Transcript Sustainable Landscapes Who we are • Goodwill at Homefields Farm is a Community Supported Agriculture program operated by Goodwill Keystone Area • Homefields, a non-profit.

Sustainable Landscapes
Who we are
• Goodwill at Homefields Farm is a
Community Supported Agriculture
program operated by Goodwill
Keystone Area
• Homefields, a non-profit all volunteer
organization, is the owner of the 8.7
acre farm in Millersville
Homefields
• Homefields is dedicated to creating new
life options for persons with
developmental disabilities
• The board volunteers raise funds to
support both the vocational and
residential programs on the farm
property
How it all Works
Residential Mission:
To create financially secure,
long-term homes in safe, familylike settings where there is
respect for the individual in a
holistic sense, and fun and
creativity are revered as basic
human needs.
Vocational Mission:
To provide agricultural facilities
for individuals who prosper with
supported employment; to
nurture integration through
community interaction; and to
cultivate a spirit of volunteerism
within our community.
Goodwill Keystone Area
• Goodwill’s mission is to support persons
with disabilities and other barriers to
independence in achieving their fullest
potential as workers and as members of
the community
• At the farm, Goodwill provides
horticultural job opportunities for people
with disabilities in Lancaster County
Farming Program
• 2000 - first growing
season – 28
shareholders
• 2008 – 160
shareholders
• 2009 – tenth
anniversary
season!
Farming Opportunities
• Over 100 trainees have
participated in paid work
• 5 - 6 per day, five
days/week through the
growing season
• Proud of their work and
success of the farm
• Enhanced quality of life
Shareholders
• Families come to the
farm each week
• Pick-up freshly
harvested, organicallygrown foods
• Love the farm
experience and
supporting the mission
Homefields Farm
• 13.7 acres owned and
leased
• 5 acres of vegetable
production
• 2 green houses
• Equipment barn
– packing pavilion
– Refrigeration
– office
Sustainable Farming
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Cover crops
Crop rotation
Fallow fields
Compost
Drip irrigation
Crop diversity
Native fruits
Cover Crops
• Extensive use of cover crops
– Daikon forage radish
• reduces compaction
• bio drilling
– Buckwheat
• weed suppression
• beneficial insect host
Cover Crops
• Rye/Hairy Vetch
combination
– Biomass
– Farm-made nitrogen
• Sorghum/Sudan Grass
– Weed smothering
• Winter cover crops
prevent erosion and
increase organic matter
Crop Rotation
• Interrupts the
buildup of pests
and soil born
diseases
Fallow Fields
• At least one field
out of production
each year
• Seeded to soil
improving cover
crops for a year
and a half
Compost
• We make our own and
purchase additional
• Test soil annually
• Remineralize
– Farming is an
extractive process
– If nutrients aren’t in the
soil, they are not in the
vegetables
Drip Irrigation
• Minimize water use
• Direct water to the
crop….
• Not the weeds
Crop Diversity
• 45 different crops
• Over 300 varieties
Native Fruits
• Pawpaw & Persimmon
• Well adapted to our
region
• Not trying to make
water run uphill
Pawpaw
• North America’s
largest native fruit
• Custardy, bananavanilla flavor
• Highly nutritious
• Disease and pest
free
Persimmon
• Beautiful orange fruit
• Size of ping-pong ball
• Native east of the
Mississippi
• Very soft when ripe
• Like liquid apricot
Thank You