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 from 9 - noon. 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.)
Mari-made
the tastiest meats you can marinate and cook in minutes...on sale!
We have entered the “midnight dinner” season at our house. That’s where I’m in the garden until I can’t see, only occasionally interrupted the buzzing of my cell phone in my back pocket from a teenager asking if I’m “making dinner today”.
What I find easiest is to always have something marinating.
I can grab the flavorful, often tenderized meat of choice and grill it quickly (often on my grill pan because it’s already so late!) and throw a few sliced zucchinis and a roasted pepper on the same pan to give us a quick side. My favorite marinades are perfect when you make them the day prior, or even 2 or 3 days prior. My favorites? Skirt steak, pork tenderloin and boneless pork chops.
SALE
BONELESS PORK CHOPS on sale at the FARM tomorrow: regularly $16 / lb, on sale for $12 / lb – boneless loin roasts too! (cut your own chops)
SKIRT STEAK on sale in BRYN MAWR on Saturday: regularly $28 / lb, on sale for $24 / lb
PORK TENDERLOINS on sale in CHESTNUT HILL on Saturday: regularly $18 / lb, on sale for $14 / lb
PRODUCE is POPPING:
We have LOADS of produce and gorgeous flowers:
Blackberries
Raspberries
Strawberries (only a few, as they are the Everbearing variety which produces fewer)
Green Beans
Zucchinis (green and yellow – start making ZOODLES!)
Eggplant
Kohlrabi (come on….try it!!)
Cucumbers
Garlic
Ask us to cut you fresh herbs: Parsley, Sage (Lemon and traditional), Thyme, Dill, Basil…. You name it!
The tomatoes are coming!!!! See the picture below for my very first ripened cherry tomato that appeared this week. We should be bursting at the seams by next week!
FLOWERS!
Come to the farm tomorrow and assemble a bouquet from cut stems (or grab one we’ve created), or come to the farm between 4:30 – 6:30 pm and cut your own with us in the garden!
What else?
We’ll have fresh STEAKS, fresh CHICKEN, fresh sausage...you name it!
WATCH THE WEBSITE:
FLOWER PICKING EVENTS: July welcomes the Flowers, Friends and Food at the Farm events….first date is FRIDAY, JULY 17th (6 – 9 pm):
Join us for a BYO farm evening of flower picking, friends and food in the garden and grounds at Canter Hill. We’ll welcome you at 6 pm with a little snack and light beverage, provide a large mason jar and some guidance about the flowers and greens in the garden and set you to selecting 30 stems of your choosing (Dahlias and roses may be up to 6 of those stems) and provide the space to nibble while arranging your artful bouquets amidst the garden (and alongside the peacocks).
Cost: $60 per person or $50 per person for groups of four or more.
RSVP to: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
(Registration site is coming!!!)
As always, pre-orders are welcome and appreciated. Email what you’d like to: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
HOURS:
FARM: Friday, 7/10 from 12 - 4
BRYN MAWR: Saturday, 7/11 from 9 am – 1 pm
CHESTNUT HILL: Saturday, 7/11 from 9 am – noon
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.