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Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Operation "shields up" completed, garlic cracked and getting planted, main season ends, off-season begins

10/31/2018

Lizz having WAY too much fun planting garlic

Garlic seed cracked and ready to plant

Happy Halloween! November is upon us! We are planting garlic. Three markets ended and three continue. Things are slowing down- kind of. Lots of storage crops yet to harvest. Lots of clean-up. We are grateful for the above freezing temperatures. We would like a little less rain, but are grateful that it is gentle. Our plants are still growing. We are watching the plants in the hoop houses rise and thrive. Yes, they got in a little late, but these warm, although gray, days are bringing them up!
This is Brianna and Tony's last week on the farm. They worked so hard this year and made Lake Divide farm run so much better because of it. Brianna's intense focus on details and order improved the workflow on harvest days immensely. Tony's quick moves in the field helped us shorten many a long day. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them both this year and I can't wait to see what they do next! And this is how we build our farm family.
We are also excited to say that Lizz will be staying on with us through the winter! It is pretty exciting to be able to keep one person on staff through our leanest times. More on team building later, but for now, I have got to get back out to garlic!
All the best!

Helen writing for the Lake Dividers

Yet another classic Lake Divide sunset

Operation "shields up"

All three caterpillar tunnels installed and planted

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Arugula
Baby Bok Choi!
Head Lettuce- Limited
Mizuna
Mustard
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana- Bok Choi lettuce!
Kale: flat leaf, green curly, and red curly
Microgreens: Spicy and mild. -Limited
Shoots: Pea!- Limited
Swiss Chard- frost sweetened and in bags.
Herbs:
Cilantro and Dill
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Celery
*Eggplant: (limited) Roast, stirfry, sandwich- prep breaded eggplant in the freezer!
Fennel: Fresh licorice-y fronds with crispy bulbs.
Garlic
Kohlrabi- beautiful meal sized kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions
Potatoes will be back in a couple weeks once the rest of the crops are safe from the frost
Sweet potatoes at the end of the week!
*Peppers: Limited
*Hot peppers: Hungarian hot wax, cayenne, jalepeno, serrano, and poblano- try pickling!
*Snack Peppers: ( limited) as sweet as peppers get!
Radishes: Classic, White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon- Try making steamed radish
*Tomatoes: greens- time to make those pickled green tomatoes!
Turnips: Sweet white turnips and purple top roasting turnips
*End of the season for starred crops so stock up while you can!

Markets, always rain or shine!Wednesday: 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.

Saturday: Ann Arbor and Chelsea Winter 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 to 3 pm.

The Chelsea Winter Farmers' Market is located Indoors at the Washington St Education Center (WSEC) building 100 cafeteria 500 Washington St
May thru October from 10 am to 2 pm.

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Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Extended season markets march on, but it is the last week for Northville, Stockbridge, and Howell!

10/24/2018

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Brianna works putting in hoops to hold up the frost blankets. We are trying to find the best way to do this so that one person can easily manage the giant pieces of cloth. We'll see how this version works!

Here you can see our covered greens in the foreground. We are hoping that this cover will keep our greens safe through November. Every year is different so we will have to wait and see but I think chances are good. In the midground you can seeour caterpillar tunnels. Each one is 150 feet long and spans two beds. Within are greens that we hope will take us through the winter. The greens in there are covered again with more row cover! And you can just barely make out our late fall planting in the background. Almost all of that will be harvested and brought in for the winter long eating.

First let me note, this will be the last week of the Northville, Howell, and Stockbridge markets. Thank you so much to those who have come out to support us this year. We appreciate your dedication to local agriculture and the farmers who make it run. If you are planning on shopping with us again next year or if you shop with us at any of our other markets, consider signing up for our Market CSA by opening an account with us. Find more information about it here and please feel free to email us with any questions. Our memberships run season round and you can use your account at any of our markets. Chelsea market will move inside after this week and run through the end of December. Ann Arbor Wednesday will stay right where it is and run through the end of December. Ann Arbor Saturday will stay the same all the way through! We are considering picking up another market for next season (perhaps starting in January, depending how much stuff we have) and will keep you posted as it develops.

Well folks, now that that's out of the way, let me tell you, we knew it was coming the whole time, but here it is, a hard frost. Last night we worked to the moon putting hoops and covers over our hopes (little plants) in the hoops. Between now and last weeks email, we disassembled and reassembled two caterpillar houses, built a third one anew and planted them full of little plants. It is late in the season to plant for winter but since our winter line-up consists of hard plants that take full advantage of even tiny drops of sunlight, we are hoping something will come of it. Either way, we will have vegetables to offer come winter, it just depends how long it will take them to mature.
I feel a little less terrified that everything is going to die from last year's experiences, but I am still not feeling easy. I know that cabbage can survive a cold like this. I know that broccoli can. I know that kale can. I know in my heart that tatsoi under cover can be frozen solid and then thaw out perfect. But I am still feeling edgy waiting for reassurance from the sun's thaw.
While we continue to work on bulk harvest (beets, radish, carrots, cabbage, kohlrabi, and potatoes!) we are also working on planting our garlic. The field is laid out, all we have to do is add nutrients, garlic, and then mulch it! While we wait for the plants to thaw so we can harvest with out destroying their delicate cell structure, we crack open heads of garlic, separate by variety and laugh and talk together.
Looking forward to seeing you at market and watching you faces as the realize how sweet the greens become after a frost!

Helen writing for the Lake Dividers

Frosted spinach! This is a pretty intensely spikey situation!

Frosted beet greens!

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Arugula
Baby Bok Choi!
Head Lettuce- Limited
Mizuna
Mustard
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana- Bok Choi lettuce!
Kale: flat leaf, green curly, and red curly
Microgreens: Spicy and mild. -Limited
Shoots: Pea!- Limited
Swiss Chard- frost sweetened and in bags.
Herbs:
Cilantro and Dill
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Celery
*Eggplant: (limited) Roast, stirfry, sandwich- prep breaded eggplant in the freezer!
Fennel: Fresh licorice-y fronds with crispy bulbs.
Garlic
Kohlrabi- beautiful meal sized kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions
Potatoes will be back in a couple weeks once the rest of the crops are safe from the frost
Sweet potatoes at the end of the week!
*Peppers: Limited
*Hot peppers: Hungarian hot wax, cayenne, jalepeno, serrano, and poblano- try pickling!
*Snack Peppers: ( limited) as sweet as peppers get!
Radishes: Classic, White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon- Try making steamed radish
*Tomatoes: greens- time to make those pickled green tomatoes!
Turnips: Sweet white turnips and purple top roasting turnips
*End of the season for starred crops so stock up while you can!
Markets, always rain or shine!
Wednesday: 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.

Thursday: Northville
The Northville market is located at 195 Main St, Northville, MI 48167 and it runs May thru October, 8 am to 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 to 7 pm

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 located in the lower library lot along Park St. It runs May thru October from 8 am to 1 pm.

Sunday: Howell
The Howell Farmers' market can be found in the heart of Howell at State st and Clinton st, adjacent to the historic Livingston County Courthouse. It runs May thru October, 9 am to 2 pm.

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Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Frost has arrived! Lake Divide raises shields!

10/17/2018

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Boomer decided to climb on Lizz's shoulders to get a better look at the massive sweet potato harvest

Time rolls over us at the farm. Often times determining the day of the week is a struggle. Our exclamations do nothing to firm our grip on the time, barely putting drag on it as it races past us: “It is already the middle of the month?” “How is it already September?” Thus we cling to landmarks, beacons shining out over the farm season that let us know where we are. The last frost in the spring. The beginning of tomato harvest. Summer solstice. Of course, the first fall frost is a big one.
It is one of the most discrete landmarks of the season. So many crops just won’t handle a dip that low. We get our last taste of warm weather crops like tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. Flowers frost, give us one last diamond encrusted show and then brown. Tender, tender greens, turn bright green as though steamed and then die. But it isn’t all death! Our hardy greens- mostly those in the brassica family like arugula and kale get sweeter. The cabbage and broccoli, also brassicas get sweeter. Our lettuce, tucked under frost blankets, thrives and continues to grow!
The fall frost signals us to haul in all those storage crops. Most tolerate and even benefit from a frost, but we know it is only going to get colder, so it is time to scoop them up and tuck them safely away in storage to be relished all winter long.
With that I am off to tuck in some plants!

Helen writing for the Lake Dividers

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Arugula
Baby Bok Choi!
Head Lettuce
Mizuna
Mustard
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana- Bok Choi lettuce!
Kale: flat leaf, green curly, and red curly
Microgreens: Spicy and mild.
Salad mix!!!
Shoots: Pea!
Swiss Chard
Herbs:
Cilantro and Dill
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets: Loose roots great for roasting
Broccoli is back and better than ever!
Cabbage- Sauerkraut is easier to make than you think!
Celery- Thick juicy stalks great for everything you love celery for
*Eggplant: (limited) Roast, stirfry, sandwich- prep breaded eggplant in the freezer!
Fennel: Fresh licorice-y fronds with crispy bulbs.
Garlic
Kohlrabi- beautiful meal sized kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions: petite and pungent.
Potatoes will be back in a couple weeks once the rest of the crops are safe from the frost
*Peppers: Limited
*Hot peppers: Hungarian hot wax, cayenne, jalepeno, serrano, and poblano- try pickling!
*Snack Peppers: ( limited) as sweet as peppers get!
Radishes: Classic, White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon- Try making steamed radish
*Tomatoes: greens- time to make those pickled green tomatoes!
Turnips: Sweet white turnips and purple top roasting turnips
*End of the season for starred crops so stock up while you can!

Markets, always rain or shine!Wednesday: 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.

Thursday: Northville
The Northville market is located at 195 Main St, Northville, MI 48167 and it runs May thru October, 8 am to 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 to 7 pm

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 located in the lower library lot along Park St. It runs May thru October from 8 am to 1 pm.

Sunday: Howell
The Howell Farmers' market can be found in the heart of Howell at State st and Clinton st, adjacent to the historic Livingston County Courthouse. It runs May thru October, 9 am to 2 pm.

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Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Tomatoes out, Broccoli is in

10/10/2018

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Helen and Lizz harvesting in the new Fall planting

Frost is coming folks. It hard to tell with all the warm weather we are having. Yesterday was EIGHTY-SIX! What!? I foolishly got my first sunburn of the year soaking up one of the last full-fledged sunny days. We are using this good weather to work down our winter prep list. Last week we checked of planting the hoop houses. We now have head lettuce, arugula, tatsoi, bok choi, and parsley coming along in there. We will be adding radish and scallion this week.
Coming up we have three 150 foot caterpillar tunnels to construct and plant. We are hoping to finish that by Tuesday next week. We will fill them with chard, kale, and spinach, with some additional scallions planted in the microclimate created between the houses. We would have liked all this to have been planted earlier but the fields have been so wet it has been hard to get them prepared. I have high hopes that the next few days of warm dry weather will dry them out enough to prep ground without damaging our lovely soil structure. All this planting and planning but I have to admit that I am still on a steep learning curve in terms of winter growing. We know we will get something (Jim's last week email alluded to) but we don't know how much. This is one reason that I am grateful for all the storage crops!
Which brings us to the next item on the list (hopefully fully and intensely dented by the end of the day): THE HARVESTING OF ALL THE SWEET POTATOES! They do not like a cold time and their storage life can be reduced even by forty degree weather. So, out of the field they are coming, to cure as mentioned.
We are also doing our best to prepare the plants for the cold, with hoops and cover where needed. This warm, warm weather is not helping them acclimate though. By next Tuesday the temperatures are likely to have dipped into the low 30's more than once and a 50 degree swing is substantial to this slowly adapting lifeforms.
I can't help those plants be more adaptive but I can help myself! The tome of farm life: Adapt with the living system that we exist within!
Farm joys: Broccoli is back and bangin'! Our cover crop looks like a delightful carpet of green! We our about to have our best sweet potato harvest of my farming career! Celery sauteed with sweet potatoes is about to be back on the menu!!
See you at markets this week!See you at market!
Helen writing for the Lake Dviders

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Arugula
Baby Bok Choi!
Head Lettuce
Mizuna
Mustard
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana- Bok Choi lettuce!
Kale: flat leaf, green curly, and red curly
Microgreens: Spicy and mild.
Salad mix!!!
Shoots: Pea!
Swiss Chard
Herbs:
Cilantro and Dill
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets: Loose roots great for roasting
Broccoli is back and better than ever!
Cabbage- Sauerkraut is easier to make than you think!
Celery- Thick juicy stalks great for everything you love celery for
*Eggplant: Roast, stirfry, sandwich- prep breaded eggplant in the freezer!
Fennel: Fresh licorice-y fronds with crispy bulbs.
Garlic
Ground Cherries: Close to the end
Kohlrabi- beautiful meal sized kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions: petite and pungent.
Purple Fingerling potatoes
*Peppers: Bells and friars- Easy to freeze!
*Hot peppers: Hungarian hot wax, cayenne, jalepeno, serrano, and poblano- try pickling!
*Snack Peppers: as sweet as peppers get!
Radishes: Classic, White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon- Try making steamed radish
*Tomatoes: Limited reds and lots of greens- time to make those pickled green tomatoes!
*Cherry Tomatoes: Limited
Turnips: Sweet white turnips and purple top roasting turnips
*End of the season for starred crops so stock up while you can!

Markets, always rain or shine!

Wednesday: 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.

Thursday: Northville
The Northville market is located at 195 Main St, Northville, MI 48167 and it runs May thru October, 8 am to 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 to 7 pm

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 located in the lower library lot along Park St. It runs May thru October from 8 am to 1 pm.

Sunday: Howell
The Howell Farmers' market can be found in the heart of Howell at State st and Clinton st, adjacent to the historic Livingston County Courthouse. It runs May thru October, 9 am to 2 pm.

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Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Winter time and Dogs aplenty!

10/2/2018

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Lizz and Boomer (Exie The Dog's young apprentice) showcasing purple potatoes.

Jim showing off tender babay Bok Choy from the field

Greetings from the near future! The year, still 2018, the month, perplexingly, December! The past few weeks have found my focus firmly fixated (allusion to affinity for alliteration) 2 months into the future. Will winter production/storage go as planned? Will we make enough money to have a great 2019 season? How cold will it be this winter? I wanted to know the answers to these questions so badly that I succumbed to my traditional impatience. I've chosen to blur the lines between the present and the future! It has been rather illuminating! Sadly, December has been colder than I expected. Not so surprisingly, things didn't go as well as I had hoped, but not as badly as I had feared. It's been a mixed bag, some crops couldn't survive the cold, other more cold-hearty varieties managed to assert themselves just fine. All in all, life continues on in a not too unexpected fashion. Ahhh, how sweet it would be!
Those are the types of thoughts you hope to have in hindsight. In October, you have many unanswered questions, but the one thing you know for sure is that If you hope to experience even mixed feelings on how your off-season production went come December, you had better be working for it RIGHT NOW!
Agriculture shifts ones focus from the present, to the nerve racking, possibly lower yielding than expected first harvest date. Variables float about in the primordial present as they aggregate from a soupy "what if" into a well bounded "what is". With only one month left in the primary market season, we now have a general financial framework for the coming year. The "off season" (December to April) is the icing on the cake. Every little bit makes the next main season that much sweeter! To earn that icing, you plunge your hands into icy wash station water, roll up hoses each day to avoid icing and convert your cold storage to heated storage to prevent your precious storage crops from freezing solid. It is a mighty cold time, but it's also that special part of season that keeps me wondering until it's done. There's a lot to be done to get all the hoophouses ready for their off season crops, so I better get my hands out of December's icy wash station water and get them back into the wet October fields. Lots of new vegetables are coming out the field right now, classic and sweet turnips, specialty radishes, beets just to name a few. So get roasting and stewing because even though it's getting colder outside Lake Divide is bringing the heat!
See you at market!
Jim writing for the Lake Dviders

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Arugula
Mizuna
Mustard
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana- Bok Choi lettuce!
Kale: flat leaf, green curly, and red curly
Microgreens: Spicy and mild.
Salad mix!!!
Shoots: Sunflower and pea!
Swiss Chard- limited while it reaches capacity
Herbs:
Cilantro and Dill
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets!
Beet Greens!
Cabbage
Celery
Eggplant: Roast, stirfry, sandwich
Fennel: Fresh licorice-y fronds with crispy bulbs.
Garlic
Ground Cherries: Little lanterns of deliciousness. Word on the street is that they are great raosted!
Kohlrabi- big and little
Onions: petite and pungent.
Purple Fingerling potatoes?
Peppers: Bells and friars
Hot peppers: Hungarian hot wax, cayenne, jalepeno, serrano, and poblano
Shishito peppers: Toss in hot oil with the lid on while the pop, remove from heat and toss in salt, then eat the whole thing minus the stem!
Radish Classic
Watermelon radishes: Spicy and sweet!
Tomatoes: Hierlooms, slicers, beefsteaks- all tasty!
Cherry Tomatoes!!

Markets, always rain or shine!Wednesday: 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.

Thursday: Northville
The Northville market is located at 195 Main St, Northville, MI 48167 and it runs May thru October, 8 am to 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 to 7 pm

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 located in the lower library lot along Park St. It runs May thru October from 8 am to 1 pm.

Sunday: Howell
The Howell Farmers' market can be found in the heart of Howell at State st and Clinton st, adjacent to the historic Livingston County Courthouse. It runs May thru October, 9 am to 2 pm.

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Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Operation "shields up" completed, garlic cracked and getting planted, main season ends, off-season begins

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Extended season markets march on, but it is the last week for Northville, Stockbridge, and Howell!

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Frost has arrived! Lake Divide raises shields!

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Tomatoes out, Broccoli is in

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter: Winter time and Dogs aplenty!

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