Orchard Field Trip

On Sunday, September 29, the Beginning Farmers from the Philadelphia Community Farming Collaborative (of which Weavers Way Co-op is a part), took a field trip up to New Paltz, NY to visit Lee Reich’s orchard. He showed us around his property and we saw Nan King cherries, paw paws, kiwi berries, Asian pears, hazelnuts, persimmons and more. At Henry Got Crops we have been drawing information and inspiration from Mr. Reich’s books and workshops for our own new orchard, but it was truly exciting to finally see it in person. Since we are growing many of the same varieties of fruits as Dr. Reich, it was tremendously helpful to see mature trees since ours are still very young, as well as taste-test their fruits! It was a beautiful day and it felt like a special occasion to be able to get out of the city and spend the day with such a fantastic group of farmers (pictured below, at Lee Reich’s house).

Juanita Falice's Thoughts on Henry Got Crops!

Juanita Falice is a senior at Saul High School. She is very active in the farm, whether it is during the school day with one of her classes, after school at farm club, or helping to staff the CSA pick-up and farm stand. She is also attending the World Food Prize to present on Somalia and agriculture and drought next month.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and when I spend my afternoons over at Henry Got Crops, I can really feel the support from our shareholders. More often than not I’m actually out in the field side by side with a member weeding a bed or transplanting seedlings. My education may be academic based, but my passion is locally and sustainably grown food, and physically seeing my support system picking up their vegetables on Tuesdays and Fridays means the world to me. Like anybody else, I get a sense of accomplishment from my hard work when I can see where it is going and I have a feeling my classmates may feel the same way.
        Although many of the students at Saul don’t know the exact details of what goes on at the CSA, they are all benefit from it. Sometimes the mixed salad greens (from our very own Henry Got Crops) makes it’s way into our lunch rooms via the hands of one of the many students who have picked it. On those days, I don't know anybody who doesn’t want to try the salad. They may not realize it, but by eating that salad they are part of a community. A community larger than our school grounds that stretches to our local members.        
        Before I was exposed to urban farming I could care less where my tomatoes were being grown or why they were so unnaturally large. I didn’t care that my produce was drenched in pesticides and I surely didn’t see a value in locally grown food. Because of Henry Got Crops, I see that locally grown food ties the community together. Now,  I hope to study sustainable farming in college. I want to take the sustainable farming skills I’ve learned at the CSA , further them in college and then serve a term in Peace Corps with that skill. Now I encourage my friends and family to buy locally grown food.
        The orchard is a big step for Henry Got Crops and I am very excited to see how it furthers the student/member relationship and how it furthers education at Saul. Being that most of the trees won’t be producing fruit for a few years and I am graduating, I’ll have to return to see it’s progress. With the involvement of the students and members (along with Nina’s green thumb) I’m sure the orchard will be a wonderful addition to Henry Got Crops. I’ve already learned a lot at the orchard just from weeding the young samplings.
I am very glad that I have had the opportunity of working at the CSA all four years of my highschool career. I have learned so much and I’m grateful to our members for giving me the opportunity and direction that has greatly influenced my goals and aspirations.

Orchard Map Made by Farm Assistant Nancy Anderson

Henry Got Crops Orchard Update:

Last fall half the students of Saul high school, along with dozens of volunteers helped plant over 500 fruit tree, berries and nut trees. This was the beginning of the newest expansion at Henry Got Crops: a 1.5 acre orchard across the street from the vegetable field, behind the school. This is currently the largest orchard in Philadelphia (that I know of). We hope to be offering our own fruit shares to the public as well as fruit to the Saul cafeteria within a few years. Only a few of the berry bushes are fruiting a small amount this season.
Orchards require a lot of work up front in the form of planting, trellising, and making soil improvements. However, we aren’t going to be selling much fruit in the first few seasons, as all these plants take multiple years to mature. This poses a difficult situation- how to afford the time and money required to start an orchard when income is a few years off. Many of the tree and supplies have been covered by a grant from AcTree, and the generosity of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Weavers Way farm and farm education staff, with the help of students at Saul, as well as the Beginning Farmers Program have been chipping in to keep the orchard maintained. However, I really needed one person to be responsible for making sure the orchard was well maintained and managed. Chris Obrien, the farm apprentice from 2012 rose to the occasion has been keeping the orchard healthy and productive since the spring. He has replaced the few plants that did not survive the winter, as well as extended some of the rows to take advantage of all the space available in that field. He is watering, weeding and monitoring for pests and disease.
Jess McAtamney, a shareholder and teacher at Saul who acts as our liaison with the school, wrote a $1000 grant from DOW over the winter for signs for the orchard. She was successful with this application and the beautiful signs were installed last weekend. Much of the text for the signs was written by students as part of the farm education programs, here at Henry Got Crops. These signs will ensure that the orchard will serve as a living laboratory and not only provide healthy food for the community but also act as an educational resource.

Photo: Student Farmer Yonda Hudson helping to install the new orchard signs!

Save the Date- Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

All are invited!
Tuesday October 29^th, 2:30 (rain date: Friday, November 2^nd)

At the orchard, across the street from the CSA farm, behind the baseball field

Orchard Planting Recap

By: Jacqueline Boulden and Nina Berryman

Last Wednesday 50 blueberries, 50 blackberries, 15 cherry trees, 15 plum trees and 15 Asian pear trees were carefully and loving planted behind the base ball field at Saul.

The  three-year plan for the orchard includes a wish list of future plantings of strawberries, figs, hazelnut and pawpaw, a fruit native to North America.

Ten volunteers and about 120 Saul students shoveled dirt, sprinkled peat, planted the trees and bushes in the ground, surrounded the plantings with protective wire mesh and poured bucketfuls of water to give them a start.

“Helping plant these blueberry bushes in the orchard gives me a better understanding of Saul, that it’s hands-on learning,” said freshman Austin Dennison. “It’s a good achievement to help do this and get paid back in berries.” Fellow freshman Lorenzo Velazquez agreed. “I love working with plants. That’s why I came here and I want to see the outcome of this.” 

Senior Nathan Newman will not be here to see the orchard fully mature because he is graduating next year but “four to five years from now I’ll be happy to come back and see the growth in the orchard.”

Lisa Mosca, from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), co-wrote the grant that made the first plantings possible. “It’s wonderful to see this,” said Lisa “We’ve been waiting for this day for 10-months and I can’t wait to come back and see what it’s like in 10-years.”

Eight of the hard-working volunteers were from publishing company Elsevier, which gives each employee two days a year with pay to do volunteer work. Amanda Minutola, a content specialist at Elsevier, said her volunteer days used to be spent in soup kitchens but this year she wanted to do something with high school students and something outdoors. “Planting the orchard is definitely more labor intensive than the soup kitchen,” she said. “It’s hard work and it’s just great to see something that you do that will last several years.”

“This is a big deal,” said Jessica McAtamney as the planting neared completion late in the afternoon. Jessica teaches Urban Gardening and AP Environmental Science at Saul and was instrumental in establishing the CSA Henry Got Crops! program. “The field wasn’t being used for anything purposeful and now we have something that will engage kids, somewhere outside of the classroom they can learn hands-on.”

“Many kids don’t really have a sense about the variety of produce, they have never seen so many different plants,” echoed Clare Hyre, Education Coordinator for Weavers Way Community Programs. “The Orchard specifically is adding another layer to increasing the students’ knowledge about farming and the food they eat, where that food comes from.”

The new orchard is just a beginning, for the trees and for many of the students. As the students tend to the orchard and produce farm and increase their knowledge about fresh organic foods, they will watch the efforts of their work grow and it is hoped, they will plant the seeds of knowledge in other places, including their own back yards.

To paraphrase a well-known quote: give students some fruits and vegetables and they will eat for a day; teach them how to grow their own and they will eat for a lifetime.

Orchard Planting Day

The rumors are true- Henry Got Crops is really planting a fruit and berry orchard! We hope to be able to offer our own fruit CSA share within a few years. Saul high school has generously approved the expansion of Henry Got Crops to include 1.5 acres across the street, behind the main school building. For this piece of land we have a three-year plan to fill that field with dwarf trees and berry bushes for students and CSA members to enjoy.  Please join us for the ground breaking planting day!

Join Saul students and community volunteers to plant trees and berries!

Wednesday September 19^th

10-4pm

Please RSVP to henrygotcrops@weaversway.coop if you plan on attending.

Where:  7100 Henry Ave (across the street from the CSA pick up building). Walk behind the school building. You’ll see a baseball field on your right, walk around the baseball field, and you’ll find us on top of the hill!