Sliwa Meadow Farm near Decorah, IA, will host an apple cider-making day and farm tour on Friday, September 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Hosts Perry-O and David Sliwa will begin with setting up the press and the picking and washing of apples from the farm. Bring your own apples if you have some. The cider will be made using an old hand-crank buckeye press from the 1860s. If you want to take cider home, bring your own clean containers. The group will break for a potluck picnic at noon, then keep squeezing until the apples are done.

 

Guests also will tour this owner-built, off-the-grid homestead where the Sliwas have lived since 1980. Their diverse farm, which follows sustainable practices, is focused on growing tree fruits, grapes, berries, selected vegetables (asparagus, heirloom tomatoes, and garlic) and cut flowers (daffodils, peonies, gladioli, and assorted seasonal annuals), all marketed locally. The Sliwas also raise a few chickens and are bee-keepers.

Perry-O says, “Most of our plantings are enclosed within deer fences, and our practices emphasize soil enrichment through mulching. We also have been using alternative renewable energy since we moved here.”

 

Current solar and wind systems include a photovoltaic array, a vintage Jacobs wind machine, an Aeromotor water pumper, and a flat plate collector solar hot water system. The Sliwas often cook in their solar oven and dry fruit and herbs in a solar dryer designed for the hot, humid Midwest. Rainwater, collected off their super-insulated, passive solar home’s metal roof, is used for irrigating the gardens. This season the couple have added a high tunnel for extending the growing season, and upgraded their solar panels so they can have a cool place to store fruit in the fall.

 

This year the Sliwas have enjoyed the help of apprentice Maria Carr, participating in WFAN’s Harvesting Our Potential on-farm apprenticeship program. She will be leaving soon to continue her farming adventure as a Willing Worker in Organic Farms (WWOOFer) in South America. Perry-O adds that their organic farmer neighbor, Dan Beard, is growing oats and hay on two of Sliwa’s fields, and Guatemalan Rosa Zamora Santos, living in nearby Postville with her two girls, is also gardening at the farm.

Directions. Sliwa Meadow Farm is nine miles northeast of Decorah. From Casey's on College Drive, go four miles northeast on Locust Road (W38) to Canoe Ridge Road (A38). Turn right (east) on Canoe Ridge blacktop, and go three miles. You will also be following signs to Canoe Ridge Kennel on Lannon Hill Road. Lannon Hill Road goes only to the right and is a dead end road. After you pass the kennel on your right, proceed a mile and a half down the hill to the blue number sign on your left (2682). Come down the quarter-mile drive.

Bring a dish to share at the potluck and your own table service. Beverages will be provided. For more information call Perry-O at 563-382-3922. Walk-ins are welcome, but the Sliwas would like to have some idea of how many to expect, so please register by calling 515.460.2477 and leaving a message by Wednesday, Sept. 8