Here you see a tiny Helen in the background having a bit too much fun covering up the plants in the caterpillar tunnels before a cold windy night...
How was that breath of spring? I felt for a moment that I didn't get quite enough winter, but that feeling was washed away with the incoming winds. It was nice to enjoy fresh air on my arms and face without my skin being seared off by the cold. It will be nice to enjoy another dip and hopefully another big snow or two! I have some ice skating and snow meditation left yet!
To note:
Stockbridge Farm Members: Pick-up this week on Tuesday. Look for the email. Sorry it is a little late getting out.
Markets: We will be in Ann Arbor and Detroit this week! Find us in the sun in Kerrytown and in shed five at Eastern.
CSA Y'all! Thank you for excusing my relentless marketing but in case you missed it: This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers!CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!
Recipe:
Another sweet potato recipe! It is hard to stop sharing culinary uses for these because they are so sweet po-tasty! (Thanks for letting me get away with that one. Just try saying it out loud, it is fun!) The Japanese Sweet Potatoes are a little drier and a little nuttier than the classic orange ones. Lizz came up with this savory (and simple!) recipe. You really can't go wrong.
Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Sauteed Onions: Preheat oven to 425. Cut large sweet potatoes into 1/2' cubes (or use a pile of small ones halved!) and put in a bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle in some salt, and a dried herb (sage/thyme/rosemary). Bake 'em for 15 minutes, stir, then bake about another 15-20 minutes. When there are only five minutes to go, , pull them out of the oven sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and put 'em right back in for the final five minutes. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, slice some onions into crescents, heat some oil in a skillet and saute them until translucent. Scoop some sweet potatoes onto a plate, put the onions on top and enjoy! I would love to eat this with an over easy egg, a slice of buttered bread, and some pickled turnips!
Food for thought:
We aired out the caterpillar tunnels and hoops this week! The plants were glad for it. I must admit, Sunday was a little concerning. I slopped around the farm, the soil trying to suck my boots off my feet at every chance, grumbling about how wet it all is. We had standing water in some fields and in the area that I chose to set up the caterpillar tunnels, just a general extensive sogginess. While it was in the forties, there was still persistent ice on the tunnels and on the row cover. Now rowcover is not the sturdiest of materials. It is a thin weave and tears with ease. Much of it was frozen to the ground, to the anchor bag, to the side of the tunnel, etc. After some sincere attempts of removal and in favor of preserving the material so it could live a fuller life, Jim and I held off on pulling all the covers until Monday.
Monday, everything looked a little better. It was a little less "mucky", the covers weren't frozen, the sun was sunny. I finished the uncovering solo but it was no problem. My heart felt lifted, the plants looked grateful to enjoy an outing from their ice fortress. I was too, and so were the dogs. We frolicked. It was too wet to do much weeding but even so, the sight of new leaves on our plants brought my spirits up.
Now, the temperature is dropping again (as to be expected) and the great winds that accompany this temperature change are picking up. We check to make sure everything is secure in the evening and then at night, sleep with pillows pressed over our heads so that nightmares of winds wrecking havoc on the farm don't infiltrate our slumber (although they do anyway).
Farm life continues. We have just about acquired another market vehicle, completed our crop plan for the coming year, and settled some managerial plans. The farm planning revealed that we are hoping to be planting in the field by the end of the month! Holy moley! We are going to be planting in the greenhouse in only a matter of weeks! That is wild too! IT IS UPON US! SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE BEND! The plants can feel it in daylight hours and whether we recognize it, so can we! I love that this life has brought with it an intrinsic appreciation of the changing of the seasons. Every time, I am aching for a change of pace, the world offers it to me just by spinning.
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers
Fresh From the Field!
Greens: (Limited):Head lettuce!- Maybe.....
All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage- running low
Carrots
Kohlrabi- kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions
Sweet potatoes! White and orange fleshed
Radishes: Classic (with greens! May be limited), White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon radish
Turnips: Purple top and golden roasting turnips
Turnabaga- a cross between a crunchy sweet turnip and a rutabaga
Markets, always rain or shine!Saturday: Ann Arbor and Detroit's Eastern 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 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
To note:
Stockbridge Farm Members: Pick-up this week on Tuesday. Look for the email. Sorry it is a little late getting out.
Markets: We will be in Ann Arbor and Detroit this week! Find us in the sun in Kerrytown and in shed five at Eastern.
CSA Y'all! Thank you for excusing my relentless marketing but in case you missed it: This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers!CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!
Recipe:
Another sweet potato recipe! It is hard to stop sharing culinary uses for these because they are so sweet po-tasty! (Thanks for letting me get away with that one. Just try saying it out loud, it is fun!) The Japanese Sweet Potatoes are a little drier and a little nuttier than the classic orange ones. Lizz came up with this savory (and simple!) recipe. You really can't go wrong.
Roasted Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese and Sauteed Onions: Preheat oven to 425. Cut large sweet potatoes into 1/2' cubes (or use a pile of small ones halved!) and put in a bowl. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle in some salt, and a dried herb (sage/thyme/rosemary). Bake 'em for 15 minutes, stir, then bake about another 15-20 minutes. When there are only five minutes to go, , pull them out of the oven sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and put 'em right back in for the final five minutes. While the sweet potatoes are cooking, slice some onions into crescents, heat some oil in a skillet and saute them until translucent. Scoop some sweet potatoes onto a plate, put the onions on top and enjoy! I would love to eat this with an over easy egg, a slice of buttered bread, and some pickled turnips!
Food for thought:
We aired out the caterpillar tunnels and hoops this week! The plants were glad for it. I must admit, Sunday was a little concerning. I slopped around the farm, the soil trying to suck my boots off my feet at every chance, grumbling about how wet it all is. We had standing water in some fields and in the area that I chose to set up the caterpillar tunnels, just a general extensive sogginess. While it was in the forties, there was still persistent ice on the tunnels and on the row cover. Now rowcover is not the sturdiest of materials. It is a thin weave and tears with ease. Much of it was frozen to the ground, to the anchor bag, to the side of the tunnel, etc. After some sincere attempts of removal and in favor of preserving the material so it could live a fuller life, Jim and I held off on pulling all the covers until Monday.
Monday, everything looked a little better. It was a little less "mucky", the covers weren't frozen, the sun was sunny. I finished the uncovering solo but it was no problem. My heart felt lifted, the plants looked grateful to enjoy an outing from their ice fortress. I was too, and so were the dogs. We frolicked. It was too wet to do much weeding but even so, the sight of new leaves on our plants brought my spirits up.
Now, the temperature is dropping again (as to be expected) and the great winds that accompany this temperature change are picking up. We check to make sure everything is secure in the evening and then at night, sleep with pillows pressed over our heads so that nightmares of winds wrecking havoc on the farm don't infiltrate our slumber (although they do anyway).
Farm life continues. We have just about acquired another market vehicle, completed our crop plan for the coming year, and settled some managerial plans. The farm planning revealed that we are hoping to be planting in the field by the end of the month! Holy moley! We are going to be planting in the greenhouse in only a matter of weeks! That is wild too! IT IS UPON US! SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE BEND! The plants can feel it in daylight hours and whether we recognize it, so can we! I love that this life has brought with it an intrinsic appreciation of the changing of the seasons. Every time, I am aching for a change of pace, the world offers it to me just by spinning.
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers
- 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 3 full-time and 3 part-time positions opening up 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: (Limited):Head lettuce!- Maybe.....
All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage- running low
Carrots
Kohlrabi- kohlrabi and tender petite
Onions
Sweet potatoes! White and orange fleshed
Radishes: Classic (with greens! May be limited), White Daikon, Green Daikon, and Watermelon radish
Turnips: Purple top and golden roasting turnips
Turnabaga- a cross between a crunchy sweet turnip and a rutabaga
Markets, always rain or shine!Saturday: Ann Arbor and Detroit's Eastern 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 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
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