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

Well, we clobbered most of our list this past week. So much planted, so much tended, so much harvested. It was a brief lift, followed by the next succession of urgent tasks. That is farming.
But this time of year is so rewarding. Our crop list is growing every week. We are entering the time of abundance when every time you turn around, another crop is entering its harvest window. Just a couple things that are new this week? Cucumbers and summer squash! YES!

To note:
We are  still hiring! Want to work on the farm part-time? We have one 20-30 hour/week position open.
What about full-time? We have one 40-45 hour per week position open!
Send us an email if you are interested! Or, if not you, send our information to someone you know that might be interested! Help us cast a wide net!

Our markets this week:
Wednesday: Ann Arbor! 
Thursday: Northville
Friday: Stockbridge
Saturday: Eastern Market, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, White Lotus Farm Cart, Chelsea
Recipe: 
Garlic Scapes! Have you heard of the these delightfully coiled delicacies?  They are the flowering stalk garlic that emerges from the top of the plant in the early summer. It coils like a suspension spring and then, when ready to bloom, straightens up. We pick them before that happens so we get the tenderest scapes and our garlic plants can put all the energy they would have put into the flower and fruit, into forming a wonderful garlic bulb. If you haven't had them yet and you love garlic, get ready for a world of wonder! They are great grilled, in a stirfry, simply sauteed, or my favorite way-- made into pesto

Garlic Scape Pesto!

• 1/4 cup pine nuts- toasted if desired (or almonds)
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped garlic scapes
• Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• A few generous grinds of black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Combine the scapes, pine nuts, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse about 20 times, until fairly well combined. Pour in the olive oil slowly through the feed tube while the motor is running. When the oil is incorporated, transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese. If you plan to freeze the pesto, wait to add the cheese until after you've defrosted it.

From Serious Eats
Food for thought: 
What has happened on the farm. These are the days that it starts to blur. We had a farm tour! Farmers from the area came to our farm and we walked and talked about 
I don't have a lot of time for this weeks email. We have a lengthy list of future accomplishments, much of it planting. We will be planting the last round of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and ground cherries. We will be planting another round of celery, celery root, lettuce, and salad mix. And all the while, harvest continues! With more and more crops on our list. There is so much to do, we have been pushed to a limit we didn't know existed. 
To mitigate the tension on the boundaries of our happy existence (good for the farmer), we are working on interviewing people. The end goal is to fill out our crew so that the team can work more reasonable hours. Interviewing takes a lot of time. It is a task we try to complete earlier in the year, when there is less field work going on. We don't get that luxury this year because of our ever expanding workload. It may be a planning fail, but it is a farming success, so I'll take it! With that in mind, consider if you know anyone that could be interested in working on a vegetable farm in Stockbridge. If so, tell them about us. 
Okay, I am off to the field! Wish us dexterity and speed.
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. (Notice our new catch phrase? We call it the trifecta of sustainability. It sounds a little cheesy but we mean it from the heart. 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 hiring! We have 2 positions open for the 2019 season. You can find details about the jobs on our website here. If you or anyone you know may be interested, please send us an email or pass along the information. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

​Fresh From the Field!

Greens:
Arugula
Mizuna
Mustard
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana
Salad Mix!
Baby Bok Choy
Baby Beet Greens
Microgreens: Arugula and Spicy-Wonder Mix (only at Satuday markets this week-excluding White Lotus)
Pea Shoots:  Back next week
Chard: big 'ol beautiful bunches!
Head Lettuce
Kale: Beautiful bunches

All manner of deliciousness:
Beets- loose roots
Cabbage: Round green heads 
Cucumbers: Green slicers! SO tasty!
Garlic Scapes! Just coming in. Get ready for the most delicious pesto of the year!
Kohlrabi
Napa Cabbage! Try out our quick kimchee recipe!
Snap Peas
Radish
Scallions
Summer Squash: Green and Yellow Zucchini! Dense and delicious
Sweet Turnips

Herbs:
Basil
Cilantro- maybe
Dill-maybe
Mint
Parsley
Thyme
Oregano

Coming Soon:
Carrots
Fennel

​This weeks Markets

Wednesday: Ann Arbor

In the same location as the Saturday market, the Ann Arbor Wednesday Market is a little more laid back.  If you don't want to fight the crowds. come out on Wednesday and take the chance to talk with all your farmers, chefs, and artisans.The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI Find us there May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm.

Thursday: Northville

The Northville Market is located at the corner of 7 Mile and Sheldon Roads. It runs May thru October, 8 am - 3 pm

Friday: Stockbridge

The Stockbridge Open Air Market is located on the square in downtown Stockbridge. It runs from May thru October from 4 pm - 7 pm

Saturday: Ann Arbor,  Chelsea, Detroit's Eastern Market, The White Lotus Farm Cart 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 Chelsea Farmers' Market is located in the Palmer Commons at 304 S. Main St.. It runs May thru October (then moves inside thru December!) from 8 am - 1 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 White Lotus Farm Cart is located at 7217 West Liberty Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. It is open Saturdays from 9:30am-1:30pm, May thru December. There is a collection of vendors there selling produce, bread, cheese, artisanal produces, along with brick oven pizza and the opportunity to roam the gardens. 

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.

Well, we clobbered most of our list this past week. So much planted, so much tended, so much harvested. It was a brief lift, followed by the next succession of urgent tasks. That is farming.
But this time of year is so rewarding. Our crop list is growing every week. We are entering the time of abundance when every time you turn around, another crop is entering its harvest window. Just a couple things that are new this week? Cucumbers and summer squash! YES!

To note:
We are  still hiring! Want to work on the farm part-time? We have 30 hour/week positions open. Send us an email if you are interested!

Our markets this week:
Wednesday: Ann Arbor! 
Thursday: Northville
Friday: Stockbridge
Saturday: Eastern Market, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, White Lotus Farm Cart, Chelsea
​
Recipe: 
Swiss Chard! The spinach of the summer. With its bright and colorful leaves, silky texture, and rich flavor, Swiss chard is on the top of my favorite vegetable list. It is easy to make it delicious because that is the way it comes. It can be prepared simply, or with more flair, but no matter what, it comes out tops. 

Simple Swiss Chard: This is a recipe for Falling in Love with Swiss Chard!
I make this for stand-alone consumption, however, it mixes wonderfully with grains, beans, meat, or other vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch chard
• Olive Oil
• garlic
• onions
• salt and pepper

Heat oil in a skillet. Rip the chard leaves from the stems and rip them into bite sized pieces. Chop the stems as well as some onion and some garlic, and toss in the oil until soft. This is a great time to add spices (ie oregano, hot pepper, salt). Add the leaves and allow them to cook down. You may want to add more liquid and cover to steam the greens faster. You can use water, or if you want to adda zippy zest to the dish, you could use wine, lemon juice, or your favorite vinegar. When complete, it is ready to eat! Toss it with some pickled beets and feta! Put it on some toast! Poach an egg! ! Eat it just how it is!

Getting fancy: If I am eating them with beans I will toss in a can in when I am adding the liquid. If I am including a grain (like bulgar) I will toss that in with the appropriate amount of liquid and allow the grain to cook with the chard. 

Food for thought: 
I don't know if you saw the picture of our team in our social media post, so we are including it in this email. We are so proud of them and glad to be working with them. They each have unique interests in farming and bring their individual skill sets and experiences to the farm, making the farm a better place. You can find out more about them on our website's Lake Divide Farm Team page.
There is so much to know on any farm. Its funny how many different ways there are to do every task- from bunching kale (bunch size, technique, post-harvest handling), to weeding (which tool to use, how many weeds to pull, how fast to go). And at every farm, these tasks are done differently. And because we work with living systems things are constantly changing. There is a lot of gray area on the farm that requires interpreting the data and making a decision based on what is there rather than what would be ideal. Given this, I am sure it is not a leap to imagine that there is a lot of training involved in order to level up farm workers to the point of being able to complete tasks without oversight.
This represents a lot of work on the managers end- stating information clearly, working alongside and watching, offering corrections and advice, recognizing struggles and miscommunications and so on. But the harder job, in my opinion, is taking all that information in and making something out of it. It is not possible to remember everything off the bat. Absorbing so much, while remaining open to corrections and not taking them personally, striving to do better, asking for help, all while your body adapts to the challenges of physically intense work in sometimes less than ideal conditions is an extreme undertaking. Our crew is working really hard to learn our farm and they are succeeding. They are leveling up fast and we couldn't be happier. Give them a big thank you when you see them at market because this farm just wouldn't run without them.

We will see you at market this week with all the bounty we have gathered!
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. (Notice our new catch phrase? We call it the trifecta of sustainability. It sounds a little cheesy but we mean it from the heart. 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 hiring! We have 2 part-time position open for the 2019 season. You can find details about the jobs on our website here. If you or anyone you know may be interested, please send us an email or pass along the information. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!
There are a lot of vegetables just around the corner. Get ready for the avalanche! 

Transplants!
Peppers (Later in the week)
Tomatoes
Herbs

Greens:
Arugula
Mizuna
Mustard
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana
Salad Mix!
Baby Bok Choy
Baby Beet Greens
Microgreens: Arugula and Spicy-Wonder Mix (only at Satuday markets this week-excluding White Lotus)
Pea Shoots:  (At all markets excluding White Lotus)
Chard: big 'ol beautiful bunches!
Head Lettuce
Kale: Beautiful bunches

All manner of deliciousness:
Cucumbers: Green slicers! SO tasty!
Kohlrabi:! This first harvest falls on a Eastern Market customers birthday! Come on out for it friend!
Peas! Snap Snap Snap peas are Back Back Back!
Radish! Oh boy do I have some good radish recipes. Not just for salads, y'all.
Scallions
Summer Squash: Green and Yellow Zucchini! Dense and delicious
Sweet Turnips- may be limited as our next planting comes in.

Herbs:Chives with blossoms
Mint
Thyme
Oregano

Coming Soon:Cilantro
Dill
Parsley
Beets
Fennel
Garlic Scapes- It won't be long now until those tasty, twisty, wild flavors re-enter our lives!
Napa Cabbage

This weeks Markets
Wednesday: Ann Arbor

In the same location as the Saturday market, the Ann Arbor Wednesday Market is a little more laid back.  If you don't want to fight the crowds. come out on Wednesday and take the chance to talk with all your farmers, chefs, and artisans.The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI Find us there May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm.

Thursday: Northville

The Northville Market is located at the corner of 7 Mile and Sheldon Roads. It runs May thru October, 8 am - 3 pm

Friday: Stockbridge

The Stockbridge Open Air Market is located on the square in downtown Stockbridge. It runs from May thru October from 4 pm - 7 pm

Saturday: Ann Arbor,  Chelsea, Detroit's Eastern Market, The White Lotus Farm Cart 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 Chelsea Farmers' Market is located in the Palmer Commons at 304 S. Main St.. It runs May thru October (then moves inside thru December!) from 8 am - 1 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 White Lotus Farm Cart is located at 7217 West Liberty Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. It is open Saturdays from 9:30am-1:30pm, May thru December. There is a collection of vendors there selling produce, bread, cheese, artisanal produces, along with brick oven pizza and the opportunity to roam the gardens. 

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.

Well, after this Tuesday storm, it looks like we won't be seeing any rain until the end of July! Just joking, but in all seriousness, isn't that how it works? But with the schedule mostly cleared of rain, we are hoping to whip around the curve this week, look over our shoulder and see those daunting tasks  becoming distant in our dust. 
These aggressive amounts of water and cooler temperatures are pushing planting dates later into the season for farmers across the Midwest. I would say that our farm has been lucky so far. We are nowhere near as inundated as some of the farms that have been hit by more storms and have lower lying fields. Please remember to be kind to any farmers you see. This is a very intense and stressful time of year for most farmers, being at the mercy of the whims of the weather. This extreme and unusual weather has done nothing to help the situation. . 

To note:
We are  still hiring! Want to work on the farm part-time? We have 30 hour/week positions open. Send us an email if you are interested!

Find us at the following markets from now on:
Wednesday: Ann Arbor! WE will be THERE! Go visit Jim tomorrow!
Thursday: Northville
Friday: Stockbridge
Saturday: Eastern Market, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, White Lotus Farm Cart, Chelsea
Recipe: 
Fresh herbs have potency of flavor, antioxidants, and nutrients. But what to do with them? My go to is to hang them to dry and then crunch the bunch to add them when I am cooking. This is pretty easy. All you have to do is loosen the rubber band, if needed and spread the stems out so they have a little room, then hang it on something. Boom. That's it. 
I also love the intensity of flavor when added to a salad. Oregano is a favorite of mine. I mince it and mix it in when I add the olive oil.
Dressings are another really common application and they are so easy to make. Below is a recipe I found online, but honestly, a fresh herb, an oil, an acid, plus some salt = dressing to die for.

Fresh Oregano Dressing
Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, shallot, honey, salt, thyme leaves, garlic, and pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil, then stir in oregano leaves. Let dressing sit at least 10 minutes for flavors to blend. Mix one more time before using (dressing won't be completely blended).
From My Recipes

Food for thought: 
We are making choices. With so much to do and limited time and resources, you always have to make choices. What is the most important? What won't offer a return? What is easy enough to get the ball rolling?
This week I will feel happy if we :
Harvest and attend all of our markets.
Put the finishing touches on some beds that will be planted this week.
Set up the irrigation running to all the areas that we will plant within the next few days.
Plant the sweet potatoes (yay! now just another 3.5 months and we can eat them again!)
Finish planting round 2 of peppers.
Plant the ginger! It is looking great and I can't wait to put it in the ground.
Direct seed bunch of succession crops- radishes and lettuce mostly
Plant the wintersquash.
Move the ground preparation forward while the goings good so that we can put final round of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and ground cherries in the ground. 
There are some finer points in there, but at this point, some broad stroke accomplishments are what will make us feel okay. 
That is a looming list.  And there are more things that I want to put on it. But matching expectations with reality is one of the keys to happiness. So here we make a choice too. We choose to be happy. We will accept what we are able to do. Know that we are doing our very best to tackle a colossal undertaking and work. 
Every steep forward is movement. 
By the time  we make it to our Saturday markets, we will be able to say how it went. Root for us and come see us there. 
 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. (Notice our new catch phrase? We call it the trifecta of sustainability. It sounds a little cheesy but we mean it from the heart. 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 hiring! We have 2 part-time position open for the 2019 season. You can find details about the jobs on our website here. If you or anyone you know may be interested, please send us an email or pass along the information. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details.

Fresh From the Field!
There are a lot of vegetables just around the corner. Get ready for the avalanche! 

Transplants!
Peppers (Later in the week)
Herbs
Cabbage
Squash!

Greens:
Microgreens: Spicy-Wonder Mix (At all markets excluding White Lotus)
Pea Shoots:  (At all markets excluding White Lotus)
Chard: tender baby leaves for braising and enjoying. 
Head Lettuce
Kale: Beautiful bunches
Mizuna: Limited
Mustard: Limited
Tokyo Bekana
Salad Mix!

All manner of deliciousness:
Maybe Cucumbers: Green slicers on the verge of pickable.
Radish: They will be back next week, if not this one.
Maybe Summer Squash: Green and Yellow Zucchini is just starting to consider being ready.
Sweet Turnips!!!

Herbs:
Mint
Thyme
Oregano

This weeks Markets
Wednesday: Ann Arbor

In the same location as the Saturday market, the Ann Arbor Wednesday Market is a little more laid back.  If you don't want to fight the crowds. come out on Wednesday and take the chance to talk with all your farmers, chefs, and artisans.The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI Find us there May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm.

Thursday: Northville

The Northville Market is located at the corner of 7 Mile and Sheldon Roads. It runs May thru October, 8 am - 3 pm

Friday: Stockbridge

The Stockbridge Open Air Market is located on the square in downtown Stockbridge. It runs from May thru October from 4 pm - 7 pm

Saturday: Ann Arbor,  Chelsea, Detroit's Eastern Market, The White Lotus Farm Cart 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 Chelsea Farmers' Market is located in the Palmer Commons at 304 S. Main St.. It runs May thru October (then moves inside thru December!) from 8 am - 1 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 White Lotus Farm Cart is located at 7217 West Liberty Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. It is open Saturdays from 9:30am-1:30pm, May thru December. There is a collection of vendors there selling produce, bread, cheese, artisanal produces, along with brick oven pizza and the opportunity to roam the gardens. 

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.