Posts filed under ‘Farm Notes’
Ending on a High Note
This morning I scurried over to the Farm to pick a dozen squash blossoms and a couple fennels on my way to the newly established Headhouse Farmers Market on 2nd Street, just off Philly’s colorful South Street. My mission: to bring some truly interesting items to Weavers Way Farm’s stand at the Market. After dropping off my goods with Farmer Dave at our table, I took a stroll around.
The Market was amazing, both in its diversity of produce and people and in its beautiful colors and smells. You’ll have to take my word for it since I forgot to reset my white balance on the camera, resulting in less than stellar photos. This kickoff event for the Headhouse Market was really one of the last events in the “Buy Fresh Buy Local Week”, promoted and organized by Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). With literally dozens of invigorating events throughout the past week, it seemed only fitting to finish it all off with the best imaginable farmers market. Even Weaver’s Way Co-op Manager, Glenn Bergman, was surprised by the market’s sheer volume of local produce. He said something to the effect of “It’s just so darn European!”
Indeed, the Headhouse Market reminds me of strolling the riverbanks in Lyon, France, during the Sunday market there. I am so encouraged to see the urbanites in Philadelphia embracing this “food chain renaissance”, returning to the high quality flavors and heriloom varieties in a way that Philly’s founders (who built the Headhouse Square Shambles in which this market is housed) would have greatly appreciated.
What I appreciated seeing the most was two chefs stop by our table, choosing to take Weavers Way Farm produce for the “Chef Cook-off” event being held in conjunction with the Headhouse Market’s grand opening. While I didn’t get the opportunity to see who won, I’m sure our produce was put to good use.
So, while “Buy Fresh Buy Local Week” has indeed ended on a superb high note, don’t think this is it. “It” is just beginning. For one, Weavers Way Farm is just starting to pump out the best of its harvest for the season. No doubt the same can be said for all the other farmers at Headhouse today. If you didn’t visit today, visit next week and the week after and again and again. If you don’t live in Philly, I’m sure there’s a similarly unique farmers market near you. Join the swelling chorus of voices singing the praises of local farmers and their harvests.
40 + 25 + 4 = One Great Ride
So we did it! Over 40 cyclist went 25 miles to explore 4 urban agriculture sites within Philly’s city limits. It was a wonderfully sunny, blue sky day with a nice breeze to keep us cool. The farms we visited were all so unique in their own right and the staff gave fantastic tours. The cyclists hailed from all parts of the city as well as a couple from out of state. A great deal of idea sharing and encouragement occurred along the way, no doubt generating future initiatives, both on a personal and on a larger scale. I enjoyed meeting so many of you who read the blog. Thanks to Chris Hill for masterminding this excellent event. Word on the street (from the bike seat) is that this will become an annual event with even more farms and more riders!
Now, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I figure 51 pictures will do a heck of a better job telling you about our lovely day than I will. So, here’s the link to the Flickr set I created. If you were on the ride and care to add a comment under any of the pictures identifying yourself and sharing your thoughts on the day, I’d appreciate it.
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Here are the links to or a short description of the places we visited.
Weavers Way Farm (this blog)
Mill Creek Farm (link)
GreensGrow (link)
Spring Gardens (no link)
A mature lovingly attended community garden, Spring Gardens is full of amazing flowers, heirloom vegetables, sculpture and other art, and an amazing view of the city’s skyscrapers. Many innovative techniques are being used in this garden, which has a committed membership and real sense of community.
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And finally, but not least, here is the blog for the three ladies riding from D.C. to Montreal and back this summer to document urban agriculture projects. These incredible women really inspired me! I’ll be following their progress closely and I encourage you to do the same.
Women’s Garden Cycles Bike Tour
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One final note – Visit Mac and Cheese for Taylor’s great recount of the ride.
Let’s Talk “Shop”
No recipe for today, but plenty to come this week so don’t despair. I wanted to talk “shop” for a bit, as in what farm offerings you can anticipate when you shop in Weavers Way Co-op or at the Fair Food Stand in the Reading Terminal Market. Farmer Dave has been so kind as to provide a crop availability overview for the farm. For those of you that don’t have the good fortune of being located close enough to partake in our particular patch of farm goodness, you can use this harvest list as a gauge for what might be in season in farmer’s markets near you if you live in southern PA, DE, NJ or northern MD.
2007 Season Crop Availability.pdf
If you’re not able to buy from Weavers Way, I highly encourage you to seek out local farms in your area. Buying local is not only important for the local farming community and economy, but it also gives you, the shopper, a superior product. For example, last night I was making peach shortcake but hadn’t had the luck of finding local peaches on short notice. At my grocery store, I found what seemed to be nicely ripened peaches so I felt they’d do the trick even if they had come from California. When I got them home, I was shocked at how stubborn they were to give up their skins even though they were perfectly ripe. After marveling over their tenacity for a minute, I realized what the problem was. These peaches had been bred to handle any amount of abuse on the 1,000+ mile journey they’d be taking to get to some mass market. No doubt they weren’t handled gently from picking to shipping to display. These peaches had to be TOUGH. While I applaud the modern marvel of indestructible peach skin that won’t come off even when it’s suppose to, I am very certain this engineering of our food chain is not for the best. The flavor and juice of a tree ripened peach is not meant to last more than a few days, let alone a few thousand miles. Trust me, buy local and your palate will thank you.
The week of July 16th is Buy Fresh Buy Local Week. Celebrate by visiting a farm/market near you!
Here is a link to Local Harvest, an online directory for farms, farmers markets, and other small agricultural businesses in the United States.
DIRECTIONS
Experience farm freshness for yourself!
Visit the farm: 1000 E. Washington Lane, Philadelphia, PA
Directions from the Co-op:
Leaving from the Weavers Way Co-op, drive down Green Street, cross Lincoln Drive and continue until Washington Lane. Turn left on Washington Lane. Drive about a mile. After crossing Chew (and before reaching Ardleigh Street), look on your left for a private drive with a small white sign that says Weavers Way Coop Farm. Turn left into the drive, then take another quick left onto a gravel road that winds back to the farm.
Directions from Center City:
Take I-76 West to the Lincoln Drive exit. At the bottom of the ramp, follow signs for Lincoln Drive. At the 3rd traffic light on Lincoln Drive, turn right onto Johnson Street. Follow Johnson Street to Chew Street (8th traffic light) and turn right. Turn left at the next traffic light onto Washington Lane. Farm enterance is on the left, half way up the “block”. Once in the driveway, follow the small signs/gravel road bearing to the left to wind back to the farm.
By Train:
Take SEPTA’s R7 Line to the Washington Lane Station. Once off the train, walk down the station driveway to the street. Cross to the other side of the street and walk towards the green grassy area. When you see the sign for Awbury Arboretum, take the shortcut up the grassy hill and the farm is at the top.
For a map to the farm, click here.
We have a lot of passion at the farm for promoting environmental initiatives within Philadelphia city limits and across the nation in other cities. Every visitor to the farm leaves a little more educated and inspired by what can accomplished on just a mere acre or two. Come find out what urban farming is all about!
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