The Cornell University Student Farm is holding a Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 5 (raindate Oct. 6), to close down the farm officially for this season.

The student farm is located on the southern edge of the Cornell Orchards, on Route 366, and it can be accessed via the nature trail along Cascadilla Creek.

The schedule of events is as follows:

• Noon -- Harvesting, pumpkin carving and potluck lunch.
• 2 p.m. -- Draft-horse tilling.
• 4 p.m. -- Participate in the bed preparation for next spring.

"We need to plow under the land in order to mix in the leftover plant stems and to aerate the soil," said Kalay Mordock, one of the student organizers of the farm. "We will also plow in some compost and manure for fertilizer and lime for soil acidity. The organic matter plowed under decomposes and adds nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil."

Mordock said the horse will be used to drag an old-fashioned plow that allows the farmer to follow behind, just as the pioneers used and the Amish use today.

"It is more labor intensive, but more environmentally friendly. It should be great to watch and is really a blast from the past!" Mordock said.