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Stories and Events in the WPSU Community
The opinions expressed in these blogs are solely those of the people who wrote them, and do not represent the views of WPSU or Penn State University.
Local Food Journey
Farm Diary: Pruning in March
Posted by James Eisenstein on 03/30 at 09:12 AM
Most people know that pruning does not consist of attaching prunes to fruit trees and bushes, despite what Amelia Bedelia understood it to mean. But beyond that, I’ll wager that most folks who read Unpaid Field Hand only know that it involves some sort of cutting and thinning of fruit trees and canes.
Of course, you can learn all about it by going on the web and googling “fruit pruning.” But even after reading the 7,280,000 results available, you might be forgiven for still not knowing just how to do it. And for good reason. That’s because even the most knowledgeable experts sometimes give contradictory advice. Even Michael Phillips, whose book The Apple Grower is considered an authority to many apple cultivators, confesses that he hopes to know how to do it by the time he is eighty.
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Local Food Journey
Vignoles Cake
Posted by Linda Weaver on 03/28 at 08:17 PM
This weekend Mount Nittany Winery is concluding its month-long celebration of our local wine trail with a special desserts offering.
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Local Food Journey
The Great Coffee Adventure: Avenue 209 Coffee House in Lock Haven
Posted by Naomi Elle Schwartz on 03/27 at 06:53 PM
For our first stop on The Great Coffee Adventure, we elected to begin in Lock Haven, Pa. Home of Lock Haven University, this is a sleepy little college town with an incredibly unique and impressive coffee shop called Avenue 209 Coffee House.
Avenue 209 Coffee House is just straight-up COOL. They are industrial and artistic and thoroughly local. Like someone’s little brother who went to college as a scrawny 18-year-old kid and came back as a hipster musician with style.. and everybody raises their eyebrows. I don’t know what I was expecting, but Avenue 209 definitely went straight up and over those expectations and delivered the ambiance that I’ve been longing for in a local coffee shop.
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Local Food Journey
Food Safety Study
Posted by Emily Wiley on 03/26 at 02:01 PM
Pennsylvania supermarkets are increasingly requiring that local growers show proof of good agricultural practices. For local growers to maintain wholesale market opportunities, they will have to put forth substantial effort to comply with and verify their on-farm, food-safety practices.
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Local Food Journey
Starting Seeds is Easy: How to Plant the Seeds
Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 03/23 at 12:06 PM
If you followed my last blog post, you should be ready to plant some seeds indoors. First things first, fill your cell flats with moistened potting soil or seed starting mix. You want it moist, not saturated.
Next, plant the seeds. This is by far one of the most important tasks of your gardening year, and you need to make sure you do it correctly because, well, you want them to germinate.
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Local Food Journey
Why Organic? Part 3: Pesticides
Posted by James Eisenstein on 03/22 at 11:09 AM
It’s confession time. I made a small mistake, so uncharacteristic of me, as I’m sure you will agree. You see, in Part 3 of my series “Why Organic?” I wanted to talk about how pesticides are bad for our health and the environment, and then do the same for GMOs.
I intended to make a few, short, simple points about the health effects of pesticides—like they aren’t good for us (especially children) and they aren’t adequately tested and regulated.
My mistake? I decided to do a little Google research for the health effects paragraph, anticipating my inquiring readers’ insistent demands for “evidence.” The more I found out, the clearer it became that just one paragraph wouldn’t do.
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Local Food Journey
The Great Coffee Adventure: Introduction
Posted by Naomi Elle Schwartz on 03/20 at 09:23 AM
Hello Local Food Journey fans! I’m Naomi Elle. I’m a local photographer enamored with the personalities and products of small-town Pennsylvania. While I have been a Pennsylvania resident for the majority of my life, my husband is a recent “transplant” from the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area.
And we both LOVE coffee.
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Local Food Journey
Why Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?
Posted by Kim Tait on 03/19 at 12:31 PM
For over 25 years, the CSA movement has been gaining popularity with small to medium size farms across the country. In its simplest form, a group of individuals become paying members of a farm and in return, the farm grows fresh produce for the members. In this mutual partnership, the farm and the members share in both the abundance and short falls associated with farming.
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Our Town
Our Town Emporium Kickoff!
Posted by Jessica on 03/16 at 08:59 AM
On Friday, March 9th, Sam Komlenic and I made the beautiful drive from State College, through the Quehanna Wilds Area, to Emporium to meet with about 10 folks at the Emporium Borough Building to kickoff the 66th installation in the Our Town series! This is the second time we have visited Emporium for the Our Town series. The first was in 2001—and we thought that it was time for an update! We’re looking for community volunteers to help tell the story of this town at the heart of the PA Wilds!
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Our Town
WPSU Seeking More Storytellers for “Our Town: Nanty Glo”
Posted by Whitney on 03/16 at 08:56 AM
Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the “Our Town: Nanty Glo” program on public television! WPSU will be capturing stories told by your friends and neighbors when we conduct interviews on Saturday, March 24 at the soon-to-be Liberty Café on Roberts Street in Nanty Glo. Call 814-863-6634 today to make sure you have an opportunity to tell your story in this program all about your hometown!
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Local Food Journey
Starting Seeds is Easy: How to Set Up
Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 03/16 at 07:59 AM
The weather has been warm lately, warm enough to start thinking about gardening. However, while the mild weather is great for daffodils, crocuses, and forsythia, it’s still too chilly to plant vegetables, especially frost-sensitive types like tomatoes and beans. You want to hold off planting those outside until early-mid May.
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Local Food Journey
Mediterranean Recipes from Mount Nittany Winery
Posted by Linda Weaver on 03/15 at 08:30 AM
As part of the celebration of our local wine trail, Mount Nittany Winery is offering special wine and food pairings during the month of March. This weekend we will feature local food products including cheese from Clover Creek Cheese Cellar, gourmet crackers from Rip Rap Bakery, and Cooke Tavern potato soup in honor of St. Patrick’s day!
Purchase your “Ticket to Good Taste and Adventure” at one of the ten participating wineries. Cost is $20 each or two for $35. For more information, visit: www.pawinetrail.com.
Continue reading to see recipes for the Mediterranean dishes that we served during last weekend’s pairings.
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Local Food Journey
Why are Dairy Farms in the Marcellus Shale Closing?
Posted by Emily Wiley on 03/14 at 03:58 AM
Is mighty Marcellus squeezing the milk industry? That’s the finding of a new Penn State study. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier set out to find why dairy farms are folding amidst the gas boom.
Continue reading to hear Frazier’s audio story.
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Local Food Journey
Muddy Boots
Posted by Tony Ricci on 03/13 at 08:13 AM
Spring has established a strong foothold in spite of some chilly mornings. The distinct smell of thawing earth has brought on the irresistible urge to roll shamelessly in the grass – or at least to get my boots muddier.
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Local Food Journey
Win a Gift Certificate to Nature’s Pantry
Posted by Emily Wiley on 03/12 at 09:34 AM
Spring is just around the corner, which means that asparagus, cucumbers, and peaches are not far behind. What food are you most looking forward to eating as winter draws to a close? Sweet strawberries or watermelon? Heirloom tomatoes or green beans?
Simply leave a comment below with your favorite spring or summer food, and we’ll enter you in a random drawing for a $25 gift certificate to Nature’s Pantry in State College. You may receive extra entries by following WPSU’s Local Food Journey on Facebook and Twitter. Just leave an additional comment letting us know that you’re a new follower.
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Most recent entries
Our Local Food Journey comes to an end- Wednesday, January 31, 2018
- By Jamie Oberdick in Local Food Journey
Winter isn’t a quiet time at the farm- Wednesday, January 31, 2018
- By James Eisenstein in Local Food Journey
-
Get the taste of garden season right now by growing herbs indoors
- Friday, January 26, 2018
- By Jamie Oberdick in Local Food Journey
-
All you need to know about PASA’s Farming for the Future conference
- Friday, January 19, 2018
- By Jamie Oberdick in Local Food Journey
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