Joan and Don Hess holding one of their dancing hens.

Dancing Hen Farm CSA

Don Hess & Joan Miller
55 Toy Factory Road
Stillwater, PA 17878
Columbia County
570-925-0263

Beautiful vegetables, herbs,
pasture raised eggs
& other farm fresh foods

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Radishes, rosemary and eggs from Dancing Hen Farm.

Full-season CSA memberships SOLD OUT for 2008.
Contact us if you'd like to join at mid-season.

CSA product list

Boxes of fresh produce ready for delivery

FOODS YOU'LL RECEIVE
AS A CSA MEMBER

See below the crops we grow,
the quantities you'll receive,
and approximate harvest times.

A full share receives 10 items each week. Partial share receives 6. With an optional egg share, you'll receive a dozen every other week.

For share details see membership options further down page.

Fresh vegetables

Crop Quantity Harvest
Arugula 6-8 oz bag Spring & fall
Beans, snap 1 lb bag Jul-Sep
Beans, wax 1 lb bag Jul-Sep
Beans, edemame 3 plants Jul-Aug
Beets, red or sugar 1.5 lb bunch Jun-Nov
Bok choy 1 head Jun-Nov
Broccoli 1 lb Oct-Nov
Broccoli, rabe 8-12 oz bunch Fall
Cabbage 1 head Spring and fall
Cabbage, chinese 1 head Spring & fall
Carrots 1 lb bunch Oct & Nov
Cauliflower 1 head Oct-Nov
Celery 1 head Sep-Oct
Celeriac 1 lb Oct-Nov
Cucumbers 4 pieces Jul & Aug
Eggplant, italian 2 pieces Jul-Sep
Eggplant, asian 3 pieces Jul-Sep
Endive 8 oz bag Fall
Escarole 1 head Jun-Nov
Fennel 2 heads Jul-Oct
Greens, collard 1.5 lb bunch Sep-Nov
Kale, curly 1.5 lb bunch Jun-Nov
Kale, lacinato 1 lb bunch Jun-Nov
Kale, red russian 1 lb bunch Jun-Nov
Kohlrabi 1 lb Oct-Nov
Leeks 4-5 stems Jul-Nov
Lettuce, romaine 1 head Spring & fall
Lettuce, bibb 1 head Spring & fall
Lettuce, leaf 1 head Spring & fall
Mustard greens 1 lb bunch Spring & fall
Okra 1 lb Late Jul & Aug
Onions, sweet 5-6 bunched Jun-Aug
Onions, cooking 4-5 pieces Jun-Nov
Parsnips 1.5 lbs Oct-Nov
Peas, shelling 1 quart Jun
Peas, snow 1 quart Jun
Peas, sugar 1 pint Jun
Peppers, hot 1 pint Jul-Oct
Peppers, sweet bell 4-5 pieces Jul-Oct
Peppers, sweet frying 5-6 pieces Jul-Oct
Potatoes 2 lb bag Jul-Nov
Potatoes, new 1-lb bag Jul
Radicchio 1 head Fall
Radishes 0.5 lb bunch Spring & fall
Radish, daikon 1.5 lb bag Fall
Rutabagas 2.0 lb Oct-Nov
Salad greens 6-8 oz bag Spring & fall
Salad greens, spicy 6-8 oz bag Spring & fall
Scallions 8-12 oz Jun-Jul
Shallots 8 oz Aug-Nov
Sorrel 8-12 oz bunch Jun
Spinach 8-12 oz bag Spring & Oct
Squash, summer/zucchini 3-4 pieces Jun-Aug
Squash, summer/patty pan 4-5 pieces Jun-Aug
Squash, winter/delicata 2 pieces Oct & Nov
Squash, winter/acorn 1 piece Oct & Nov
Squash, winter/butternut 1 piece Oct & Nov
Sweet potatoes 2 lb bag Oct & Nov
Swiss chard 1 lb bunch Jun-Nov
Tomatillos 1 pint Jul-Aug
Tomatoes, heirlooms 1.5 lb bag Jul-Aug
Tomatoes, slicing 1.5 lb bag Jul-Sep
Tomatoes, plum 1.5 lb bag Jul-Sep
Tomatoes, cherry 1 pint Jul-Sep
Turnips, baby white 1 lb bunch Jun & Sep-Nov
Turnips, Gilfeather* 1.5 lb bag Oct-Nov

*Read more about the Gilfeather turnip and other endangered passengers on the Ark of Taste at Slow Food's website.

Sprouting onions in trays in our greenhouse

Onions sprouting in our greenhouse April 6, 2008.

Fresh herbs

Herb Quantity Harvest
Basil 4-6 oz bunch Jun-Sep
Chives 3-4 oz bunch Jun
Cilantro 3-4 oz bunch Spring & fall
Dill 3-4 oz bunch Jun-Oct
Garlic & scapes 8 oz Jul-Nov
Mint 4-6 oz bunch Jun-Oct
Oregano 3-4 oz bunch Aug-Oct
Parsley, curly 3-4 oz bunch Jun-Nov
Red hen walking through the grass

Eggs from pastured layers

You'll receive a dozen every other week throughout the season when you sign up for an optional egg share.

Our hens are happy. They eat bugs and green leaves and lay delicious eggs with rich, orange yolks.

Plus other locally grown foods as available

In adddition to the produce, herbs and eggs listed above, we'll let you know each week about additional local foods that are available. These could include other produce, fruit and apple cider.

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Dancing Hen CSA

What is CSA?

Community supported agriculture is a relationship where you, the customer, buys directly from the farmer through yearly membership. In exchange for the membership fee, you receive a weekly share of all produce grown on the farm. All members share equally in the harvest.

Because weather and other factors influence the amount of the harvest, all members accept that share size can vary, and that an entire crop, or crops, could fail altogether. At Dancing Hen, we overplant by 100% to prepare for unanticipated losses.

Should we ever suffer a crop loss, we'll attempt to replace it with fresh organicaly-grown produce from nearby growers. Should we ever have trouble meeting the delivery schedule or supplying the full number of share items, we will let you know as soon as possible.

The structure of CSA varies based on method of payment and extent of shareholder participation in the farm's operation. Some CSAs offer shares in exchange for labor, rather than money. At Dancing Hen we're always happy to have you visit and help on the farm. This could be one visit or a more regular, scheduled commitment. If you're interested in helping out, or exchanging some farm labor for a reduction in your share fee, give us a call.

To learn more about the history of community supported agriculture see links.

Member benefits

  • Weekly delivery of healthy, local produce grown without synthetic chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers
  • Eating vegetables within hours of their harvest
  • Knowing your farmer & how your food is grown
  • Access to additional farm-fresh, locally grown or produced foods
  • Opportunities to visit and participate in the farm, including special events

2008 membership season

22 weeks, week of June 9 through week of November 10.

What does a membership cost?

See membership options further down this page.

What foods are available?

  • Our own freshly picked, organically grown vegetables and herbs, including many heirloom and specialty varieties. See our complete product list.
  • Eggs from our own pastured layers through an optional egg share. These are the delicious eggs with the rich, orange yolks and the non-runny whites.
  • Other locally produced food, such as fruits, cider, cheeses, grass-fed beef, pork and pastured chicken - beyond the regular CSA shares - as part of our buying club option.
Young veggies in small tunnel May 15, 2008, just before planting.

How do I know which items I'll receive?

Member shares will be divided up along vegetable family lines - root crops, legumes, vine crops, fruit crops, brassicas and greens - based on availability and quality. We will do our best to provide variety in the shares that are delivered. One bunch of culinary herbs will count as one vegetable. We will strive to provide herbs all season long.

We are currently traditional CSA, where we, the farmers, determine which items you receive. In the future, we may transition to choice CSA, where you'll be able choose your items. We'll let you know at each delivery items you can anticipate receiving the next week. You may contact the farm directly to ask about the availability of specific items.

See our product list to get an idea of the harvest times for each item.

Current delivery locations

  • Bloomsburg
  • Lewisburg
  • Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
  • Contact us if you'd like to host a new delivery site.

Delivery coordinators & market helpers

Most of our work takes place at the farm, but we're always looking for people to help as delivery site coordinators or at one of our farmers' markets. Contact us if you're interested in helping out in any of these ways.

Special farm events

During the year we'll also offer potluck meals at the farm. We'll notify you of these events as they come up.

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Membership options

How to join Dancing Hen CSA

  • Review share options below, then
  • Print out and mail us your completed CSA membership form.(PDF file, 28 kb, Adobe Reader required)
  • Contact us by phone or email if you have questions.

NOTE: The number of people fed per share depends on the amount of produce a family is accustomed to eating. Refer to our product list to see the quantity of each item you'll receive.

Full share - $525

  • 10 items delivered every week during 22-week season
  • Equates to $8/week per person for 3 people
  • Feeds 3-4 people

Partial share - $375

  • 6 items delivered every week during 22-week season
  • Equates to $9/wk per person for 2 people
  • Feeds 2-3 people

Egg share - $38

  • 1 doz beautiful eggs from our own pastured chickens,
    every other week during the season, 12 doz in all

Buying club option - pay as you go

In addition to our regular CSA shares, we're planning to offer other local foods through a buying club option. The CSA members for that particular delivery point would combine their orders and pay week-to-week for the specific items ordered. These foods will include additional vegetables, as well as local fruit, cheeses, grass-fed meats, and other products. We'll let you know as these items become available, or contact us for more information.

Special CSA program for local churches

We'll donate ONE FULL SHARE to any church that lines up 10 CSA share customers from its congregation. This is a great way to help a group or family in need of food. Contact us and we'll provide you a flyer to post at your church.

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Sample our foods

Our stand at Forks Farm Market, 2nd & 4th Saturdays Jun-Oct.

VISIT OUR STAND at these farmers' markets.

Forks Farm Market - 2nd & 4th Saturdays 10 am -3 pm, Jun-Oct; Turkey Market Day Tue Nov 25, 1-6 pm

Benton Farmers' Market - see their website for dates and hours

Downtown Lewisburg - Susquehanna Valley Growers Market at Hufnagle Park, Fridays 12 to 5, starting May 16

Philadelphia - at City Hall, Wednesdays 12 to 6, Jun thru Oct

Our own farm stand is open Fri, 12-5, Jun thru Nov

About us

Don places bucket of sun-warmed soil into greenhouse to provide some warmth overnight, April, 2008

A message
from the farmer

Dancing Hen Farm is a small start-up operation featuring organically grown vegetables and farm fresh eggs from pastured layers. We're currently transitioning to certified organic. Until we become certified, we're using organic growing methods and materials on our farm.

Our mission at Dancing Hen Farm is to provide farm fresh, top quality, organically grown produce. Our guiding values essential to this mission are sustainability, family, good nutrition and environmental stewardship.

We'll always be a small operation, allowing us to focus on quality. We will always seek to educate and mentor concerning the health benefits of organics and fresh, locally produced foods. We believe in sharing ideas and resources to benefit our customers and will always be friendly, enthusiastic and genuine in all of our endeavors.

Don plants red leaf lettuce on the evening of May 15, 2008

Our background includes being born and raised in the Philadelphia region and educated at Penn State. We spent many years moving east to west, and west to east, across the country. I have been in restaurant management for over 20 years and my wife, Joan has been involved in agriculture for the same.

Our choice of farming in Columbia County is two fold; one for Joan to have a home office, and second, for me to pursue a dream of farming in the same vicinity my ancestors farmed in the early 1800’s. I retired from my restaurant management career in February of 2007 and began my farming business.

While we were searching for our farm, I interned at Red Earth Farm working with Michael Ahlert, gaining the knowledge, experience and confidence to venture out on my own. Those of you who know Michael and Charis will understand what I gained by spending the entire season working on their farm. Red Earth Farm is a first class, organic farming operation. To broaden my horizons, I also worked for John Hopkins at Forks Farm in Orangeville. I learned much about pastured poultry, grass-fed beef, woodlot pork and a sense of community at Forks Farm.

We've been members of PASA - the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture - for 5 years and have enjoyed the many resources and friends we have made through this valuable resource.

- Don Hess
Dancing Hen Farm

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Farm hours & directions

Looking across our gardens June 24, 2008.

Open Fri 12-5 pm,
Jun through Nov

Drop by the farm to pick up more of our home-grown, fresh produce or a dozen eggs. If you know others who might be interested in CSA for their food, have them stop by for a tour.

Directions

Dancing Hen Farm CSA is located in the rolling hills of Columbia County, 15 miles northeast of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. We're about halfway between Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre.

From Bloomsburg - 15 mi
From the I-80/Route 487 interchange take State Route 487 North approximately 10 miles to Zaner's Bridge Rd. Turn right onto Zaner's and go 3.2 miles to Ridge Road (towards Benton). Turn left on Ridge and go 1.9 miles to (unmarked) Toy Factory Rd. Turn left. We're the first farm on left.

From Benton - 3 mi
Take State Route 239 South from Benton approximately 3 miles. Turn right onto Toy Factory Rd. Go 1/10th mi to intersection with Shale Ridge Rd. Turn left at this intersection continuing on Toy Factory 3/10ths mi. Our farm and red barn will be on right.

From Shickshinny - 11 mi
Take State Route 239 North from Shickshinny approximately 11 miles. Turn left onto Toy Factory Road. Go 1/10th mi to intersection with Shale Ridge Rd. Turn left at this intersection continuing on Toy Factory 3/10ths mi. Our farm and red barn will be on right.

Map showing location of Dancing Hen Farm.

Map courtesy of MapQuest

Links

Learn more about local foods, nutrition, and CSA

  • Forks Farm Market - a local farmers' market close to us
  • Farm to City - promotes local foods in the Philadelphia area through support for buying clubs, CSAs, & farmers' markets
  • Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) - promotes profitable farms and healthy food through educational programs & networking for farmers and consumers
  • Weston A. Price Foundation - dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism
  • eatwild.com - provides information about the benefits of raising animals on pasture and maintains a directory of pasture-based food growers
  • Robyn Van En Center - at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA - history of comunity supported agriculture

News

MORNING HARVEST - July 15, 2008

Harvesting a head of green lettuce July 15, 2008, with harvest knife in hand.

We harvest your lettuce first thing in the morning, before the heat of day. As soon as we take it from the field, we dunk the lettuce in cold water to prevent wilting.

After cutting the lettuces and salad mixes, we harvest the more wilt-resistant crops, such as chard, kale, mustard greens, and finally the squashes.

How do we decide what to harvest each day? In the morning, we walk the rows to check plant maturity and taste-test samples of every crop.

PACKING LINE - June 17, 2008

We pack share boxes with vegetables and herbs, June 17, 2008

We pack your CSA shares in sturdy boxes the evening before, or the morning of, your delivery. Last week, we packed in the candlelight as we had no power due to the storm.

We pack peas and other loose items in plastic bags, rubberband the stalkier items such as herbs and Swiss chard, and carefully lay in heads of lettuce.

We strive to pack your box so its contents arrive in excellent condition. If you ever encounter an item that was not packed carefully enough, let us know.

We've bought in some items for our first few deliveries from other growers, including Tuscarora Organic Co-op. These items replace crops that were damaged in last week's hailstorm. In a few weeks, we should be back to "normal," if there is such a thing.

HAILSTORM - June 10, 2008

Peas in the field damaged by hailstorm on  June 10, 2008

The gardens are recovering from the inch of hail that tore through the farm on Tuesday, June 10. Whatever wasn't under row covers - including lettuce, chard, onions, tomatoes, broccoli and peas (photo left) - was shredded. But we march forward, nursing the injured, replanting, and receiving support from other growers.

The marble-size hail was part of intense thunderstorm activity that peeled up metal barn roofs, splintered big trees, and cut power to lots of folks in this part of PA.

We try to prepare for losses like this by planting 100% more than what we'll need to supply our markets and CSA memberships. So despite Tuesday's storm, we anticipate being able to fill all your orders fully. If we encounter difficulty meeting delivery schedules or supplying the full number of share items, we'll let you know ASAP.

ROW COVERS - May 27, 2008

Long, white row covers to keep the bugs out

The white row covers at left keep flea beetles off tender plants, and help block the cold and wind. Just as importantly, they shield the plants from the foraging, dancing hens.

Thank you

for supporting local agriculture & small farms!

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