Abbe Hills Farm
Community Supported Agriculture
Open Pollinated Seed Corn
News
An April 19, 2009, Cedar Rapids Gazette article on the growing interest in gardening and local food featured photos of the new hoophouse.
On April 8-9, with the help of nearly 60 people, we constructed passive solar green house, also called a hoophouse, to grow bedding plants in the spring and to extend our growing season for a few crops to December. The hoophouse is unheated and covered with two layers of plastic to add a little more early winter protection. This is an exciting addition to the farm that will allow for better quality crops for you in the summer as well as generate income from the farm for a few more months each year. We now offer a late fall/early winter share that begins the first week of November and includes typical fall crops like potatoes, onions, squash, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts, and turnips, as well as greens like kale, spinach, bok choi, and lettuce.
Upcoming Events
Several events are planned for the 2010 season, and everyone is invited to participate, even if you aren’t yet shareholders in the farm. We plan to hold monthly twilight tours of the gardens, a couple of movie nights on the farm, and a farm tour and open house in August. Keep looking at our calendar and the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun to see exactly when these events will happen. Of course, shareholders are welcome to visit the garden and farm anytime. Field trips for 4-H clubs, Sunday school classes, and school groups can also be arranged. Fall is often the best time for these activities.
"King Corn" viewing, summer 2008
Aug. 1, field day and open house, 4-7 p.m.
The farm field day and open house will be held Sunday, Aug. 1, from 4-7 p.m. We’ll be showing off some of the research and demonstration work we do in collaboration with Practical Farmers of Iowa, Iowa State University, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and the Iowa Learning Farm. Everyone is invited for a tour of the hoophouse, gardens, fields, and wetlands. I don’t have time to show you much on regular vegetable pick-up nights, so the open house is a nice time to look around and see what we are doing in the gardens and fields and to find out just how cool and important it is that you are eating local food. There will be a light dinner and plenty of time for visiting with neighbors and friends. Even if you are not a shareholder, please come and become educated about the multiple benefits of eating locally.