Wish List

The Joshua Farm operates on the support of the Allison Hill and Harrisburg community. The following items and projects would help us do our job better and allow us to engage even more people in the work of urban agriculture and community development.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Sponsors for our youth employment program

It takes $2250 to employ one at-risk youth for 12 weeks, at just 25 hours a week, $7.50/hour.  We’d like to employ three youth this summer, but we need more financial support–produce sales are just barely covering the farm’s expenses.  Please consider a tax-deductible donation in any amount.

Gift certificates

Certificates to the following businesses are always helpfulJohnnys Selected Seeds, High Mowing Seeds, Lowes, or Tractor Supply Company.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

BCS Drawbar, Tool Carrier, and Bedshaper

Our BCS two wheel tractor is an incredible machine. It does all of our tilling as well as our heavy duty mowing. We would like to start creating raised beds for our crops. This would create a better growing environment for our crops AND increase the amount of rainwater our fields catch and infiltrate into the ground. It’s a win-win.

Jang JP1 Clean Seeder

These seeders help save on seed costs and labor costs, helping our resources go even further. Here

Johnny’s Seedbed Roller

This roller helps prepare a consistent seedbed for better seeding and creates a 1″ grid for easier, faster transplanting by volunteers and staff. Here

PROJECTS

Adopt a perimeter bed  We have lots of plantings around the edge of the field–fruit trees, herb alley, habitat for beneficials, native planting, etc.  In the crush of planting, weeding, and harvesting the things that get included in shares, these perimeter plantings often get overlooked.  Adopt one by committing to weeding it weekly (or every other week).

Develop signs for a self guided tour of Joshua Farm  The rainwater collection system, the compost area, the beneficial habitat, the chicken tractor, the horse manure hot beds, the value of cover crops and crop rotation–these things are all important parts of Joshua Farm, and while we enjoy giving tours, it would be great if we had signs to explain these things.

Weed, Bird, and Bug Inventory No, we’re not really going to ask you to count all the weeds at Joshua Farm.  But we’d like to know what they are, and what they look like, and how they fit into the urban farm ecosystem.  Ditto on the bugs and the birds.  The inventory would be always shifting, of course, as new things appear, but the initial launch would be a binder with pictures and descriptions.