Processing hickory nut milk

We had a large group of participants attend this workshop that we offered as part of our Fall Series. Casey talked about foraging for nuts and the many trips to the woods he would go to collect (making sure he was picking the right kind of Shagbark nuts not Pignut Hickory since they are very bitter). Since we like to put the "work" into our workshops we had everyone help us break up the basket of nuts we had. We naturally fell into a circle formation and everyone assumed a working role in pounding out the meat of each nut to later be boiled. It is a great collective project and the processing flies by when there are good people to share stories with. After bringing the nut meat to a boil over the hot fire coals, we enjoyed this creamy thick sweet nut flavored drink on this gorgeous fall day at Lancaster Farmacy! It is our favorite fall beverage since it is a delicious rich hot drink. We sweeten it with maple syrup. Hickory nuts contain great fiber, magnesium and thiamine. They a good source for carbohydrates, natural oils, unsaturated fats (the good kind) and protein.

Planting garlic

Taking it one clove at a time we planted our over 17 different unique varieties on about a 1/4 acre. Just a few of the names included Chamiskuri, Georgian Fire, Spanish Roja, Flaming Lips, Slovenian and many more! We are excited to diversify our what most people know as table garlic and add more color and flavor to the palate and eyes...
The above picture shows the succession work of our farmer friend spreading his sheep manure, discing twice and then finally coordinating with our Amish neighbor to come with his mule and mound our beds for planting. We were lucky to accomplish all this between the erratic weather so we were ready to have a planting work party during the skill share weekend.

CSA Potluck at Autumn Blend Organics

Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, the coop we are a farmer member of hosts many CSA potlucks throughout the growing season. It is a time when the farmers and their families gather with all the CSA members  and  share dishes they cook from the abundance of amazing produce grown by the 75 farmers in the coop. At a LFFC potluck it is typical to be held on an Amish farm where there are fun activities going on like hay rides, corner ball games and walking tours. This particular gathering was really special to us since a bus load of folks came down from Harlem, NY who started a CSA site for creating access to organic farm fresh food. their blog is harlemcommunityfarmshare.wordpress.com. A number of their folks were part of our CSM and it was so great to meet everyone in person. We heard so much positive feedback about the herbs they have been learning about from us and told us stories about how they were integrating natural health into their lives.

 Harvest from Autumn Blend Organics

We had a the best time meeting some of our Community Supported Medicine
Share members who came all the way from Harlem to visit.
Carrie, Chandra, Sojourner, Casey and Eli