LDF News: Eastern and Royal Oak!

Just a selfie with my boo. I love this tractor. I get to sit so high up, out in the air, the visibility is great, and it does an excellent job! In this picture, I was midway through laying out the potato beds to plan. Will toss those taters in the trenches and then use the tractor to cover them up. I can hardly wait for new potatoes!

Our spring kale is coming along. I bet it will be ready in a matter of weeks, all tender and full of spring delight!

Snake sighting! It is so exciting to see them out! It is always amazing to me that all these animals are out there, living their lives, mostly hidden from us. It is always an honor for me to catch a glimpse. SO you can imagine my jealousy when Tyler sent me this picture with the first official Lake Divide Snake Spotting of 2023!

Remember the carrot seeding that I wrote about so much last week? Well, here is what the carrot row looks like from above a week and a day later, with unbroken soil. All those green leaves are competitors for light, water, and nutrition. Right now, if I sweep my fingers through the soil, I'll find many white thready roots. We have a tool to knock back these early risers: Fire! We use a flame weeder to quick blanch these little leaves. It leaves a good smell in the air, like fall, and barbeque. That helps put our carrots on an even playing field with the rest of the weeds rising up. The caveat is some carrots will likely perish in the process. Better to lose a few than allow all of them to be swallowed by weeds! Toast a few to roast the many, as they say. (Who really says that?)

Can you see it in the palm of my hand? It is tiny carrot seed that had just germinated but not yet started reaching for the sky. These roots grow slowly. They must be coaxed out of their sleep with regular moisture. It can take up to 3 weeks for a carrot seed to germinate. Luckily, with that warm weather, much of the carrot seed from this planting managed to wake up in just over a week.

Here is what I'm looking for, when I look to see if the carrots have germinated. I sift through the soil in the row of carrots until I find seeds. They are tiny and brown and have soil clinging to them. I wasn't always that great at it. To the left of the carrot you can see a much more mature weed seedling in red. This is what our slow moving carrots are up against.

Ahoy!

​Opportunity abounds! We got a chance to prep a lot of ground this week and we are looking forward to a productive week of planting next week. The story is in the pictures this week. 
A note for our Eastern Market customers: Please look for Tyler and Claudia at market this week! Helen is having an on farm day! 

Cheers,
Helen

Ways to support us through these lean times? 

• Become a farm member through our CSA!
  • Here is a link to information about it.
  • Here is a link to the sign up sheet
  • You balance will stay on the books until the end of the 2023 season.
• Come buy our vegetables at market! Make going to the farmers' market part of your weekly routine. We love to see you and we love our vegetables being part of your meals.
• Invite your friends to come to market with you or introduce them to our vegetables!
• We are still looking for help at market and possibly on the farm. If you know someone that could fit the bill, send them our way.

 
In this email:

• Generally important notes
  • Farm Members! Accepting sign-ups for the 2023 Season. Please ask for a sign-up sheet at market or print one (here) and bring it!
  • Here is link to our Social Justice page on our website. It is a list of resources to keep active in effecting positive social change.  
• Fresh from the Field
• Recipe: Green Garlic Rice!
• Market Details: Royal Oak and Eastern (shed 2, 276 &274)!
  

Fresh From the Field- 
Greens:
Microgreens: Arugula, BASIL!, Broccoli, Cilantro, Mustard mix, ONION! Radish Mix, Watercress
Pea Shoots
Spinach (limited unfortunately!)
Sunflower shoots

All Manner of Deliciousness
Apples (Al Mar Orchard, certified organic)
Green Garlic!
Kohlrabi
Onions: Yellow (Certified Organic from Cinzori!)
Scallions
Daikon (Purple and Red  from Tantre- grown with organic methods, and White from Cinzori- Certified Organic)
Watermelon radishes (Certified Organic from Cinzori!)
Purple top turnips

Coming Soon
Kale
Spring Raab

 
Recipe: Thoom ware Chawar - sindhi green garlic rice!

From: Second Recipe

Thoom ware chaawar/Saawa chawar is a delicately flavored rice which is both vegan & gluten-free.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• ½ cup garlic chives chopped (use our green garlic!)
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• Salt as per taste
• Few drops of lemon juice

Instructions

• Soak rice in water for atleast 30 minutes, wash with fresh water for 3-4 times.
• Heat oil in pan, add cumin seeds , allow them to splutter
• Add green garlic and let it saute for 8-10 minutes until the garlic is cooked.
• Add turmeric,salt and rice.
• Add 2 cups of water and cook the rice in a covered vessel.
• Once cooked, add few drop of lemon juice,to prevent rice from sticking.
• Serve with dry potato curry/spinach curry

Market Details: We are at market this week
The Ann Arbor Farmers Market- Back in May

Eastern Market, Shed 2, stalls 276 and 274 (Our regular, outside spot at the center of the shed), Saturday with Tyler and Claudia! 6 am to 2:30 pm

Royal Oak, Saturday with Peter and Lisa! 7 am to 1 pm