Lizz and Boomer (Exie The Dog's young apprentice) showcasing purple potatoes.
Jim showing off tender babay Bok Choy from the field
Greetings from the near future! The year, still 2018, the month, perplexingly, December! The past few weeks have found my focus firmly fixated (allusion to affinity for alliteration) 2 months into the future. Will winter production/storage go as planned? Will we make enough money to have a great 2019 season? How cold will it be this winter? I wanted to know the answers to these questions so badly that I succumbed to my traditional impatience. I've chosen to blur the lines between the present and the future! It has been rather illuminating! Sadly, December has been colder than I expected. Not so surprisingly, things didn't go as well as I had hoped, but not as badly as I had feared. It's been a mixed bag, some crops couldn't survive the cold, other more cold-hearty varieties managed to assert themselves just fine. All in all, life continues on in a not too unexpected fashion. Ahhh, how sweet it would be!
Those are the types of thoughts you hope to have in hindsight. In October, you have many unanswered questions, but the one thing you know for sure is that If you hope to experience even mixed feelings on how your off-season production went come December, you had better be working for it RIGHT NOW!
Agriculture shifts ones focus from the present, to the nerve racking, possibly lower yielding than expected first harvest date. Variables float about in the primordial present as they aggregate from a soupy "what if" into a well bounded "what is". With only one month left in the primary market season, we now have a general financial framework for the coming year. The "off season" (December to April) is the icing on the cake. Every little bit makes the next main season that much sweeter! To earn that icing, you plunge your hands into icy wash station water, roll up hoses each day to avoid icing and convert your cold storage to heated storage to prevent your precious storage crops from freezing solid. It is a mighty cold time, but it's also that special part of season that keeps me wondering until it's done. There's a lot to be done to get all the hoophouses ready for their off season crops, so I better get my hands out of December's icy wash station water and get them back into the wet October fields. Lots of new vegetables are coming out the field right now, classic and sweet turnips, specialty radishes, beets just to name a few. So get roasting and stewing because even though it's getting colder outside Lake Divide is bringing the heat!
See you at market!
Jim writing for the Lake Dviders
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
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets!
Beet Greens!
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.
Purple 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.
Those are the types of thoughts you hope to have in hindsight. In October, you have many unanswered questions, but the one thing you know for sure is that If you hope to experience even mixed feelings on how your off-season production went come December, you had better be working for it RIGHT NOW!
Agriculture shifts ones focus from the present, to the nerve racking, possibly lower yielding than expected first harvest date. Variables float about in the primordial present as they aggregate from a soupy "what if" into a well bounded "what is". With only one month left in the primary market season, we now have a general financial framework for the coming year. The "off season" (December to April) is the icing on the cake. Every little bit makes the next main season that much sweeter! To earn that icing, you plunge your hands into icy wash station water, roll up hoses each day to avoid icing and convert your cold storage to heated storage to prevent your precious storage crops from freezing solid. It is a mighty cold time, but it's also that special part of season that keeps me wondering until it's done. There's a lot to be done to get all the hoophouses ready for their off season crops, so I better get my hands out of December's icy wash station water and get them back into the wet October fields. Lots of new vegetables are coming out the field right now, classic and sweet turnips, specialty radishes, beets just to name a few. So get roasting and stewing because even though it's getting colder outside Lake Divide is bringing the heat!
See you at market!
Jim writing for the Lake Dviders
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
Mint
Oregano
Parsley: The stems of the curly parsley are incredibly sweet!
Sage
Thyme
All manner of deliciousness:
Beets!
Beet Greens!
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.
Purple 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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