Here's the thing if you grow up on a produce farm, you always expect fresh vegetables and melons. Something is always available during the summer months.  You just go out to the field and pick what you feel like for a snack. A favorite of our kids is watermelon but can you blame them? So sweet and juicy and perfect on hot summer days. During the winter months there is usually a freezer full or shelves of cans of preserved produce. But what about  when the kids want something you couldn't preserve for winter, like ripe, juicy watermelons? Well, your five year old has a complete meltdown in the middle of Sam's Club because he just doesn't understand why his parents won't buy him the almost $10.00 watermelon that won't taste very good or the almost $7 pack of 6 of sweet peppers. 

Our recent trip to the grocery store had us all dreaming of summer months and the fresh lettuce, melons, berries and peppers. How about you? Are you ready for fresh produce? We are eager to move from snowy, icy, frozen ground to warm, soil turned fields. We have been working hard on making this season as productive as possible for our customers!

We have started planting seeds of kale, cabbage and lettuce. Our whole family eagerly checks each morning to see if any seedlings have sprouted. When the ground is ready, these will be transplanted into the fields and will produce the delicious produce we all are waiting for! 

We have been busy prepping to for a great CSA year and farmer's markets season. We will be working with Health Hut in Chippewa, PA as a pick up location on Fridays for CSA members. There are also several other locations including any farmer's market we will be at, Urbana Boutique in Oakmont and the Broken Plow Martial Arts (Pittsburgh Sword Fighters) in Creighton, PA. 

In addition to the CSA pickups, we will be adding two farmer's markets this year. You'll find us every Saturday in Oakmont and every Thursday in Wilkinsburg.

We know that the coming months will be busy but we are excited to be back and connected again with the land and you, our supporters. We are anxious to get back out there and feel the dirt between our fingers. Most of all, we are dreaming of those juicy, sweet watermelons! How about you? Leave a comment below and let us know what you're excited for this coming season? 

Happy almost December! November flew by! 

Have you seen our Instagram and Facebook posts regarding our 2022 CSA? We are so excited for next year and what we have planned. Jeremy has been busy ordering seeds and planning out next year's crops. Can you believe starting in January we will be planting our early spring crops in the greenhouse to later be transplanted in the fields? 

What can you expect with next year's CSA Program? Each CSA member will receive 22 weeks of fresh produce starting the week of June 1 through the week of October 31. Depending on your membership level you will receive 4-6 to 8-10 items each week.

For example, starting in June,  you can expect to see in your boxes peas, lettuce, greens, spinach, kale,
onions, beets, radishes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, cucumbers, cherry
tomatoes,  and strawberries.

Through July  and August, you'll see such items as lettuce, tomatoes, a variety of peppers, eggplant, cantaloupe, zucchini, cucumbers, squash, beans, onions, garlic, kale, beets, carrots, sweet corn, and potatoes.

And as we move into September and October, you'll see lettuce, tomatoes, a variety of peppers, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, zucchini, cucumbers, green beans, onion, garlic, kale, beets, sweet corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes Brussel sprouts, turnips, beets, lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, greens, acorn squash, butternut
squash and pumpkins.

How can you pick up your box? As of today's date, we have 5 definite pick up locations. One will be on Wednesdays at the Bellevue Farmer's Market. On Saturdays we will have two pick up locations - one at Urbana Boutique in Oakmont and another at Broken Plow Martial Arts (Pittsburgh Sword Fighters) in Creighton, PA, There will also be pick ups available by appointment at the farm in Enon Valley or also at our home office in Ohioville. Most likely we will also have a pick up location in Zelienople at the Zelienople-Harmony Farmer's Market as well. 

How do you sign up? You can sign up directly on our website (Click the picture above and you'll be directed to our CSA  page.). If you are paying in full, choose your membership level, add it to the cart and you can submit payment directly on our website. If you are paying in four installments, please email us directly at haffeyfamilyfarm@gmail.com. We will then email an invoice you can pay electronically. 

Membership Agreement - Please be sure to download and complete the membership agreement to fully complete your membership. You may submit this electronically by email or mail directly to our mailing address (147 Edgewood Circle, Industry, PA 15052). 

Payment options - We can accept check, cash, credit card or EBT for payment on CSA memberships. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.  For those paying in fully by January 1, 2022, you will receive a 5% discount. 

On our next blog post, look for benefits of joining our CSA.

As always, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for daily/weekly updates and thank you for your continued support!

WOW! WOW! WOW! That's all we can say to describe our 2021 season! You guys rocked it! Your support was AMAZING! It made for a great year for us and we were so excited to see you every week! Thank  you for coming out in extreme heat, storms and downpours each week to show us your support! Without you, we wouldn't be able to do this and we appreciate every one of you!

Now that we have some downtime and things have slowed down on our end, does that mean we are not working? No! We have already began preparations for the 2022 Season. What does that involve? 

​Well, first, Farmer Jeremy has been busy preparing the fields for the winter. Because we follow sustainable farming methods, this means cover crops are put in. We use a variety of cover crops such as rye, buckwheat, daikon radishes, hairy vetch and Austrian peas.  A cover crop stops soil erosion, preserves the nutrients in the soil and replenishes nitrogen in the soil which helps promote healthy plant growth for the following crop.

We are also busy finishing planting the garlic for next year. Planting the garlic in the fall allows the root to grow and then we are able to harvest larger bulbs the following year. Each bulb is divided and each clove is peeled and replanted.  Each garlic clove is planted by hand and over all we will plant thousands of cloves. 

In addition to field work, we have also been working on seed orders for next year's crop. Our children love to scan the seed catalogs and help choose what we will grow. In addition to everyone's favorites, they have chosen some new things such as yellow watermelon, canary melons (similar to a honeydew), and orange cauliflower.

In other news, our 2022 CSA program is live and ready for pre-order on the website. Look for future blog posts for more information on the CSA.

As always, a huge THANK YOU to all of you! Make sure you're following us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date on our latest news!

Well friends, summer flew by for us! We were so busy tending to our fields, harvesting and attending farmer's markets! A big shoutout to all of you that support us at the markets. We love seeing your friendly faces each week and talking with you.

We will continue to be at both the Zelienople-Harmony Farmer's Market on Mondays and the Bellevue Farmer's Market on Wednesdays through October. Also look for us at the Oakmont Farmer's Market every last Saturday of the month through October.

Look for cooler weather produce this fall. Peas are growing nicely now along with beets and another batch of green beans. We expect to have sweet corn through much of September. Also be on the lookout at the markets  for brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, spinach, acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash along with pumpkins!!

As you can see, we have been very busy and working hard. We are happy to see cooler temperatures now and looking forward to an awesome fall season!

Tells us in the comments below, do you like to roast pumpkin seeds? Or do you prefer making pumpkin pie?

As always, thanks for your continued support!!

 Hello! It has been awhile since our last blog post! We are in the heart of farming season and have been busy bees working on the farm! How are  you? We hope you have been enjoying  your summer!

We are starting to see the fruits of all our hard work and have loved sharing them with you all at the Farmer's Markets. So what is new with us?

Remember all the vegetable plants we transplanted in the early spring? Well, they are flourishing! We have been harvesting zucchinis, squash, cucumbers and pickle cucumbers like crazy to share with you all at the Farmer's Market. We have loved seeing everyone's excitement to see them at the market and hearing how you have enjoyed using them in your wonderful meals.

This week, we had our first harvest of our Kale, Boston Bibb lettuce, Red Loose Leaf Lettuce and Green Leaf Lettuce. Everyone was excited to see it last night at the Bellevue Farmer's Market. Kale was a popular choice!

We have been harvesting a small amount of lavender and this is also a favorite at the market. Be sure to check out our Recipe page for a Lavender Simple Syrup and Sparkling Lavender Lemonade.

Our melons are also growing well. Did you see our Instagram post today on the benefits of cantaloupe. Did you know it is a superfood? Be sure to check it out and look for these beautiful melons to be available in the next few weeks.

Now, our most frequently asked question: When will there be tomatoes?
Well I am happy to say our little tomato plants are also flourishing and are growing little green tomatoes. Soon, they will be ready to share with you at the Farmer's Market and we are anticipating much excitement for this item!

In other exciting news, we have added an Online Market to our webpage. Here you can pre-order items for pickup at the Farmer's Markets we attend. This way if you have to work later and are afraid if items will still be available for you at the market, you can pre-order, pre-pay and we will have it set aside waiting for you!

We want to thank everyone who has been very supportive of us at the Farmer's Markets. We love seeing repeat customers, hearing how you have enjoyed the produce we have worked hard to grow and sharing recipes with you!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates!

It has been a busy few works over here at Haffey Family Farm!

We have been busy getting the last of the spring produce plants transplanted including kale, lettuce, peppers, strawberries, watermelon and cantaloupe.

Despite cooler temps this past weekend and rain, the little plants are growing well and we even have some zucchini starting to grow!  

Our biggest news this week is that we will start at the Farmer's Markets. On Wednesday, look for us at the Bellevue Farmer's Market from 3 pm to 7 pm. We will have garlic scapes and edible pod peas available. 

Also, please be sure to check out the new Recipes part of our website for featured weekly produce recipes. 

We look forward to seeing some of you at the Bellevue Market this week!

Please be sure to check for any updates on our Facebook and Instagram page!
​

The warmer weather and sunny skies were a welcomed sight this past week! The sun allowed the very wet and muddy fields to dry up so we were able to move the tractor through them. On Saturday, we spent the beautiful day in the fields transplanting. Overall, we were able to transplant over 2,000 plants. ​

We first started with the zucchini plants. They were nice and big from growing in the warm and sunny greenhouse. Some of them already have flower buds developing. We cannot wait to see them produce big green zucchinis! We also transplanted some yellow squash. 

Next, we transplanted cucumbers. The cucumbers are planted in a double row next to each other. We love cucumbers, especially the pickles for snacking! Cucumbers are a good snack because they are packed with nutrients but low on calories. We like to pair them with hummus or some ranch dip but our little helpers love them all on their own, picked straight from the field!

We raced against the setting sun to finish transplanting the peppers. These also are planted in a double row but we were able to do so on the back of the water wheel. We transplanted a variety of peppers including a new to us variety called Candy Cane snack peppers. They start out as green and white striped and change to red as they mature. These peppers were requested by our oldest little helper during winter while we searched through produce catalogs and we cannot wait to try them out! Be sure to look for them at the Farmer's Markets this summer!

​With all the warm temperatures expected this week, our little plants should flourish and be well on their way to producing fruitage.

Which are your favorite? Cucumbers, zucchini, or peppers? Leave a comment below and let us know!

As always, be sure to check us out on Instagram and Facebook.

This week the weather has not been cooperating with farm work! First, we had a hard frost over the weekend. Jeremy spent all of Friday evening covering the tomatoes. Thankfully, most of the tomatoes survived the frost.
 
In addition to the frost, we have been battling winds and rain. It has been difficult to get the equipment into the fields this week but we still managed to keep busy. Many vegetable plants are still growing and being cared for in the greenhouse and will be transplanted into the fields within the next few weeks. 

We have been working on finalizing our Farmer's Market schedule for the summer! I am happy to say we will be at the Bellevue Farmer's Market in Bellevue, PA on Wednesdays from 3 pm to 7pm starting June 2 and the Zelienople-Harmony Farmer's Market on Mondays from 3:30 - 7:00 pm starting June 7.  We hope to see you at one of these locations soon!
 
Comment down below your favorite part of Farmer's Markets and as always, don't forget to check out our Instagram and Facebook page for updates!
​

Despite snow and cold temperatures last week, we managed to have some pretty nice days this past week. We took full advantage of the nicer weather and not too hot temperatures to work in the fields!

​Jeremy worked hard this week in prepping the fields for transplanting. This involved rototilling and laying plastic so the tomato plants could be transplanted.

On Monday, we enjoyed the crystal clear blue skies and worked in the fields together.  Overall, we transplanted a variety of about 1200 tomato plants in a little less than three hours.

The tomatoes we planted should start producing in June and be available at farmer's markets for purchase in mid June. Before we know it, we will be in the full fledge season of summer and enjoying pool side days and delicious tomato sandwiches!

​We are still working on finalizing our Farmer's Market schedule but we do know we will be at the Bellevue Farmer's Market on Wednesdays. More information regarding this will be posted on our Farmer's Market page very soon!

Thank you for checking out what's happening this week! Leave a comment below with your favorite way to eat tomatoes!

Don't forget to check out our Instagram page at haffey_family_farm and our Facebook page at haffeyfamilyfarm!

Spring time is always a busy time for us here at Haffey Family Farm. In addition to finishing up the kids' cyber schooling for the year, we have been busy working in the fields! Thankfully, the weather has mostly cooperated with us. (Until today when we woke up to snow!) 

This past weekend, we worked together as a family, planting onions. We managed to plant almost 2,000 onion plants that had been started by Jeremy in the greenhouse before the rain came. We still have about 7,000 more onion plants to transplant for the spring season. 

Three out of the five us love to eat raw onions. The onions we planted this week are red onions - some of our favorites for salad, sandwiches or just plain by themselves! Do you like onions? If so look for them to be available later in the summer for delicious eating!

We have also been working on applying to Farmer's Markets in the area to sell produce later in the season. Check out our Farmer's Markets page which we will update once the schedule is finalized. 

Should you be interested also in pre ordering produce, please be sure to check out our Farm Fresh Produce page. This page will be updated by season based on the availability of produce.

Also, we are looking to build relationships with other local Beaver County businesses, such as restaurants and food trucks. If you are interested in working with us, please be sure to reach out to us at haffeyfamilyfarm@gmail.com.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and see "What's Happening at Haffey Family Farm!" Look for weekly updates here. For daily updates, be sure to check out our Instagram page at haffey_family_farm and our Facebook page at haffeyfamilyfarm.

Leave a comment below and let us know what produce you are most excited for this season!  See you soon!