Lunch time kitten party
Whew! It sure warmed up. I am glad for it. Maybe it will dry out last weeks deluge. On Thursday we got pummeled with 2.5" of rain and a garnish of hail. Fields that we were able to work previously are still wet from this most recent rain event. There was so much water, I was even glad for the windy, windy, windy weather that followed. Never fear though, we are moving forward in patchy form, working what ground will tolerate it and waiting where needed. The rain wasn't bad for everything! It helped the onions settle into their beds and brought the carrots and beets out of the ground. Now we just have to take care of them!
This week at market, we have the beginnings of spring. Last week, we (that means you too) ate the last of our winter spinach and kale, so that is off the list. But we still have our delicious potatoes, some head lettuce and radishes, and the fabulous, nutrient dense microgreens. We may start having some asparagus but I don't want to promise anything. I say the beginnings of spring because we have quite the selection riding in on the coattails of winter. Salad mix, arugula, tatsoi, mizuna, mustard, tokyo bekana, head lettuce and lots of radishes and turnips are all angling to get out of the field in the next couple weeks so hang in there! We will also have transplants for your home garden, so be sure to check those out.
This week on the farm we are working on weed control. Honestly, we are always working on weed control, it is just sometimes a little more directed. All of the plants that we have put into the ground are ready for their first round of cultivation. This can only be done where it is dry enough, which is most of the ground we have planted. There are so many tools for weed control, but our budding business has only one at the center of the vortex: our trusty Farmall 140. It has bars on its belly that we can attach all manner of teeth and tines and shovels to. The tractor then straddles the bed and we ride down the line, as fast as we can go without burying our plants with soil or accidentally swerving and taking them out. We are still relatively new to this and it is generally pretty terrifying but it seems to work and we are grateful for the break it gives to our backs. Our backs aren't completely saved from the task, unfortunately. After we go over the bed with the tractor, we have to follow behind on foot and get the weeds that were hiding in the row with our crops, safely out of the path our tractor.
We are also hustling to get our first round of heat loving crops into the ground. That's right folks, we got the green-light from the weatherman telling us no more frost! GO TIME! We are really hoping that this week we will be planting the first round of field cucumbers, squash, melon, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers (and that basil and ginger from last weeks list!) Jim is keeping them looking great in the greenhouse and they are so ready to get out into the world. Hopefully there are enough dry places for them to go!
In other exciting news, we now have bees on the farm! The Sand Hill Apiaries have eight hives on the East side, tucked next to a cherry tree. I have very little bee experience, so whenever Meghan Milbrath, our local bee wrangler and owner operator of Sand Hill bees comes by, I try to make time to tag along. Last Sunday, she was over to complete the introduction of the queen bees. Initially, the queens are put into the hive in "cages" so the worker bees can acclimate to the new queens presence. It should be noted that if a queen was not introduced, the bees would make their own queen (called requeening) but because Meghan is also a scientist, she is using queens with genetics that she is studying. Meghan went hive to hive opening each of them. At each hive she pulled frames to check for rogue queen cells. She had to free the frames with a pry tool because of all the wax gluing everything together. She then set the caged queen free and as her royal highness traipsed into the hive, we watched closely to be sure that her subjects didn't turn on her. I had never seen the inside of an active hive before and honestly, although the queen looks different from the other bees, it was hard to keep track of her amongst all those other buzzing bodies. I was amazed at Meghan's ability to see the details of the bees beyond their united mass of activity. It was quite an experience. Now, I just have to stay out of there, despite my impulse to go look at them more.
Have a great week!
Helen and The Lake Dividers
Vegetables!
Kale (limited)
Micro Greens- Spicy mix
Micro greens- Mild mix
Potatoes: delicious buttery gold ones and fingerlings!
Transplants! Herbs, Kale, Chard, Squash and Tomatoes!
*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary.
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: Jackson
The Jackson Green Market at Allegiance Health is located at East Michigan Avenue and Waterloo Street. It runs from May through October 9 am to 2 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.
This week at market, we have the beginnings of spring. Last week, we (that means you too) ate the last of our winter spinach and kale, so that is off the list. But we still have our delicious potatoes, some head lettuce and radishes, and the fabulous, nutrient dense microgreens. We may start having some asparagus but I don't want to promise anything. I say the beginnings of spring because we have quite the selection riding in on the coattails of winter. Salad mix, arugula, tatsoi, mizuna, mustard, tokyo bekana, head lettuce and lots of radishes and turnips are all angling to get out of the field in the next couple weeks so hang in there! We will also have transplants for your home garden, so be sure to check those out.
This week on the farm we are working on weed control. Honestly, we are always working on weed control, it is just sometimes a little more directed. All of the plants that we have put into the ground are ready for their first round of cultivation. This can only be done where it is dry enough, which is most of the ground we have planted. There are so many tools for weed control, but our budding business has only one at the center of the vortex: our trusty Farmall 140. It has bars on its belly that we can attach all manner of teeth and tines and shovels to. The tractor then straddles the bed and we ride down the line, as fast as we can go without burying our plants with soil or accidentally swerving and taking them out. We are still relatively new to this and it is generally pretty terrifying but it seems to work and we are grateful for the break it gives to our backs. Our backs aren't completely saved from the task, unfortunately. After we go over the bed with the tractor, we have to follow behind on foot and get the weeds that were hiding in the row with our crops, safely out of the path our tractor.
We are also hustling to get our first round of heat loving crops into the ground. That's right folks, we got the green-light from the weatherman telling us no more frost! GO TIME! We are really hoping that this week we will be planting the first round of field cucumbers, squash, melon, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers (and that basil and ginger from last weeks list!) Jim is keeping them looking great in the greenhouse and they are so ready to get out into the world. Hopefully there are enough dry places for them to go!
In other exciting news, we now have bees on the farm! The Sand Hill Apiaries have eight hives on the East side, tucked next to a cherry tree. I have very little bee experience, so whenever Meghan Milbrath, our local bee wrangler and owner operator of Sand Hill bees comes by, I try to make time to tag along. Last Sunday, she was over to complete the introduction of the queen bees. Initially, the queens are put into the hive in "cages" so the worker bees can acclimate to the new queens presence. It should be noted that if a queen was not introduced, the bees would make their own queen (called requeening) but because Meghan is also a scientist, she is using queens with genetics that she is studying. Meghan went hive to hive opening each of them. At each hive she pulled frames to check for rogue queen cells. She had to free the frames with a pry tool because of all the wax gluing everything together. She then set the caged queen free and as her royal highness traipsed into the hive, we watched closely to be sure that her subjects didn't turn on her. I had never seen the inside of an active hive before and honestly, although the queen looks different from the other bees, it was hard to keep track of her amongst all those other buzzing bodies. I was amazed at Meghan's ability to see the details of the bees beyond their united mass of activity. It was quite an experience. Now, I just have to stay out of there, despite my impulse to go look at them more.
Have a great week!
Helen and The Lake Dividers
Vegetables!
Kale (limited)
Micro Greens- Spicy mix
Micro greens- Mild mix
Potatoes: delicious buttery gold ones and fingerlings!
Transplants! Herbs, Kale, Chard, Squash and Tomatoes!
*We send this email out before harvest, and although we do our very best to make accurate predictions, crops and quantities found at market may vary.
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: Jackson
The Jackson Green Market at Allegiance Health is located at East Michigan Avenue and Waterloo Street. It runs from May through October 9 am to 2 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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