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Chelsea and Ann Arbor this week!

2/23/2018

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More Greenhouse upgrades!
​So much has happened this week. It usually takes me until July to get to bullet point list event sharing, but I think we might just be there now!

Operation Greenhouse Max! has been a great success! We sealed up the end walls with an extra layer of plastic, insulated the seams, cleaned and cleaned, and hung a partition so we don't have to heat the parts of the house that aren't full of plants. We also set up our new, fantastic heat mats! They are a major upgrade for us because they are able to keep the soil the perfect temperature, regardless of the ambient temperature in the greenhouse, meaning less energy usage overall. And it all came together just in time because this week, the greenhouse has come alive! 

All past years, our greenhouse adventure has started with onions. This year, we pushed them back a week because we finally admitted they are always ready to go out a week before we are ready to put them out. So instead, the plant parade kicked off with celery, celery root, a gang of herbs, and tomatoes for our early hoop house! We also just embarked on our adventure with microgreens and they are coming up quick. In all likelihood they will be ready for next weeks market next Saturday the 24th. 

Also freshly tucked into the greenhouse is the ginger. First we cut the seed pieces to a proper 1-2 ounce size, then we cure them, and next week we will begin pre-sprouting them. Ginger can take a long time to get going, and although we won't be putting them out until the end of April, they need this time to wake up and get pumped. Did you know that ginger is not actually a root but a rhizome? It is an underground stem that grows perpendicular to gravity. It produces roots and shoots from its nodes. Some of the worst weeds grow in the same fashion (think quack grass, creeping charlie, and Japanese knotweed), making them incredibly difficult to annihilate. That is what we are taking advantage of when we cut the ginger into smaller pieces, its ability to grow as long as there are nodes on each piece.

And to add to our rhizomatous crops, we are growing turmeric this year too! Not a lot, but just enough to test the waters and see how it sells, how it tastes, how it grows, you know curiosity, delicious curiosity. We also love its anti-inflammatory properties. It is a great whole food supplement for the aching body. 

Everything about this year screams "this is so much better than last year!" It is hard not to repeat myself singing the praises of a completed greenhouse, two functioning coolers, and the addition of three hoop houses. Another big difference from last year, we have already filled both of our full-time positions! We won't be spending March and April interviewing and worrying because we will already have the helping hands lined up. Both hires are enthusiastic, interested in farming, and interested in working efficiently. We will be introducing them over the next couple weeks.


On top of that, we have a pretty good lead on filling our two summer part-time positions as well. Jim and I have been glancing at each other, afraid to face it head on and acknowledge how different this year could be. This could be the year! 

I could go on and on but here are two things I can't leave out:
  • Some farmer friends came out and gave us some helpful tips and suggestions both on a few equipment fabrications and some cultivation ideas.
  • It was warm enough for us to irrigate in the hoop houses. The freshly seeded turnips and radishes really appreciated it, as did our spinach and kale. I think we are only a few weeks away from some greens! 
See y'all at market!
Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!
Vegetables!
Cabbage: Green, red, round, crinkly, smooth, ALL DELICIOUS! Check out our pseudo-brussels-cabbage too!
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough. I don't even peel the little ones!
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Loose daikon, green meat (sweet daikon), black, watermelon
Rutabaga
Winter squash: Long pie, spaghetti, butternut
Turnips- Purple Top and a sweet white ruta-turnip (limited)


*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. 
Markets, always rain or shine!
(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Saturday: Ann Arbor and Chelsea
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 to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is in the cafeteria of the Washington Street Education Center at 500 Washington Street in Chelsea, It runs November through March from 9 am to 1 pm.
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No Chelsea but see you in Ann Arbor!

2/16/2018

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Picture
Greenhouse upgrades!
​It is so nice to not be building a greenhouse now! It is easy to forget that this time last year we didn't even have a greenhouse nor the heater installed or even the gas line run. We were about to start our seedlings in a strange tent with an electric heater. Having these things in place is really working wonders for my future vision. I am less bogged down with the basics and more able to envision the farms near future. We get to make a small investment into cultivation equipment this year and I plan to make it count.  Because the basics are lining up, I got to enjoy investing hours of uninterrupted time focusing on weed control approaches for different crops. I also got to update our website (www.lakedividefarm.com). You will see our "Photos" page is still struggling, but hey, that's what facebook is for, right? And I finally created our quickbooks chart of accounts. Taxes, here we come!! Alongside these activities, I have been updating our extensive excel sheets including harvestlog, plantingschedule, and todo. I feel like this year, I really perfected harvestlog. It is going to be a breeze keeping track of how much we harvested and how much we sold this year. The purpose of all this data? To make better and better choices for our business! 

In the outside realm, Jim has been working tirelessly to ready our greenhouse for the coming season. Every year we do a deep clean, making sure to get the crumbs of seasons past out of the nooks and crannies. This means emptying the greenhouse, spraying it down, sterilizing everything and returning it to its place. Why? Well, to give our transplants the best start possible. One of our biggest tools for growing delicious organic produce is to grow strong, healthy transplants. It makes them more resilient and able to recover from the shock of getting put in the field faster, compete with weeds better, and more capable of tolerating adverse conditions. Jim also patched up any breaches in the plastic and added an extra layer of plastic to the endwalls. Surprisingly, an extra layer really does make a huge difference in heat retention. 

So with well on its way to spiffy and our office edging towards organization, we are on our way. Come see me tomorrow in Ann Arbor for some vegetables. Specifically, don't you really want some potatoes. They are the noodle of the soil. 
Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!
Vegetables!
Cabbage: Green, red, round, crinkly, smooth, ALL DELICIOUS! Check out our pseudo-brussels-cabbage too!
Carrots: Orange, White, Yellow, and some sneaky purples (limited)
Garlic by the clove
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough. I don't even peel the little ones!
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Loose daikon, green meat (sweet daikon), black, watermelon
Rutabaga
Winter squash: Long pie, spaghetti, butternut
Turnips- Purple Top and a sweet white ruta-turnip (limited)


*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. 
Markets, always rain or shine!
(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Saturday: Ann Arbor and Chelsea (NO Chelsea 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 to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is in the cafeteria of the Washington Street Education Center at 500 Washington Street in Chelsea, It runs November through March from 9 am to 1 pm.
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Accepting CSA signups for 2018! Come talk to us at market!

2/7/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
​Find us in Ann Arbor and Chelsea this Saturday, get your glorious roots, and ask about our CSA. This time of year is when a CSA sign-up can have the greatest positive effect for us. And when you read about all the amazing vegetables we will be growing this year, you are going to pumped. (More info on our CSA below)
 
The seeds are rolling in (picture of seeds in boxes). This year we had our biggest seed order yet, and are growing fifty-eight different types of vegetables and plants, and a whopping TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN DIFFERENT VARIETIES! No wonder we have to have so many spreadsheets to keep it straight! Twenty-seven different tomatoes, twelve different types of potatoes, ten different types of onions, fifteen different lettuces, what an exciting time! 
 
We are focusing on improving our selection for the winter months. Some exciting new additions along that thought process include radicchio the spicy winter chicory, parsnips the sweet-sweet storage root, microgreens, and sprouts! Jim is heading up the microgreen and sprout division. They are interesting to us because they sprint from seed to plate, can be produced as soon as the greenhouse is in use, and have such deliciousness.
 
In only a few short weeks our greenhouse will be up and running and we will be starting seeds. And before we know it, we will be seeding in the field. The seasons plans are laid out like a game board ahead of me, still materializing but with bounds and ever increasing detail. This is the time to wind the clock folks! 
 
See you at market!
 
CSA INFORMATION
How it works:
Open an account by prepaying and become a member. This prepayment helps the farm by guaranteeing income in the face of adverse growing conditions. For your commitment to us, a bonus will be added to your opening balance. This account can be used throughout the season to purchase produce. Balances roll over from year to year and are only void if left unused for a year or more.
You won't have to worry about receiving produce that your household does not enjoy, committing to attending the market every week, or remembering to bring cash to the market. Instead, look forward to coming to one of our five weekly markets when you want and selecting the produce of your choice! You may choose from all available produce and select quantities you prefer. Your balance will be adjusted to reflect your selections without hassle. 
In addition to flexibility, you will receive a weekly email with your account balance, a list of available produce, and updates about farm happenings. 
We offer five account sizes:
 
Prepay $200 and Receive a 6% Bonus – Opening Balance of $212
Prepay $250 and Receive an 8% Bonus – Opening Balance of $270
Prepay $300 and Receive a 10% Bonus – Opening Balance of $330
Prepay $350 and Receive a 12% Bonus – Opening Balance of $392
Prepay $400 and Receive a 14% Bonus – Opening Balance of $456
 
 
Produce available includes, but is not limited to:
 
 
ArugulaChardKohlrabiRadish
BeansCollardsLeaf LettuceScallion
BeetsCucumbers Mustard greensSpinach
Boc choyEggplant OnionSquash, Summer
BroccoliFennelPeasSquash, Winter
Brussel sproutsGarlicPeppers, HotSweet Potatoes
Cabbage GingerPeppers, Sweet Tatsoi
CantaloupeHead LettucePotatoesTomato
CarrotsKaleRadicchioTurnips
 
All the best!
Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!
Vegetables!
Cabbage: Green, red, round, crinkly, smooth, ALL DELICIOUS! Check out our pseudo-brussels-cabbage too!
Carrots: Orange, White, Yellow, and some sneaky purples (limited)
Garlic by the clove
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough. I don't even peel the little ones!
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Loose daikon, green meat (sweet daikon), black, watermelon
Rutabaga
Winter squash: Long pie, spaghetti, butternut
Turnips- Purple Top and a sweet white ruta-turnip (limited)


*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. 
Markets, always rain or shine!
(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Saturday: Ann Arbor and Chelsea 
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 to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is in the cafeteria of the Washington Street Education Center at 500 Washington Street in Chelsea, It runs November through March from 9 am to 1 pm.
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Mulch that garlic, hire some folks, and get to market!

2/1/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
​Last week, we mulched the garlic. We took those beautiful, sunny, warm days and got out in the field. We put hay down thick in hopes that the ribbon thick nose of the garlic leaves will push through, but not the weeds. Hay is not the best option for mulching because of all the seeds in it but sometimes you work with what you've got. My hope is that the hay will keep the keep down the weeds that it plants, at least for this season. While we mulched, we saw lots of root growth, not too many cloves pushed up in the soil by ground freeze and thaw (heaving), and some leaf growth but not too much. I have a good feeling about the garlic this year. 


And the notorious we? Tony, an applicant for the coming season helped out! He did an excellent job, was a pleasure to work with, and is a candidate for a position on the farm. That's right folks, we are hiring and have full-time, part-time, workshare positions available! Visit our website here for more information. Please feel free to post our job listing anywhere you think is relevant and if you think of a good place to hang a flyer, let us know and we will get on there. 

In the meantime, we still have our slew of roots, tasty squash (probably the last week) and fabulous cabbage forever! We will be at both markets this week so come on out and see us!

​All the best!
Helen, Jim, Exie the dog, and the Lake Divide Farm Crew!
Vegetables!
Cabbage: Green, red, round, crinkly, smooth, ALL DELICIOUS! Check out our pseudo-brussels-cabbage too!
Carrots: Orange, White, Yellow, and some sneaky purples
Garlic
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough. I don't even peel the little ones!
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Loose daikon, green meat (sweet daikon), black, watermelon
Rutabaga
Winter squash: Long pie, spaghetti, butternut
Turnips- Purple Top and a sweet white ruta-turnip


*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary. 
Markets, always rain or shine!
(we begin attending on dates listed above)

Saturday: Ann Arbor and Chelsea 
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 to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Farmers' Market is in the cafeteria of the Washington Street Education Center at 500 Washington Street in Chelsea, It runs November through March from 9 am to 1 pm.
We are currently revamping our spreadsheets. Updated balances will be in the next email. If you need your balance, don't hesitate to email.
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