Mattie and Janet are doing the first harvest of baby swiss chard! Special "shout out" to Sean and Cody who weeded all the chard yesterday, great work guys!
The summer armada is on its way! There is still a lot of planting to do to finish this grouping of fields, but the rain has made it difficult to get things planted out on schedule. We've got high hopes for today though!
Head-Let-us have a good time eating some head lettuce
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
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.)
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
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.
Helen is here tending our "hardening off" area. Once plants have grown large enough to leave the greenhouse, we move them to this area just beside the greenhouse where they can adjust to the environment, while still being in hose distance of their old home.
The squash is squashing, brace for deliciousness
I didn't get it right away, maybe you will? Apparently Lizz's new field hat has inspired a serious of Washington crossing the Delaware re-enactments on harvest days
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.
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.
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