Looks like folks are gonna have to fight Brianna for these sunflower sprouts!
We found this excellent looking puffball mushroom while adventuring yesterday
Despite the cooler weather and the shorter days, we are still in the depths of harvest. The tomato heaven continues. We have 2-3 weeks left of intense tomato eating, then a drop off, then an absence altogether. If you are considering canning, please send us an email or talk to us at market for information on bulk deals. Don't forget to revel in the glory of the summer! We managed to haul in all the onions last week. We also got our seed garlic ordered to supplement the garlic from our own harvest that we will be planting. We planted out the last of the field lettuce. All remaining plantings, barring one of scallions, will be under cover of temporary or permanent hoop houses. There is still a lot of work laid out before us but we are rising to the challenge.
By the end of the week, if all goes well, the first big round of cover crops will be in. Cover crops are the plants that we grow to take care of our soil. We don't harvest or sell them, we just grow them and for that, they offer all kinds of rewards. They hold the soil in place, store nutrients for later use, increase soil organic matter, thus increasing our soils capacity to hold water and nutrients, suppress weeds, improve tilth, feed our soil microbes, and offer a place for beneficial insects and other creatures to live and eat. We love the look of a nice full swatch of cover crop.
This year, the soil has been given a chance to be rid of one flush of weeds and is is nice and moist, ready and awaiting seeds. Cover crops can be used in many combinations for different benefits. We are keeping it simple while we learn how to best utilize them. Oats and peas for ground that will be planted early in the spring. Oats and spring peas typically put on some good growth in the fall but don't survive the winter, leaving an easily workable field in the early spring. We will use winter peas for land that will be planted later in the spring or in the early summer. Like the oats and spring peas, they can put on a lot of growth in the fall but unlike the oats and peas, they will likely survive the winter and keep offering cover in the spring. For the ground that is planting and being harvested from until November, will seed winter rye and medium red clover, both hardy crops. Although the rye may not get a chance to put on growth this winter, the seed will survive and rise up in the spring, likewise, so will the clover. We are using this same combination for all land that is going on sabbatical for 2019. The hope is that the clover with close cover, protecting our soil and feeding our microbes so that when we revisit the land in 2020, it will be refreshed and more powerful than ever.
A cool thing that we are trying out this coming year is rolling our cover crops to be used as a mulch. This will minimize tillage while reducing weed pressure. They way it works? We seed our cover crop at a high rate, creating a dense planting. In the spring, we pull a crop roller over it. There are all kinds of crop rollers, but the idea is that crop is laid flat in a thick mat prevent weeds from breaking through, and the stem of the plant is crushed but not broken, reducing the likelihood of regrowth. The crops can then be planted into this mat and because the cover crop isn't all chopped up, like it would be from mowing, it will take longer to decompose. There are some other tweaks to this plan and it depends on a few things to make it work. We need to find something that will work as a crop roller. I think the chances of this working out are high. There are various farm attachments that can be used to this effect. Our cover crop (we are planning on doing this with the winter peas) must survive the winter and put on some good growth in the spring. We must figure out how to make the mat plantable and how to add any needed soil amendments. Our approach to this is some early tillage over the field (strip tillage) clearing a narrow area of cover crop put leaving the rest of the crop unscathed. And perhaps most importantly, when we roll the crop, it has to make a thick enough mat that the weeds won't instantly peak their way through. As usual, there are a lot of moving parts. You will know how it works out next year, as will we. For now, the first step-- seeding the cover!
It is going to warm back up but for now I encourage all of you to eat some soup while the temperatures are low. Celery, fennel, onions, broccoli, potatoes, yes!!
By the end of the week, if all goes well, the first big round of cover crops will be in. Cover crops are the plants that we grow to take care of our soil. We don't harvest or sell them, we just grow them and for that, they offer all kinds of rewards. They hold the soil in place, store nutrients for later use, increase soil organic matter, thus increasing our soils capacity to hold water and nutrients, suppress weeds, improve tilth, feed our soil microbes, and offer a place for beneficial insects and other creatures to live and eat. We love the look of a nice full swatch of cover crop.
This year, the soil has been given a chance to be rid of one flush of weeds and is is nice and moist, ready and awaiting seeds. Cover crops can be used in many combinations for different benefits. We are keeping it simple while we learn how to best utilize them. Oats and peas for ground that will be planted early in the spring. Oats and spring peas typically put on some good growth in the fall but don't survive the winter, leaving an easily workable field in the early spring. We will use winter peas for land that will be planted later in the spring or in the early summer. Like the oats and spring peas, they can put on a lot of growth in the fall but unlike the oats and peas, they will likely survive the winter and keep offering cover in the spring. For the ground that is planting and being harvested from until November, will seed winter rye and medium red clover, both hardy crops. Although the rye may not get a chance to put on growth this winter, the seed will survive and rise up in the spring, likewise, so will the clover. We are using this same combination for all land that is going on sabbatical for 2019. The hope is that the clover with close cover, protecting our soil and feeding our microbes so that when we revisit the land in 2020, it will be refreshed and more powerful than ever.
A cool thing that we are trying out this coming year is rolling our cover crops to be used as a mulch. This will minimize tillage while reducing weed pressure. They way it works? We seed our cover crop at a high rate, creating a dense planting. In the spring, we pull a crop roller over it. There are all kinds of crop rollers, but the idea is that crop is laid flat in a thick mat prevent weeds from breaking through, and the stem of the plant is crushed but not broken, reducing the likelihood of regrowth. The crops can then be planted into this mat and because the cover crop isn't all chopped up, like it would be from mowing, it will take longer to decompose. There are some other tweaks to this plan and it depends on a few things to make it work. We need to find something that will work as a crop roller. I think the chances of this working out are high. There are various farm attachments that can be used to this effect. Our cover crop (we are planning on doing this with the winter peas) must survive the winter and put on some good growth in the spring. We must figure out how to make the mat plantable and how to add any needed soil amendments. Our approach to this is some early tillage over the field (strip tillage) clearing a narrow area of cover crop put leaving the rest of the crop unscathed. And perhaps most importantly, when we roll the crop, it has to make a thick enough mat that the weeds won't instantly peak their way through. As usual, there are a lot of moving parts. You will know how it works out next year, as will we. For now, the first step-- seeding the cover!
It is going to warm back up but for now I encourage all of you to eat some soup while the temperatures are low. Celery, fennel, onions, broccoli, potatoes, yes!!
Lizz and Tony spreading oat and pea cover crops
See you at market!
Helen writing for the Lake Dviders (Jim's punt makes my punt look meager.)
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- coming back shortly
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Broccoli!
Carrots- perhaps
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.
Potatoes- thin, thin skin- you barely have to cook these delights!
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.
Helen writing for the Lake Dviders (Jim's punt makes my punt look meager.)
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- coming back shortly
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Broccoli!
Carrots- perhaps
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.
Potatoes- thin, thin skin- you barely have to cook these delights!
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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