Canter Hill
Farm
WHY WE GROW
We grow because we care what we eat. We care even more what our children eat. And we think you care, too. We founded Canter Hill Farm in 2008 with the goal of growing our own food so that we knew exactly what was (and what wasn't) in it. We didn't set out to start a business - we had two full-time careers of our own. But then we started talking to people who read the books that we did and cared as much as we did - and we decided to try to grow for them, too. That's how it all began....
WHERE WE ARE
2138 Valley Hill Road
Malvern, PA 19355
We are open on
Fridays from 12 - 4.
Email: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
Phone: 610.827.1594
(For a quick response, email is best!)
HOW TO BUY
SCHEDULE
Bryn Mawr:
Every Saturday from
9 am - 1 pm
Location: Parking lot of the Bryn Mawr Train Station (Lancaster Avenue & Bryn Mawr Avenue)
Chestnut Hill:
Every Saturday
9 am - noon until Christmas
Location: in front of the Mermaid Inn.
Kennett Square:
Get on our "Kennett Dropoff List" by sending us an email
Media:
Email to get on the "Media dropoff" email list. I'll alert you when I'm coming to Media and we can meet up for a pickup.
Farm:
Friday from 12 - 4 pm
(or request an appt.)
is it fall?
I feel like we want from the abundance of summer to chilly mornings and hints of fall! We're still harvesting tons of tomatoes, we've planted cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, leeks and more green beans and snap peas, so we're stretching the fresh veggies well into the cool months.
Our pigs are LOVING the imperfect produce and peaches that are ripe for about 4 hours before turning into a little more like peach wine....
We have two batches of turkeys growing for Thanksgiving (why two? to have different sizes!) and one of our ostrich couples has been sitting on their clutch of eggs for several weeks. One of the things you have to love about ostriches is that the males sit on the eggs - and hang with the youngsters - almost MORE than the females. I keep trying to point this out to my teenage boys. It doesn't seem to have much of an affect.
For our family, it's back to school, which means sports practices and homework - making evening dinners more about necessity than luxury. We cooked up some skirt steak as one meal, then sliced the leftovers into a pan of sauteed peppers, onions, eggplant and zucchini (with a little sweet and sour sauce) for a delicious stir fry in only one pan.
If time's really limited, consider our pot pies - 12 oz (one serving) or 36 (4 servings), you can just heat and eat.
Other staples to keep on hand should be ground beef, boneless/skinless chicken breast and a steak or duck breast for the chilly night where you have a few minutes and want something a little fancier.
TASTERS AVAILABLE:
We have a garden full of basil, and I LOVE pesto, so we've made up several batches of delicious, high-quality (only the very best ingredients) pesto.
Made from our basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic cloves, extra-virgin olive oil and real parmesan cheese, you have to try it.
Slather it on sourdough and top with fresh sliced tomatoes for a very Italian or Mediterranean style fest. Or use 2 tablespoons on pasta to add just enough zest that some grilled veggies complete the meal.
Try it at the BRYN MAWR market this weekend, and grab yourself a jar!
HOURS:
FARM: Friday, 12 – 4
BRYN MAWR: Saturday, 9 – 1
CHESTNUT HILL: Saturday, 9 – noon
Fresh from the Field:
Heirloom tomatoes (Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Pink Brandywines): $6.50 / lb
Cherry Tomatoes (also Heirloom varieties!): $6 / pint
Peaches (yellow and white): $5 / lb
Green Beans: $6 / pint
Cucumbers: $2 each of 2 for $3
Bell Peppers: $2 each
Zucchini: $3 each
Gem Squash: $4 each
Homemade Pickled Onions
Homemade Parmesan Pesto
Honey Apprentice wanted:
Have you seen the hives at our farm? They are lovingly tended by skilled beekeeper Damon Ireland. Damon has many folks wanting hives, but needs more hands to tend them. If you have interested in an apprenticeship (he gets your labor, you get the learning!), send us an email, and we’ll shoot it on to him!
Our Mission:
We founded the farm on a simple premise:
Before chemicals, labs and factory farms got involved, God had created a perfect, workable system. We will learn about it, respect it, and we will naturally and successfully be able to be "beyond-organic" in our food supply.
New to farming, we had no pre-conceived ideas about raising animals or vegetables, and sought out farmers across the globe to learn what we did and didn't want to do. We quickly saw that most food systems raising just one type of offering needed external inputs - fertilizers, corn and sadly - sometimes chemicals and antibiotics. That's why we raise a variety of animals. Each has been chosen to serve a function for the others.
Over the last 10 years, we have grown and in addition to our home-base farm in Malvern, we lease 180 acres of grazing land from old family friends in Lancaster County. During the summer, we rotate half of our sheep flock through this land, and most of our steers call this land home. All of the land we graze is 100% free of any chemicals or sprays and we re-plant every other year to manage soil compression, erosion and to preserve a diversity of forage.
Canter Hill's beef and lamb is 100% grass (or hay) feed, and supplemented only with salt licks. We de-worm our sheep flock once annually, after lambing season (at the same time as sheering - typically the first week of June) and do not introduce any other chemicals or antibiotics. We have not experienced the same need to de-worm our steers. We have been migrating our sheep flock from Dorset to Katahdin, and therefore most of our sheep are now 50% or more Katahdin (a hair sheep), because we believe the meat tastes nicer! Our beef is both Black and Lowline Angus. We are shifting towards Lowline Angus which is more tolerant of 100% grass feeding and generally very hardy.
Canter Hill's poultry and pork is either pasture (for poultry) or forage fed (our pigs dig in the forest, and our turkeys also tend to roam!). They are supplemented with organic, soy-free feed. How much feed vs. forage do they consume? It depends on the weather. If it's raining or cold, more feed than forage. On warm days that aren't drenching, almost entirely forage. This is why we raise from March - November.
We STRONGLY encourage you to open your minds to frozen meat. If you're committed to pasture raising, recognize that you can't have fresh meat in the dead of winter, and purchase a great freezer!
We are committed to pasture-raised, antibiotic-free and chemical-free poultry, lamb and produce.