Tag: csa farm
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What I Learned At My First Farm Conference
An overview of the 2025 PASA sustainable agriculture conference.
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A Ten Year Plan for the Farm
With brutally cold temperatures this week, there’s not too much going on at the farm, which gives us time to reflect on long term goals. What might things look like 10 years from now, and what are we doing right now to work towards that goal? I should emphasize up front that the title of…
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A Rare Long-Term Snowpack On The Farm
Here in southwestern PA, we are no strangers to snowfall and cold temperatures. From December to early March, snow and cold is a given. That being said, winters here aren’t quite like a scene from the movie Fargo. We tend to have periods of freeze and thaw, where a snowfall will melt in a few…
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How We Make Compost (And How You Can Too)
People often ask us “what makes the dirt so good?”, and while the answer is admittedly complex, one of the first things we always say is “well, we use a lot of compost, for one”. Its true, compost is a foundational aspect of our soil management strategy. Before planting almost anything in our garden, we…
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Winter Projects for a Small Farm
At many small farms, winter usually means much less growth to manage, and therefore less work to do. For many farmers, this is a welcome change from the business of the main growing season, and there are few who don’t embrace the peace, rest, and recuperation of the winter months. Even so, you’ll be hard-pressed…
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2024 Farm Updates: First Summer Production
Hey everyone, we’re back! As you might guess, the summer months are a busy time for a farmer, and our blog has suffered as a result. As winter kicks into full swing here in western PA, I’m writing to give you all some of the highlights and themes of our first summer fully in production.…
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An Ode To Garlic
In the bitter cold of February, it is the lone brave soul daring to pop out of the ground through the snow and ice. It powers through the spring, always the biggest and greenest member of the garden through May, usually at least a foot higher than all other growth. Then, the relentless heat of…
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Farmer’s Market Week 1 Recap
This past Saturday morning, we got up a bit earlier than usual, loaded up our van with 2 tables, 8 rustic wooden crates, 15 bins full of produce, and one tent canopy. Then, we drove to our first Farmer’s Market. The Ligonier Country Market was familiar to us – we went a few times last…
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2024 Farm Updates: Final Thoughts on Spring Planting
It’s been a while since our last blog post. Chalk it up to a very busy push to get lots and lots of plants in the ground ahead of the start of market season! Our first CSA shares go out next Friday, and our first Farmers Market (the Ligonier Country Market) opens the day after…
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Wheel of the Year: Beltane
Welcome back to the Wheel of the Year series, this time taking a look at the upcoming holiday of Beltane! A fun fact about the Good Dirt Farm fam – Andy and I were married on the eve of Beltane! We picked the date mostly by accident, but I like to think instinct led us…
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A Solar Eclipse Adventure with Good Dirt Farm
It’s probably not surprising to know that two folks who live on a farm have an interest in what’s happening with the natural world. You’ll often find us remarking on a particularly great night for stargazing (Andy) or tracking the phases of the moon (Amanda). Naturally, that led to a desire to travel for the…
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How to Direct Seed Vegetables Like a Pro
If you’ve been following us here at Good Dirt Farm, you probably know that we start the majority of our crops indoors using soil blocks. While that is accurate, some crops aren’t suited to soil blocks for one reason or another. Certain crops need to be sewn very thickly, while others are large-seeded. And then…
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My Best Friend the Stirrup Hoe
A heavy rain fell all day yesterday, and this morning the garden beds are speckled with bright green weeds vying for life in my good dirt. A dismaying sight for me, but in situations like this, there’s always someone who has my back. He (yes, he) is always ready for battle, he never takes a…
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Farm Update: 2024 CSA Package Subscriptions Are Now Live!
This week we’re going to give a quick update on our 2024 CSA package options! But first, a little history and context for what CSA even means. What is a CSA? A Brief History CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Today, the acronym basically means that you pay a farmer at the beginning of the…