We've cleared out two of our caterpillar tunnels this week to make way for tiny plants. The plant material was dusty dry but the soil was damp. While we were inside the tunnel, rain coated the outside and froze. Thin plates of ice broke off as we climbed out, dragging up rooted spent crops and weeds alike. I have been inside, catching up on multiple years worth of office work and even though that is important work that needs to be done, I felt cheerful to be outside and doing something so directly related to the coming season.
Of course, Wiley helped us with the field clean up. He mostly inspects our work and gives us approving squeals. I LOVE having him around. We gave him a stick and he prodded the soil. He also giggled, tumbled, and excitedly exclaimed in toddler banter while standing nose to nose with Tyler. He was a huge help! And to clarify, I wasn't working and watching Wiley at the same time. That is quite literally impossible at this point. A very helpful and extremely caring sitter named Caroline comes out 3 afternoons a week to pal around with our little buddy. We are so grateful to have connected with her. Our farm is wonderful and wild and not a place for an exuberant 18 month old to test his limits. Plus, he's hungry every hour, not really conducive to uninterrupted work.
Before the ice and snow, we managed to mulch the aisles of our garlic planting. It was nice to be doing this before the weeds are up. We laid it on thick, which hopefully means just a quick picking clean-up when spring comes. Looking at this picture, it is hard to believe it is from the same week! Here is Exie nestled into the straw and Tyler working, both of them enjoying the sun and warmth.
Kale! This will be headed into one of the freshly cleaned tunnels next week!
Cilantro microgreens! We are bringing some of these intensely flavorful micros to market after over a month watching these slowly grow. Here you see next weeks harvest, with the seed still clinging to the cotyledon. Cilantro is one of the micros that we wait for the first true leaf, the first one that looks like a cilantro leaf. It was quite a wait this time around (6 weeks, yikes!) One of the lessons we learned this January was that some crops (basil and cilantro microgreens and sunflower shoots to name a few) take too long to grow during the dark times. Even though we are all missing the variety and flavor during January, it is better to wait for more daylight and warmth. Weather is a factor in everything we do.
Ahoy!
Wow, this week was a weather roller coaster. I loved being outside and feeling the sun directly on my skin. And because I didn't have to leave the house in the dark this morning, I was also able to love the wild ice the slicked all surfaces between yesterday and today. I heard an owl. I saw a flock of robins. Crooked tail cat prowls the streets.
What happened this week? It is a blur. We made more room in our greenhouse in anticipation of the hundreds of thousands of plants that will pass through there this year, many of them enjoying a stay between April and May. We mulched the aisles of our garlic. We cleaned up some of the tunnels so they are ready to plant in the near future. And did our regular seeding of microgreens and shoots, along with some farm seeding and thinning of transplants.
Last week, I was lucky enough to get some mental space to make a schedule for myself. Before that, it was a free-for-all unfinished sentences, toy cars, misplaced lists, and foraging for snacks. I came into parenthood thinking I would be able to do at least part of my job while caring for my child. It turns out, while it isn't altogether impossible, it is not satisfying for me or Wiley. As Wiley's sleep has become more predictable (praise all that is good on this earth), I have found regular time during his sleep to work. And as mentioned in the caption of Wiley's picture, we also connected with an awesome caretaker, Caroline. I couldn't do what I am doing without her. Office work with my child is possible but not fluid. Field work with my child is either unsafe or so interrupted that it feels futile and is demoralizing. Caroline is great in so many ways. She listens to Wiley, communicates clearly with all of us, loves books, and is super fun. My favorite thing is, she happily treks all over the farm with Wiley to visit me where I am. I am getting the best of both worlds. I get to work and focus AND I get to see Wiley interact and explore in the world. I am saying this partly because before Wiley, I was unsure of whether it would be possible for me to work while caring for a child. I thought maybe. I was told it would be possible by many. That isn't true for me or the job that I have to do. There are pictures of Wiley in the field with me. Either I am casually picking at work and primarily hanging with Wiley, or someone else is fully engaged in caring for him. I suppose I am saying this for the other working parents, so they know what this is and don't feel like I sometimes do, like I should be able to do it all without help. That has never been true for any large endeavor, and this is no different.
Yesterday, Jim finished work early and came out to the field to weed with me and Tyler. Caroline and Wiley came out in the field and joined in. It was so nice to be all together, working and laughing. We finished our list a bit early, and unlike high summer, when we tack on something else, we wrapped it up. Caroline was still around and went inside to get Wiley sorted out, Tyler went home, and Jim and I snuck into the field across the road for beer in the in the icy rain. It was so nice to chat and be outside and watch the still woods together. Just fifteen minutes made the difference for us. A new version of speed dating.
Quick notes after all this personal drivel:
We are still interviewing. We are still waiting to hear back from one person we offered the job to. I don't know about you, but the suspense is killing me!
Thank you so much to everyone who has renewed or signed up fresh for our farm membership. The positive effect of a sign up this time of year ripples through the whole season. We really appreciate it!
To snowy days and towards sunny ones! See you at market!
Helen
I will leave these lean times support suggestions here...
Ways to support us through these lean times?
In this email:
Fresh From the Field-
Greens:
Microgreens: Various.
Pea Shoots
Sunflower shoots!
All Manner of Deliciousness
Apples (Al Mar Orchard, certified organic, at Eastern and Royal Oak)
Beets! (certified organic from Stutzman Family Farm)
Cabbage: Savoy Leaf Cabbage, Classic, and Red (Some is ours and some is Certified organic and from Stutzman Family Farm)
Garlic (certified organic from Cinzori!)
Napa Cabbage- baby and delectable
Kohlrabi
Onions: Yellow and Red (certified organic from Cinzori!)
Potatoes: Red and white
Daikon (Purple, Red (grown with organic methods by Tantre) and White)
Watermelon radishes (certified organic from Cinzori!)
Rutabaga
Purple top turnips
Recipe: Lemon Garlic Sauteed Cabbage
From Inspired Taste
This easy, healthy recipe for sauteed cabbage is delicious. As the cabbage cooks in the pan, it wilts, turns tender, and becomes sweet. Cabbage may sound like a boring side, but this is one of our favorite side dishes to make. White cabbage is our favorite for this, but other cabbage varieties will work. Keep in mind, though, that Napa cabbage will release more moisture and won’t brown as nicely in the pan.
Ingredients
Market Details: We are at market this week
The Ann Arbor Farmers Market- Back in May
Eastern Market, Shed 3, stalls 367 and 369 (on the right when you enter shed 3 Russell St.), Saturday with Helen! 6 am to 2:30 pm
Royal Oak, Saturday with Peter, and Lisa! 7 am to 1 pm
Wow, this week was a weather roller coaster. I loved being outside and feeling the sun directly on my skin. And because I didn't have to leave the house in the dark this morning, I was also able to love the wild ice the slicked all surfaces between yesterday and today. I heard an owl. I saw a flock of robins. Crooked tail cat prowls the streets.
What happened this week? It is a blur. We made more room in our greenhouse in anticipation of the hundreds of thousands of plants that will pass through there this year, many of them enjoying a stay between April and May. We mulched the aisles of our garlic. We cleaned up some of the tunnels so they are ready to plant in the near future. And did our regular seeding of microgreens and shoots, along with some farm seeding and thinning of transplants.
Last week, I was lucky enough to get some mental space to make a schedule for myself. Before that, it was a free-for-all unfinished sentences, toy cars, misplaced lists, and foraging for snacks. I came into parenthood thinking I would be able to do at least part of my job while caring for my child. It turns out, while it isn't altogether impossible, it is not satisfying for me or Wiley. As Wiley's sleep has become more predictable (praise all that is good on this earth), I have found regular time during his sleep to work. And as mentioned in the caption of Wiley's picture, we also connected with an awesome caretaker, Caroline. I couldn't do what I am doing without her. Office work with my child is possible but not fluid. Field work with my child is either unsafe or so interrupted that it feels futile and is demoralizing. Caroline is great in so many ways. She listens to Wiley, communicates clearly with all of us, loves books, and is super fun. My favorite thing is, she happily treks all over the farm with Wiley to visit me where I am. I am getting the best of both worlds. I get to work and focus AND I get to see Wiley interact and explore in the world. I am saying this partly because before Wiley, I was unsure of whether it would be possible for me to work while caring for a child. I thought maybe. I was told it would be possible by many. That isn't true for me or the job that I have to do. There are pictures of Wiley in the field with me. Either I am casually picking at work and primarily hanging with Wiley, or someone else is fully engaged in caring for him. I suppose I am saying this for the other working parents, so they know what this is and don't feel like I sometimes do, like I should be able to do it all without help. That has never been true for any large endeavor, and this is no different.
Yesterday, Jim finished work early and came out to the field to weed with me and Tyler. Caroline and Wiley came out in the field and joined in. It was so nice to be all together, working and laughing. We finished our list a bit early, and unlike high summer, when we tack on something else, we wrapped it up. Caroline was still around and went inside to get Wiley sorted out, Tyler went home, and Jim and I snuck into the field across the road for beer in the in the icy rain. It was so nice to chat and be outside and watch the still woods together. Just fifteen minutes made the difference for us. A new version of speed dating.
Quick notes after all this personal drivel:
We are still interviewing. We are still waiting to hear back from one person we offered the job to. I don't know about you, but the suspense is killing me!
Thank you so much to everyone who has renewed or signed up fresh for our farm membership. The positive effect of a sign up this time of year ripples through the whole season. We really appreciate it!
To snowy days and towards sunny ones! See you at market!
Helen
I will leave these lean times support suggestions here...
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!
- Share our hiring ad! If you know someone that is a farmer or is considering farming, send them our way!
- Here is a link to our hiring page.
In this email:
- Winter market schedule:
- As of now we are planning on attending Eastern and Royal Oak every week. If anything changes, we will note it here.
- Generally important notes
- We are inside at Eastern Market, in Shed 3, stalls 367 and 369. You can find us on the left if you enter Shed 3 from Russell st.
- 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: Lemon Garlic Sauteed Cabbage
- Market Details: Royal Oak and Eastern (shed 3, 367 and 369)!
Fresh From the Field-
Greens:
Microgreens: Various.
Pea Shoots
Sunflower shoots!
All Manner of Deliciousness
Apples (Al Mar Orchard, certified organic, at Eastern and Royal Oak)
Beets! (certified organic from Stutzman Family Farm)
Cabbage: Savoy Leaf Cabbage, Classic, and Red (Some is ours and some is Certified organic and from Stutzman Family Farm)
Garlic (certified organic from Cinzori!)
Napa Cabbage- baby and delectable
Kohlrabi
Onions: Yellow and Red (certified organic from Cinzori!)
Potatoes: Red and white
Daikon (Purple, Red (grown with organic methods by Tantre) and White)
Watermelon radishes (certified organic from Cinzori!)
Rutabaga
Purple top turnips
Recipe: Lemon Garlic Sauteed Cabbage
From Inspired Taste
This easy, healthy recipe for sauteed cabbage is delicious. As the cabbage cooks in the pan, it wilts, turns tender, and becomes sweet. Cabbage may sound like a boring side, but this is one of our favorite side dishes to make. White cabbage is our favorite for this, but other cabbage varieties will work. Keep in mind, though, that Napa cabbage will release more moisture and won’t brown as nicely in the pan.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds white cabbage, core removed and shredded (10 cups)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste
- Half of a lemon, cut into wedges
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage, garlic, red pepper flakes, and the salt. It might seem like too much cabbage for the pan, but as it cooks, the cabbage will wilt down.
- Cook, stirring occasionally until the cabbage is tender and some of the cabbage begins to turn a light brown; 10 to 15 minutes.
- Squeeze the juice from 2 lemon wedges over the cabbage. Taste then adjust with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice as needed.
- To shred the cabbage, quarter the cabbage through the core, and then cut out the core. Cut each quarter crosswise in half and finely shred. Rinse and spin or pat very dry.
- This cabbage recipe is excellent with onions, add them to the pan at the same time as the cabbage.
Market Details: We are at market this week
The Ann Arbor Farmers Market- Back in May
Eastern Market, Shed 3, stalls 367 and 369 (on the right when you enter shed 3 Russell St.), Saturday with Helen! 6 am to 2:30 pm
Royal Oak, Saturday with Peter, and Lisa! 7 am to 1 pm
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