Paint Time....Family Time

Each year as we get ready to open, everything comes out of the market and gets a fresh coat of paint.  This year is no different.  Everything looks so clean and fresh!  We have moved our benches around, added new units and are just about ready to open.  

We are planning on opening the market on Wednesday (7/17/2013) the sad part is we won't have our sweet corn or tomatoes yet!  Most of the other veggies are coming in just fine.  With any luck we will have sweet corn within a week.

It is going to be so nice to see our many friends we call customer's again.  One thing I will miss, is our Sunday morning breakfast's.  Just about every Sunday morning all winter long the kid's and Nin and Rocky (Joe's mom and her friend) come over for breakfast.  One of the best parts of this is seeing our first grandchild grow and change from week to week.  We have invited our friends some Sunday's...some Sunday's we have extended family.  Today was our last Sunday for this, until November, since we are out by 5:00 am all summer picking corn...then opening the market.

We hope you have a chance to come out and see us very soon!  

Winter Break!

I guess I've had enough time off from the hectic days of this summer past....and now it's time to get back in gear and get ready for our new and hopefully wonderful summer of 2013.   

Mother nature put the hurt on our orchards in Michigan last year....farmers keep on chugging along and hope that this year there will be a bumper crop!   We plan on planting lots of those wonder veggies for this year, I might even talk Joe into trying a few things new for 2013!   Don't get to excited...there is still a long time before we will be picking our own veggies, but we can dream of those warm summer days, with butter running off your sweetcorn and down your arm!
Maybe a thick slice of tomato, a few slices of bacon a little mayo and....OK, I'll stop!  LOL

Let's get back to business...
Joe put new natural gas heaters in our large gutter greenhouse.  This should help to keep our heat bill down a little this year, and  we should be firing them up very soon.    I can't believe it's already the middle of February!   I think I'll dig around for a comfort food recipe using some of the veggies I froze last summer!    I still have some sweet corn, some green beans, a little bit of broccali and maybe if I dig deep I might find some brussel sprouts.  Check back next week and let's see what kind a great dish I came up with.

Oh yea!  Joe and I become grandparents for the first time in November!  Our son Joe, and his wife Ashlye had a beautiful baby girl - Our Little Miss...Kenadie.  Maybe she will be the next generation to take over on the farm!?!?!?  She's a keeper !!

 

Fresh Produce...It does a body good!

I thought this article in Better Homes and Gardens was very interesting.  The great part is, we are coming into the peak of veggie season here in Macomb County.  Now is the time to eat a little healthier and maybe drop a few pounds!    :-)

Today:  Summer picks such as juicy blueberries, crisp green beans, and sweet corn are delicious multitaskers.  They're bursting with flavor and they're largely composed of water, which means they satisfy while they slenderize.  In fact, sit down to a produce-packed lunch, and you'll eat about 10 percent fewer calories than usual at dinner, says registered dietitian Leslie Bonci author of The Active Calorie Diet.

In two weeks:  As your body is nourished by the rich stores of nutrients and fiber in fruits and vegetables, you'll feel noticeably more energetic, say Andrew Well, M.D., founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Science Center.  Many plant-based nutrients have anti-inflammatory properties, Bonci adds, so you might experience fewer aches and pains, too. 

In ten years:  A 2012 study found that people who ate the most serving of fruits and vegetables - about 3 1/2 per day - had a 21 percent lower likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes than people who avoided produce.  Weight control is one reason researchers say, but specific nutrients also might play a role. 

Get Started:  People tend to over estimate the number of fruit and vegetable servings they eat in a given day, Bonci says.  Her visual rule of thumb:  At every meals, reserve half your plate for produce.  If that seems too daunting, try adding at least one fruit or vegetable to every dish.  Stack a lean burger with lettuce and tomato, enjoy scrambled eggs with salsa, and toss peas into rice pilaf. 

It sounds like we all need to make sure we have a good healthy dose of veggies in our daily diet!  Stay healthy and we'll see you at the farm market!

2012 Summer Season Brings Back Old Friends

The farm market has been open now for a few days and how quickly we fall back into the old routine with our great customers and friends.  Many of our customers stop by to ask about the kids....They have seen them grow up...summer to summer.  Here's an update...our oldest daughter Amanda lives and works near Lansing, our son is married, with his own child on the way and our youngest daughter, who spent many hours on my back in a backpack while I worked at the market, is still helping around the farm.  Elizabeth prefers to be in the field driving tractors with her dad rather than work at the farm market.



Elizabeth helping to sort....eat the tomatoes





Amanda (with the blue bucket) and her friend Nicole
they are still best buds!

 

Joey doing what he does best...get dirty!










We are open 7 days a week with our fresh picked sweet corn and lots of other Michigan summer produce.  As it get ripe and ready in the field, we will get it picked and get it to our market.  Take a drive out to Macomb (17330 26 Mile Rd. - 1/4 Mile East of Romeo Plank) and get a taste of Michigan Agriculture.  And remember....buy fresh - buy local.

Green Thumb!

So I thought I would be the wonderful wife and let Joe go ride his trials bike one more time with the guys before he gets to busy....Well, that didn't work out so well for me.  I had just moved some hoses around in the greenhouse to water the last bay of baskets and I was walking over to turn on the water and kabam!!! Down I went, tripped over a hose or something, and when I went to get up, found a finger going in the direction it really shouldn't!  Well an urgent care, then ER and it's back in place and will be as good as new in a week or so.  I guess I'll be right back working in those greenhouses tomorrow!  Life is full of unexpected fun times here around the farm.

It was a great day to be outside and working around the yard.  We did a little bit of that this week too.  We also hope to plant more sweet corn this week, I guess that will depend on how much rain we get.  We have the greenhouses overflowing with our vegetables that we have seeded to plant into the fields.  It is just a guessing game now.  Will there be any more frost/freezes  We take a chance every year on when is the best time to plant them.

It's time to get your hands dirty and dig in the dirt!  Plant a flower garden to spruce up your yard.  Maybe have the kids plant one so they can help take care of it and watch it grow.  Kids love to get dirty so give them a shovel and a few plants to have their own garden.  They can keep the weeds out, water it, and pick the flowers or veggies when they are ready.  They might discover they have a green thumb!

Kids on the Farm

I took pictures of the tomatoes and peppers growing in the greenhouse, but I switched printers and I can't seem to get them off of my memory card....I'll keep working on it . 

Kids working on the farm.  It's a topic that is getting alot of attention right now with legislators and the farming community.   We have always had the pleasure of having our children with us as we get our work done on the farm.  They help feed animals, pick fruits and veggies (sometimes they eat more than they pick),  many times it's not even working, it's just being with mom and/or dad while they are working.  Some are saying that it is dangerous and they are working on making it illegal for our children to care for any animals on the farm, use any equipment, and drive tractors. 

I can't imagine not having our children by our sides as we work.  Accidents can happen, yes, but accidents can happen anywhere and at anytime, whether it is on the farm or not.  Bicycles, skateboards, rollerskates, horses, dirbikes, they can be dangerous also.   We as parents take every precaution to make sure our children are safe when we have them with us.

Our children are now grown and I expect to have grandchildren in the next few years.  It will be very important to us to teach our grandchildren about farming and our way of life.  We a few...only about 2% of the population of this world feeds 100% of the population.  We need to teach our children this way of life.  It is a great way to grow up...I know my kids loved being part of something that almost no one else in their school could say that they were part of.