Janet, Malcolm and Mattie are seeding up a storm in the greenhouse, a seed storm!
Helen, as usual, is riding the line between working and having way too much fun
Following a treacherous mow, the staff area is starting to come together. It will be a place of lunch eating, relaxation and a free exchange of farm related ideas, hopefully
Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.
I made it out on the canoe this weekend. It was a magical time on my favorite lake with a great friend. We saw chickadee nest, shrubs to be known, a glider plane, and so many other exiting things. But mostly, we indulged in a cool morning with the sounds of nature. I am so grateful that among the chaos, we are still able to carve out moments of peace.
To note:
Find us at the following markets from now on:
Thursday: Northville
Friday: Stockbridge
Saturday: Eastern Market, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, White Lotus Farm Cart, Chelsea
Ann Arbor Wednesday, we are coming for you! Give us one more week to get our feet under us. Look for us Saturday!
Recipe: Sweet Turnips
Hakurei Turnips are turnips for people that don't like turnips! I don't like turnips myself (this is Jim by the way), but I love to slice off thin slices of Hakurei turnips and eat them like a snack, they are that good. If you want to get fancy with em...
Glazed Hakurei Turnips- from Epicurious!
Ingredients
Food for thought:
Well folks, we have some vegetables this week. Greens. Radishes. Yes. And we will continue to have our delicious micros and shoots. I am glad some hints of what's to come are finally gracing our plates. Thanks for being so patient.
Now let me tell you what is one my mind. Last week we planted a little over a half acre of tomatoes. This is more tomatoes than we planted in total last year, and we still have more to go. What is another outlandish planting? Double the wintersquash. DOUBLE! For those of you that know we had a rough wintersquash year, just know, we have some real plans for how to care for them. We are switching from using a weed barrier to bare ground with cultivation. This is just a symptom of what is going on for us. We are scaling up. Hopefully, we are reaching our scale plateau this year. But the real point is, we are moving to a scale that makes this year feel like another first year. That is both exciting and exhausting. Mostly exciting though.
It is fun because every time we do something, it feels new and amazing! "We planted so many tomatoes!" I mean, I can imagine how many tomatoes we planted, and that harvesting them is going to be extreme, but I can't quite wrap my head around it. We also planted so many peppers, onions, lots of greens and beets. Our carrots are looking classy. The potatoes are all up and we are just waiting for the ground to be dry enough to hill them. The onions are moving out of their transplant shock and looking vibrant.
And it is all more than ever. And we are working with more people than ever! The team is doing a great job learning and keeping up. They are rapidly taking on more and more responsibility and handling it very well. And as the team has expanded, so has the farm community that we are connected to. Last week was our first time doing 5 farmers' markets at once. We pulled it off just fine (with room for improvement) and are feeling more easy about the upcoming week. The final market in the quinte was Royal Oak and we are so glad to have added it to the market fold. We were welcomed in with some of the warmest greetings you can expect to get from a new market.
As a new businesses and farm, we are doing our best to find the safest pace to scale up to adulthood. Too fast, and we implode like dough that has risen too long, too slow, and we won't be able to support the expanding needs of the farm. Our long term goal is to have a team of people that stay with our farm, all working together. We want to farm at such as scale that we are able to pay them and care for them well (and us for that matter), with time off and benefits, while still keeping our produce affordable and accessible. Finding the sweet spot of scale is the heart of this and I think we are close to the balance.
We are all looking forward to seeing you at our various markets this week! Thank you so much for being our wonderful farm community.
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.)
Fresh From the Field!
Transplants!
Herbs for your windowsill
Peppers!
Tomatoes
Cucumbers!
Greens:
Microgreens: Solo-Arugula and a Mustard Mix (At all markets excluding White Lotus)
Pea Shoots (At all markets excluding White Lotus)
Mizuna
Baby Kale (limited)
Mustard
Tokyo Bekana
Arugula (maybe)
*Spinach
All manner of deliciousness:
*Daikon Radish- purple and white!
*Green Garlic, Maybe! (not certified organic but responsibly done by our friends at Titus Farms)
Radish
Scallions (limited)
Sweet Turnips!!!
Herbs:
Mint
Thyme
Oregano
A window into the production path of your food.
I made it out on the canoe this weekend. It was a magical time on my favorite lake with a great friend. We saw chickadee nest, shrubs to be known, a glider plane, and so many other exiting things. But mostly, we indulged in a cool morning with the sounds of nature. I am so grateful that among the chaos, we are still able to carve out moments of peace.
To note:
Find us at the following markets from now on:
Thursday: Northville
Friday: Stockbridge
Saturday: Eastern Market, Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, White Lotus Farm Cart, Chelsea
Ann Arbor Wednesday, we are coming for you! Give us one more week to get our feet under us. Look for us Saturday!
Recipe: Sweet Turnips
Hakurei Turnips are turnips for people that don't like turnips! I don't like turnips myself (this is Jim by the way), but I love to slice off thin slices of Hakurei turnips and eat them like a snack, they are that good. If you want to get fancy with em...
Glazed Hakurei Turnips- from Epicurious!
Ingredients
- 3 bunches baby hakurei turnips, baby turnips, or red radishes (about 2 pounds), trimmed, greens reserved
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Kosher salt
- Place turnips in a large skillet; add water to cover turnips halfway. Add butter, sugar, and a large pinch of salt; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is syrupy and turnips are tender, about 15 minutes. (if turnips are tender before liquid has reduced, use a slotted spoon to transfer turnips to a plate and reduce liquid until syrupy. Return turnips to pan and stir to coat well.)
- Add turnip greens to skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until just wilted, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt.
Food for thought:
Well folks, we have some vegetables this week. Greens. Radishes. Yes. And we will continue to have our delicious micros and shoots. I am glad some hints of what's to come are finally gracing our plates. Thanks for being so patient.
Now let me tell you what is one my mind. Last week we planted a little over a half acre of tomatoes. This is more tomatoes than we planted in total last year, and we still have more to go. What is another outlandish planting? Double the wintersquash. DOUBLE! For those of you that know we had a rough wintersquash year, just know, we have some real plans for how to care for them. We are switching from using a weed barrier to bare ground with cultivation. This is just a symptom of what is going on for us. We are scaling up. Hopefully, we are reaching our scale plateau this year. But the real point is, we are moving to a scale that makes this year feel like another first year. That is both exciting and exhausting. Mostly exciting though.
It is fun because every time we do something, it feels new and amazing! "We planted so many tomatoes!" I mean, I can imagine how many tomatoes we planted, and that harvesting them is going to be extreme, but I can't quite wrap my head around it. We also planted so many peppers, onions, lots of greens and beets. Our carrots are looking classy. The potatoes are all up and we are just waiting for the ground to be dry enough to hill them. The onions are moving out of their transplant shock and looking vibrant.
And it is all more than ever. And we are working with more people than ever! The team is doing a great job learning and keeping up. They are rapidly taking on more and more responsibility and handling it very well. And as the team has expanded, so has the farm community that we are connected to. Last week was our first time doing 5 farmers' markets at once. We pulled it off just fine (with room for improvement) and are feeling more easy about the upcoming week. The final market in the quinte was Royal Oak and we are so glad to have added it to the market fold. We were welcomed in with some of the warmest greetings you can expect to get from a new market.
As a new businesses and farm, we are doing our best to find the safest pace to scale up to adulthood. Too fast, and we implode like dough that has risen too long, too slow, and we won't be able to support the expanding needs of the farm. Our long term goal is to have a team of people that stay with our farm, all working together. We want to farm at such as scale that we are able to pay them and care for them well (and us for that matter), with time off and benefits, while still keeping our produce affordable and accessible. Finding the sweet spot of scale is the heart of this and I think we are close to the balance.
We are all looking forward to seeing you at our various markets this week! Thank you so much for being our wonderful farm community.
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 1 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!
Transplants!
Herbs for your windowsill
Peppers!
Tomatoes
Cucumbers!
Greens:
Microgreens: Solo-Arugula and a Mustard Mix (At all markets excluding White Lotus)
Pea Shoots (At all markets excluding White Lotus)
Mizuna
Baby Kale (limited)
Mustard
Tokyo Bekana
Arugula (maybe)
*Spinach
All manner of deliciousness:
*Daikon Radish- purple and white!
*Green Garlic, Maybe! (not certified organic but responsibly done by our friends at Titus Farms)
Radish
Scallions (limited)
Sweet Turnips!!!
Herbs:
Mint
Thyme
Oregano
Hoophouse 2 is planted in cucumbers and head lettuce. This will be our first year trellising our cucumbers. We have some 14 gauge steel wire just waiting to test its mettle ;)
The peas are all trellised, they even have some baby head lettuce planted alongside (for company)
Helen is putting the finishing touches on the irrigation lines. It's very normal to discover some leaks here and there after adding a large section of irrigation lines. The first time we run them, we wait for it to pressurize and then walk the whole line to check for any unexpected geysers
This weeks Markets
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.
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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