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.
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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