I wanted to let everyone know we are still accepting members for the 2012 Central Michigan CSA. We planned for 35 Shares and still have several openings. The drop offs that we would like to add a few more members are Midland Mi, Mt. Pleasant Mi, Gladwin Mi and also Clare Michigan which is where the CSA farm is located.  We’ll be opening the Market with flowers, hanging baskets, asparagus and homemade jams and jelly’s later this week 5/15/2012.  Our drop of locations will be at the local farmers market in each town. Midlands drop off will be on Wednesdays between 7 am and noon. Mt. Pleasant will be Thursday or Saturday depending on the members preference.  If you or someone you know wants more info on the CSA program fill out the Newsletter form here on the website and give me a call. We offer a 20 week program and provide 1/2 shares and full shares depending on the number of people you need to feed.  For more information on the CSA program, the Farm, and how it works, visit the Central Michigan CSA page.

We have several thousand transplants that have been growing for the last four to six weeks for the 2012 Central Michigan CSA members and we’ve got a home for

This is the Raised Bed Machine

them outside starting Monday April 29th. The overnight temps have been  in the mid twenties several nights in the last week which helped me to hold of on setting out transplants until Monday. With 10 days of overnights forecasted to be in the mid 40′s and above I think it’s a smart time to get planting.

I’ve learned it doesn’t do much good to plant when overnights are below 40 and it’s just plain risky when we are waking up to 26 degrees. The transplants have been growing in an overnight low of around 55 degrees and this week we’ll have about the same outside so we are getting started in the morning.  We’ve been preparing the fields over the last couple weeks and installed a bunch of raised beds this last week. We use a green mulch with helps to warm up the ground yet still offering zero weed growth underneath, which is our most important step to eliminating the need for herbicides.  The raised beds also have a gravity feed irrigation tube installed that allows optimal watering.

The beds are around 18″ for most of the transplants and we place them about four feet from center to center.  This creates about an 18″ to 2′ area between which is easily cultivated with rototiller or cultivator.  The mulch, though plastic, is bio-degradable as well.  Another side benefit is that the vegetables stay a lot cleaner as the rain doesn’t splash dirt all over things like tomatoes, peppers, squash and other vegetables. The cucumbers and vining plants do end up growing all over like crazy but we have to deal with that.

Not everything is optimally grown on raised beds.  Onions, potatoes, green beans, carrots, beets and other plant that need hill-ed, have close spacing, or are planted by seed work better the old fashion way and then need to be cultivated by hand to eliminate weeds.

Ready for Planting!

It seems to take a transplant about a week to realize it’s in the ground and it’s free to spread its roots

New Transplants in Raised Beds with Drip Line Going.Here are some transplants, I think they are summer squash, you can see the drip line going under the raised beds and this picture was actually taken during a waterings. The raised beds reduce water loss to run off and evaporation. I usually only water once a week and that's if it's dry and hot. Double Row of Leaf Lettuce From Transplants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll write another article in a week or so and show some progress pictures. Until then happy planting. It looks like the threat of frost will be minimal for the next two weeks but you never know.  The Market will be opening this week and we’ll have fresh asparagus along with some nice flowers and hanging baskets.  Also some homade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just after 2" of Rain.

 

Tomatoe Transplants: Rooted and Growing

 

Last week we finished up working both our ground we grew in last year and the additional ground for the Central Michigan CSA members this year. I wrote an article when we were doing the plowing and thought I do the same about the second step for us, discing.  Our CSA or Farm Co-Op is located in Mid Michigan and we serve the surrounding area if your interested in learning more about the CSA program or want to become a memeber, fill out the CSA Newletter form on the side of this web page.

We only plow new ground or ground we planted a cover crop on the previous fall, but we choose to disc everything both new and last years planting areas whether we had a cover crop or not. Plowing runs deaper, up to 10″ or so, and discing works with the overturned topsoil that the Plow leaves behing.

Why Do We Disc?

We disc because it’s a productive way to loosen the soil after a wet spring and frozen winter.  It allows air into the soil which is critical for plants to do well.  Plants need oxygen AND they need it at their ROOTS.  Discing also cuts up any larger pieces of sod in newly plowed ground and (hopefully) kills the grasses and weeds that then become organic matter to feed this year’s vegetable crop.  Another thing the disc helps accomplish is a level planting area.

What’s Next?

We plant on raised beds and use mulch and drip lines to irrigate.  This avoid the actuall plants from being wet and reduces disease, blights and bugs without using insecticides.  It also complete reduces weeds growing within a foot or so on either side of the plant. We don’t spray for weeds either.  The raised beds require a “raised bed machine” to install them at the scale we grow on so we have to take one more step and run a 5′ rototiller over the ground just before we make the beds.  That’s the next step before we plant which we are starting Thursday outside. We already have some stuff started in the High Tunnel, but Thursday will be the first trasplants to actually go out side. The ten day forcast looks good and May is just around the corner.

If you are growing your own vegetable garden I recommend waiting until Memorial Day weekend to plant. If you plant earlier like we do, then be prepared to cover your plants.  We expect to have at least 6 or so nights where frost will be a factor and we prepare for that.  On a small garden scale you can use a milk jug with the bottom cut out to cover your plant. Make sure to take the CAP of the jug.  We use what is called frost cloth or low tunnels which consist of  metal hoops about every 6′ or so that supports a light plastic film to provide protection from frost and additional warmth on cooler days.

Plowing Turns Over The Earth

The plants are started and the seeds are waiting for the 2012 growing season and thanks to the Caribbean like weather we’ve been having here in Central Michigan we’ve got the plowing done, and in March no less!  We needed to work up more ground for the 2012 CSA program and I also worked up a good piece of ground in the Back Field for some winter squash, pumpkins, and watermelon.  I decided to put them in their own area as the climb and crawl like crazy and are a later crop as well.  This also allows me to use the front field to better stage the vegetable plantings so we have a longer harvest season on each variety.  The early round will be transplanted into the field soon along with another planting that goes into high tunnels.

Why Do We Plow?

Plowing is a natural farming method that reduces weeds and improves soil for growing since we don’t spray weed killers, we need to plow instead.  Sometimes we plant cover crops like rye or winter wheat and plow it down in the spring or fall then plant.  The cover crop gives the new years plants organic matter that turns into nitrogen and helps the plants to grow and make good size.  Cover crops can also be disc-ed rather than plowed and another benefit they provide is keeping weeds from growing.  You don’t have to plow every year but we grow most of our produce in the front field that has been pasture for years, so when we expand the growing area we need to turn that pasture under and prep it for planting.  Did you know that the plow is one of the hardest pieces of farm equipment to pull?

Prepping Ground to Grow Good Vegetables

Plowing is just the first step, once that is done we hook on to the disc is which is a simple machine with a bunch of saucer looking cutting discs.  The disc cuts up the plowed ground and lays the field down in the process.  Notice in the picture above how bumpy the ground is, that’s what it looks like when it’s plowed. We go over the field several times with the disc cutting the chunks of overturned sod into smaller pieces and cutting up root systems from the grass.  Meanwhile the overturned earth will start decomposing creating vital nutrients for the plants that will soon be growing there.

The next step is dragging the field which further levels the area and removes clumps of sod and leaves the field somewhat ready to plant.  In fact if you were going to plant a traditional agricultural crop it would be ready for the planter at this point.  We plant a large variety of vegetables and because we us a raised bed system and raised bed machine we need to do one more thing and that is to rototill.  Rototilling the ground before we run the raised bed machine just fluffs the ground and breaks up any remaining clumps.  The clumps can cause the mulch to tear and interfere with our irrigating drip lines.  The raised bed machine actually makes the raised beds, installs the mulch and installs the low pressure drip lines all at once.  Once the beds are in and the drip lines hooked up we are ready to plant.

So, it was 80 degrees the other day and it was March 18th, pretty cool right?  Yep, I’m not complaining either.  Since the Opening Day of the Market and the start of our Central Mi CSA program both are affected by the weather I thought I’d share what this could mean for the 2012 produce season.  Of course I don’t have a crystal ball and who knows what April will bring, but I’m guessing rain and slightly above normal temps with at least 2 cold dips.  These 70 and 80 degree days do affect Michigan produce especially the perennial types like asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, and most fruit trees too.  The obvious concern is  an early budding and growth spurt among fruit trees then a frost during blossom, that makes for a poor crop and high prices, things we don’t like.  I talked with a friend the other day who grows several acres of asparagus and he thinks he’ll have asparagus by Mid to late April if the weather between now and then looks average.  These warm days really cause the ground to warm and the plants to start their growing season.  Cool weather can slow it but as long as it’s in the 50′s and 60′s plants will still grow.  Some years they don’t start until early May just to give you an idea, strawberries are already growing in the fields.

Weather and The Central Mi CSA

So what am I doing and how is the weather going to affect the CSA?  Well, I’m planning on asparagus and strawberries, which are the first fruit and vegetable we usually have, being early by about 2-3 weeks and I’m working on having a variety of other crops ready too.  We’ve got tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, green beans, and some squash started already.  We usually wait about two more weeks on the cucumbers and squash, because the start so quick and they have a short maturity date.  I’ve been looking for more 45-60 day stuff to start too that will compliment the fresh Michigan asparagus and strawberries in May.  Just to be safe we will also be planting in the High Tunnel so if we get damage from the cool dips that will surely come we’ll still have lots of good food.

CSA Shares

We still have around 20 CSA shares left for the 2012 season, you can purchase a 1/2 share or a full share and we are also offering a “Market Share” that lets you save around 15% to 20% at the market this summer.  You can learn more about our Mid Michigan CSA Farm by visiting the  “Join the CSA” page.

I’ve gotten several comments on our vegetable garden site asking when to start vegetable seeds when starting your own garden plants.  Obviously it differs from plant to plant and according to your zone as well.  The obvious goal is to have a growing healthy plant with decent size when it’s safe to plant outside which for us here in Central-Northern Michigan is Mid to late May. I look to plant much earlier as I try to have some varieties of vegetables ready for harvest in Early June.  Saint Patrick’s day is a good mark for starting plants it’s about 8 weeks from the Middle of May and many of your transplant will need that much time.  They say 4-6 weeks but it’s more like 8, trust me.  The first vegetable plants you’ll be starting are like peppers and tomatoes.  Peppers take forever, and they like it hot which can be a challenge for us in March.  It’s actually supposed to be over 70 degrees today and it’s March 14th but that certainly isn’t the norm.  If you start your plants in your house you don’t have to worry about the temperature as much as you do sunlight.  If your new seedlings don’t get enough sunlight they will quickly become leggy (tall and thin) and loose their color, lack of sunlight or enough of it, is a common problem for folks starting plants indoors.

Vegetable Plants to Start In March

Peppers, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Cabbage can all be started early  and should be because they are long crops or ones that like the early cool growing season.  Broccoli for example can take the cool temperature and actually does better.  You’ll get tightly formed heads if you can get your broccoli and cauliflower planted in the ground early.  Peppers are long crops and so are most tomatoes so they need to be started from seed in March and transplanted in early to mid May depending on the weather.  Covering you newly planted transplants with a protective plastic or even a milk jug can work to get them out in the ground a little early.  We use plastic and also a mulch that help heat the ground and retains the heat over night.

Start These Vegetable Plants In April

There are many garden vegetables that are fast germinating and fast growing.  Pickles, winter squash, summer squash, zucchini, peas, green beans, and cucumbers all start quickly from seed and become ready to transplant fast.  They are also a bit more delicate and don’t do well with frost so you’ll want to start these later, I’d say about 4 week before you think you’ll be planting.  Once May comes and it warms up you can continue to start these seeds to extend your harvest season.  Once it’s warmer you’ll notice it only takes about two weeks and you have a plant ready to transplant.  Direct sowing the seed right into your garden works too and if your going to plant your garden in late May like many do, you can  plant all of these varieties directly into your garden.

Vegetable Plants That are Planted Directly in The Garden

Along with the plants I just mentioned potatoes, asparagus, pumpkins, onions, and radishes I prefer to direct sew right into the garden.  The only plant I plant from transplant usually are tomatoes, peppers, brocolli and cauliflour.  I do start all the other vegetables initially but only so I can get an early crop.  Later planting all go directly in the ground.  Planting late is the 3rd week of May thru June, early for me is April thru the 2nd week of May.  Planting seeds directly in the garden isn’t an option in April in Michigan unless you are planting under plastic in a high tunnel or green house. You have to start the seeds in soil that can reach 70 degrees plus in order get germination.

Fresh Michigan Maple Syrup

We just finished tapping our sugar maples that give us our Michigan maple syrup, well the sap anyway.  We have a small sugar bush that has been consistent and reliable for years and it offers a good sap run every year.  The tobacco river runs along the north side of our farm for almost a half mile and the maples trees follow the high bank along the river.  We almost always have consistent run though it starts a little later than most of the sugar bush’s  in our area because of the steep bank and shade that protects the trees from the warm spring sun.

The below freezing nights and warmer days of March is when the trees offer their sap  and our maples tend to warm a little slower than in most places.  We just finished up that last of the taps this afternoon and expect a good run tomorrow as the high temperature is likely to be around 50 degrees tomorrow.  We offer maple syrup at our market along U.S. 27 through out the year and also through our Mid Michigan CSA program.  It’s good stuff.

Buy Michigan Maple Syrup

In fact for dinner this evening I made some real maple syrup cinnamon sweet potatoes, one of my favorite ways to cook sweet potatoes, by the way.  This has been an unusually warm winter that lacked snow too so we’ll see how the sap runs this year.  I’ve heard a lot of old timers say they don’t think it’s going to be a good year but time will tell.  The day to day weather during the run is what will determine how the year goes more than anything.  Cold nights and warm days with taps on the south side of the trees is the recipe for maple syrup success.  We are toying with the idea of boiling some of our own sap this year.  We usually haul it down the road about six miles to a larger Michigan maple syrup operation that has been boiling sap for years, but we do that on shares so we don’t get as much syrup out of the deal.  We only do around 100 taps so we are a small operation but we usually get around 40 gallons total and bring home around 20 gallons, not bad for a couple weeks work.  You can buy Michigan Maple syrup from our market in Clare Michigan if your in the area or I can even send you a quart if you want to call or email me.  My info is on the Contact page of this web site.

If your in the area, stop by the market and grab some Michigan maple syrup.  We sell quarts and pints and price is around $11.00 and $22.00 for quarts I believe.  It’s pure organic maple syrup, nothing added nothing taken away, it’s good just the way it is.

2012 CSA Membership Is Open

It’s official our 2012 CSA program is open and accepting new members here in the Central Michigan area.  I’ve tried to supply some information on CSA’s in general and our program in particular. I’ve settled on share prices and decided to offer 3 different options you can find those on the Join the CSA  page.  I’ve also just added a CSA FAQ page where you can learn more and even ask your own specific questions. I welcome all feedback and questions and you’ll find a comment section near the bottom of every page on this website.

Note: If you are one of the 15 people who have already joined the newsletter and have expressed interest in becoming a new member of the 2012 CSA I will be Calling you this week if you provided a phone number. If you didn’t then feel free to call me directly or email me. Thanks.

Does the CSA Serve Your Area?

Good question, after all this is the world wide web and we certainly aren’t attempting to feed the world. If you are familiar with our market along U.S. 27 in Clare Michigan that is one pick up location for sure.  Another is going to Mt. Pleasant, probably either at the Farmers Market in Island Park or possibly Green-Tree Co-op.  I still have to work out details and I’m open to member feedback (and potential member).  We’ve had considerable interest from the Gladwin and Beaverton area along with Mt. Pleasant and Midland so those will all likely be pick up points.  I recommend signing up for the CSA Newsletter right now if you have interest in the CSA program.  You’ll automatically get a welcome email from me with my contact information.  Feel free to call or email me with an questions you might have.

Available CSA Shares

We’ve decided to grow for 35 members, or really 35 full shares.  The goal of the program is 20 weeks and it’s safe to expect it to last between 18-22 weeks based on previous years.  One lady from gladwin expressed interest in a canning share and I’ve thought that was a great idea too. You won’t see that listed on the “Join The CSA” page but I will be doing a canning share. It will consist of: Beets, tomatoes, pickles, green beans, sweetcorn, etc. will include about 6-8 bushels of vegetables and cost around $150.00. Let me know if you are interested in the canning share.  I also know of some really good canning spices for pickles and beets the brand is called “Mrs. Wages” and it’s good stuff. I’ll try to get a hold of those for the members as well.

Where is the Food Grown?

The vegetables for our Mid-Michigan CSA program are grown in Clare at our farm along the Tobacco river about 3 1/2 miles from our Market in Clare.  We will schedule two days per month for those of you who want to come out and check on the progress of your vegetables or even help out.  Some CSA’s require that the members work a set amount of hours at the farm, we Do Not.  We will be growing the herbs for the CSA both here and at the Market.  The market has a high-tunnel (unheated greenhouse) and we will have fresh herbs growing there for Market customers as well as our CSA members.

We also grow cantaloupe and watermelon here at the Farm.  Most of the other fruit we get from local orchards and berry patches.  Anderson’s and Girls orchard and Papa’s Pumpkin patch supply most of the fruits we don’t grow ourselves like: Strawberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, cherries, and raspberries.  To learn more about the CSA shares you can visit the “Join the CSA” page.

How and When Do We Pay For a Share?

You can pay for your share on the “Join the CSA” page right here on this website with a debit or credit card.  You’ll find a detailed description of each share and the cost on that page as well.  We also accept cash and checks and provide payment information when you sign up for the CSA newsletter via the form on the side of this website.  Also if you have any problems or questions you can just give us a call Phone:  989-284-8251 is the best way to reach me personally.  We are opening the membership March 1st and accepting members throughout the Month.  We are limiting the membership to 35 though and we expect membership will sell out by the middle of March.

Who Should Join the CSA?

I recommend reading the FAQ page and the “Join the CSA” page before you join especially if you’ve never participated in a CSA program before.  Joining our CSA is a commitment, a 20 week commitment to pick up your share or arrange for someone else to pick it up.  We realize not everyone will be able to pick up there share every week due to vacations and such, but we ask that you arrange for someone else to do it for you or let us know in advance.  You will receive a CSA agreement form that when you sign up for the newsletter also.  I like to let everyone know up front that June, especially early June is a little light as there aren’t many varieties of vegetables that will be ready for harvest then.  July, August, September and October are filled with dozens of varieties of fruits and vegetables.

For more information on the CSA program or to purchase a Share you can visit this page: Michigan CSA Shares 

I’m a produce farmer in Central Michigan and provide food to the surrounding community through a successful farm market and Mid Michigan CSA program.  I grow here on our family farm that was a cow/calf beef farm for over 30 years. I use natural growing techniques and implement some newer technologies to lower the need for pesticides, herbicides and fungicides like using plastic mulch and watering with drip lines.  I don’t seek out genetically engineer seeds or GMO’s at least not the popular ones among large scale farmers like round up ready seeds and such.  The extent of my participation is using seeds that have disease resistance built in from cross pollinating and hybrid varieties that can be accomplished from saving seeds from healthy plants.  In some ways saving seeds from heirloom plants that produce healthy plants as well as fruit is a safe way to modify our crops. But I don’t consider it GMO at all. I don’t have a lab and it’s a practice as old as farming itself.

My View on GMO’s and GE Foods

My biggest beef with the whole genetically engineered and GMO issue is that this stuff was woven thoughout our foods via soybean and corn GMO’s before there even seemed to be a public debate or conversation for that matter.  I think that has left a lot of folks (including myself) feeling a bit betrayed and extremely uneasy. That said, I don’t live in the City.  I don’t get much food from grocery stores either. We grow our own vegetables, fruit, beef, pork, etc. and I usually only buy things like cereal,milk, bread and eggs.  I’m also in the process of eliminating those things as well with about 100 laying hens on the way and a bread maker. Not sure on the milk thing but I’ll figure it out.  I do feel bad for the people who choose not to grow and produce their own food or lack access to these foods, If I were one of them I would be out raged, and many are.  I talked with a lady the other day who did some shopping at a organic whole food store and when she arrived back home and looked through her products she found many (most) were riddled with GMO’s via soybeans, corn, or high fructose corn syrup.

Will Labeling The GMO’s Destroy the Local Farm Market?

This question is valid and if you think that large companies that stand to gain from GMO’s have been deceptive and are actually as powerful as some say, then this is the most important question of the debate.  I’m concerned that the increasing volume of the “JUST LABEL IT” movement will result in another ”stinky” law that leaves the responsibility on small produce farmers like me.

How do I know if the seeds,plants, or produce I grow and sell is contaminated with genetically engineered material?  Seriously.

I’ve never purchased one seed that was advertised or labelled GMO or GE but then labeling isn’t required, right?  Will grower’s have to get all there food tested in order to accurately label it?  That is what is happening now with those who process food and make things like salsa, tomatoes sauces and more.  Will we be next?  Or will the responsibility fall on the seed suppliers?  Again these are all fair questions.  Will the law (if there is one) require those who reap the profits of these GMO’s and their creators to foot the financial aspect of a successful labelling initiative?

Uncommon Sense

Wouldn’t it make more sense to establish the health risks and long term risks to the environment and just stop injecting these products into our food supply once and for all if they indeed are unsustainable or flat our bad for our health?  Isn’t this like labeling cigarette’s?  Don’t get me wrong, I think it is outrageous that these GMO’s weren’t labeled in the first place fear we are fighting the wrong battle or having the wrong conversation.  It just seems like common sense. What are your thoughts on this?

Several people ask me if it makes sense to start your own vegetable plants or if you would be better off buying them.  If you want to know which one will cost less, I’d say you would be way better off just buying your Michigan vegetable plants.  Most people who prefer to start their own garden plants do so for reasons other than finacial reasons.  A whole flat of vegetable plant, which is around 48 plant will cost somewhere between $10.00 and $13.00 dollars which isn’t much considering what goes into producing a healthy flat of vegetable plants.

Some plants are quite easy to start and others are much more difficult. If you like the idea of starting your own Michigan vegetable plants from seed you could try a good mix of the varieties you plant and see what germinates for you.  Buying the fill in plants that don’t come up is an easy fix to keep the variety you want to see in your vegetable garden.

When to Start Vegetable Garden Seeds in Michigan

Deciding when to start you vegetable plant seeds in Michigan depends on when you want to plant and what kind of protection you have to keep the plants alive in the colder months of spring.  Most greenhouse growers will start their vegetable plants in mid to late March.  I know many people who start them in the house around the same time.  It is very important to keep the plants in an environment where they get enough sunlight or they will become “leggy” or tall and week in the trunk.

Another point to consider when deciding when to start vegetable plant seeds in Michigan is the maturity date of the seed your starting.  Vegetables vary widely in their maturity dates with some radishes being ready for harvest within weeks to watermelon taking over 100 days.  I usually recommend that your be ready to plant your garden around Memorial weekend.  This will give your Michigan vegetable garden time to mature and produce the vegetables  you want in time for a frost free harvest.

If you need to buy Michigan vegetable plants for your garden, we have a good selection during May at our Michigan Produce Market near Clare Mi.