Indian Orchards, Our Partner Fruit Farm, by Angela and Melinda

This is to let you know that nearby Indian Orchards still has fruit shares available for pick-up with your regular Red Hill Farm shares. Please contact Nancy Bernhardt for more information at 610-565-8387.

Three Trees, from Sarum Horae, Paris, 1494

Indian Orchards is an old, traditional family farm specializing in--but not limited to--organic tree-fruits and shrub-fruits.  They also produce and sell vegetables, honey, Christmas trees and other holiday greens; and they make homemade cider, jams and jellies, applesauces, and more (all using heirloom fruits). As well, Indian Orchards can provide large specimen holly trees and Colorado Blue Spruce for landscaping.

Indian Orchards is located at 24 Copes Lane (off Rte. 352 near East Knowlton Road), Media, PA, 19063. For more about Indian Orchards, with a map and driving directions, click here.

Shares Are Starting! By Angela

Our season is nearly upon us, with the first shares starting Tuesday, June 4th. I just want to highlight a couple things before we start:

• PAYMENTS--If you chose the two- or three-payment option, your second payment is due by Friday, June 7th. Failure to make payments on time will result in $10.00 per week late fees and forfeiture of your share until payment is made.
• START DATES--Full shares will all begin the first week of June. Tuesday Bi-Weekly shares begin June 4th.  Friday Bi-Weekly shares begin June 14th.
• FARM BLOG--The blog has replaced our former newsletter and is the best format for us to share detailed news about the farm and recipes with you. (http://fromthefurrows.blogspot.com/)

I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU to sign up to follow the blog by email if you have not done so already. At the very top of the right-hand column is the widget that says "Follow by Email." All you have to do is type your email address into the little white box there, click "Submit," then identify some squiggly writing in a box that pops up after you hit submit, and finally click on the bar that says "Complete Subscription Request."

If you do this, you'll be notified by email each time there's a new blog post, and you can either go to the blog directly or by clicking on the active link in the email.  Or, alternatively, you can just read the blog post in your email itself. Once you sign up to follow by email, there's no need to sign in on the blog page.

Harvesters, 15th-century manuscript

The farm is looking quite lush nowadays. Brendan, Josh, and I have had a planting extravaganza the last two days, emptying the greenhouse and further filling the fields. The raspberries that were planted last year look like a hedge already!  I can't wait to share this place and the bounty with all of you.  See you soon!

Tomato Tale, by Angela

Herein tells the story of the gargantuan greenhouse tomato plants. Where once they were but wee bitty seeds, they were watered and given space to grow. Now these wonders shade the aisles of the glass abode longing for their future home. A home among the acres of vegetables, out under the sunshine and rain, roots stretching gloriously into the rich clay loam soils. A home to reach toward the stars at night and burst forth with pounds of sweet delicious fruit for members who cherish the efforts of their life's work. Alas, their time has come this week, without delay, to transition from the warmth and friends in the greenhouse to the canvas of the farm-scape.

Joanne in the greenhouse with tomato plants

Visuals of the Open House & Plant Sale, by Angela

Below is beekeeper Warren Graham and his demonstration hive at the Open House

Vendors at the Open House and Plant Sale

Open House and Plant Sale, Beekeeper

Asparagus trenches--Brendan, Josh, & Angela dug ten roughly 100-foot long trenches for our nearly 1000 new asparagus plants. One-time planting with decades of reward.

Below, our first asparagus shoots

Our 420-gallon rainwater-harvesting tank

Mothers' Day, Mother Earth, and Waging Peace, by Melinda

The antecedents of Mothers' Day are ancient, dating back at least to the Roman holiday, Matronalia, which honored mothers and fertility goddesses--"mother earth" goddesses--like Persephone (see here). Early Jews and Christians celebrated motherhood in various guises, one of the most interesting being the nurturing or feminine side of God:  "'As a mother comforts a child, so will I comfort you,' says the Lord." (Isaiah 66:13). And Matthew (23: 37) famously quotes the parable of Jesus and the Hen:  "'How often have I longed to gather [Jerusalem's] children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,' Jesus says."  The idea is shown emblematically on the altar of the teardrop-shaped Franciscan church, Dominus Flevit ("God Wept"), in the foothills of the Mount of Olives, and also was depicted in painting, e.g., by Stanley Spencer in the 20th century (click here).

"Jesus & the Hen," Dominus Flevit

Mediaeval Catholics honored Mother Mary on the 4th Sunday of Lent, called "Mothering Sunday." The celebration was linked to Mother Church; everyone was encouraged to visit the Cathedral (Mother Church) in which they grew up.

Spring conquering Winter

The agricultural connection returned as the Lenten celebration of Mother Mary expanded to include mothers in general, that is, "going a-mothering" with flowers, cakes and trinkets as gifts. Lent occurred in the springtime in Europe; hence activities grew to include seasonal agricultural celebrations. For instance, young boys paraded with large, straw-filled, clothed effigies of Winter and Spring. In the ensuing mock battle, Spring always vanquished Winter in a celebration of the fertility and new growth of farm crops in the spring. The boys then took food to their own mothers as gifts.

Anna Jarvis

Our modern Mothers' Day is actually political in origin, thanks to the 19th-century feminists/suffragists, Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis.  For them the issues were political (and seem particularly apt for our present day as well).

In 1870, Howe, a pacifist, was struggling to put an end to war, convinced that no mother would willingly send her son to die in battle. In 1872, she declared June 2nd as "Mothers' Day of Peace." By the early 20th century, Anna Jarvis managed to have Mothers' Day recognized as an official holiday (though the date was changed to May). Sadly, Jarvis spent the rest of her life combating the crass commercialism that developed around Mothers' Day, and she eventually died in an asylum.

In our own violent times, when the "great questions" about women--and about "Mother Earth"--again are being raised on various fronts, we would do well to recall a few lines in Julia Ward Howe's politically radical Mothers' Day Proclamation of 1870 (for more click here):

"Arise, then, women of this day.

Arise all women who have hearts, whether your baptism

be that of water or tears.

Say firmly, we will not have great questions decided by

irrelevant agencies.

Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for

caresses and applause.

Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we

have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and

patience.

We women of one country will be too tender of those of 

another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure

theirs.

From the bosom of the devastated Earth, a voice goes out

with our own.

It says, disarm.  Disarm...."

Take Part in the Interview with Angela, Monday May 13th, from 12:15 to 1:00!

Angela Kidder, w/ thanks to OSFPhila.org

In the interview with Angela, by Libby Mills, mentioned in the post just below (on the radio show "Libby's Luncheonette" out of West Chester), you can call in to ask questions or make comments!  Here's the info from Libby's Facebook page:  listen live on WCHE 1520 AM (click on the station address to link), and join the conversation via 610-701-9243!  The show runs 12:15 to 1:00 pm.

Angela's Radio Interview! Now on Monday, May 13th, 12:15-1:00!

Our Farm Manager, Angela Kidder, is being interviewed by Libby Mills, a nutritionist who teaches at Neumann University, on "Libby's Luncheonette" radio station, WCHE 1520 AM, out of West Chester, on Monday May 6th!  "Libby's Luncheonette" airs from noon till one each Monday.  Here's the website where you can tune in:  http://tunein.com/radio/Libbys-Luncheonette-p387682/, and here is Libby's Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Libbys-Luncheonette/188019507913016.


In the Kitchen, from Gode Cookery

The Sisters Visit Red Hill Farm on Earth Day, by Melinda

"Our" Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia celebrated Earth Day by visiting their/our Red Hill Farm.  Sister Ann Marie Slavin blogged about it on her "Franciscan Life" blog, describing their initial prayer in one of the hoop houses, quotations from various Franciscan writers about the Earth and its natural elements, and their adventures planting seed potatoes in the furrows. Following St. Francis's belief that all natural elements and beings are our brothers and sisters, these are the Franciscan intercessions the Sisters spoke at the farm, as quoted by Sister Ann Marie:

• As Brother Sun brightens the day and dispels the darkness of night—shine on those lost in depression or in fear of violence. Let our Brother Sun nourish these plants and each person partaking of the bounty of the crops to come.
• As Brother Wind brings every kind of weather—may farmers and agricultural workers have what they need to produce abundant crops.
• As Sister Water is useful, humble, and pure—may seasonal rains nourish our fields and refresh our Earth.
• As Sister Mother Earth sustains us—may she be respected and cared for by all peoples; may we turn from our wasteful ways.

This is one of the photographs of the Sisters and others helping to plant our seed potatoes, marveling at how many potatoes will gradually be produced by one small piece of a seed potato.  The photo is from Sr. Ann Marie Slavin's blog post about their Earth Day, which you can access in its entirety by clicking here.

Sisters planting potatoes, courtesy of Sr. Ann Marie Slavin

Our New Baker, Jerry Sheehan, by Melinda

Wow, have we got a great addition to our off-farm offerings this year--fresh-baked, artisanal breads made as much as possible from locally sourced, organic ingredients.  Their estimable baker is Jerry Sheehan, who will be offering samples at the Open House and Plant Sale (see here) on May 11th, and then selling to us through the season.

Wheat harvest, Tacuinum Sanitatis, 1400s

Among Jerry's offerings are French baguettes, Raisin-Walnut Whole Wheat bread, Bavarian pretzels, NY deli-style rye bread (using whole dark rye flour), peasant bread (whole wheat & whole rye with sourdough), French country white (with sesame seeds and sourdough), Italian focaccia and ciabatta (oh, be still my beating heart!), American-style pullman sandwich loaves (with whole wheat & organic honey), and organic 8-grain pullman sandwich loaves. (For the origin of pullman bread, click here.)

The top-of-the-line ingredients Jerry uses include a range of flours from King Arthur Flour, a Vermont-based company founded in 1790--see here for more about King Arthur products and issues of social and environmental responsibility.

Annville Mill, Lebanon Co., PA,Daisy Organic Flours

As well, Jerry sources more locally from Daisy Organic Flours in Lebanon County, just north of Lancaster, producer of 100% organic wheat, spelt, and all-purpose whole wheat flours. Daisy Flours' Annville Mill dates back to earlier than 1740 and is the oldest continually running flour mill in the U.S.  Back in those days, Pennsylvania was one of the country's breadbaskets, an identity that was eventually undermined by the completion of the Erie Canal, which made it cheaper to buy grains from the midwest and ship them back east.  Daisy Flour and its Annville Mill are among the shining exceptions to that corporatized, "bottom-line" mentality. For Daisy Organic Flours, see here.  For the history of the Annville Mill, click here.

Among Jerry's other ingredients are organic Montana-grown rye berries milled here, organic raw honey from Lancaster County, and grey sea salt from France.  All of his sourdough breads use sourdough starter that Jerry cultivates, while a straight dry yeast is used in the baguettes, ciabatta, and focaccia breads.

Jerry's own background is fascinating. He grew up in Delaware County; studied at St. Joe's; lived & worked in Germany for three years; traveled extensively in Germany, Spain, France, England, & Ireland;  & lived & worked in Mexico for almost three years. During much of this time he was in international accounting and finance. Then, about 4 years ago, he had an epiphany, taking up the creation of Euro-style artisanal breads and American rustic desserts like deep-dish apple pie. Jerry's altogether a Renaissance man, and we're lucky to have him as our baker. We can't *wait* to taste some of these scrumptious-sounding breads!