Farm Notes 2024
The People Behind DTEH
Erin, Marty and Bob
The core of our team
Over the past decade Down to Earth Harvest has grown from a family farm to a family of farmers. While we all like to get down and dirty in the field there are many other aspects of Down to Earth Harvest that need to be aligned for a smooth farm to family experience.
Erin is responsible for community outreach, member relations, and distribution day details. She’s passionate about the health and well-being of her neighbors.
Marty heads our regenerative production and manages harvest. He is most famous for the salad mix he brings members.
Bob works to keep the operation running smooth, that includes dirty field work, the mundane admin stuff, and maintenance of infrastructure to name a few.
While we have our lanes, farming is a team sport and we all come together throughout the seasn to tackle the biggest challenges each week.
Elizabeth, Ryenn, Luke, Joe
Our committed seasonal team
In an effort to bring balance through the seasons, Down to Earth Harvest is blessed to have a committed seasonal team.
Elizabeth contributes throughout the growing season harvesting and planting. She first reached out in an effort to learn more gardening skills and maintains a home garden with the bounty being donated to the St Agnes Day Room.
Ryenn joined us in 2018 as her first job! Her attention to the details and easy-going personality makes her a perfect fit for leading the packing line on pick-up days.
Luke showed up last year with the right attitude and was hired on the spot. He often gets pulled into the ‘dirty work’ and does it with a smile.
Joe is all about farming! He stops in after his other farm job (pastured beef and chicken) to help us finish the day strong. He is also enrolled at Delaware Valley College where he is studying agriculture, no surprise.
While these teammates aren’t here everyday they carry us through the high season and bring a fresh breath to our work week.
Amy, Ruth, Nelle, June
Our farm ambassadors
These girls know the ins and outs of the farm and are invested in sharing it with others. While Amy is a teacher at Downingtown West High School she finds time to help keep DTEH on track and moving forward. Though her contributions have evolved over the years, she has been an integral part of the operation since it began.
Ruth, Nelle, and June have grown up on the farm and love to show visitors how to pick carrots, plant vegetables and get dirty. Chances are you will be greeted by one of these young ladies if you stop in for a visit.
Sowing Seeds in Our Community
Down to Earth Harvest is working to reframe attitudes towards healthy habits and to change the mindset around Veggies.
In support of our latest mission Down to Earth Harvest is attending several community events this month. We will be sharing practical advice about creating healthy eating habits with caregivers, handing out veggie-centric coloring books to children, and encouraging folks to use Down to Earth Harvest as a resource in their journey to building positive habits. The idea is that if we all ate one more veggie a day that would have serious impacts on our personal health and the health of the planet.
For many folks, building better habits isn't about having more recipes or more kale, it's about helping them create a framework that accommodates the daily demands of life and offering them quality alternatives that taste great. Down to Earth Harvest helps households surround themselves with good choices and is driven to offer neighbors a selection of fresh, vibrant produce that is convenient, accessible and delicious.
Here's a few takeaways from our experience.
Create a framework to build better habits. It doesn't take meal planning for the week but it does require you to think about the next meal before you're hungry. We find setting a weekly dinner routine helpful ei. TacoTuesday, Dad Cooks Monday, Family Dinner Sunday
Fresh produce is for everyone! Whether you were raised on meat and potatoes, scared from school lunch, or feel like fresh, organic vegetables aren't something ‘you do’ (these all describe me before farming!) We all need to work to improve the reputation and approachability of fresh produce.
It needs to be convenient. We are competing with single serving cheetos, take-out dinners, and soccer practice. To meet families where they are Down to Earth Harvest offers snackable and easy to prep staples like salad greens, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, local fruit, and more.
Veggies aren't just for dinner. Find ways to incorporate veggies throughout the day. To make grabbing veggies on the go an easy choice, consider preparing extra single serving portions in advance. We find prepping them while we are making dinner a hassle -free way of setting us up for a healthy tomorrow.
Do it because it tastes good.
Compost is King
The answer to most plant health issues on the farm is more compost! Our farm-made compost is rich in microlife, carbon and minerals. The bulk of our compost is leaves from the year before. Leaves are carbon and mineral rich and add a broad spectrum of micronutrients. We also include veggies scraps (nitrogen rich,) native soil (full of organisms), ramial wood chips (the richest parts of trees, containing as much as 75% of the minerals, amino acids, and proteins found in the tree), and insoluble mineral powders (select rock powder such as azomite, gypsum and lime). Our pile is turned haphazardly a few times and generally ready for use after 10 months. It is not fully finished on purpose. Our unfinished compost protects and feeds our living soils and breaks down to become plant available over several months and years.
Compost builds soil structure helping to minimize erosion and increases the nutrient and water holding capabilities through carbon rich organic matter. Our carbon dominant approach to compost results in a product that has more diversity of microlife, builds organic matter and feeds the soil ecosystem that in turn feeds the plants.
The mainstream approach to compost focuses on feeding the plant more directly. Mainstream composting focuses on more nitrogen rich products (manure and animal byproducts) and turning the compost regularly. This results in a faster and more refined product that is bacterial dominated. This type of compost certainly has value but should be applied during the growing season and in smaller amounts.
We also are fans of composted spent mushroom substrate from Laurel Valley in Southern Chester County. It is a more plant-available source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium but in balanced low octane amounts(NPK=2.3/1.75/2.25). It is also high in calcium (6.7%), organic matter (+50%) and is very consistent across samples.
While the answer may be more compost, the solution ultimately comes back to the soil. We combine an array of practices that promote a vibrant soil food web, including no-till, no synthetic or copper based fungicides or pesticides and a generous amount of the right compost to feed the soil ecosystem. While we are not soil scientists we do understand that it starts with Respecting the soil!
Farm Share Sign-Up • New Platform, Same Process
We have moved member/ordering platforms this winter. Members can expect the same convenience, transparency and variety they have come to love but with improved member communication. More on that as the season unfolds!
Down to Earth Harvest has made a few tweaks to our pricing structure to help us find the right balance. Off farm pick-ups will be asked to pay a $1 per order to help cover the cost of packing and delivering your share (workplaces, institutions, hosts and on-farm pickup excluded). We are also increasing our minimum order from $25 to $26 and our default ‘Farmer’s Choice’ share price will go from $27 to $28.
In other news, we are offering 10% discounts on produce for any households that qualify for reduced lunches. No questions asked and members can self register at sign-up.
Winter Work • Investing in People
While our harvest season has closed our team certainly isn’t slowing down. We are taking the winter to further develop our goal of connecting farms and eaters in a convenient, transparent and delicious way.
This season Down to Earth Harvest is taking another step forward in our commitment to our staff. We are grateful to be able to have commit to two full-time, year-round, salaried staff in the coming year.
Marty has been our farmer-ecologist for the past 4 years. His focus is on building soil, developing our no-till practices and growing the best spring mix. Marty brings over 2 decades of experience in ecological farming practices yet still has the drive to explore new methods and do the dirty work.
Erin returns to Down to Earth Harvest after a few seasons away pursuing passions in travel, jewelry-making, yoga-instructing and more. She brings passion for community health and wellness and as Member Coordinator, will elevate your experience while helping us grow our impact.
Hosting Opportunities
Hosts serve as a valuable link between small local farms and their communities. We are actively pursuing hosts in the Lionville/Exton, Paoli/berwyn and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods. If you or your HOA, workplace or community organization would like to know more about the responsibilities and perks of hosting FarmShares we would love to begin the conversation. You can gain some insight at our Hosting webpage. We are also open to custom arrangements if you have any ideas.