Corn Planting

May – June

Visit a field that farmers are plowing or harrowing with horses in preparation for planting corn...or see newly-emerged corn weeded or cultivated. (Field experience varies according to the real work being done on the farm on the day of your visit.) Learn about the seeds and tools farmers used, how soil provides the plant with its basic needs, and how weather and other conditions affect germination and growth. Hands-on activities include seed selection, soil exploration, and corn planting. After a brief visit to the circa-1900 kitchen inside the farmhouse, participants will also get to sample homemade cornbread.

Farm Animals

In a 90-minute sampler of the Howell Farm morning chores, children meet horses, sheep, pigs, and chickens, learning how a farmer’s family works to keep the animals healthy, warm, and productive during the coming winter. Participants help shell and grind corn for animal feed, look for eggs in the henhouse, and help the farmer with other work around the farm.

May

3  Sheep Shearing & Herding

     

10 Mother's Day Carriage Rides

17 Corn Planting & Gardening

24  Hog Slopping & Weighing

31 Haying

June

7 Old Time Baseball Game & Wash Day

14 Pleasant Valley House Tours

          

21 Dairy Day

28 Ice Cream Party & Wheat Harvest

July

5  Evening Blacksmithing (5:00–8:00 p.m.)

12 Evening Animal Chores (5:00–8:00 p.m.)

19  Evening Animal Chores (5:00–8:00 p.m.)

26 & 27   Mercer County 4-H Fair & Wheat Threshing