We’ll be slinging TeaPops at the Wigle Distillery! Come get all kinds of great street food and participate in a curiously named event! See you Friday in the Strip!!!
It’s that time of year again. Join us for our third annual Tar & Feather Party–our biggest event of the year! Help us celebrate the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790s, read more…
Tag Archives: women in farming
Come to Wigle Whiskey Distillery this Friday – July 25, 2014!
Filed under Events, local food, market, Pittsburgh, Tea-pop Shop
Healcrest is on Hatch!
Dear Fans of Healcrest Urban Farm!
This year has been an amazing year for local, healthy food and urban farming! Maybe you have seen the buzz on our TeaPops in Pittsburgh Magazine here & here or seen us out in the Pittsburgh region and tried one of our sophisticated artisanal TeaPops at these amazing spaces! As you may know, the TeaPops have led us into a fast-paced start-up phase as a local, natural food producer and social enterprise. This also means we must grow with the demand of our buzz and this is what we are doing! In March this year we successfully funded a KivaZip crowd-sourced loan in 2 days flat! Our supporters are amazing. As we continue to raise startup money to expand and speed-up our TeaPop and boxed tea production – we ask you, our friends, colleagues and family to join us as contributors!
The money we raise will help get us into our own commercial kitchen space and increase productivity through high-tech ice pop equipment purchases. With startup support through Idea Foundry, our growth is being supported, tracked and led by an experienced team!
If you did not get a chance to contribute to us through Kiva, now is your chance to focus your contribution to Healcrest through a Pittsburgh-based crowd-sourced platform called Hatch! What is great about Hatch is that it supports amazing local businesses like us and it functions similar to Kickstarter, where you get swag for your contribution!
Our campaign just opened today, and we are inviting friends and family to join us now as a private, even anonymous, contributor to Healcrest Urban Farm! You can contribute funds – as little as $5 – and you get in return some serious Healcrest Urban Farm swag, including a TeaPop punch card, dry-ice TeaPop shipments and a Healcrest Urban Farm TShirt depending the level of giving!
Here is the link to contribute now @ Hatch: 
https://hatch.pdcdc.org/healcrest-urban-farm–2
https://hatch.pdcdc.org/healcrest-urban-farm–2Thank You so Much for Your Continued Support!
The Team of Healcrest Urban Farm!
Maria Graziani, CEO/Founder
Dana Launius, Markets and Marketing/Partner
Meg Graham, Farm Manager/Partner
Michelle Soto, Farm Co-Manager and Resident Herbalist/Partner
Suzanne South, Community Relations/Partner
First summer harvest of herbs
The berry/herb garden…lavender, rasberries, blackberries, sage, Greek oregano…
Filed under organic gardening, Pittsburgh, Uncategorized, Urban Farming
AUGUST::Classes and Volunteer Days at the Farm
Sundays in August Join us At the Farm for Volunteer Days 11-4pm, followed by Farm Tours 4-5pm
August 6th, Wednesday 6pm – The Mighty Sourdough Starters
Learn how to make sourdough bread, crepes, tortillas, and pancakes with sourdough starters. Half a cup of Austrian Sourdough is complementary, so bring a jar with you! 1.5-2 hours (rain date: August 20th) Healcrest Urban Farm is located in Garfield at the intersection of Hillcrest and Pacific. Street Parking is available. Cost of each show, tell, and taste session is 25$ per person. Please register one week ahead of each workshop at http://www.healcresturbanfarm.com/events.html. Classes will be cancelled if enrollment is below eight participants. Contact Natalya at pinchuknatalya@gmail.com or 804-319-7377 if you have any
questions about the workshops.
August 11th, Monday 6pm – Old-Style Pickles, Salsas, Hot Sauces and Chutneys
Venture into the endless possibilities of flavor and learn how to stock up your fridge with delicious condiments and compliments to your everyday staples while the farmer’s markets are still bustling with delicious veggies. 1.5-2 hours (rain date: August 18th) Healcrest Urban Farm is located in Garfield at the intersection of Hillcrest and Pacific. Street Parking is available. Cost of each show, tell, and taste session is 25$ per person. Please register one week ahead of each workshop at http://www.healcresturbanfarm.com/events. Classes will be cancelled if enrollment is below eight participants. Contact Natalya at pinchuknatalya@gmail.com or 804-319-7377 if you have any questions about the workshops.
Sunday August 17, 10-12, Medicine Making, Tinctures and Elixirs.
We will discuss the advantages to making tinctures and even more delicious elixirs using herbs that you can grow, wild harvest, or buy. We’ll take a talk around the garden to learn about harvesting and processing techniques, how to make the best extractions from different plants and of course, do the entire process! Everyone will leave with a sample. Please register in advance at http://www.healcresturbanfarm.com/events so we can have enough supplies for everyone. Contact Michelle at 615-804-0064 or healcresturbanfarm@gmail.com with question about registration.
Sunday August 31, 10-12, Farm Tour, Late Summer Apothecary.
As asters take over our fields and gardens, come learn to identify the common plants of the late summer and how to look for what coming ahead. We’ll talk about identification, sustainable growing and harvesting practices, and the medicinal properties of many herbs. Contact Michelle at 615-804-0064 or info@healcresturbanfarm.com with question about registration. RSVP at http://www.healcresturbanfarm.com/events
Filed under herbal medicine, local food, natural skincare, Pittsburgh, Workshops
We’ll Be Joining Farmers @ the Firehouse this Saturday!
The ladies of Healcrest are excited to bring you delicious Summer refreshment at a new market this weekend! We are so fortunate and grateful to have wonderful new market opportunities.
Visit Maria at Farmers @ the Firehouse for Iced Tea, TeaPops, Loose Tea, and other amazing herbal edibles. Our flavors this week are Blueberry Lemon Balm, Roasted Peach Basil, Fresh Apple Mint, and Cucumber Surprise.
We are excited to see you this Saturday in the Strip at “Pittsburgh’s first & largest mostly organic or Certified Naturally grown farmers’ market.” Read more about Farmers @ the Firehouse.
Voted Best Farmers’ Market in Pittsburgh, Edible Allegheny 2010; 100 Best Things About Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Magazine; Best Farmers’ Market, City Paper Staff Picks.
Filed under market, Pittsburgh, Tea-pop Shop, Uncategorized
JULY :: Classes & Events at the Farm
On a small hill in Garfield, Healcrest Urban Farm is bursting with the colorful flowers of herbs in the height of summer! Our working, urban, organically run farm hosts a variety of events. Contact Michelle for booking at 615 804 0064.
Volunteering on the Farm!
Every Sunday from 114 join us for a volunteer day! We’ll be busy harvesting flowers, weeding, and working in our berry patch this month. Farm Tour at starts at 4pm, free for Garfield residents.
Classes & Workshops
In July we have 5 classes scheduled three Fermentation Classes with Natalya and two Herb Classes with Michelle! Fermentation classes will not run with fewer than 8 participants, so please register early at http://www.healcresturbanfarm.com/events.html
Salve Making Class! Monday July 7, 68 pm ($20)
From blooming garden to a wonderful finished product! Learn abut the therapeutic properties of different herbs and why you would chose them for your oil. We will talk
about many plants in the gardens and how to harvest them. Then we’ll harvest our own
roots and flowers to infuse our oils, discuss different techniques and turn your finished infused oils into a salve. Participants will leave with samples of products made in class. (Please register in advance so we can have enough supplies on hand)
Sauerkraut and Kimchi – Wednesday July 9, 68 pm ($25)
During this show, tell, an taste you will learn the foundations of making sauerkraut and kimchi. There is no one way of doing it. Come and explore the exciting possibilities that variations offer for our breakfast, lunch, and dinner plate.
Fermented Beverages – Monday July 14, 68 pm ($25)
This show, tell, and taste session will introduce you to the making of lightly fermented natural sodas with water kefir grains, fermented syrups to be mixed with sparkling water, and a variety of alcoholic meads.
Herbal Sleep Aids – Monday July 21, 68 pm ($10)
Trouble getting to sleep? Staying asleep? Bothered by sleep apnea? Or is it impossible to wake up?
Learn about different herbal approaches for addressing difficulties falling asleep all and trouble waking up. Walk through the gardens to identify common sleep aid plants and discuss how to grow and process them.
The Easy and Fun Milk Fermentations – Wednesday July 30, 68 pm ($25)
This session will cover the making of cultured and noncultured butters, milk kefir,
okroshka (eastern European cold soup with milk kefir) and clabbering raw milk to make a
simple but delicious farmer’s cheese. Yum!
Filed under herbal medicine, Pittsburgh, Workshops
SUMMER HAS ARRIVED AND IT IS HOT!
So to refresh and recharge you we have Savory Strawberry Creamsicle; Cucumber Lime Mint, and returning champs Chocolate Lavender, & Fresh Apple Mint. In addition we are bringing freshly brewed Iced Tea by the cup. Try our original Tea Blends like Goddess Blend or Everyday Tea. We look forward to hosting you for volunteer days, tours, and classes. And we are always happy to see you at market.
Filed under Events, Pittsburgh, Urban Farming
Fermention Workshops with Cultures Lab and Natalya
Join us at Healcrest Urban Farm for Fermentation Workshops with Natalya. Natalya has been creating, studying, and experimenting with fermented foods for many seasons. This Summer SHE’S BACK to offer more exciting fermentation workshops!
Register here http://www.healcresturbanfarm.com/events.html
June 15, 2014 · 5:15 pm
Herb Classes and Walks with Michelle
Join us this summer at Healcrest Urban Farm for herbal education with certified Herbalist Michelle Soto!
Register here http://www.healcresturbanfarm.com/events.html
June 15, 2014 · 5:06 pm
A Rainy Day Photo Shoot!
By Michelle Soto
Meg and I thought we could use this rainy day to our advantage and show some photos of our muscle powered tools that we use to create the gardens. As we were planning and budgeting to create new gardens and revitalize more green spaces at Healcrest, we made a decision to not rent heavy gas powered machinery and to invest in quality earth moving tools that we can use for years to come.
We still use lawn mowers for grass cutting, but pretty much everything else up at the farm is a hand tool. This definitely increases the time and energy it takes to build a garden bed, but the finished products are high quality beds that will be around for years to come, completely free of knotweed roots, rocks, and anything else that might impede the growing process.
We’ve found that the beds that we built last year have needed a few wheelbarrows of compost of them and some leaf mulch in the aisles, but are free of invasive weeds. The hard pan clay that is just right under our top soil was turned with compost last year and has matured into a dark rich layer of soil, perfect for growing.
Planting into these beds will continue for a few more weeks! Official volunteer days are on Sundays from 11-4. We won’t make you jump on a broad fork for you can help some baby seedlings find a good home!
Michelle loves to use the little digging fork to turn earth
Meg attacks knotweed, clearing a new path through the woods
Michelle jumps on the broad fork, using all her body weight!
Meg is shifting soil with the brand new shifter that Suzy built or the farm
Wishing You All A Happy Mother’s Day
From all of us at Healcrest Urban Farm
Hope your day was FULL of family, friendship, and fantastic fun!
May 11, 2014 · 9:09 pm
Healcrest Urban Farm 