|
|
Bass Root Farm Mission - We aim to nourish our local community by producing nutrient dense food while striving to be good stewards of the land using sustainable and regenerative farming methods. We want our farm to be a site for learning, sharing, and cultivating wellness, an ideal place that provides a rich quality of life for all living things.
|
|
Notes from the Farm, Issue 8
|
Greetings! Welcome to another issue of “Notes from the Farm.” If you are new to this newsletter, thanks for signing up! We hope you will enjoy learning about our farm and growing practices. For our existing subscribers, thanks for hanging in there and supporting us as we enter our second year!
|
|
Hello June! Oh my, how the time flies. I had intended on sending out a May newsletter, but we have been burning the candle at both ends lately! After a busy spring seeding various crops in our nursery, we spent the month of May getting the plants transplanted in our tunnels and field plots. This is our first year trying multiple rotations of crops, so we are learning the process of planting, harvesting, flipping, and planting anew. (The term “flipping” is a commonly used term by market gardeners for turning a garden bed by pulling out any remaining crop, amending it with compost, if necessary, and planting a new crop into it.) The biggest “flips” occurred in our tunnels, where we were growing spring crops (e.g., spinach, arugula, salad mix, Asian greens) and are now growing summer crops (e.g., tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, celery).
|
|
|
|
|
Jackie Edgemon, Farm Intern. This year, we have been blessed with the help of an amazing young man studying nutrition at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. A native of Florida, Jackie visited our farm as a volunteer in the fall and later asked if we would take him on as an intern for the summer. He has been eager to learn all about farming and our approaches to growing nutrient-dense food. He has boundless energy and is helping us move our farm to a new level of production. If you’re a part of our CSA, he is responsible for putting together the vegetable cards and recipes you find with each box.
|
|
|
|
|
|
CSA. Our new CSA program is off to a great start! (CSA stands for “community supported agriculture” in which members of the community purchase a subscription from a local farm to receive a weekly box of fresh vegetables throughout the growing season.) Bass Root Farm offers three types of subscriptions: Jazztet, Symphony, and Bandstand, which are based on size and length of time. If you are interested in learning more about our CSA program, please click the button below. We still have openings for the Bandstand Share.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bass Root Farm Stand. We will be selling our produce at our Farm Stand on Holtforth Road during select Saturdays from 12:00-3:00. The dates for the farm stand will be June 18, 25, July 9, 16, 23, 30, and August 13, 20, 27. Hope to see you there and please tell your friends and family!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Holly Farmers Market. We are currently a seasonal vendor at the Holly Farmers Market, held in Crapo Park from 10:00-3:00 on Sundays. This market has grown considerably over the past couple of years and features over 70 vendors. Consider making your weekly grocery run at the market and support your local farmers and artisans. Buying local helps to keep your dollars in the community and helps the environment.
|
|
|
|
We are Certified Naturally Grown!
|
|
|
|
We are Certified Naturally Grown! In case you missed it, our farm is now a member of Certified Naturally Grown (https://www.cngfarming.org/). This national, grassroots organization provides peer-review certification for farms who practice natural growing practices by avoiding the use of synthetic chemicals. Many people are familiar with the term “USDA Organic” which is the descriptor from the National Organic Program (NOP), run by USDA. There is growing concern about the role and influence corporate conglomerates and lobbying organizations have in dictating how food should be grown. As a small farm that focuses on providing food for our local community, we believe Certified Naturally Grown is the right fit for our mission. We follow the same growing practices found in the NOP but will not use the term “organic” to describe our food because it is a regulated term.
|
|
|
|
|
Kohlrabi. This month's featured vegetable is kohlrabi, also known as the "German turnip". If there is one veggie that we receive the most questions about, it's this one. It is part of the Brassica family (e.g., cabbage, broccoli) and grows just above the ground. The entire plant is edible and is quite versatile in how it can be used, whether in salads, soups, stir fries, stews, grilled, or roasted in the oven. Below you can find a recipe for a kohlrabi slaw.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keep in Touch! Thanks for reading this newsletter. If you would like to keep up with us throughout the growing season, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@bassrootfarm). Have a wonderful June!
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
