Seeder. Devida is sold on the heavier metal frame. Although it is harder to dump the seeder out and switch varieties, it is much easier to guide the seeder in a straight line. Devida and others at The Seed Farm have solved the seed switching issue with a 2 gallon bucket that hangs from the handle of the seeder. Every time they want to change seed, they simply pour the seed into the bucket and then from the bucket back to the packet.

The Seed Stick was another exercise in patience. Designed to eliminate the squatting and bending over usually involved in seeding large-seeded crops by hand, the Seed Stick often gets clogged with soil. Checking to see whether the stick is clogged after each seed, makes the implement more laborious than just seeding by hand, according to Sara Runkel, who recommends seeding large seeded squash and melons my hand, rather than dealing with a seeder.

The day wrapped up with transplanting Brussels Sprouts and tomatoes into both soil and black plastic mulch with Johnny’s hand hoes, a hori-hori transplanting knife, a Hatfield transplanter, and then with the tractor-mounted Nolts water wheel transplanter. The Hatfield offered a nice break from bending over, but the seat on the transplanter is probably as comfortable as it can get for transplanting. That said, Sara reminded attendees that the ~$3000 price tag on a tractor-mounted transplanter is probably not justified for a beginning grower. Seed Farm apprentice, Blake Unis, said he thinks money is much better spent on greenhouse space than a tractor or tractor-mounted equipment, when you’re first getting going.

At the end of the day, everyone had seen and tried some equipment that might be right for them, and learn what was definitely not right for them, before buying anything.

]]>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:48:06 -0500<![CDATA[Hands-on Specialized Equipment for Vegetable Production]]>$15 PASA members, $25 all others; lunch is included

The Seed Farm, PASA, & Penn State Extension invite you to a hands-on workshop on specialized vegetable production equipment.

Equipment! Which piece do I buy? What works best? The Seed Farm will showcase a wide range of seeding, transplanting and weed management equipment and techniques for small to medium scale vegetable producers. Sara Runkel, Seed Farm Director, will talk about what worked best in on-farm trials this year. Equipment and techniques include: seeding & transplanting (Earthway, Planet Junior, Glaser), two tractor mounted seeders (Planet Junior, Stanhay Precision belt seeder), two transplanting (Nolt’s water wheel, Mechanical Transplanter single row), and two greenhouse methods (blocks and plugs); weed control — mulching (black plastic, straw, landscape fabric), hand hoes (wheel hoe, hand stirrup hoe, cobra head hoe, collinear hoe), tractor mounted cultivators (Buddingh weeder, low residue cultivator, Williams’s spring tooth tine system), and flame weeding. Participants will be able to try out equipment for themselves, so bring your work gloves!

 

 

]]>Wed, 11 May 2011 08:54:11 -0500