As predicted the weather has us busy. We have been prepping and planting, seeding and irrigating, and laughing all the way through. The field we call New Jersey is almost entirely planted now. We direct seeded our carrots, beets and another round of greens and radishes. We planted parsley and fennel, cabbage, kale, broccoli and kohlrabi. We also planted our cucumbers, squash and tomatoes out into their hoophouse homes. They are looking dashing despite the frost we got last night.

One of the best parts about planting this year?? We have a wagon!! All of the plants we were taking to the field made it in one trip! All of our onion transplants can ride out to the field in one trip! Another wonderful part about this year is that it isn't our first year here! So many things feel less ambiguous. This tale of success starts with a tale of woe. Last fall we tried get a cover crop in on the land to be planted this year. Due to a poorly timed equipment failure (fuel line sucking air) and (aren't they all?), lack of rain, and then an abrupt hard freeze, we didn't pull it off. I was miserable all winter looking at the bare fields and worrying about losing our soil, grateful when it was covered with snow. But this spring, thanks to the bald landscape, we have been able to see all the bumps and dips and figure out where the spring fields are and where the summer fields are. It has allowed us to make a more accurate and functional field map as well as take better care of our soil. Also, the pre-prep last fall, cover crop or no, has made the ground so much more willing to cooperate with our efforts. A simple pass with a disc is enough to stall the weeds that have just now begun to green up.

Another exciting event that should be on your radar is the Chelsea farmers' market annual spring fundraiser. Important to know, this delicious, locally sourced brunch is THIS Saturday, April 28th. You can register through evenbrite or email. You can find more information here, but this is what they have to say about it. 

 
It is that time again – our annual spring fundraiser is just around the corner! On April 28th between 10am and 12pm at the Chelsea First United Methodist Church we will host a brunch to gear you, our beloved community, up for our market season!
Our farmers markets work to promote and inspire healthy eating and living during our seasons; through attendance of our fundraiser you will be supporting those efforts and indulging in a delicious meal prepared by Bruce Reeve of Tunk’s Kitchen! The generated revenue of the tickets will go toward our food education and food demonstration opportunities at the Saturday and Wednesday markets!


Enjoy the sunshine!!
Helen and The Lake Dividers

Vegetables!
Kale (limited)
Flowering Kale! Use it like rapini
Micro Greens- Spicy mix
Micro greens- Mild mix
Potatoes: delicious buttery gold ones and fingerlings!
Spinach!!
Transplants! Herbs, Kale, Chard, Squash and Tomatoes!




*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!

Saturday: Ann Arbor
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.
​

​Remember how I said we were going to be planting last Saturday? Well, we decided to wait. And thank goodness we did! The majority of this week's nights were below freezing. Top that off with high winds, snow, sleet, and rain, the weather is not what one would consider favorable. We raised our little cabbage and kale seedlings to be tough, but why subject them to that?! We will either plant them tomorrow or next Tuesday. Either way, we will be excited to reclaim the greenhouse space for more plants and the seedlings newly to the field will be relieved to forge in the earth for nutrients and develop those microbial relationships!

We didn't let that time go to waste though. We took advantage of the snow and sleet to do some much needed cleaning and the beginnings of some organization. We had a morning of education wherein I took the time to note farm elements to pay attention to over the season. We ran irrigation to the field we call New Jersey. We finished the deer fence upgrade by enclosing the whole west side of the farm! That was a lot of work and I am so glad that we won't have to do it again anytime soon. 

We got a chance to lay out some of our new fields. As we are building our relationship with the land, we have gotten to know the difference between the spring ground and the ground that can't be planted until later in the season when some sunshine has time to dry it out. We trekked high and low with a 300 foot tape, measuring and figuring. On this sunny evening, I am now, finally in a position to figure out where we are going to put all these amazing transplants! 

And thank goodness for that! Our greenhouse is overflowing. The first transplants to roll over the top of the pot were our head lettuce. They got tucked into our new high tunnel and will be filling space between our tomatoes (getting planted tomorrow!!) while they mature.

If you look at the forecast, you will know that next week is going to be busy like an anthill. So many plants will be planted, so little time. But we cant' wait. This 
But if you have looked at the forecast, it tells us it is go time.

What even happened this week? For one thing, it became spring. Those warm molecules touching my skin made me remember how welcoming the world can be after months of bitter, singeing cold.

For another thing, working with the crew has been wonderful. The week blurred together into one great conglomerate of accomplishment. A lot of the field clean up, long overdue from last fall, got checked right off the list. We managed to get the new hoop house prepped for planting. And we prepped our new herb area! Tucked in the microclimate between hoop house one and hoop house two, perennial herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage will thrive! (we hope)

We also got some tractor work in. We prepared the field that we now call New Jersey, because its shape bears likeness to the state. In the picture you are looking from North Jersey. Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, we will be planting our first round of kale and cabbage, straight into North NJ!!! 

Yesterday I went to the NRCS office and talked to our agent. He is helping us with a fertility management program. I learned a few things about managing our fields and interpreting our soil tests and, he even agreed to come out and look at our soil tests this fall and help us make some decisions about how to best support our soils!

And on top of all that, let me say again, spring y'all, spring.

See you at Market!!!!

The Lake Divide Farm Crew
​
Vegetables!
Green Garlic!
Kale (limited)
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough
Micro Greens- Spicy mix
Micro greens- Mild mix
Potatoes: delicious buttery gold ones and fingerlings!
Spinach!!

*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!

Saturday: Ann Arbor
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.

First off, I just want to remind everyone that there is no market in Chelsea this weekend. Market resumes in May. Until then, folks for Chelsea can feel free to head over to Ann Arbor, where they will find a cheerful human with delicious vegetables!

And second off, let me say: Welcome to the first week of April! I would say that the icy fingers of winter are loosening their grip but I am starting to wonder if I should after the snow fall the other night.. Did I ruin spring? Was my jubilation premature? Did I call back the cold and the bite? No, I say! Celebrate the signs! Every winter has a last snow! Let this one be it!

The crew started on Wednesday, on the second-to-last snow of the winter of 2017-2018. To find out more about them, check out their farm bios on our website! We walked the farm, did various basic farm-skill training, got to know each other a little better, and worked on moving our deer fence to include fresh fields, all while getting beaten about the face by blustery, icy wind (literally, there was ice in it). A day like that is a great test of enthusiasm and endurance and I would say everyone passed muster and then some. I is such a joy to work with this enthusiastic team and I ended the day feeling like we are going make some good things happen this year. 

It is exciting to be moving the deer fence. After it is completed, the whole West Side of the farm will be enclosed. Our fence is nothing fancy and requires some attention through-out the season, but if it gets that attention, it is quite effective. We use polyline with metal woven through it, electricity, and some peanut butter. We string five lines through insulated clips which are attached to t-posts pounded in along the perimeter of the field. After the lines are set up and hooked up to the fence charger, we bait them with peanut butter. The deer come to check it out and decide from themselves that our farm is a little too scary. Inevitably, a few deer get through, typically in the spring and fall. To combat this issue, during those times of year we walk the line more frequently, noting where passage is occurring, and then heavily bait those areas with extra peanut butter. This approach is surprisingly effective. Hopefully the fence will be complete by the end of the week.

In the field, the peas and many of the greens germinated under the protection of the row cover. On a sunny day the temperature difference between the soil in under the cover and the soil outside is just about twenty degrees! Row cover is one of my favorite examples of simple technologies making a difference. Now for their next feat, getting those cotyledons out of the soil! To do that, they must have survived last nights plunge in to the low, low twenties, and the next few wintry dips.  Send them some good vibes and high hopes!  

I hope you enjoy this wonderful sunshine while it lasts, but if you don't get a chance, don't worry, it will be back soon!

See you at Market!!!!

Helen and the Lake Divide Farm Crew

​Vegetables!
Onion greens!
Kale (limited)
Kohlrabi: Beastly beauties. I have been cubing and roasting them and can't get enough
Micro Greens- Spicy mix
Micro greens- Mild mix
Potatoes: White, red skinned, and fingerlings!
Radishes: Green Daikon!
Spinach!!
Turnips- Sweet



*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!

Saturday: Ann Arbor
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.