Fulton Farm
(Continued from Page E 10)
the soil and get the job done
more effectively,” he said. “If
it can keep the weeds down,
These hens provide pastured-poultry eggs to CSA
customers as well as educational opportunities to
students and farm visitors. Chicken breeds include
Speckled Sussex (held here by Steiman), Rhode Is
land Red, Barred Rock, and Silky. The new portable
henhouse Is in back.
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it’s a good system.”
Steiman will also be apply
ing the new method to a crop
of winter squash this season.
Other cover crops Fulton
Farm uses with success in
clude wheat, oats, crimson
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clover, and Austrian winter
pea.
Beneficial insect popula
tions are encouraged on the
farm. In addition to naturally
found types, such as aphid
loving lady bugs, Steiman also
purchases some species for
targeting other problem pests.
Pediobious wasps, for exam
ple, “worked really well” last
year in controlling Mexican
bean beetles in the green bean
crop, he said. The wasps lay
eggs in the larvae of the bean
beetle and effectively parasit
ize them.
A $lOO purchase of the par
asitic wasps did a good job
controlling the bean beetles in
about 3,000 row feet of green
beans, Steiman said.
In another example of its
commitment to environ
mentally-friendly production,
Fulton Farm is gearing up to
make biodiesel fuel from used
vegetable oil from the kitchen
at Wilson College.
With the help of an engi
neer friend and a conical tank
equipped with a circulating
pump, Steiman will be able to
produce 50 gallons of the re-
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 17, 2003, Grower & Marketer-Ell
newable fuel in a day’s time.
The process uses methanol
and a small amount of lye to
separate glycerol and other
substances from the vegetable
oil, leaving pure biodiesel.
He plans to use the fuel to
power the farm’s irrigation
pump, and will consider put
ting additional diesel-powered
equipment to use on the farm.
If the biodiesel project proves
successful, Steiman said he
would consider purchasing a
diesel car, as well as selling
the fuel to neighboring farm
ers, truckers, and diesel vehi
cle owners.
In another new project,
Steiman built a portable hen
house this winter using the
chassis of an old wagon pur
chased locally for $lO. He has
started a flock of about 20 lay
ers, including Rhode Island
Reds, Barred Rocks, Speckled
Sussex, and Silkies. The pas
tured birds provide a learning
experience for farm visitors
and also some eggs for CSA
members to take home with
their veggies.
While the CSA concept fos
ters strong customer loyalty
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Composting horse manure in the
trough underneath the seedlings
provides heat to grow the young
plants in winter and early spring.
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Waste fryer oil from the kitchen at
Wilson College is converted into bio
diesel. The fuel in this sample can
be seen at the top of the jar, above
the glycerol on the bottom layer.
Stelman plans to use the fuel to
power the farm’s irrigation pump as
well as other uses on the farm.
and creates an efficient meth
od for distributing produce,
Steiman said the system also
has its challenges, especially
when the regular season rolls
around in late April.
“The tricky thing with a
CSA is that we have to pick a
start date and have everything
come together all at once,”
Steiman said on the first day
of the regular CSA season.
“The spinach was ready two
weeks ago and the radishes
are ready now.”
Regardless of the timing
glitches, CSA members ar
rived through the afternoon to
fill bags and baskets with their
weekly share of spring onions,
spinach, mixed greens, tat soi,
and white icicle radishes.
As the season progresses,
their choices will widen to in
clude carrots, peas, broccoli,
strawberries, rasberries, cab
bages, beets, tomatoes, sweet
com, beans, melons, cucum
bers, garlic, pumpkins, pota
toes, winter squash, and on
ions.