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With plentiful rain finally arriving at the hilltop this past month, fresh grass tempted our cows to graze the pasture. The new grass growth is especially sweet in these conditions, meaning that these ladies are happier and friendlier than ever.
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Thank you, September Volunteers!
September brings about so many changes, but life on the farm is still a constant: animals still need care, and vegetables still need weeding and harvesting. Volunteers this past month included groups of teens and company teams, and their excitement at being outdoors and alongside our plants was unmistakable. We hope every volunteer learns something while they are here, though on many occasions, they teach us something in turn.
October's Community Work Day will center around our flagship fundraiser, Views, Brews, and BBQ at the farm. We are still looking for volunteers to help with the beer+wine station and clean-up afterwards: email today to choose your spot, and receive a 10% off coupon to be used in our Farm Stand! Hilltop has seen success in its fields and throughout our community, and with a successful fundraiser, we have our best foot forward to ensure the same for 2023.
Want to celebrate this success? Join us on Friday, October 28th from 4-7pm for our Year End Volunteer Potluck! Bring a dish you'd like to share, create and take home a Strawflower Craft card, or show off your Halloween costume a little early. We hope you can join us in toasting to a great farming year, and the force of what we can accomplish together.
I hope to see you back on the farm soon.
-Cynthia S.
HHF Food Donation + Volunteer Coordinator
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| September's Community Work Day
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Our Community Work Day on 9/10 focused on harvesting four varieties of winter squash, and the morning flew by as we discussed books and tv shows. The squash were then brought to the barn for curing and flavor development, and they have steadily been pulled for sale in the Farm Stand every week. Thanks to our volunteers, we collected a total of 950 lbs of squash!
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A final count of the day shows volunteers collected 179 lbs of Georgia Candy Roaster squash, 224 lbs of Delicata, 11 lbs of Kabocha, and a whopping 535 lbs of Butternut squash!
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Volunteer Paul holds 30 lbs of Georgia Candy Roaster squash- in just 3 pieces!
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We welcomed Westchester Youth Alliance as a volunteer group on 9/11 to kickoff their Service Event, by gleaning and helping with field cleanup of our summer crops, which were at the end of their production due to cooling temperatures and spreading disease: over 70 lbs of watermelon were found, and about half were ripe enough to donate to a local food pantry. Thank you, WYA!
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|  | WYA gleaned and cleaned four field beds of watermelon + cantaloupe. Vegetables were first saved in donation bins, before the work of pulling up these vines could begin.
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Over 40lbs of melons were ripe enough to donate to our pantry partner!
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Piles were made at the head of each bed, with teens and adults alike pitching in.
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Teens took a truck ride to move the vines to a pile outside the fenceline, to avoid any disease or pest spreading to new and vulnerable crops.
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WYA made an impressive pile and quick work of cleaning up the beds, thanks to their teamwork!
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" It is increasingly clear that the fate of the universe will come to depend more and more on individuals. "
- Edna O'Brien
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Cool weather crops are back, and thriving! Root vegetables like beets and turnips are once more ready along with carrots, and all have benefitted from the recent rains.
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In with the new- dahlias are now in full bloom, and a sight to see for U-Pick or any farm visit!
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And out with the old- sadly, almost all Cosmos are done for the season after the stress of the drought. Volunteers pulled up the spent plants and took care to leave a few hardy ones in place.
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Join Farmers Haidee and Tehleah and volunteer for Flower Appreciation Fridays, still on until the first frost hits!
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Be sure to check out the interactive Volunteer Shift Sign-Up Calendar for the most up-to-date information on open volunteer hours. Looking to be involved at a different time? Send an email and let's make it happen!
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The parsley that was uncovered a few weeks ago by volunteers was not only a surprise bounty for our farm stand, but also for our caterpillar population.
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Dahlias are now the popular choice for visiting pollinators and insects in our flower beds: check out those loaded up bee legs!
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Many native plants are now producing seeds, and as a part of our mission, it's vital to collect as many as possible to increase their population in garden and the wild, as well as other protected and county-owned areas.
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Volunteers can join regular Native Seed collection trips down to the fields every Tuesday afternoon, or by request. The catch: seeds can't be collected in rain or wet weather, only when they're dry.
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On 9/23, volunteers on behalf of The Capitol Theatre joined us for a musical morning as we focused on helping our native plants: seeds were collected from one Short Toothed Mountain Mint plot, and then the group settled down around the Historic House to get to business cleaning and sorting Northern Blue Flag Iris seeds- the end product yielded over 5 lbs of tiny, clean native seeds. Amazing!
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On the first day that really felt like fall, Emily, our Native Plant manager, led the trip down to the field to collect a batch of native seeds from one of the Founder Plots.
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This group worked on cutting down stalks of Short Toothed Mountain Mint with seed heads, taking care to gently collect them on a tarp.
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.The finished collection! These stalks will dry for a few weeks before the seeds are collected.
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The Northern Blue Flag Iris seedheads were collected a few weeks ago and spent time drying in a cool, dark place before they were ready to be cleaned, by separating the chaff from the tiny seeds in a time consuming process. Good thing we had eager volunteers and a gorgeous room to work in!
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The chaff is any waste byproduct in the seedhead, such as the outer shell and any extra plant matter, and is perfect for composting.
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Giving back to our community, in every way we can.
Over 985 lbs of food were donated in September, bringing our 2022 grand total to over 6,900 lbs donated! September also received a total of 226 hours of volunteer attention, with the most popular activities being Harvesting and Field Weeding. Our fields have definitely reaped the benefit of all this attention!
The more volunteers that are involved, the healthier our vegetables are and the more they are able to produce. For all those who have volunteered with weeding, washing, weighing, cleaning or maintaining: our plants and farmers thank you!
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Cheyenne loves some fresh hay to start off the week, which puts her in a perky mood.
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Cricket isn't a big fan of Mondays, though.
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The 2022 Hilltop Hanover Farm Volunteers motto:
"Try and leave this world a little better than you found it."
-Robert Baden-Powell
Thank you, September volunteers!
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The Friends of Hilltop Hanover Farm and Environmental Center are dedicated to the development and advancement of sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, community education, and accessible food systems for all. Please help to further our mission by coming to one of our many events this summer on the farm or by making a donation today.
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Thank you for supporting local agriculture!
The Friends of Hilltop Hanover Farm Staff & Board
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We gratefully acknowledge Consolidated Edison Company of NY, Inc.
for their ongoing support.
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