Ahoy!
​
The ordering is going more smoothly. While the ordering platform has been a little buggy on occasion, I am generally satisfied with it. It has allowed us to continue doing the work we need to do to ensure that there will be vegetables available to you. 

Important Notes:

• Stockbridge- Pick-ups will be at market on Fridays during market hours (4 pm to 7 pm)  It will be so for all pick-ups moving forward. 
• Eastern- We may be in a new location at market this Saturday. Please check our website's homepage before heading to market to find out where we will be!
• We are now opening the ordering to both farm members and market customers on Tuesday evenings, instead of staggering order opening. We are doing this for a few important reasons:
  • It reduces the amount of computer work we have to do and allows us to dedicate our time to cultivating the vegetables. This will ensure that we have the vegetables for us to sell and you to eat, and that is really the important part. 
  • We haven't been selling out, except for the extremely limited items. That means, this is unlikely to effect whether your order is filled or not. 
  • Don't worry about not getting your favorites. Doing it this way will increase the availability of your favorites, not just for you but for everyone. 
  • This is similar to how we have always handled it at market. 
  • This will increase the window for sales for all our customers and increase the amount of overall sales. It is important, especially this time of year and under these strange circumstances that we sell as many of our vegetables as we can.
• If you haven't been able to order though Local Line please send us an email so we can help you get set up.

Ordering:
If you have already registered with Local Line, just log in and use your account to order. If you haven't already done it, please make sure your account name is in the format Lastname.Firs as in Chandler.Hele or Neumann.Jim. This isn't required but it helps us when we are entering data, packing, and handling pick ups. 

If you still need to register with Local Line, follow these instructions. To avoid difficulty, PLEASE READ THROUGH THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
How to create a Local Line Account

1. Head to the link at the bottom of these steps.
2. Register using the green button to the right.
3. You will be asked to enter a bunch of information and there are a two things that are very important
   1. Be sure to use the email address that this email went to. If you don't, you may be asked to pay using a credit card.
   2. Please use the Lastname.Firs for the Account name. (Your last name follow by a period followed by the first four letters of your first name, with no spaces. For example Chandler.Hele)
4. You will then need to verify your email address by going to your email inbox and responding to the email that comes from Local Line.
5. At last! You can order!
6. Here is the link to use to create your Local Line account: https://www.localline.ca/lakedividefarm

If you have trouble with any of this, Jim will be available to help you all day Wednesday and Thursday. Please send an email and we will walk you through it, either via email or over the phone. We know this is strange and weird but it is what the world is asking of all of us right now. 

Here find some notes on the farm. Below this, find some notes on pick-ups.

We have had a windfall of applicants to work on the farm. The crew is really filling out and I am so grateful. It has been a few years since I worked this many consecutive days in April. It is something I look forward to not doing again. 

Since I last wrote we have planted almost an acre of vegetables, hired 4 people, begun the process of flipping one of our hoop houses to summer vegetables, brought equipment out of hibernation, dusted off the irrigation and continued the ebb and flow of the greenhouse (seeding flats, taking flats out to be planted, seeding flats, harvesting flats...)

I don't have much more to say because, before the big rain over the next coupe days, I am hoping to get a little more tractor work done. This means I have to get out of the office and into the field. 

Best of the best,
Helen
: 



Notes on Pick-ups:
Important:

• Stockbridge- Pick-ups will be at market on Fridays during market hours (4 pm to 7 pm)  It will be so for all pick-ups moving forward. 
• Eastern- We may be in a new location this Saturday. Please keep an eye out for an email with pick-up locations. 
• We have left the windows broad but would appreciate it if you come as early as you can. 
• If you are picking up in Ann Arbor, Whitney Farmstead, Tiani Body Care, and Raterman Bread have a pre-order set-up going on as well. This is not included in your CSA but they have great products. https://whitneyfarmstead.square.site/ 

If your account balance is low:

• If you want to continue on as one of our members and your balance does not cover your current order
  • Order what you want
  • Add money into your account either by
    • Putting a check or cash in your trunk/backseat Saturday for pick-up and emailing to let me know
    • Mailing a check
    • Using the online store
• If you just want to add more to your account, go for it! Use any of the methods listed above.
• If you no longer want to be a farm member
  • We ask that you do not go over your balance.  

Pick-up locations and instructions:

Ann Arbor- Whitney Farmstead 11 am - 2 pm
PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS for Whitney Farmstead:
Bring a piece of paper with your first and last name written upon it.
Drive to 4165-3601 Farrell Rd, Dexter, MI 48130 (The farm drive is on the South side of Farrell between these two addresses.)
Turn down farm drive and Look for our van/sign. 
Pull into car line and stay in your car with your windows up.
When you are at the front the line Kyla will come to you. Hold up your paper or say your name.
Either pop your trunk/rear door/unlock your backdoor to allow Kyla to place your order in your backseat.

Note: We are being hosted by the lovely Whitney Farmstead. They have all of their amazing products (Maple Syrup, Eggs, Meats), along with the Tiani Body Care's Soaps, and Raterman's Breads. They have an online store for pre-ordering as well. 

Royal Oak- At the Market! 7 am - 11 am – We will be parked in the last spot before the circle. 
PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS for the Royal Oak Market
Bring a piece of paper with your first and last name written upon it.
Drive to the Royal Oak Farmers' Market. We will be on the East Side of the building.
Look for our sign, van, and me or Kathryn. We will be parked in the last spot along the building side, just before the circle
Upon arrival, get into the car line (we are hoping to use the circle for a car line) and stay in your car with your windows up.
When you are at the front the line we will come over. Hold up your paper or if you don't have a paper, say your Last name. Keep your windows up!
Either pop your trunk/rear door, or unlock your backseat door to allow Kathryn to place your order in your backseat.
If you are shopping at the market and would like to pick your order up on foot, please respect the 6’ social distancing measures.  


Eastern Market- Shed TBD -  7 am - 11:30 am 
PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS for Eastern Market
Please look for an email later this week with the pick-up details.

Stockbridge- FRIDAY at market (on the square at South Clinton St & West Main St) 4 pm to 7 pm

PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS:
You may choose to walk up to the the table 
--or--
Low contact option
Bring a piece of paper with your first and last name written on it. 
Pull up along close to our stand at market.
Give a beep 
Hold up your paper or say your name.
Either pop your trunk/rear door/unlock your backdoor
We will bring your order out and put it in your trunk.


Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

We were swept away in a current adjustment. That being the case, we haven't shared our newsletters on our website for a touch. Without further ado, here is the most recent one. Hopefully we will be back on track on it henceforth!

Ahoy!!
What a whirlwind. Hopefully this is the only email that I send to you tonight, unlike the triploid email trend we have all been enjoying/suffering through. Time will tell. Last week I really bungled up the explanation of how to use Local Line. Hopefully this week it is easier (for everyone!) 

Ordering:
If you have already registered with Local Line, just log in and use your account to order. If you haven't already done it, please make sure your account name is in the format Lastname.Firs as in Chandler.Hele or Neumann.Jim. This isn't required but it helps us when we are entering data, packing, and handling pick ups. 

If you still need to register with Local Line, follow these instructions. To avoid difficulty, PLEASE READ THROUGH THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
How to create a Local Line Account

1. Head to the link at the bottom of these steps.
2. Register using the green button to the right.
3. You will be asked to enter a bunch of information. The only things that is important to us is that you please use the Lastname.Firs for the Account name. (Your last name follow by a period followed by the first four letters of your first name, with no spaces. For example Chandler.Hele)
4. You will then need to verify your email address by going to your email inbox and responding to the email that comes from Local Line.
5. At last! You can order!
6. Here is the link to use to create your Local Line account: https://www.localline.ca/lakedividefarm

If you have trouble with any of this, Jim will be available to help you all day Wednesday and Thursday. Please send an email and we will walk you through it, either via email or over the phone. We know this is strange and weird but it is what the world is asking of all of us right now. 

Here find some notes on the farm. Below this, find some notes on pick-ups.
Most nights, the dogs and I walk the fenceline. I look for interesting life- crawfish holes (I will get a picture), birds nests, ant hills, you know, the usual. Meanwhile, the dogs look for animal burrows. More accurately Boomer looks for animals and Exie looks into my eyes begging for cookies and I feed them to her secretly when Boomer isn't looking. If we don't take these walks, I think we would all lose our minds. I would never decouple from the troubles of trying to finish a puzzle with missing pieces. The dogs would explode from lack of romping. 

What are the missing puzzle pieces? I mean, we all know, COVID-19, right? The uncertainty about the future. The way this pandemic has highlighted some societal deficiencies. All the worry about what it really is, what it really looks like, how should we behave, how to be responsible now, how to get the information that we need. It boils up quickly. It is hard to look away.

But what does that look like here? What does the pandemic version of Lake Divide Farm look like?  Really, it looks like us working really hard with less resources and more variables. How has this manifested on the farm? 

For one thing, we have dramatically less people working with us than we anticipated. This is for both COVID related reasons (being a caretaker, being responsible with exposure and quarantine , being fearful of switching to a lower paying job in uncertain times etc) and not covid reasons (taking another job and moving on from the farm, deciding not to work on the farm this year). This set us up to struggle this spring.

On top of that, switching to online ordering left us with less time during a critical moment in the season- the prep time. I still believe that pre-ordering and low contact is and continues to be the thing to do (for how long, we are still considering). Regardless of how right it is, it has taken a toll. Packing orders takes a long time. Learning a new system takes time. And that time is something we don't have a lot of. We fell behind on planting, seeding, building, planning. We fell behind. 

We lost some of the early seeded crops- those greens I seeded at the beginning of March that we were all so looking forward to. But if we can get them weeded, we will have early carrots.

Add to that, the intense learning required to be a responsible essential business during a pandemic and we are swamped!

It was so thick over here, I couldn't even talk about it. I haven't been able to write about it because we had no time and little mental space for flourish. All we could do was keep doing the next right thing. And that is what we are doing. Putting one foot in front of the other. Taking the steps that we know will ensure food. Managing the most urgent situations. 

Luckily, this is something that farming has taught us to do- address the most urgent concern. And so we have stayed afloat. And we are starting to catch up. We have two new hires- both for part-time, and a few prospects. We have just over an acre prepped and will get plants in the ground this week. We have another 2 acres of ground plowed and ready for finishing touches. We figured out the online ordering thing (for the most part). We started the most time sensitive seeds. 

Things are seeming a little more possible. I am taking some deeper breaths. We aren't out of the woods yet, but we have more support than we did two weeks ago, and more is on the way. I really want you to know that we are working our hardest. I have no idea what it looks like from the outside, but from the inside it looks like we are riding a molten tidal wave. It has been terrifying. 

I just wanted you to know that this isn't just "farming as usual". These aren't the regular spring concerns. I know we will persevere. We have an excellent core team, good land, solid experience, dedication. But it is hard. It is hard for all of us in all different ways. So let's stick together.

Best of the best,
Helen and Jim plus the core crew of Lake Dividers (Lizz, Malcolm, and Kyla!)
: 



Notes on Pick-ups:
Important:

• Second week of new Hours at Eastern (7 am to 11:30 am), Royal Oak (7 am to 11 am), and Whitney Farm (11 am to 2 pm)
• We have left the windows broad but would appreciate it if you come as early as you can. 
• If you are picking up in Ann Arbor, Whitney Farmstead, Tiani Body Care, and Raterman Bread have a pre-order set-up going on as well. This is not included in your CSA but they have great products. https://whitneyfarmstead.square.site/ 

Pick-up locations and instructions:

Ann Arbor- Whitney Farmstead 11 am - 2 pm
PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS for Whitney Farmstead:
Bring a piece of paper with your first and last name written upon it.
Drive to 4165-3601 Farrell Rd, Dexter, MI 48130 (The farm drive is on the South side of Farrell between these two addresses.)
Turn down farm drive and Look for our van/sign. 
Pull into car line and stay in your car with your windows up.
When you are at the front the line Kyla will come to you. Hold up your paper or say your name.
Either pop your trunk/rear door/unlock your backdoor to allow Kyla to place your order in your backseat.

Note: We are being hosted by the lovely Whitney Farmstead. They have all of their amazing products (Maple Syrup, Eggs, Meats), along with the Tiani Body Care's Soaps, and Raterman's Breads. They have an online store for pre-ordering as well. 

Royal Oak- At the Market! 7 am - 11 am – We will be parked in the last spot before the circle. 
PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS for the Royal Oak Market
Bring a piece of paper with your first and last name written upon it.
Drive to the Royal Oak Farmers' Market. We will be on the East Side of the building.
Look for our sign, van, and me or Kathryn. We will be parked in the last spot along the building side, just before the circle
Upon arrival, get into the car line (we are hoping to use the circle for a car line) and stay in your car with your windows up.
When you are at the front the line we will come over. Hold up your paper or if you don't have a paper, say your Last name. Keep your windows up!
Either pop your trunk/rear door, or unlock your backseat door to allow Kathryn to place your order in your backseat.
If you are shopping at the market and would like to pick your order up on foot, please respect the 6’ social distancing measures.  


Eastern Market- In Shed Four! 7 am - 11:30 am 
PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS for Eastern Market
Bring a piece of paper with your first and last name written on it. 
Head to 2934 Russell St, Detroit, Shed 4.  (It is the long narrow shed between the two indoor sheds 3 and 5)  
Turn onto Division street from Russell Street.
You will see our Lake Divide Farm Sign and Shana.
Pull into car line and stay in your car with your windows up.
When you are at the front the line Shana will come to you. Hold up your paper or say your name.
Either pop your trunk/rear door/unlock your backdoor to allow Shana to place your order in your backseat.

Stockbridge- Roadside on the farm 12 pm to 2 pm
PICK UP INSTRUCTIONS:
Bring a piece of paper with your first and last name written on it. 
Drive to the address listed on your receipt. Our farm is located just North of Stephen Road on the dirt road part of Mount Hope (Moechel)
Pull up along the roadside in front of the big barn on the East side of the road.
Give a beep if no one is present but stay in your car and keep your windows up.
Hold up your paper or say your name.
Either pop your trunk/rear door/unlock your backdoor
We will bring your order out and put it in your trunk.

Please do not stroll the farm. We are working hard to keep our work environment safe for us to work and produce food. We hope to have a potluck this spring if various conditions permit!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

Greetings!
 
While we haven't talked about it, we have stayed abreast of the coronavirus situation and have constantly had your health and well being in mind. You may not be phased by Covid19 or you may be feeling worried. Either way, the virus is now in Michigan and beginning to affect our daily lives, with k thru 12  schools closing and no toilet paper anywhere to be found.

Please Note:
Nothing I am saying here is meant to be inflammatory or cause distress, my only intention is to be sure we are calmly prepared to care for each other. We want to let you know that we are taking this seriously and consider it better to be cautious in matters concerning public health and safety. We want you to know what we are doing to keep you safe and make sure you continue to have access to fresh, healthy food. 

On the farm:
We have reviewed food safety practices and expressed the importance of staying home when sick. Because we have been carefully and safely producing food for the public for a time now, we feel confident in our ability to continue to do this.  

We plan to do things a little differently at the farmers market as well:
We will have display vegetables on the table.
Customers will tell us which they want and we will collect them from behind the table (minimizing touching of vegetables).
We will bag them and then handle the cash exchange.
After every cash exchange, we will sanitize our hands. 

Things to do in general and at market:Be aware of the symptoms.

The CDC says patients with confirmed infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

The best prevention for viruses, such as influenza, the common cold or COVID-19 is to:

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. If not available, use hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or upper sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
• Avoid contact with people who are sick.
• If you are sick, stay home, and avoid contact with others.

For the future:
We are not sure how the coronavirus is going to affect the market season. What we do know is that everyone has to eat and we want to provide that food. 
In case of market cancellations or reluctance to attend markets, we are considering offering pre-ordered, pre-packed, pick-ups to customers. We are still getting the details together, so if you are interested please keep an eye out for information in future emails. 

Ann Arbor Market is closed through April 4th:
We plan to offer pre-packed pick-ups as early as next Saturday but still need a little time to prepare. Expect to receive an email as early as Tuesday regarding this. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Eastern, Royal Oak, and Stockbridge

CSA- Our Flexible Farm Membership: So what is our farm membership? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Additional Reasons you should consider signing up for our CSA or any other CSA:
To reduce the exchange of cash at market. 
To assist local food growers during an uncertain market season. 
To ensure a connection to fresh, nutritious food. 

Recipe:  Microgreens!
Back at last! Delicious tender morsels to delight every meal. Sprinkle them on eggs. Deluxe a sandwich. Infuse a smoothie. No recipe involved! Come and grab a bag or two!

Food for thought: 
After all that discussion and planning, the farm must continue. The days are still lengthening, the soil is still warming, we will still need to eat in July. And we are as busy making that happen as ever.
We did it! We got all the seeding that we intended done last week. Now on to building tunnels over the crops to protect them from the volatile vernal weather. These seeds bring me hope: Hope that we will have an increasing amount of fresh delicious food come April. 
So this week we are back to construction. We will be bending the rest of our hoops and cutting rebar and then assembling it all in the field. We will pull plastic over and tie it down and then keep a close eye and watch for green! I will try to post a picture of it when it happens!
And while we do this, we are starting more seeds in the greenhouse! In the most not hilarious way, the greenhouse is already just about halfway full. By the time we finish with seeding this week, it may be completely full (hyperbole)! I guess we will build some more shelves like last year and pack those little plants in! Hopefully the weather breaks soon and we can put them out into the field. 
And like I said at the beginning of this note, we will be getting ready to prepare the soil where all these little plants go. This means making sure the machines are in working order, creating a field layout plan and deciding where all these lives will go, and making sure we have all the materials that we will need.
All of these activities will move us towards readiness for the spring. 
Onward and farmward. 

Helen and Lizz writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

​At market this week! 

Greens: All may be limited
Kale
Head Lettuce
MicroGreens! 

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Kohlrabi!
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!

Herbs:
Parsley

Coming soon:
Pea Shoots

Birds. We all hear them! Red wing blackbirds! A reminder to get out there! Out into the wild world! Witness the reawakening! Take a deep breath and a deep sigh.

To note:

Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! 

Still couple more slots for crew this year! We are looking for people that want to join our team and grow great food. It is a hard job but it is extremely rewarding. Check out our work with us page to see if you match the description.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help balance out cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far! It is really making a difference for us!


RECIPE:  CRUSHED TURNIPS
Just like Smashed Potatoes, only without the carbs! This recipe is seriously delicious and can be prepped the night before so all you have to do is brush and bake them. I would recommend a variety of our golden and purple top turnips for some color variation. This also works  REALLY  well with our green Daikon,  simply cut into rounds before smashing.
 INGREDIENTS

• 12 small to medium turnips, peeled (~2 pints of ours, we can help you select small ones!)
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese  (or as needed)
• Chopped fresh chives (or dill, or parsley, or whatever herb your heart desires)

METHOD

1. Place peeled turnips in a pot of salted water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cook 20 to 30 minutes or until turnips can be pierced easily with a paring knife. Drain. Let cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Place the turnips on a clean kitchen towel or double layer of paper towels. Gently press each one down until it's approximately 1/2-inch high. Let them drain for 15 minutes then carefully flip them over onto a dry section of the towel or onto fresh paper towels so the other side drains and dries a bit.
4. Combine garlic, olive oil and salt and black pepper, to taste in a small bowl.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Place the flattened turnips on the lined baking sheet. Brush each turnip with a little of the olive oil and garlic combination. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each turnip, gently pressing it down.
6. Carefully and quickly flip each turnip over. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and garlic combination and cheese.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Flip each turnip and bake an additional 15 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh chives and serve

Recipe courtesy of  Fromachefskitchen.com
Food for thought: 
Lots to do, lots to do! With all this sun we are working on getting some seeds in the ground! 
With all this sun, some of our overwintered crops are thinking it is time to flower and produce seeds. You may see a decline in available greens in during the next month. This means get to market early if you want to get them. 
It is also why it is so so important for us to get these seeds in the ground. Here is the lists of crops that we are hoping to seed this week: Brassica greens (Arugula, Mustard, Tatsoi, Tokyo Bekana), SWEET TURNIPS, Beets, red spring Radishes, and some Carrots. They range in 'Days to Maturity' (how long it takes from seeding to harvest) quite a bit. The radishes and the greens are the fastest coming in at 28 days. Turnips take a little longer at 38 days. Beets and carrots take the longest at around 60 days. This translates to about a month, about an month and a half, and about 2 months. Now consider that these DTM are in ideal conditions. Most crops prefer warm, moist soil to start their lives. The soil of the spring is cold, like putting your feet on the bare floor first thing in the morning on a winter day. And sometimes it is sopping wet. We are hoping that the raised beds that we prepared last fall, along with the tunnels we are hoping to construct over the crops, will help with both of these factors. 
If we get these crops in the ground now, we could hope to have renewed greenery by the second week of April and some fresh roots towards the end of the month. Here to hoping it pans out! Wish us luck, dexterity and speed out there this week! 
Onward and farmward. 

Helen (email body) and Lizz (recipe and photo captions) writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 

Greens: All may be limitedBaby Chard?
Kale 
Arugula
SpinachAll manner of deliciousness:Cabbage
Carrots- (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Kohlrabi!
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.Coming soon:Parsley- 1 week out
Microgreens- 1 week out depending on how much sunshine we get!
Pea shoots-  1 week out depending on how much sunshine we get!
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This weeks MarketsSaturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.
 

 
What an exciting time it has been, in the snow on the farm. We all knew that last week was a sign of springs good faith but that we would be back to the depths for a little longer. But really winter. Really? Quite the chill in the air indeed. Because of the low temperatures we decided to hold off until this coming Saturday to turn on the greenhouse. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Friday: Stockbridge Winter Pantry Market from 5:30 pm to 7 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Stockbridge, 101 S Center St, Stockbridge, MI 49285
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! 

Still couple more slots for crew this year! We are looking for people that want to join our team and grow great food. It is a hard job but it is extremely rewarding. Check out our work with us page to see if you match the description.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far! It is really making a difference for us!

RECIPE:  CLASSIC MASHED RUTABAGA
What does one even do with Rutabaga? I love to mash them. These beautiful roots are sweeter than a turnip, and mashing them really brings the flavor to your plate. Pro tip: you can save the prepared rutabaga in the freezer for up to a year! I put them in a ziplock and squeeze all the air out and flatten it so it thaws quickly.
 INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 lbs rutabaga (2 of our pints)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• Black pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Peel and chop the rutabaga into chunks
2. Put in a sauce pan and cover with water
3. Add 1 tsp salt
4. Bring the water to a rolling boil, cover and simmer for 25-30 mins (until tender) 
5. Drain them!
6. Mash with the butter, the rest of the salt and some pepper

You cant go wrong with these, you can add carrots for color, or you can sub sour cream for the butter. Basically treat them like mashed potatoes!

Food for thought: 
We are on the cusp of March. This is when changes begin picking up speed. We will start this month with a greenhouse, partially full of flats and no green in sight. By the end of them month, the greenhouse will be overflowing with healthy green transplants eager to be planted. We will have sprouted potatoes and sprouted ginger angling for spots in the earth. The daylight hours will increase and there will be more people on the farm every day. And birds too! They will come back by one, then two, then by twenty. The animals will begin waking up. They will sing and forage. The trees will guide us into spring with their bursting buds and the smell of the earth will rise to meet our noses. I can't wait for all of it.
Not that I have romanticized it at all. I mean, does it really need us too? In this business, we are aligning our posture with nature, following the cues for pace and activity. It may be hard sometimes (wet springs, dry summers, cold winters) but it is an honor to work alongside the earth. I am officially encouraging all of you to lovingly search the spaces around you for signs of spring in nature. Take one step closer to the earth that sustains us. Its awesome and complex systems that create wind, rain, heat, and cold and all the creatures that we share it with. The bats that eat the mosquitoes, the pollinator bees, wasps, moths and others that bring fruit. The complex communities of life in wetlands that filter our water.
I am also going to be taking some time to see in what ways we can improve our treatment of this fabulous, mystical orb we've all been marbled into. I invite you to do the same. 
Onward and farmward. 
Helen (email body), Jim (photo captions), and Lizz (recipe) writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 

Greens:Kale
SpinachAll manner of deliciousness:Cabbage
Carrots- (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Kohlrabi!
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.Coming soon:Parsley- 2 weeks out
Microgreens- 1 to 2 weeks out depending on how much daylight we get!
Pea shoots-  1 to 2 weeks out depending on how much daylight we get!
Your balance is: 0
This weeks MarketsSaturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.
 
I can hear myself becoming a weather forecaster. But let me tell you, some nice warm weather is coming. That classic February dip above.  This Saturday, come to market to enjoy sunny skies and forty degrees! I know the plants have been loving the sunshine. And I know I have been too. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! 

Still couple more slots for crew this year! We are looking for people that want to join our team and grow great food. It is a hard job but it is extremely rewarding. Check out our work with us page to see if you match the description.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Recipe:  Garlic Roasted Radishes; Recipe compliments of Mary
Wondering what to do with all of our beautiful radishes?  Do you have a lot of garlic on hand? This is an easy Tried-and-True recipe that works well with any of our radish varieties, just pick your favorites! 
 INGREDIENTS

• 2 Pints of our radishes (watermelon is my fav) ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch thick slices
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil/avocado oil/melted butter)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced (you can also use frozen scapes ~5 of them) 
• 1/4 tsp dried chives or parsley or dill

METHOD Preheat the oven to 425
1. In a bowl, toss your sliced radished with oil, salt, and pepper until coated
2. Spread radishes out on a roasting pan, dont overcrowd
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing once. Add the minced garlic, or toss the scapes with a little oil and add them. Bake for another 5 minutes or until radishes are golden brown and cooked through. optionally serve with side of ranch for dipping/drizzling and garnish with parsley, dill or chives

Food for thought: 
We have begun pre-seeding the onions! A huge endeavor that results in 110 flats and upwards of 63000 onion plants hoping to get roots in our field this spring. That is a lot of seeding! This year we are getting a head start on it. We will get all the seeds into the flats tucked under some nutritious potting soil. Just add water and poof! Onion plant explosion! Those little seeds are going to love the sun and 40 degree weather that comes in next week. It will increase their speed of germination, add a little heat to get those reactions happening faster. 

Besides all the other seeds we will start in the coming week, the ones that will offer the most immediate gratification are the shoots and sprouts! That's right! In just a matter of weeks the pea shoots and micro greens will be back on the table. I love eating them this time of year when other greens are scarce. Who am I kidding, love eating them all year round! The microgreens are unmatchable. Just a sprinkle, or a whole bag, on a sandwich, veggie bowl, or soup, can level up my enjoyment of the meal. They really give me that dose of leafy green that I crave so much in the winter months. And don't even get me started on the pea shoots. Without any additional filler, make a fantastic salad. I just chop them up, toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and devour them! So keep in mind, in a few weeks time, this greens will be available. 

In the meantime, I am rounding some office deadline bends and really hoping to get back out into the field with the rest of our hardy crew. Janet, Malcolm, and Lizz have been really holding it down, doing the majority of the harvest, dividing, washing, and packing for markets. It has allowed my mind to focus more than previous winters and I am so grateful. And even while I have this gratitude, I cannot WAIT to get outside more and I see it in the cards. Just the farmers' market applications, the organic certification paperwork, the taxes, and a few finer season plans to go!!!

Hope you head out to market this weekend to get some delicious vegetables and visit me on one of the days I am allowed out of the office! 
Helen and Jim writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 

Greens:
Arugula (?)
Head Lettuce
Spinach

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- (From our farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!

Herbs:
Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.

Coming soon:
Parsley
Large Leaf Kale
Microgreens
Pea shoots
 
This weeks Markets

Saturday: 
Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

​Snow it did! We are back to tracing tracks. I have to tell you, my looping loping kestrel trail tale is likely tall. After further consideration, those footprints in the snow are a might to large to be a kestrel. So the mystery continues! Do you have any thoughts?
Either way, today is too cold for a bird to be rampaging around. Very cold indeed. But not for long. This winter is a temperature rollercoaster! 
To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! HEADS UP! We are going to do a late start in Ann Arbor! We plan to be set up by 10 am. SEE YOU THERE...
 
CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!
Recipe:  Garlic Roasted Radishes; Recipe compliments of Mary
Wondering what to do with all of our beautiful radishes?  Do you have a lot of garlic on hand? This is an easy Tried-and-True recipe that works well with any of our radish varieties, just pick your favorites! 
 INGREDIENTS

• 2 Pints of our radishes (watermelon is my fav) ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch thick slices
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil/avocado oil/melted butter)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced (you can also use frozen scapes ~5 of them) 
• 1/4 tsp dried chives or parsley or dill

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 425
1. In a bowl, toss your sliced radished with oil, salt, and pepper until coated
2. Spread radishes out on a roasting pan, dont overcrowd
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing once. Add the minced garlic, or toss the scapes with a little oil and add them. Bake for another 5 minutes or until radishes are golden brown and cooked through. optionally serve with side of ranch for dipping/drizzling and garnish with parsley, dill or chives

Food for thought: 
No seeds went in the ground this week, but as you can see, we did get the greenhouse re-wrangled! Spring. When you look outside, it seems so far away. But the days are getting longer. It is light when we finish up our work for the day. It is light when we start. It is a wonderful time of year to watch to world. Even on those days, when you don't see spring on the horizon, nature knows. The amount of sun, the time that passes above certain temperatures, these are signs telling the trees, the insects, the creatures (the humans too!), signs telling life that something more hospitable is coming. I love to look for the red tinge of maple buds over the forest, the early blooming witch hazel, the spring peepers! 

And after this bitter cold moment, we will start some seeds: Early tomatoes to plant in our hoop house come April, onions, celery, celery root, and some others. I am just so ecstatic that it is finally time! Even though it is cold today, the sun is telling us that warmer times are coming and I know that along with that, a whole lot of delicious food. 

Hope you head out to market tomorrow to get some delicious vegetables! 
Helen and Jim and Lizz writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 
Greens:
Baby chard
Head Lettuce

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular (some from Tantre this week- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes from Tantre, wonderful, neighbor, elder farm! 
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!

Herbs:
Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.

Coming soon:
Parsley
Arugula
Large Leaf Kale
Microgreens
Pea shoots
 
This weeks MarketsSaturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.
 
It was a cold week that really reminded us it was winter. It didn't start out that way though did it! Monday was glorious! I was ready to lounge in the greenhouse like it was a beach, reading a magazine, and sipping a fruity beverage. Instead, I harvested some spinach, adjusted covers, and caught up a little on some paperwork (still catching up on paper work- forever). And then down the temps went! But at least we got some snow out of the deal. Seriously, What's a Winter without the Snow?!
To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Eastern, Royal Oak, and Stockbridge! Sorry folks, no Ann Arbor this week.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Recipe: Vegetable Cream Cheese Wontons!
 I got some wonton wrappers from the grocery store. I though, hmmm, this seems like a great idea. Some baked vegetable bites. And I was right! (Along with all those that have know and come before me.) As an example of how casual you can be, here is how Jim and I made ours. We really just grabbed the various, co-mingling roots from the drawer- half a cabbage, a couple carrots, some turnabaga, a gorgeous watermelon radish, some frozen peas too plus some items from the counter-onions and garlic. I sauteed all this in a tall pot with some grated ginger (from the fall harvest!), turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. The rest was by the recipe below. Man! They were delicious. 

Vegetable Cream Cheese Wontons! Recipe from Simply Recipes 
INGREDIENTSFor the wontons:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (from a 1-inch piece of ginger)
• 5 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (green cabbage is also ok)
• 1 large carrot, grated (about 1 1/3 cups grated)
• 3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 large egg
• 48 to 50 square wonton wrappers (we used Melissa's- they were close to the smoothies in the veggie section of the grocery) You can also make your own if you want to spend a little more family time in the kitchen.
• 4 1/2 to 5 ounces cream cheese

For the dipping sauce (optional):

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

METHOD1
Prepare the filling: Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
Add the cabbage and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until it starts to wilt, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the grated carrot, peas, scallions, salt and sesame oil and cook for another minute.
Turn off the heat and dish the vegetables onto a plate to cool for 10 minutes.
2 Preheat oven to 400ºF. Position an oven rack in the center position. Brush 2 large baking sheets with oil (1 tablespoon per pan), spray with cooking spray, or line with parchment. (Wontons baked on parchment won't get quite as crispy on the bottoms.)
Lightly beat an egg for the egg wash and set aside.
3 Fold the wontons: Lay 4 wonton wrappers on a work surface. Place about a tablespoon of vegetable filling in the center of each wrapper. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese on top of the vegetables.
Using your fingers, brush the egg wash along the edges of the wonton wrappers. Lift 2 opposite corners of the wrapper and pinch them together at the top. Lift the other two corners towards the top and pinch them against the first two corners to form a pyramid. Pinch edges of the wrapper together to seal the wonton closed.
Repeat with the other three wontons. Transfer the sealed wontons onto one of the sheet pans and cover loosely with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.
Repeat filling and folding the wontons until you have filled a baking sheet with 24 to 25 sealed wontons. Remove the plastic wrap and brush a thin layer of oil on all of the wontons or spray with cooking spray.
4 Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the wontons are a deep golden brown color.
5 While the first batch of wontons is baking, prepare a second batch of wontons using the remaining filling. Once the first batch is done baking, bake the second batch.
6 To serve: Let the wontons cool for a few minutes before serving. Whisk together the ingredients for the dipping sauce and serve with the warm wontons. These baked wontons are best consumed in the same day.

Same day best is a lie according to us! We ate the cold leftovers while standing at the counter the next night with no complaints except that there weren't more of them!

Food for thought: 
Our greens are a little slow to bounce back after that series of gray, cold days. They really need the sun to change all that energy into plant matter. That said, this week in the greens department we will have spinach, head lettuce, and baby kale, with the arugula, chard, and large leaf kale hopefully returning next week. Hopefully this gives us some time to catch up on weeding. On a sunny day like today, even with the below freezing temps, the fragrance of the earth rises to meet your nose the moment you enter the caterpillars tunnels. The plants are growing. More sun please. I have a feeling that the celestial forces will inevitably cooperate with this request.

The big project on deck right now (after the greenhouse is back in working order) is getting some more seeds in the ground. We want to keep you in vegetables allllll the way through the year. I would say our winter greens game has improved, although still has ample room for improvement. But our early spring greens game? Now that could stand to be launched into the future. Over then next two weeks we are going to assemble and seed 3 more tunnels! We are going t fill them with sweet turnips (won't it be nice to have those fresh turnip greens back?), mustard, tokyo bekana, and tatsoi, as well as some bonus lettuce! I have high hopes that in April our market offerings will be so extensive there won't be a chance they will fit on one table only. 

In other news, we used that fabulous new spinner this week to spin dry our spinach and it was awesome! It was so fast and quiet compared to our old spinner. And the loading and unloading was so streamlined. I would say the process was even enjoyable! 
Enjoy the sun today. 
Come see me tomorrow! 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Baby Kale
Head Lettuce
Spinach

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!
​
Coming soon:
Cilantro and Parsley
Chard
Arugula
Large Leaf Kale
Microgreens
Pea shoots
 
This weeks Markets

Saturday: 
Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

NOT THIS WEEK! The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.
Ahoy!

These gray days are drifting by. They encourage one to curl up inside with a candle and a hot drink. But time is slipping by. By the time we meet tomorrow, it will bet the first day of February, the month we start our first seedlings. There is much to be done. We are stepping out of the deep thought and into deep action. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, and Eastern!

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!
Recipe:
Vegetable Fried Rice INGREDIENTS

• 1 yellow onion
• 3 large garlic clove
• 3 carrots
• 2 turnips
• 1/2 cabbage 
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (at least!)
• salt (to taste)
• black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook rice like a pro!
2. add oil to pan at lowish heat. Add garlic and onion, then throw in your vegetables (chopped to pervection!), add your spice cloud (keep your spice shakers HIGH, about 18-21 inches above the pan for maximum clouding), now crack a couple eggs in there! Add in your soy sauce and give it some time on the heat to incorporate with the vegetables.
3. Combo your rice and party pan! Following your combo, invest the flavor, add additional spice cloud as needed.
4. Eat it hot and ENJOY!

Food for thought: 
I have been wailing away on office work. Working on the new salad spinner was the first time I got out of the office for ages. But I have been working to great effect. The seed order is finally done and our field plans along with it. We selected new varieties of some (like yellow skinned watermelon!) and stuck with the tried and true for others (Hakurei sweet turnips immediately come to mind.) New crops that we are adding range from the truly experimental (artichokes anyone?) to the more predictable (leeks and watermelon).  We have increase the amounts of some things (more shallots, more of that delightful, torpedo-shaped radicchio) and changed windows of others (no more attempts at summer head lettuce until we balance out again.)

Jim has been moving repairs forward. With our fleet of market vehicles and tractors, this is not a small job! He has been proofing orders and gathering materials for the coming year. He has been connecting with our local NRCS and FSA offices to tie up some 2019 paperwork. He has been making sure we have what we need when it is go time. 

And along with all the plans and prep, we have a returning team that can make it happen. While I am in the office for a nested eternity, Lizz, Malcolm, and Janet are running the field. They are harvesting, cleaning, sorting, and packing all that we bring to market. They are weeding the field tunnels. They are cleaning cabbage. They are sanitizing the greenhouse. They are unloading supplies orders. They are total bad-assess.

I am excited imagining all that we can do together this year.  FYI, there two open slots on our dance card. If you think you love farming and you know you love using your body, this could be the job for you. Come dance with the Divider's for 2020, the clearest year yet!

Come see me tomorrow! 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Arugula (limited)
Kale
Head Lettuce
Spinach (limited)All manner of deliciousness:Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Sweet Turnips
Purple top turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Returning soon Cilantro and Parsley 

This weeks Markets

Saturday: 
Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Roya lOak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.

It has been cold but it seems we made it through this cavernous tunnel of cold weather. A few things have happened despite the low, low temperatures: The vegetables in the field are surviving! We are finding joy in the wilds! And the Sun! It was glorious. It was out for what felt like a whole week. 

To note:
Our markets this week:

Friday: The Stockbridge Winter Pantry Market (the fourth Friday of every month)  at the Presbyterian Church Hall on the corner of  Center and M-106 from 5 pm to 7 pm!

Saturday: Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, and Eastern!

Recipe:
Winter salad! How lucky are we, to enjoy local greens and roots in the winter. This is a nice, refreshing salad. Something I have learned! If you like mega lemon flavor, anytime you juice a lemon fresh, zest it! It is worth the tiny bit of extra work. So zesty and besty!

Lettuce and Kale Salad
INGREDIENTS

• 1 bunch of kale, pulled from stems and ripped into smaller pieces
• 1 box of head lettuce- chopped
• thinly slice carrots and watermelon radishes (mandolin or grated)
• Lemon (juice it and zest it!), oil, and salt for dressing (my go to!)
• Sunflower seeds (optional) You could also include any other seed, nut or dried fruit that you like

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine everything in a bowl and toss together! 
2. ENJOY!

Food for thought: 
I have really been enjoying the snow. Some of these cold days I dread going out the door. However, once bundled and outside, I always feel joyous. I love walking around and looking at all the tracks in the snow, enjoying learning more of the secret lives all around me. One of the animals that we love year-round are the kestrels. We have a pair of them now! I don't know where they rest their heads (or the tuck their heads, or close their eyes- I don't want to make any assumptions about kestrel sleep) but they hunt our fields. Most days, one can look out into the field and see one hovering 50 ft in the air, watching for prey. 
Now I always imagined that they swooped down, landing on their quarry and then rising back to the sky with their catch in claw. The snow has revealed a different story.  The wing prints, just a few bars in the snow on either side of the foot prints. And then, running! Long, looping, loping trails through the snow, as though someone was stitching a flies path to cloth. Occasionally the paths end in a firm double foot plant, accompanied by more wing prints: the take-off. And sometimes! Sometimes they end in a 4 inch diameter hole through the icy crust, surrounded by smooth snow, tamped down by over lapping foot prints. I suppose this is the sign of success, at least for the kestrel! We offer them thanks for helping balance our ecosystem. In all likelihood, this behavior is caused by the snow, and on greener days, there is less cross country running but it brought a smile to my face to picture the pigeoned toed, footballer-shouldered head down hustle of a bird sprinting around the field.
On other life in the field, our vegetables are doing great out in the cold. We had a goal to improve our winter greens game and we have! The head lettuce is sizing up just like it is supposed to. The kale is FANTASTIC, so tender and so sweet. The Arugula is buttery and flavorful. Winter spinach? Winter chard? Coming along nicely I would say! And we have a few more tricks up our sleeves. We are hoping to make these winter markets worth your trek with all this bounty. Of course there is always room to improve our winter growing and you can bet we will! 

Neither Jim nor I will personally be at the markets this weekend. We aim to have one of these shared Saturdays per month through the winter. Let's call them our honeymooners weekends. Even so, Lake Dividers will be at all Three! See Lizz in Ann Arbor, Kathryn in Royal Oak, and Shana at Eastern! We allllll love animal stories so Dish. Them. Up. If inspired, email them! 

Enjoy the beauty in the world! 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:
Arugula
Kale
Head Lettuce
Maybe Swiss Chard and spinach
Back in February! Pea Shoots and microgreens
All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Sweet Turnips
Purple top turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Returning soon Cilantro and Parsley 

This weeks Markets
Saturday: 
Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market
​
The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.