Crop Spot: Pawpaw a.k.a. “Michigan Banana”
If you’ve never heard of the pawpaw, you are not alone. This mysterious fruit is native to the Midwest, but defies commercial production and is rarely seen in…
Combating Climate Change: Creating Climate-resilient Orchards
In my previous post of this Climate Change series, (see the first and second post here), I discussed how tree fruit growers in Michigan are faced with adapting to…
Know Your Farmer: Nature & Nurture Seeds
MMeet the crew at Nature & Nurture Seeds! Together with volunteers and interns, co-founders of Nature & Nurture Seeds Erica Kempter and Mike Levine run their organic and…
A New Normal for Michigan Orchards
This is the second post of a three-part series. Before reading this, make sure you read the first post of the series here! To quickly recap, in the…
Hyper- Local UP Carrot Salad
Alex, our Upper Peninsula Local Food Coordinator spoke at the Northern Michigan University’s TedX in 2019 with a story called My Local Food Relationship. (Editor’s note: here’s the link) During the…
A Farmer’s Diary: Beginning Farmer Institute, Part 3
Our third and final Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI) session took us to Washington state to talk business formation, business planning and long-term health, land tenure, credit, taxation, liability,…
7 Tips to Make the Most of your CSA Share
Spring has officially sprung! As you shake off the winter haze, now is the perfect time to start planning thinking about where your food is coming from this…
Investing in Local Pollinators
Pollinators may appear small, but they have a massive impact in our ecosystem. These buzzing bees and native pollinators are a necessary, yet often forgotten, component of our…
An Eater’s Guide to Hydroponics
What the heck is hydroponics? If this sounds like Greek to you, it is. “Hydroponic” is Greek for “water-cultivation,” and that sums it up well: hydroponics is growing…
Letting (the) Produce Safety ‘Rule’ in Michigan
What is the big deal with food safety? It can be rather ‘gut wrenching’ finding out about potentially contaminated food. Over the year’s farmers, growers, retailers and more…