It is the last week on the farm without the buzz of the crew! Everyone is starting next Wednesday and I find myself making preemptive lists and trying to think through all that we will accomplish this year. I make lists of what we need to do first, timelines of what will happen, and lists of the various things I will need to be able to teach. While carrying out regular tasks on the farm, I focus on all the steps that have become invisible to me over the years so I can relay them to the incoming and enthusiastic. It is hard to imagine what the task timetables will look like with all this human attention but I have a good feeling about it. 

Even on our own, and with the pre-season help from Tony, we have managed to get some things done! We did end up getting our first big seeding in the field on Monday. All those greens that I am madly in love with are growing their way back onto our plates. 

We also direct seeded our spring peas. In the past we have grown them in the greenhouse where we can control the soil temperature while the seeds are germinating. Soil temperatures make a drastic difference for days to germination for most (all?) seeds. Peas can take up to thirty days when soil temperatures are 40 and below. At 50 degrees, they could germinate within a week. With this in mind, we seeded our peas outside at the onset of the four day-night cycles above freezing and covered them with a frost blanket. Hopefully that was enough love and attention to them get off to a good start. I just love crunching down peas, pod and all, and am really hoping that a massive abundance of that joy is in my near future. 

In another impressive leap forward, we finally parked our tractors in the barn! They are now out of the weather, no sun beating down wearing out their rubber, no rain rusting up their metal parts. It also means that we have a nice place to work on them when it is raining out. 

This week is the last of the Chelsea winter markets so head out to visit Jim and get some greens. The Hoop house kale decided to join us and it is delicious for all of its holding out. 

Vegetables!
Kale (limited)
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough
Micro Greens: a mix of Arugula, Red Russian Kale, Mustard, Mizuna and Beets
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Green Daikon!
Rutabaga- limited
Spinach!!
Turnips- Sweet

​Vegetables!
Arugula (limited)
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough
Micro Greens: a mix of Arugula, Red Russian Kale, Mustard, Mizuna and Beets
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Loose daikon, green meat (sweet daikon), black, watermelon
Rutabaga
Spinach!!
Turnips- Sweet
Gilfeather the Sweet white Turnabaga!



*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.

​The wealth of produce that we stashed in our winter storage this fall is vanishing fast. In November I never thought it would come to this, but we are out of cabbage. We are almost out of a few other roots. What we have a lot of still? Potatoes, microgreens, and kohlrabi. We will probably have spinach for a few more weeks as it seems my succession strategy is paying off. True, it is coming in months after I planned but hey, I'll take it! The good news that rises from the produces decline is, this is data and it is speaking to our growing plans for this coming year. We are going to plant more storage crops and this time next year, I expect to have a more diverse produce offering. 

The mini production gap is giving us some time to lay the ground work for a new successful season. We are knee deep in plans and the greenhouse is 1/3 full. On top of that, we have had the opportunity to enjoy the company of new farmer friends which refreshes our spirit. It reminds us yet again, how different this year is from last, when we had yet to meet all the kind folks we have. We went to a gathering of farmers one evening to tell tall tales and enjoy the company of folks that know the farm drill. We went on a farm visit to a farm we really admire to see how they run their operation and learn a few things. We had beach party in our partially-full greenhouse with neighbors and fellow farmers alike. We went to a gathering of  growers to discuss what actions we can take as a community to strengthen our foundation and succeed as a group. And all this community building is continuing forward! This weekend we are going to Whitney Farmstead's Pancake Open house with some farmer-friends from right down the road and a farmer friend from back east who is flying in! I linked it because it sounds so fun, I have to share the joy. But the point is, we are finally getting some time to connect with the people around us working towards similar goals. This community connection is imperative for farmers.

Small farms depend on community to survive. We count on other farmers to tell us what is and isn't working for them, to share in the costs of big orders, and to share in the joys and challenges of growing food in the unpredictable natural world. We count on our customers to come see us at market and recognize our produce as exceptional and to see and value the hard work we are putting into supplying nutritional food and give us honest feedback about their needs. We count on our families to understand when sometimes we are unable to show up for the July family get together, the big move, or when we are so tired we barely make sense but still want to bask in their presence. 

Since we transplanted to Michigan from out of state, building community has required focus and acts of intention.  We kicked off the trial last January with the Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference, networking, telling people about who we are and asking people about themselves and their operations. We managed to group order potatoes and cover crop seed, getting bulk discounts. We met folks at market, went to CSA fairs, and cold-called farms that we admired in our area. Now, heading into March a year and a touch later, we have a handful of growers that we can call with a question or an invitation for a libation. We have a group of customers that come see us at market, email us, and visit us on the farm. We have family that understands our needs and loves us, and loves the work we do. 

I am a bit of an introvert, so all this shimmyin' and shakin' to integrate into our new space is generally difficult but I know and feel in my hear it is well worth it. However, I have to admit, I am absolutely looking forward to being the person welcoming newcomers.

​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.

You can find the CSA fair in the same location as the Chelsea winter market. Of course, Jim will be at market with our vegetables. And you will get a chance to meet Tony, a new Lake Divider! We can answer any questions you may have about our program and if you want, you can even sign up on the spot! If you are planning on shopping with us for the season, signing up to be part of our CSA will benefit you by giving you a bonus and the satisfaction of developing a relationship with your food source. For us, it evens out our cash flow for the season and helps us get an idea of what to expect for the coming season.  Here is a link to details. Many farms will be there to share information about their CSA programs. It is a great chance to meet the people in your community that are dedicating themselves to growing your food. 

Back at the farm, we have ended up in the paperwork, paperwork, greenhouse, paperwork cycle. But no one is complaining! It is so wonderful to step into the alternate universe of the greenhouse, especially after sitting in our cold office for a while. After I check off a few of the major items on my list for the day, I bundle up and head down the hill. Even though it is warmer than it was in Decemeber, the weather outside feels brutally cold. But step through that greenhouse door when the sun is out? You are about to experience some perfect beach weather: 75 degrees and sunny enough to need a hat. I love it.

We are using our greenhouse for all of our transplants for the field. We have our ginger, onions, celery, celery root, kale, cabbage, lettuce, first round of tomatoes, and parsley all seeded, mostly sprouted and gaining strength in the oasis. And we are using some of the space to grow microgreens. Last week was our first time bringing microgreens to market and if you were lucky, you got to try some. It was what I would call a complete success. The sold like gold bars for a penny. The Friday we harvested them was my first tasting. They have a lot of flavor in such a small package. And this time of year, the addition of anything green is welcome. I like them sprinkled on eggs, on a potato, on a sandwich., pretty much on-a anything! What are they really? The baby leaves of the plant. They take just over a week from seed to harvest. That means, because they were so loved at market, we were able to adjust our planting numbers already, and next Saturday, we will have enough to go around! 

Our new planting of radishes is up in hoop-house-one. They are the size of the microgreen shoots that we are sending to market this week! But instead of plucking them from the ground now, we will wait until they make nice juicy early spring Radishes! 


In other good news, we have officially hired all three of our Lake Divide Farm apprentices for the season. We are excited to work with the incoming enthusiastic team. All of them have a vibrant interest in growing sustainable food systems and learning the nuts and bolts of growing delicious food. Jim and I are excited to share what we have learned so far and add another onion layer of knowledge as collaborative effort this year. 

Warmth is a-coming', the birds are hear to tell us. Green shoots peaking through the snow, rise to signal. Times a-changin' folks, this winter will fall to spring.


See y'all at market!

Vegetables!
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough
Micro Greens: a mix of arugula, Chard, Red Russian Kale, Mustard, Mizuna and beets
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Loose daikon, green meat (sweet daikon), black, watermelon
Rutabaga
Spinach!!
Turnips- Sweet
Gilfeather the Sweet white Turnabaga!


​

​It finally happened, greens are back! We have delicious micro greens available at market this week (first time ever!) and sweet spinach that survived the bitter cold of December in the safety of our hoop house. We're gonna have to keep this one short and bullet style since we have some wonderful old friends visiting us from out of state right now. They're only here till Sunday, so we're trying to squeeze every bit we can from their time here!

• Very first week of Micro Greens! The first harvest has taught us a lot about yields and growth rates... also they're delicious.
• Hoop house 1 is weeded, tended and reseeded
• Seeding is well under the way in the greenhouse. We just finished the onion seeding (typically our largest seeding of the year) among others
• Prepping for more greenhouse upgrades 
• Finally, FINALLY organized the office! With our first season starting so soon after we moved here last year, the office became... more disorganized than I'd prefer to admit to haha. Very nice to be back on track.
• Scallions got weeded  in the field
• Broke the electric in the greenhouse and fixed it in the same week! An above average turnaround for us!

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!
Micro Greens: a mix of arugula, Chard, Red Russian Kale, Mustard, Mizuna and beets
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Loose daikon, green meat (sweet daikon), black, watermelon
Rutabaga
Spinach!!
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.