LDF News: Veggies and securing reproductive rights in Michigan

Boomer smiles in the heat. He is so glad to be out patrolling the farm. He keeps us on our toes every day by getting startled by snakes, jumping in to the truck for a ride, and barking at the scooter that just about silently whizzes by on our dirt road. We keep a radio collar on him so if he gets carried away on one of his Boomer missions, we will be able to see where is his on the map. He used to leave the farm frequently but now he mostly sticks around and checks his familiar patrols.

I interrupt your veggie news to bring this urgent message. Reproductive rights in Michigan are currently protected only by a temporary injunction. If you want to secure women's reproductive rights, please sign a petition to put an amendment on the ballot this fall.

You can sign a petition this Saturday at Eastern Market or the Royal Oak Farmers' Market. You can also search for a place to sign the petition here: https://www.mobilize.us/mireprofreedom/?event_type=22&show_all_events=true
Use the filters to find a location and time that work for you.

Please don't wait and keep in mind, this is an in person petition only. The deadline to acquire 425,059 signatures from registered voters is July 11th. If you realize how important reproductive rights and freedom are, please take action.

Here is more information about what signing this petition will do. https://mireproductivefreedom.org/learn-more/
Here is more information from PBS about the ballot initiative. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a-ballot-initiative-in-michigan-could-let-voters-choose-whether-abortion-is-a-protected-right
 
 
In this email:

• Generally important notes
  • Farm Members, if you haven't checked out our new membership agreement please see a copy here. If this works for you, please send me an email saying so. If it doesn't, please let me know and we will sort it out. Thank you!
  • Stockbridge Members: Look for the email from a couple weeks ago. Please email me with any questions or thoughts.
  • 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.  
  • Please find a location to sign the Reproductive Freedom for All initiative: https://www.mobilize.us/mireprofreedom/?event_type=22&show_all_events=true
• Fresh from the Field
• Recipe: Fennel Top Pesto. Holy $m@ke$! It is delicious.
• Market Details
• Tales from the Farm!​

Fresh From the Field- 
Greens:
Chard
Kale
Pea shoots

All Manner of Deliciousness
Baby Green Garlic
Cucumbers
Baby Fennel
Garlic Scapes
Kohlrabi 
Snap Peas
Radishes
Sweet turnips- limited
Summer Squash!

Herbs (If we have time)
Dill
Mint
Oregano
Sage
Thyme

Coming soon:
Basil
Beets
Carrots
Parsley
Cherry Tomatoes

Recipe: Fennel Top Pesto
I tried making this for the first time last week and it was INSANELY delicious. 

I got the perfect amount of tops for the recipe from one bunch. I then braised the bulbs in white wine. All in all, it was a delicious day that if you saw me Saturday, you probably heard about. 
 
From: Whole Food Bellies
If you have ever wondered just what to do with those fennel fronds, fennel leaves, fennel tops or fennel greens once you have used up the bulb, then this lush Fennel Fronds Pesto is for you. Just a handful of ingredients and you have a completely delicious and freezer friendly pesto to use wherever you would use a normal pesto.
Ingredients

• 1 cup toasted walnuts (could skip the toasting if you're in a hurry but it takes very little time and really gourmets the whole situation.)
• 3 cups loosely packed fennel fronds
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup olive oil (plus extra)

Directions

• Toast the walnuts over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until they start to turn a nice golden brown color. Set aside to cool.
• Add the walnuts, fennel fronds, lemon juice, garlic and salt to a food processor. Add in half of the olive oil and pulse or blend until incorporated. Continue blending while slowly pouring in the rest of the olive oil and desired consistency is reached (you may need to add in a little more olive oil or water 1 teaspoon at a time if you prefer it thinner)
• Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze for later use

Market Details: We are at market this week
 
The Ann Arbor Farmers Market, Saturday with Helen and Tyler and radish aficionado Wiley! 7 am to 3 pm (or till sold out)

Eastern Market, shed 2, Saturday with Nicole! 6 am to 2:30 pmRoyal Oak, Saturday with Jim and special guest Hannah! 7 am to 1 pm

A baby praying mantis (nymph)! It revealed itself while we harvested squash. It is so funny to me that they look so similar to adults but smaller. Unlike human babies which look nothing like adults... Just kidding.

​Tales from the Farm:
Thank goodness for machines. I got a chance to do a lot of cultivation yesterday and today. For us this generally means wrecking weeds with tractor attachments. Every time I'm on the tractor doing this task, I am grateful it is the metal being worn down instead of my body.

Many farmers understandably use plastic as a weed barrier. They put it down at the beginning of the year and plant into it. It warms the soil and keeps weeds down. At the growing season's end, the plastic comes up. There is a similar biodegradable mulch on the market but it is not allowed in organic production yet. 

We do not use single use plastic in our fields. I can't convince myself to make it a practice. We have have tried a lot of methods and many a method needs perfection by us. We use reusable ground cloth. It is a lot of work and is still plastic but at least it isn't getting thrown out every year?

Weed management is a whole division of labor on a farm. Weeds are tenacious. They grow quickly, compete effectively, and produce an almost unimaginable number of seeds that remain viable in the years to come. When I first started farming I thought that i would manage my fields so the weed population would decline to negligible numbers. (Thought or hoped?) That would mean not letting weeds go to seed and working to bring weeds seeds up, germinate them, and then kill them. This would reduce the weed seed bank. We try to do all these things and some fields have been managed better than others but now my goal is management and reduction, rather than elimination.

The cultivating tractors let us manage more land than we could by hand. Any weed disturbed by the tractor is one we don't have to manually remove with our hands. 

Sign the petition to keep our reproductive rights in place. 

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Helen for Jim, Tyler, Wiley, Boomer (bark layer), and Exie (morale officer)

Pre-cultivation melon and squash patch. I this field was weedy enough I was having nightmares about it. The grass! The ragweed! uugggghhhh!

Post-cultivation melon and squash patch! Our tractor was up for the job! And I was able to get fairly close to the plants! I will likely go back over this bed once or twice before the plants vine out. We will hand weed in row to reduce weed pressure even further.

A zoomed out picture of the squas post cultivation. Each row of squash (or melon!) is centered on a 4 foot wide bed. There are about 5.5 feet in between rows. We planted about a half acre of wintersquash, melon and watermelon combined. Hopefully we can protect and care for it until it fruits!