LDF News: New vegetables on the horizon!

My little work buddy. I'm working on the email, he's working on his tractor and truck with their trailers. He is so focused!

Basket weeding the spinach. It is hard to see all the tiny weeds that will perish from the perch on the tractor seat, but they were there, and now they aren't. Our mechanical weeding implements are doing a pretty good job of knocking out the little stuff. Our first planting of spinach will be harvested (next week!) with minimal intervention with hand tools. That is a huge success of time and energy savings.

Here is the over the shoulder view from the tractor. You can see the weeded strips between the rows. Those will not need to be addressed by hand at all. One addition our basket weeder could use would be baskets for the edges. As of now, after we take the tractor over, we use a scuffle hoe (aka hula hoe, stirrup hoe) to handle close to the plant and the edges of the bed. It works but in the future, we will get more baskets.

Can you see the bird tracks on the ground cloth? That is one of the fun things about this material. This year we are trying out ground cloth between our tomato rows in hopes of reduce weed pressure overall this year and into the future. It is a nice product because it can be reused again and again (I still have some from my first farm that I started 10 years ago) but it is afterall, still plastic. So there is that.

A giant swallowtail graced us with a visit. The butterflies are about and beautiful. Thank you Clare for this lovely picture.

Ahoy!​
Still so dry, still no rain in sight. Wow. What a strange May! We have had 2 frosts this week and one last week. This all gives me mixed feelings about not having our tomatoes planted yet. Of course I want them out there- early, early, early! But I am glad that they haven't suffered and we didn't have to put in all the extra time and energy to get the covered and protected from the cold. This Saturday, Eddie (yay new Eddie!) and Clare will plant them, along with our eggplant, peppers, and basil. Then it is just a countdown til delicious. I know I said nothing late, just on time in one of my previous emails. Now, I think that we can expect them to be late. 

What else are we doing? Lots of weeding and soon, lots of harvesting! New crops are starting to come in. In the coming weeks we will add spinach, squash, radishes, and an abundance of swiss chard to the line up! Thank you so much for indulging in all our other offerings while we've waited for these new year's vegetables.

We'll keep working hard out here and being happy to see you there. Visit Tyler at Royal Oak over the next couple weeks as Amalie take a few weeks to make doughnuts at her farm shop. I will be at Royal Oak with the lovely Claudia and Aaron.
See you there!
Cheers,
Helen
 
In this email:

• Generally important notes
  • Ann Arbor Members! We will be at the Ann Arbor Farmers' market on the remaining Wednesdays of the Month, starting next Wednesday the 17. We'll look forward to seeing you there! We hope to start Ann Arbor Saturday at the beginning of June! If any members are feeling worried, please send me an email. 
  • 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: Favorite Kale Salad
• Market Details: Royal Oak and Eastern (shed 2, 276 &274)!

Fresh From the Field- 
Greens:
Kale- Red Russia and Siberfrills!
Microgreens: Arugula, Basil Broccoli, Cilantro, Cress, Mustard, Radish Mix, Watercress
Pea Shoots
Sunflower shoots

All Manner of Deliciousness
Apples (Al Mar Orchard, certified organic)
Green Garlic!
Radish- spring cuties. Light this week, but many more next week.
Daikon (White  from Tantre- grown with organic methods)
Purple top turnips

Transplants
Snap peas!
Summer squash!

Coming Soon
Arugula and tatsoi
Chard
Spinach
Sweet turnips

Recipe: Kale Salad
From: The heart, haha.

Our spring kale makes a tender salad that brings me so much joy. In its basic form, you can make it from only shredded kale, oil, and a sprinkle of salt. Yes folks, even just like this it is delicious and fulfilling. Here is the salad with my favorite add ins.

Ingredients

• Kale, ripped from stems and torn
• Microgreens of choice
• Sunflower seeds
• crumble cheese like feta, goat, or blue
• Olive oil to taste
• Salt to taste 

Instructions: 

• Massage the kale with olive oil and sprinkle in some salt. 
• Toss in microgreens, sunflower seeds, and crumble cheese
• Enjoy!

Notes:

• Great additions when in season (or when you feel like it) include peppers, mince onion, fresh herbs like oregano)
• I love eating this with a generous slice (or three!) of crusty bread.
• Walnuts are a great alternative to sunflower seeds.

Market Details: We are at market this week
The Ann Arbor Farmers Market- We are starting Wednesdays and will be there next Wednesday, May 17th. I expect to begin attending Saturdays at the beginning of June. 

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

​Royal Oak, Saturday with Tyler! 7 am to 1 pm