Frequently
Asked Questions

Frequently Asked QuestionsBrandi Delancey2022-10-06T11:50:35-04:00

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willowsfordconservancyandfarm

willowsfordconservancyandfarm

Jun 12

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Garlic scapes have entered the chattttt 😍

See you at the Farm Stand this weekend?

Jun 12

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It's Week 5 for the 2025 Summer CSA! Farmer Andy takes us down the pack line for the Farmer's Choice and shares some great recipes. Mark your calendars - FREE Foam Party at the Farm Stand in the Grange on Saturday June 21st!

##eatlocal #farm #farming #agriculture #food #loudouncounty

Jun 11

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The Farm Team is a well-oiled spinach washing machine! 💪

#food #farm #farming #agriculture #EatLocal #loudouncounty

Jun 10

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Farmer Andy harvests a bunch of Swiss Chard and chats about the CSA!

#farming #agriculture #gardening #eatlocal #loudouncounty

Jun 9

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We see a lot of deer on our trail cams but felt very lucky to capture this special moment between a doe and her fawn this past Friday!❤️🦌 Notice the white spots along the fawn’s back? These spots are a clever form of camouflage. The speckled pattern mimics dappled sunlight on the forest floor, helping the fawn stay hidden from predators during its most vulnerable early weeks. Fawns are born in late spring and lose their spots by fall usually, though will often stay with mom through winter before going off on their own.

Jun 5

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Farmer Andy shares this week's Farmer's Choice share contents for Week 4, June 5-7. Did we mention we have eggs at the Farm Stand this week!?

#eatlocal #farming #loundouncounty #food

Jun 4

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Chirp, chirp! 🪺 Bird box monitoring season is in full swing with plenty of eggs and hatchlings in many of our boxes along our four monitoring trails. In this box along our trail in The Greens we found one week old tree swallows.

Volunteer monitors help us check us bird boxes weekly to gather valuable data to help with the conservation of cavity nesting birds like these tree swallows and other species like eastern bluebirds and chickadees. Interested in becoming a volunteer monitor? Let us know and we’ll provide training! Monitoring is easy, flexible, and takes no more than an hour or two each week.

Jun 3

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Farmer Andy harvests beets and shares his cooking tips!

#beets #food #eatlocal #loudouncounty #farming #agriculture

May 31

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Come get your nutrition fix and see us at the Farm Stand today (Saturday) - here until 1:00 pm.

May 29

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It's Week 3 for the 2025 Summer Season! Farmer Andy shares his cooking tips and the Farmer's Choice contents!

#farming #agriculture #food #loudouncounty #eatlocal

May 28

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No chlorophyll? No problem! This is ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora), a hauntingly cool plant that skips photosynthesis and gets its nutrients through a parasitic, mycorrhizal connection to trees. Often mistaken for a mushroom, ghost pipe is actually a flowering plant. Since this plant is not photosynthetic and (therefore does not need sunlight) it can be found in dark areas along the forest floor where other plants may struggle to grow.

Our Land Stewardship spotted this along the trails yesterday, be sure to keep an eye out for it on your next hike!

May 27

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Farmer Andy harvests green kale for this week's CSA!

#farming #agriculture #loudouncounty #food

May 23

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Come stream monitoring with us on Lenah Run! Our Land Stewardship team, led by Ranger Emily who is certified as a stream monitor with @loudounwildlife , conducted stream monitoring on a section of the creek this past week.

Stream monitoring entails collecting, identifying, sorting, and counting benthic macroinvertebrates – tiny creatures that live on the bottom of streams and rivers. They tell us if a stream is healthy by their absence, presence, or abundance. The different macroinvertebrates have varying tolerances of pollution, so by identifying them and measuring the quantity at which they’re present in the stream, tells us about the health of the stream and the water quality. From the stream survey results, volunteers can give the stream a stream health score.

We do our monitoring with Virginia Save our Streams, a program of the Izaak Walton League of America. Our survey found 224 organisms, including mayflies, lots of beetles, two clams, lots of fly larvae, and worms. The variety of organisms yielded an 8 on the stream health score index. This means the ecological conditions cannot be determined at this time. It’s essentially in between the unacceptable ecological conditions and acceptable ecological conditions.

Anyone can get certified to be a stream monitor and can establish a new monitoring site in Willowsford or elsewhere to contribute data. We sometimes have volunteer opportunities to join our surveys. We also hold educational programs where we head into the stream and do our own survey. Check out our calendar or reach out to join our next program.

#streammonitoring #citizenscience #loudouncounty

May 22

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Farm Stand is open til 7pm! @threecapfarms is here! Come see us.

May 22

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It's Week 2 (and a B week) for the 2025 Summer Farmer's Choice share. Farmer Andy shares his cooking tips for this week's box and we have a special guest at the Farm Stand tonight!

May 21

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We're washing produce for the next CSA share! Farmer Andy demonstrates our produce washing process using wonderful bunches of red radishes

#farming #agriculture #gardening #loudouncounty

May 19

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Rain is powerful! 🌧️ These two images were taken by one of our trail cams along Bull Run last week before and after the torrential rain we received. There is only about 3.5 hours between these photos. If you look closely, you can see that there is a deer wading in middle of the flooded stream. 🦌

Water levels have mostly returned to normal but trail conditions may still be muddy. Be careful as you hit the trails this week and don’t forget to report any damage or downed trees along the trails to our team by emailing info@willowsfordconservancy.org.

May 15

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The 2025 Summer CSA starts today! Farmer Andy takes us down the pack line and shares some cooking tips for your first box!

#csa #farm #food #agriculture #loudouncounty

May 13

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Farmer Andy shows how we use a scuffle hoe for weeding in the lacinato kale.

#food #gardening #agriculture #farming

May 8

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This week is Amphibian Week! 🐸 We’re celebrating frogs, toads, and salamanders that call Willowsford home.

Photo 1: A slimy salamander. These are a species of “lungless” salamanders and breathe through their skin!
Photo 2: Wood frog, this species is the only frog species that lives north of the arctic circle due to a unique “antifreeze” substance they produce to withstand freezing temps.
Photo 3: A wood frog egg mass. The clear gelatinous coatings protect the eggs and keep them moist as they grow into tadpoles.
Photo 4: Spring peeper, these little frogs get LOUD during the spring mating season with calls as loud as 90 decibels.
Photo 5: Eastern newt in its juvenile “eft” stage. Its bright color signals to predators that it is toxic!