Arcadia Farms

At the beginning of this month I delivered the final round of produce for our 2013 season. Now that the season has ended, it’s time for me to provide you with our second annual Farmer’s Report. The annual Farmer’s Report is an exercise that helps me analyze what went well, what went wrong and – most importantly – what I’ve learned so that I can apply those lessons to improving subsequent seasons. It’s also a great way for me to share important information with our members and readers.

No One Can Stop You

Before I get too far into the ups and downs of our second season, I want to re-share a little something that inspires me to keep moving forward with this crazy idea of living sustainably.

In 2012 I wrote that:

I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of supportive, adventurous people in my life that didn’t have to pick their jaws up off the floor when I first started talking about quitting my well-paid HR job to start a farm in my suburban backyard. But just like any entrepreneur, I’ve encountered my fair share of naysayers who could come up with all sorts of reasons why I should be afraid. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” No, I’m not. “You should probably know more about gardening before you do something like this.” I probably should.  “Won’t that be a lot of work?” Yes, it will. “What if it fails?”

I decided a long time ago that I can choose not to stretch beyond my comfort zone because I’m afraid of failing (and then spend my life wondering what would have happened) or I can take the risk of actually putting myself out there and knowing what would have happened. Innovators don’t change the world by being safe and normal. Everyone with a special skill started somewhere – no one is born an expert. People we revere as world-changers are people who realize that if you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.

When I left my full time job to begin Arcadia Farms, I told friends and family that I knew there would be both successes and setbacks ahead of me and that I was looking forward to the opportunity to grow from both of them.  After studying some of the great innovators of history, I’ve come to believe strongly that ‘failing forward’ is a recipe for success. After two years of operating a start-up business, I’ve become more convinced that this is true, but also, I’ve become acquainted with the harsh reality that failing forward is painful. Painful… but worth it.

2013 Recap

This year has been full of new improvements and endeavors. Here are four areas that played a huge role in shaping our year.

Chickens

In April I brought you Chicken Week, during which I not only revealed our beautiful birdies for the first time, but I also discussed the case for backyard chickens, how to care for baby chicks, how to design space for chickens in a suburban setting and how to build a low-cost, high-quality chicken coop. Few of you know this, but our chicken ownership actually teetered on the edge of causing both a Right to Farm legal battle with our municipality and the potential of losing our farm entirely. I felt it was best to keep the situation private until resolved but it was a major time, resource and energy suck that occurred right at the onset of our CSA season. Thank God that is behind us! Despite the initial legal stress, life with chickens has been pretty darn good! (Who wouldn’t love six eggs a day?)

There is so much follow up information to share about the chickens that they really deserve their own post. I trust that the details of our actual experience compared to our initial expectations will be helpful to those of you who have considered suburban or urban chickens. Look for this soon!

Locavore90

In 2013 we did this wild and crazy thing called Locavore90. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Locavore90 is (was?) a free program to challenge and equip families in Southwest Michigan to incorporate more local foods into their diet for 90 days.

Buying local has been one of three major focus areas for our farm. Add to that the fact that a locavore (local-only) diet can have significant health benefits for both bodies and economies (click here for an explanation) and you can see why I was really stoked about putting this program in motion! I envisioned Locavore90 as a way to have a positive impact in the community, expand the readership of our blog and to find some fellow locavores who could encourage us (and each other) along the way.

The program began with great enthusiasm and effort. However as the season went on, the Locavore90 posts (and posts in general) became fewer and farther between. I can’t say for certain why things tapered off but here’s my best guess. My initial vision for Locavore90 was to create all of the meal plans long before the season ever began. However, our legal issues regarding chickens in the early winter and spring days drained so much time and energy that I was not able to prioritize the task. After the season started, it was difficult to find time to focus on creating quality meal plans. The time and creative energy invested in the meal plans essentially used up the creativity and time I would normally have used for blogging. I also chose to invest a significant amount of time into family relationships this summer. Mathematically, there should have been enough hours in the day to do everything and do it well. In reality, there just wasn’t enough of me to go around and although I wish Locavore90 had ended on a stronger note, I have peace (in fact, I’m pleased) about the choices I made with how to invest my limited energy and time.

Having said all of that, Locavore90 was still good! I personally gained a lot of valuable information about things like sources for in-season food and the value of raw milk. I also discovered some great recipes which will forever be go-to staples for our family. And lastly I was blessed to get to “meet” so many of you online and expand our readership. Thank you, thank you, thank you for participating! I’m not sure what Locavore90 will look like next year, but just like everything we set out to do, I’ll take the lessons learned from this experience to make it simpler and better the next time around.

Brokered Vegetables

This spring I also had the pleasure of announcing that we would be partnering with two other small-scale growers to form a group known as Arcadia Growers Group. This group aims to sell produce to commercial customers such as schools, restaurants, small grocers, and childcare facilities. Our first customer (a local childcare facility) has provided us with an excellent initial experience. We had a slow start due to the unseasonably cold weather this spring, but once deliveries began in July sales have been working like clockwork. Our brokerage work has been very profitable for our partners and has been a good source of supplemental income for our farm.

This endeavor has been personally enriching for me because it helped me realize something: I love sales and marketing! Or more specifically, I love selling and marketing something I’m passionate about and enjoy. This epiphany moment is helping to shape our business plans as I decide who I want to be when I grow up.

If you are a small-scale grower who uses natural methods and you’d like some help selling your veggies to a broader market, please let me know (katie@arcadia-farms.net). We’re looking for more partners to expand our growers group and intend to add additional customers in 2014. Likewise, if you manage an organization that could benefit from local, naturally-raised produce, please contact me. I’m sure we can help you!

CSA

Our second CSA season has been a good one. In 2012 I learned several lessons from both our successes and failures and I was eager to implement solutions that evolved from those lessons. Those solutions resulted in larger shares (more veggies each week), less supplementing, reduced waste in packaging, consistent labeling, improved pest/disease control and more consistent application of customer preferences.

Lessons Learned in 2013

Just like last year, I’m walking away from this season having learned several lessons. Following this list will be a more in-depth discussion of what I experienced and the conclusions I’ve drawn from those experiences.

1. Newspaper pots are not as effective for seed-starting as other options.
2. Hugelkultur works… I think.
3. I need to do a better job of managing weeds in my aisle space.
4. The chicken paddocks need to be improved.
5. I learned more about specific pest and disease management tools.
6. There is a certain disease that significantly impacts several of my crops each year. I need to determine if it is really anthracnose and find a way to effectively deal with it.
7. There is no end to this worry: “Will there be enough and will it be ready when I need it?”
8. I have to choose between small-scale simplicity and large-scale income (profit).
9. I need to decide who I want to be when I grow up.

No More Newspaper Pots

This winter I spent a significant amount of blogging time focused on the seed-starting process. I learned lots of tips that I’ve found to be effective, such as soaking seeds, chitting potatoes and planting by moon phases. Another solution I presented to you involved creating newspaper pots for starting seeds. The premise is that you turn waste into a resource by folding an origami-like pot out of newspaper, fill it with potting soil and plant your seed. Later when you’re ready to transfer the seedling to the garden you can place the pot directly into the soil since it will decompose. I also liked the fact that you can label each pot since I have had issues with being diligent in labeling. After reviewing several options for seed starting media, I decided that the benefits of newspaper pots sounded like the best solution. Hundreds of them. I folded hundreds of newspaper pots… I even paid my nieces and nephews commission to help me make some of them! Turns out that this solution didn’t work so well for me. Here’s why…

First, the soil in the pots dries out quickly and requires frequent watering. On the flip side, the pots definitely need drainage holes/slots on the bottom otherwise they get bogged down. Also there was a noticeable trend that the seedlings growing in newspaper pots were less healthy (smaller, more fragile) than seedlings grown in other ways. My presumption is that this issue is caused by a combination of the too dry/too wet conundrum and becoming root-bound. Once these limitations  are added up, the fact that it takes a considerable amount of time to fold and prepare the pots becomes another negative.

I did, however, discover this season the method for seed starting that I plan to use for my future gardens. On several occasions I ran out of newspaper pots and opted to sow seeds directly into trays (like these) filled with potting soil. In every case, the seedlings grown in trays were healthier than those grown in pots. This approach takes up the same amount of space in my greenhouse. Since I have lots of trays (purchased here) and can use home-grown compost for seed starting, I now have the resources I need to operate a self-sufficient seed starting operation. Woot!

Hugelkultur Works… I Think

We have made large financial and time investments into implementing hugelkultur on our farm. The 2013 expansion of our garden is comprised entirely of hugelkultur beds. For the uninitiated, hugelkultur is a German concept which roughly translates to “mound culture.” The overall idea is that woody materials (i.e. logs, brush) buried under a mound of soil will provide both nutrients and water retention as the wood decomposes. The process is touted as a no-irrigation system of growing. For a more in-depth discussion on the pros and cons of hugelkultur, click here.

Our hugelkultur beds started the season as approximately 4-foot deep pits filled with rotting logs and then covered by 1-2 feet of compost. The beds, initially raised mounds, have all settled and are now level with the ground. All of the beds have grown healthy, thriving plants with the exception of one. That particular bed was topped with native soil and not with compost. Though I can’t say it had thriving plants, it did grow several pounds of zucchini (from struggling plants), radishes and is now growing shelling peas. Even with this exception, I’m very pleased with the results from the hugelkultur side of the garden.

And what about the no-irrigation claims attached to hugelkultur? Well, fortunately for our CSA, we had lots of rain this year. Unfortunately for our hugelkultur experiment… we had lots of rain this year. It’s difficult for me to say whether or not the water-retention benefit s of hugelkultur were truly evident as I compared the east and west sides of the garden because of the massive amount of rain we received. All the same, I did observe that the hugelkultur side of the garden appeared to be healthier than the traditional side. If I have time in the spring, I will likely convert a few traditional beds to hugelkultur and do a comparison through the next season. I also hope to convert the entire Fenceline Garden to a shallow hugelkultur bed.

Weed Management in Aisle Space

I have a major weed issue. On the west side of the garden (built in 2012) the issue is simply that the aisle space gets unruly and occasionally tall weeds are able to reach over the bed sides (one foot tall), depositing seeds as they grow. The mulch that originally covered these aisles has either decomposed substantially or has been washed away. There are enough gaps (and now enough composted nutrients) available that the aisles were quickly taken over by all kinds of plants this spring. In some areas I laid down cardboard, but I didn’t have enough to cover the whole garden.

The east side of the garden is comprised of hugelkultur beds. Although these are technically “raised beds” they don’t have any hardscape sides – they are simply mounds of compost atop a deep pit filled with lumber and organic matter. In early spring this was no problem because the aisles were still basically sand from all the hugel digging done the previous winter. My intent was to cover the aisles with cardboard and then mulch, but once the season got rolling I prioritized many other things ahead of aisle space. Weeds have very easily and readily moved into the fertile hugelkutlur beds. As you might expect, I have some thoughts on how to address this issue.

Here’s the plan: I’m looking for living ground cover that will choke out the competitors, won’t be so aggressive that it snakes in under the sides of raised beds, doesn’t need to be mowed and can handle foot traffic.  And I’d like fries with that too, please.

In this blog post I shared several possibilities and asked for your opinions. Turns out there’s an option out there I hadn’t thought of at that time: Ajuga. Ajuga is an evergreen, perennial ground cover that can handle foot traffic. While touring some landscaping improvements made at my in-law’s house this summer I noticed that they had some ajuga growing in their front yard. For them it is an unwanted weed so my mother-in-law was more than willing to let me pull some up to take home. I’m currently growing the transplants in my greenhouse and plan to gather more from their place. In the spring I’ll be transplanting ajuga into the aisle spaces.

Meanwhile, I need to do something to give myself a head start in the spring. I’ve just started the slow, labor-intensive process of digging up the sod in the aisle spaces and turning it upside down. I also have a large pile of wood chips still from cutting down several trees to make room for a micro-orchard so I’m using that in some places. My plan is to plant the ajuga directly into the wood chips in a test area and see what happens. Maybe I’m crazy… we’ll find out!

The other necessary solution is that my hugelkultur beds need hardscape sides. I haven’t decided yet if I want to use cinder blocks or lumber. More on that in time.

Chicken Paddock Perfection

Our chicken coop is located in a paddock system. The original design called for four paddocks (fenced areas) each accessible from a separate door in the coop and through which the chickens could rotate. Each paddock is designed to be planted with crops chickens can self harvest (i.e., grasses, greens, berries). Though the numbers on our original design made sense per the experts, the size of each paddock just seemed too small. So instead of four paddock we have two.

Our paddock system is being implemented over time. In other words, we didn’t make time to do it all at once and we’re completing phases when we can. I don’t recommend this approach because it creates a problem… a problem that the system is actually designed to avoid.

When we first got the chickens they roamed the fenced backyard. It actually wasn’t as weird as I thought it would be to have chickens running around. The only real problem – poop. Everywhere. Especially at the back door for some reason. (Thanks, chickens…).  So after a month or two of being outdoors we finally erected a 20’ x 30’ fence around the coop. It was nice to have an area to banish the chickens to that still afforded them the opportunity to forage. However, it became obvious over the next several weeks that corralling the chickens into this 600 square foot area was going to wipe out the vegetation before too long. The solution was to finally raise the fence dividing this space so that we could rotate the chickens between them. That’s when our next and most recent problem developed…

Chickens are drawn to freshly tilled dirt. So any plants I tried to transplant or any seeds I tried to sow were promptly dug up. Eventually we decided to keep them completely out of one section, allowing that paddock to grow. Because this decision was made late in the summer (or perhaps we should call it early fall) the plants have not experienced the kind of established growth they need to withstand six chickens. When spring comes, there will be so much variety springing to life in that little area – sunflowers, kale, lettuce, spinach, strawberries, peas and more!

Meanwhile the second paddock has been reduced to a poopy mud pit. Our girls are such excellent foragers that I hate it when I have to “lock them up” in there. We’re constantly playing the trade off of keeping them in the muddy paddock but not accumulating poop in the yard or letting them roam the yard and dealing with the mess. And that’s not even the problem… The real problem is figuring out how to get both paddocks “fully stocked” at about the same time. In other words, if we move the chickens to the fertile paddock this spring, there may not be enough time for the muddy paddock to catch up before we need to rotate the birds away from destroying the first paddock.

We’re not exactly experiencing optimal weather for growing at this time of the year, but our initial plan is to keep the chickens out of the paddock entirely for the next 4-6 weeks to give time for at least some ground cover to be established. I’ll talk about that plan in more detail in an upcoming post about the chickens.

Pest & Disease Management

Anthracnose Annihilation

One of my goals for this year was to implement new ideas for pest and disease management. The most prominent solution involved using neem oil. Neem oil is a natural oil pressed from seeds and fruits of an evergreen neem tree found in India. Neem oil is used as a biopesticide and to control diseases like black spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and rust.

With consistent applications early in the year we were able to fight off large-scale white powdery mildew. Plants seemed healthier and bugs weren’t an issue. (Even though we did have some squash bugs, they never caused enough damage to be a true pest!) With the onset of frequent rain I was unable to stick to a regular schedule of spraying neem oil. Of course constantly wet conditions are the perfect breeding ground for mildew and fungus. During this time white powdery mildew began to show up and spread in the garden, as well as the familiar brown-spotted disease that has plagued some of our best crops. Last year after doing some research I self-diagnosed the mystery disease as Anthracnose, which can be prevented and controlled by neem oil.

During the raining season both mildew and anthracnose had their way in the garden. Once things dried up a bit I was able to do a few more applications which helped to keep the mildew in check. Meanwhile, anthracnose has destroyed nearly all of the beans and it also claimed the cucumbers. Over the winter I’m going to work on definitively identifying this continually destructive disease(what if it’s not anthracnose?) and finding ways to address it in 2014.

We’ve done more in the garden to address pests than applying neem oil. First, I planted radishes with squashes to act as a trap crop for vine borers. Guess what? It worked! Worked on zucchini, summer squash, acorn squash, pumpkins and melons. I’ve always had big-time issues with vine borers, but not this year! This tactic will be a staple in my garden going forward.

I also planted borage with the pumpkins and melons. Borage is considered a magic bullet for companion planting. It is known for improving the productivity and taste of many crops. It repels several pests (i.e., tomato hornworms, cabbage worms/moths) and it’s flowers attract pollinators. I couldn’t say for sure that borage solved my pest problems, but I did have pretty good luck with my melons and family pumpkins this year (no disease or pest issues).

And as always, healthy soil is the number one defense against pests and disease. Healthy soil leads to a healthy plant. A healthy plant can do much in its own defense and adaptation. I was absolutely thrilled with the compost we received from Kalamazoo Landscape Supply this year for our garden expansion. The soil on the other side of the garden was great as well thanks to a late fall application of composting horse and goat manure. This fall I hope to add manure to all of the beds to compost over the winter. Each bed will be topped with a mulch of shredded fall leaves.

CSA Stress

I’ve only been doing this CSA thing for two years. However during that time I have had the privilege of speaking with dozens of other producers about the joys and challenges of operating a CSA. I treasure the fact that everyone does things just a little bit differently, and in each case I’ve learned something new. At least one thing, however, remains constant. All of the farmers I’ve spoken with have this unyielding concern season after season: “Will there be enough and will it be ready at the right time?” So many factors – controllable and otherwise – impact the answer to this question. On our micro-farm scale, it’s a big deal when a crop is slow to produce, dies off or brings a reduced yield. After talking to several CSA farmers, I’ve discovered that this stressor is always present regardless of years of experience, acreage or weather patterns. Perhaps someday when we operate on a larger scale we’ll be able to absorb a significant portion of this stress by sheer volume, but that day is still floating out there in the unknown future.

Don’t get me wrong – this year was exponentially less stressful than last year. This year, I knew much better what to expect. This year, I understood that occasional supplementing from other growers is industry standard. This year, I was equipped to better plan quantities and had a more realistic idea of how much yield to expect. This year, there was no drought. But this year… I still had to ask myself several times that stress-tinged question: “Will there be enough and will it be ready at the right time?”

I’ve determined that, no matter how long I operate a CSA, that question – and the stress that comes with it – will remain at some level.

Scale vs. Profit

Another lesson that I’ve learned this year is that I need to choose between two competing factors related to the operation of my CSA. Either I can do this on a small enough scale that I can manage it as a work-from-home-mom who makes a hobby-level profit, or I can grow it into a large, multi-acre operation with a small team of employees who help me bring in a sizeable profit. A small-scale operation has lots of benefits. I work significantly less than 40 hours a week. I’m able to be at home and focus on my family. My schedule is somewhat flexible. I make money doing something I like and without going into debt to do it. The main disadvantage of our small scale is that our profit is commensurately small. Though I don’t have a 40-hour work week, I work far too hard to make as little as I do in terms of an hourly figure. Also, we’re committed to a debt-free approach to business and life so growth has to be slow, steady, and paid for in cash. (In other words, jumping into a 10-acre deal is not possible for us right now.) At the end of the day, our family can pay the bills and put food on the table, but I want to make an income that contributes to my family’s long-term (and big) financial goals.

When I Grow Up

The lessons I’ve learned over the last two seasons have significantly reshaped both the purpose and the operation of Arcadia Farms. Considering these lessons, along with much thought and prayer, we have decided not to operate a CSA in 2014.

Ultimately two overarching lessons contributed to this decision. First, the ever-nagging question “Will there be enough and will it be ready at the right time?” For me, this stress robs gardening of a portion of its satisfaction.

The second main reason we will not operate a CSA next year has to do with our personal family wellness. Fortunately our family was able to enjoy significantly more produce from the garden this year than last year, but we are still receiving less than the equivalent of a half share from our own farm. Because of the small scale of our farm (and thus the small scale of our profits) we determined that it would be a better health and financial benefit to our family to keep the majority of our produce rather than selling the bulk of it. One of the joys I experienced from our earliest gardening days was the successful feeling that came with having an abundance. Though we will still sell produce from highly successful crops (through our Facebook page and mailing list) keeping our bounty will enable us to supply our own pantry and to be charitable with what we no longer have room to keep. After a year of excellent crops and enthusiastic customers, it was a bitter-sweet conclusion to make. All the same, we feel it is the best decision for our family.

What’s Next

We may not be continuing our CSA into 2014, but we’re not going away! We still feel passionately about natural, local, sustainable food and want to help others to experience that successful feeling of bringing in a bounty from the backyard. The focus of our farm is shifting to helping others grow their own food rather than growing it for them. Though we still believe in the CSA model, this “teach a man to fish” approach is more sustainable overall and fits squarely into our mission. In 2014 you can look forward to the following from Arcadia Farms:

• Gardening classes, especially for beginners, renters and apartment dwellers
• Food preservation classes
• A virtual farmers market through social media
• Brokerage services to connect producers and commercial customers
• Customized and affordable garden plans for those who need help getting started
• Consistent blog posts with quality content about gardening and sustainable living

Who knows – maybe someday we will return to the CSA business. But for now, it’s time for our business plan to take a new path. We remain exceedingly grateful to all of our supporters, but especially to our members. Your investment in Arcadia Farms has enabled us to explore a dream that could never have happened without you! Thank you for the enthusiasm you have shown for the work we are doing and our vision of eating natural, local, sustainable food! You and your families have our deepest gratitude.

Best Wishes,

The Shanks

One of the icons of summer is a backyard campfire. And that icon conjures up images of another summer must-have: S’mores.

This year, I decided to try to make all the ingredients needed for homemade s’mores. Crazy, I know…

To get things started, I created marshmallows. I’ll be honest… I’m not personally a very big fan of marshmallows. (I am, however, a big fan of fire, so I’m obliged to eat each one that I burn in the backyard.) The thing about marshmallows is that they are loaded with high fructose corn syrup AND often contain artificial blue dye. (Seriously…) These factors make them a big no-no in our household and we eat them rarely. (See confessions above…)

Our homemade marshmallows are made with honey instead of corn syrup. I think they taste just like the store-bought version and Owen loves them. We’ve yet to try roasting them, but mostly that’s because I haven’t finished making chocolate and graham crackers yet. Can’t wait to share those adventures with you!

Meanwhile, click here for the video that inspired my marshmallow creation. They were pretty easy to make. FYI, I used cornstarch to dry mine. Next time, I think I’ll use powdered sugar. Also, they barely dried. And lastly, mine are a lot lumpier on the top than the pretty pieces you’re about to see. But they still taste good!

For a printable recipe, click here.

Oh my.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog post.

As you can imagine summer time is a busy time for farming and market-gardening. There has been SO much going on – great, homesteading things I’d like to share with you and great, local-food things I’d like to share with you – but I simply haven’t been able to make the time. Next week I’ve carved out time to chronicle all of it – especially local sources for things like peaches and info on where we bought our blueberries ($1/pound!).

So for tonight here’s just a tiny little tid bit about what I’ve been up to.

We have a small blackberry patch. The berries are trellised on a four-foot fence at the back of the “backyard”. The canes probably span about twenty feet of that fence and this year they’ve borne the largest blackberries we’ve had since we moved here. And compared to last year (think drought) the yield has been pretty amazing too.

I keep wandering by thinking “I really need to pick those soon.”

I’ve sample a few and they keep getting better with time.

Today I picked all of the ripe ones I could find and, to my delight, most of them were so ripe that they basically melted off. So ripe that they almost taste like pears. And the best part? There are still tons of red berries left just waiting to ripen!

I guess I’m glad I waited!

Now… what to do with these berries? For tonight, they’re heading to the freezer until I decide.

What would you do with fresh blackberries?

 

One of the Locavore90 Commitments our family made was to preserve at least two in-season produce items in June, July and August. So far we’ve made jelly from violets, frozen asparagus, made strawberry jam, frozen some strawberries and canned cherries. None of these preserving adventures have amounted to large quantities (usually 4-6 jars at a time) but if we keep this up, I know our tummies (and wallets) will be happy when the weather turns cool! Though someday I’d love to be savvy enough to preserve gobs and gobs of in-season produce, I’m quite proud of myself (and my family) for taking on the challenge of preserving what we can this year.

In the midst of all that pride, there is one tiny thread of shame I must that compels me to make a confession – I’m horrible at labeling. Honestly, I think the asparagus is the only item that has the contents and date written on the packaging. None of my jars are labeled at all. This is unwise – and a bad practice to get into if our goals is to become a family that shops more in the pantry than the grocery store!

My shame lead me here: www.myownlabels.com

Hundreds (maybe thousands?) of options for personalized canning labels. These are super cute!

Free Labels

If paying 35 cents per label isn’t your speed, check out these free printable labels instead:

Limshot Free Printable Mason Jar Labels

Compilation of Free Canning Label Resources at About.com

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.  

Yesterday I made pancakes. I usually make a large batch and freeze them for easy breakfast options later in the week. My recipe called for sugar but on a whim I decided to use honey instead. Fortunately for me, I had just used the same measuring cup to add cooking oil. Why so fortunate? Because I discovered this little trick: A wee bit of cooking oil in the measuring cup helps alllllll of the yummy, sticky honey slide right into your recipe!

Perhaps some of you are thinking “Duh… I’ve always known that.” It certainly makes sense, but I never thought of it before. So today while making bread, I tried it again. I added a drop of cooking oil to my 1/4 cup measuring cup… I added the honey… and lo and behold – allllll of the honey made it into my recipe lickety split! No waiting around for it to ooze in… no leftovers lingering on the measuring cup… no ultra-sticky mess to clean up. So if you’re cooking something that can handle a drop of oil… go for it!

Why didn’t I think of this before?

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.  

The weather has been cool in Southwest Michigan. That means you won’t find much at the local market beyond greens, herbs and radishes until the weather warms a bit. It also means that May goodies like asparagus and rhubarb may last a while longer. A couple of weeks ago (before my life got super busy) I shared a post with you about where to find asparagus in the area. I’ve also done a little looking for rhubarb, although I confess that my search hasn’t been as exhaustive as my asparagus search. All the same, I want to share what I’ve found with you – a local source for both conventional and a pesticide-free rhubarb.

Conventional Rhubarb

Right around the corner from our farm there’s a family that grows rhubarb in the backyard. This crop does receive at least one treatment of pesticide early in the season. Rhubarb is $2.50 per pound. You’ll find “The Rhubarb Family” at the corner of South Westnedge and Osterhout and their phone number is (269) 327-6987. There’s a sign on the Osterhout side of the street that indicates whether or not they’re open, so if you’re traveling a ways, be sure to call ahead.

Pesticide-Free Rhubarb

I’m so thrilled to have found pesticide-free rhubarb without having to call 10,000 different places! This weekend at the Texas Township farmer’s market I was able to buy it from Bonamego Farms ($3.00 per pound or $5.00 for 2 pounds). Bonamego Farms is in Lawrence (58041 48th Street). Their phone number is (269) 674-3541. If you stop by, please be sure to tell them that you heard about their rhubarb from our website!

We have two teeny-tiny rhubarb plants at Arcadia Farms and this year I planted several more from seed. If we’re lucky, we’ll be harvesting some for our customers next season instead of sourcing it from other growers. I can’t wait, because I love rhubarb and I love the hands-off benefits of perennial foods!

Does anyone else know of sources for pesticide-free rhubarb? Has anyone found a cheaper price? I saw that Rajzer’s Farm in Decatur had rhubarb cheaper (I think $2.25 per pound) however it is conventionally raised (sprayed with pesticide).

I still haven’t decided how I’m going to preserve my leftover rhubarb… I’m leaning toward making sauce or jam. More on that next week!

Have you heard about Locavore90?

Locavore90 is a FREE program provided by Arcadia Farms and Flowerfield Enterprises that challenges and equips families in Southwest Michigan to incorporate more local foods into their diet during a 90 day period. Click here to learn more!

Farmer’s market season is here! If you’re participating in Locavore90, you’ll probably be making a handful of trips to your local farmers market or farmstand. Many farmers market frequent-flyers bring their own reusable grocery bags to the market to bring food home, but have you ever thought about using reusable produce bags as well? Whether you’re shopping at the farmers market or the produce section of Meijer, you can do your part to reduce use of plastic produce bags by bringing your own reusables from home.

In last year’s Farmer’s Report I shared that I wanted to focus on using more reusable packaging in 2013. As a key part of that commitment, Arcadia Farms is now using re-usable produce bags which have been handmade in the USA specifically for our farm by Kara from Love for Earth. Want to get your hands on your own set of reusable bags? Lucky you – we’re giving some away! (You can enter once per day!)

Click here to enter the giveaway!

I’m so impressed by the quality, selection and customization options offered by Love for Earth that I asked Kara if I could share a little bit about the work she does and products she offers. Here’s the scoop on what she does, why she loves it, and why you should check out her Etsy site for reusable produce bags and so much more!

What inspired you to start Love for Earth and begin selling reusable produce bags?

I was inspired by self interest, I suppose. I had wanted something to use for produce, but the grocery bags that were available were too heavy, not see through, and just difficult to use. I would get skeeved out at the thought of putting my produce on the conveyor belt on top of whatever germs or raw meat drippings or any other contaminants may have found their way to the grocery store conveyor belt, so the first set was for my own use. I couldn’t get out of the produce section without being stopped and asked ‘Where did you find those?’ and if I told people I made them, they would offer me money on the spot! I had just discovered a new website called “Etsy” and figured, what the heck, I’ll make some and see how they sell. Before I knew it, I was making produce bags 7 days a week and the store grew bigger than I ever imagined it would… and I love every minute of it!

How long has Love for Earth been making reusable produce bags?

I have been making and selling produce bags for a little over 5 years in some capacity, whether it was at a craft fair or to a stranger at the grocery store. The Etsy store has been open since 2009, although the name changed in 2010.

Your Etsy site talks about the industrial quality of your products. Can you share a little more about the steps you take to create high quality products?

I really want to provide the best quality I can. No one wants to spend their hard-earned money on something that will fall apart after a few uses. While even the best of us can run into problems out of our control (bad thread and a dull needle, for example) if there ever is an issue with anything from my store, customers can just send me a quick email or Etsy convo and I will replace it and honor the standard that I set for what I make. I try to source the best materials I can and have gravitated over the last few years to USA mills. I have sourced a few things from Canada or Europe, but I am steering away from places where I believe the quality might not up to my standards. Putting a bag or garment together is sort of like a recipe, you want to put the freshest and best ingredients in it so the taste is better. I think every little thing makes a difference when sewing, the needles, the thread, the ribbon, the zippers… the better parts you work with, the better the outcome will be.

Note from Katie: Although we’ve only started using our produce bags, I can tell by looking at them and working with them that the quality is great! Each one is slightly (only slightly!) different, which is part of the charm of buying something handmade by an artisan.

What other products do you make that you’d like us to know about?

I make reusable produce bags, snack bags, storage bags, freezer bags, unpaper napkins and towels. I can custom make just about ANY reusable item one can think of. I make reusable puppy pads, I’ve made bread bags for bakers and bags for knitters to store their yarns. Anything is possible and customizing your bags or towels is easy to do… you can even choose the color or size.

What’s your favorite part about what you do?

I really love what I do! I love the things I make and I love that in some small way I am making a difference as far as pollution and waste is concerned. Every time someone chooses a reusable product over a disposable, that is one less disposable bag or paper napkin that is ending up in our landfills, our oceans and cluttering our otherwise beautiful Earth. I am happy that more and more people are jumping on the reusable wave, and they are doing it for various reasons, but the end result is less trash our children and grandchildren are stuck with decades from now. Not to mention, you can save a small fortune going to reusables. Every time I go to the wholesale club for groceries, I cringe at the jumbo pack of paper towels for $30 and I am so glad I no longer have to throw money away like that. Every one of those paper towels will be used for a few seconds and tossed in the trash, and I love being part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Where to Get It

Interested in getting your hands on some reusable products from Love for Earth’s Esty store? You can check them out – or make a custom order – at www.loveforearth.net. I’m personally hoping to pick up a Lunch Zipper Bag set for Owen’s school lunches next year.

Guess what? I’ve been keeping a little secret (ok, a big secret) and I’m super excited to finally spill the beans! For the last several months I’ve been hard at work planning a community-wide program that revolves around our core values – saving money, eating healthy and buying local. The program is called Locavore90 and I’m thrilled to finally be able to share it with you!

Locavore90 is a FREE program that challenges and equips families in Southwest Michigan to eat a locavore (local-only) diet for 90 days (or as often as possible). Southwest Michigan already has a fabulous culture of local eating! The goal of this program is to spread that message even farther, as well as to give tips, tricks and support to those who are already eating local but want to do it more or for less money.

So here are some questions you might be asking:

1. Yikes… won’t that be a lot of work?
2. What is a locavore?
3. Why in the world would I want to be a locavore?
4. How does Locavore90 work?

So glad you asked…

What is a Locavore

A locavore is a person who eats a local-only diet. For purposes of the Locavore90 Challenge, local-only means food raised within 100 miles of your home. (For more details – and exceptions to the 100 mile rule – click here to read our family’s Locavore Commitments.) A locavore also eats food that is in season. That means no watermelon in May. Why would you give up watermelon in May? So glad you asked… read on to find out.

Why Would I Want to be a Locavore?

Being a Locavore isn’t for everyone. It’s only for those who are concerned about health, who love great tasting food, who want to save money on groceries, would like to contribute to environmental health and love to see their local communities thriving economically.

Here are six great reasons to eat a local-only diet as much as possible.

1. Food Tastes Better. There’s no denying that food harvested at the peak of freshness tastes better. Many eaters also believe that naturally grown (organic) food tastes better than the alternative. A naturally grown, in-season tomato will always taste worlds better than a cardboard counterfeit shipped from out of state in April.
2. Food is More Nutritious. After produce is harvested, something begins to happen: It loses nutritional value – dramatically. The older your produce is, the more nutrients it has lost. Locally grown food was likely harvested within the last 24 hours so it comes to you as a more nutritionally complete food than anything from California ever could.
3. Food is More Varied. Local farmers are not bound to produce only varieties that will sell well at Wal-Mart or that can travel long distances before spoiling. As such, you’ll discover tasty delights at the farmers market you never even knew existed… and soon won’t be able to live without.
4. You Save Money. Produce is always less expensive when it is in season. When you add buying in bulk to buying in season, you have potential save good money on good food. Many farmers will give you great discounts when you buy in bulk or buy frequently as a regular customer. We’ll give you tips and tricks to help you stretch your local-only dollar.
5. The Local Economy is Sustained. According to Eat Local First, on average, produce purchased from chain stores results in 15 cents reinvested into the community for every dollar spent. When you buy directly from local growers or stores which stock from local sources, that amount increases to 45 cents for every dollar. That’s 30% better for the Southwest Michigan economy.
6. The Southwest Michigan Environment is Helped. Many small farms have sustainable practices that focus on improving soil fertility and habitats, as well as eliminating the use of pesticides. These practices can have a dramatic impact on our water sources. In addition, buying local reduces our collective carbon footprint because food travels shorter distances from farmer to consumer (and skips a lot of transfers in between!).

How Does Locavore90 Work?

Even if you can’t make the entire 90 days, making a commitment to a local diet in smaller ways can still have a positive impact on  your health and your community.

Step 1: Join

To join, simply enter your email address in the Join Locavore90 box on our website (Click here and look in the right-hand column). You’ll get lots of support, including monthly meal plans, recipes, information about local sources for food, info on great deals to save you money and tips for preserving in-season produce so you can include more local foods into your diet after 90 days. We’re starting the challenge on June 2, 2013 but you can absolutely join us even after that date.

Step 2: Create Your L90 Commitments

Locavore90 is meant to be challenging without being burdensome. We realize that the balance between those two points is different for each family so I’ve designed the program to allow you to make your own rules called Commitments. You Locavore90 Commitments are the guidelines your family pledges to follow with the goal of incorporating more local foods into your diet. Click here to get started. (Don’t worry –your Commitments are private!)

Step 3: Do It!

Before each month begins, you’ll receive a meal plan for the entire month via email. The meal plan takes the guess work out of what’s in season and how to prepare it. Meals are family-friendly. (If I can find the time, I’m also hoping to create a foodie-friendly meal plan for those of you who are a bit more adventurous about what you eat!) If you don’t like what we’ve picked, you can select a substitute recipe from the online library. I’ll also share tips on local sources and ways to save money.

Step 4: Relax

You’ll receive tons of support to help you keep your Locavore90 commitments (including the opportunity to join a Locavore90 Facebook group if you want). But at the end of the day, the only person keeping track of your progress is you (and probably your family). No pressure.

After 30, 60 and 90 days, be sure to reward yourself! You’re doing something great for your health and your community. I’m not promising that you won’t miss watermelon in June, but you will be reaping all the benefits of eating in-season and your tastebuds will thank you for it!

Won’t That Be a Lot of Work?

I’ve invested a lot of time into developing a program that takes the guesswork out of local eating and that does a good chunk of the planning up front for you. But even with that being the case, eating local is likely to mean a change to your routine. You might have to drive somewhere to pick your milk up for the week… you might build weekly trips to the farmers market into your weekend… you might start using a meal plan where before you’ve always just decided on your drive home what you’ll make for dinner. The thought of making these changes might make you groan at first thought, but I think the health, taste and community benefits will make you feel good about it before long. And remember, YOU set the pace. YOU track yourself. No pressure.

And heck, you might even grow to like weekly farmers market visits… I know I do!

Are You In?

Locavore90 officially kicks off on June 2, 2013. (If you sign up now you’ll get the meal plan before June begins. The Recipe Library will debut around the same time.) Before then, I’m hoping to spread the word about this program and get as many people on board as possible. I’ll also be doing some prep work through this blog talking about local sources not only for fruits and veggies, but also sustainably raised meat, eggs, milk, cheese and any other food stuff I can track down! We’ll be talking about what’s in season, where to buy, how to preserve it and so much more. And as you might expect, I’ll be sharing our family’s personal Locavore90 journey with you per my usual transparent fashion. It’s going to be a great summer and I hope you’ll help me by sharing about Locavore90 on Facebook, Twitter and over coffee with your friends. Are you in?

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.

Despite the fact that I’ve been planting tons of seeds, the garden still looks a little barren. For this week I wanted to give you a video tour of what the farm looks like this spring. It’s not very glamorous right now (especially because I nee to do some picking up and mowing!) but in high summer it is going to be wonderful! Here’s a little peek into what the farm looks like today and what we’ve been up to in the garden…

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.  

One year ago today I walked away from this office (it wasn’t always this empty)…

And came home to this one…

One year ago today I traded Saturday afternoon voicemails like this…

Click to hear voicemail from Owen

For moments like this…

One year ago today I traded a secure management position and salary with lots of zeros on the end for the uncertainty of creating something new (out of dirt, no less!) and making just enough to keep my startup hobby-turned-business from going into the red as it gains momentum.

Thank God for my supportive, encouraging, hard-working husband and others who recognized the value in my transition.

A few weeks ago I received an encouraging email from myself… sent from what now is the past into what at the time was the future. (You can do the same thing by using www.futureme.org.) The email chronicled how much I love the people I worked for and with but also how ready I was for a slower-paced lifestyle. The email closed with this: “You made the right decision. You did a great thing. You made a dream come true and left behind a world of tail-chasing turmoil. Thank you for wanting more out of life than $[insert salary here] a year can buy.” Don’t get me wrong – sometimes I miss being able to buy whatever I want. But I’ve experienced first-hand that you can’t put a price on peace.

Farming is all about seasons. Life is that way too, although seasons stretch beyond the confines of months and weather patterns. Some are short. Some are long. All of them, eventually, end. Today-Me is so grateful that One-Year-Ago-Me didn’t try to force life – my career, my health, my family, my identity – past it’s seasonal boundaries. In my 8-year season as an HR Director, I loved my work and the work-family I served. I thought for sure that I would feel torn and nostalgic after leaving. In reality, I’ve not had even one day of looking back longingly. No one is more surprised than me.

When I look back on that season of my life, I feel lots of things, but regret is never one of them. Life, like food, is best in season. And in this season, right here is where I’m meant to be. Thanks for being such a huge part (yes, YOU, dear reader!) of enabling me to bloom where I’m planted.

Last year I had it in my heart to clear the “Woods” (lightly wooded portion of our 1 acre property) of the abundant weeds growing amidst the trees. Unfortunately I didn’t have it in my schedule nearly as well as I had it in my heart. This year will be different! My goal is to work on pulling weeds during this and next week. I know that nature abhors a vacuum so I’m convinced that if I pull all (realistically, most) of the weeds some other weed will just take up residence. With that in mind, I’d like to sow some kind of beneficial ground cover shortly after the weed-deed is done. (In time I’d like to develop this area into a food forest.)

In the best-case scenario this ground cover would provide food – either for us or our animals. I’d also settle for a ground cover that adds nutrients (like nitrogen) to the soil or attracts beneficial critters (like bees). Any suggestions?

Alas, before the new ground cover goes in, the established weeds must go. Because I’m curious about which native plants are growing here, and because I’d hate to get rid of a beneficial ‘weed’ unwittingly, I was hoping someone out there could help me to identify the weeds growing in my yard.

Mystery Weed #1

Mystery Weed #2

Mystery Weed #3

Well there you have it. Who has thoughts or guesses as to what these puppies are? Anyone know of a good resource for identifying native plants/weeds? And don’t forget, if you have ideas on ground cover for this shaded area, I’d love to hear those thoughts as well!

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.    

In the year or so that I’ve been blogging I haven’t spent much time talking about foraging although it’s a topic that interests me greatly. In general, foraging (as it pertains to food) is the act of making use of (exploiting) naturally occurring (wild) resources. Foods found while foraging are often things that used to be eaten many generations ago but have somehow been forgotten in the area of microwave meals and processed foods. A forager is could be described as a cross between an opportunist with a foodie! I’ve very pleased that today we get to talk about foraging… and the surprisingly sweet results of this week’s foraging adventure.

It all started when I noticed a Facebook friend talking about making jelly from sweet violets. The cute little purple flowers on her page looked an awful lot like the cute little purple flowers I spy all over the “Woods” (wooded section of our 1 acre property) each spring. After close examination I determined that they are in fact violets – cool! After even more digging, I discovered that both violet flowers and leaves are edible and the entire plant has health benefits. To name a few, violets can be used as:

• A sedative, to help you relax or sleep
• A laxative
• A diuretics to address high blood pressure
• A relief for coughing
• An anti-inflammatory and painkiller, especially for joint pain
• A treatment for various skin diseases
• A source of antioxidants, especially beta carotene and vitamin C (140 ml of violet leaves ahs the same amount of vitamin C as four oranges!)

Even with all of those exemplary health benefits to boast, do you want to know the best part about violets? They are growing – uncultivated and for free – in my backyard. No work. Lots of benefits. Win.

So what’s a girl to do with these edible flowers? My initial introduction to the edible nature of violets came via a Facebook post about violet velly (jelly) so I determined that would be the best place to start. (Plus, I’ve never made jelly before so I was looking forward to adding that learning experience to my endeavor.) But in the process of all my violet research, I uncovered several other ways to make use of this free foraging resource. This list is not all-inclusive, but here are some other ways I’m hoping to experiment with violet blooms and leaves:

• Honey and Violet Leaf Cough Syrup
• Violet Extract (similar to the homemade vanilla extract I made a few months ago)
• Violet syrup (a common European use for violets)
• Violet Vinaigrette
• Violet Sugar (for decorating cakes and cookies without artificial dye)
• Violet Leaf Balm
• Violet Tea

I’m not sure how much longer these pretty petals will last so I intend to harvest as many blossoms and leaves as I can before the week is over. Whatever I don’t have time to use fresh I’ll plan to dehydrate for future use. Meanwhile, take a gander at the violet velly I made yesterday – my very first batch of jelly ever! Ain’t it perty? We tried some this morning and Ryan and I both agreed that it’s quite tasty.

Want to make your own? Here’s the recipe I followed (slightly modified) which I found here thanks to the folks here.

Violet Velly

Yield: 4 ½ cup jars or 2 12 oz jars

Ingredients:

• 4 cups pesticide-free fresh violet flower petals
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 package pectin (1.75 oz)
•  2 cups sugar

Directions:

1. Rinse and drain flower petals. Place in heat-proof glass bowl. Bring water to a boil and pour over petals. Cover and allow to steep overnight, or for up to 24 hours.

2. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve: use a spoon to press all the liquid from the plant material (compost or discard the flowers when you’re through). The liquid will have a greenish or blueish tint at this point. You can refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.

3. Combine strained liquid with lemon juice in the saucepan. It will turn purple. Whisk in the pectin and the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, whisking to ensure the sugar and pectin dissolve thoroughly, then turn heat to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes (or until the jelly has reduced a bit and thickened).

4. Skim off any foam and then ladle into your clean, hot and sterile jars, leaving 1/8? head space. Wipe lids and screw on the the rings, then process in a hot-water bath for 10 minutes.

5. Remove jars and allow to cool for 24 hours.

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally. 

Ever since I learned about dibbles, I’ve been wanting to make one of my own. A dibble is  a tool used to space seeds or seedlings in your garden by poking holes at exact measurements. Exact measurement comes in handy when it comes to Square Foot Gardening (SFG) because the main point of this intensive-planting method is to squeeze as many plants into 1 square foot (SQF) section as you can without hampering the plants’ ability to flourish. (For more on Square Foot Gardening, click here.)

Until recently, all of the dibbles I had discovered were board with pegs (to poke holes in the soil) managed with one central handle or two handles on the edges. I still think these are handy tools, but frankly, I don’t have the skill-set to make one. (However, if you know anything about woodworking at all, making your own dibble would probably be a breeze for you. Click here for a tutorial.) In addition to not being very confident with a saw, I’m also operating my micro-farm on a micro-budget. Simple as a wooden dibble may be, it still requires purchasing materials and I’d rather save that money for other items. Plus, to be most useful for my purposes, I would need four dibbles, each for the following SFG patterns:

• 4 seeds per SQF
• 8 seeds per SQF
• 9 seeds per SQF
• 16 seeds per SQF

Four boards. Lots of materials. Lots of time. I’ll pass.

And pass I have… for a long time… until I saw something that looked like this:

Aha! Thanks to a post from a friend on Facebook (Clementine’s Homestead), I finally met my dibble match! This dibble is made from cardboard, which is cheap, easy to work with and readily available to pretty much anyone. Sure, it’s not as pretty as the wooden variety. And frankly, it’s also a smidge less efficient because you have to poke each hole rather than pushing the dibble down once, but, it still serves the same purpose of evenly distributing your seeds. If you have the skill-set, time and materials, you could make this same dibble with a wooden board (or a sheet of metal for that matter).

Wouldn’t you like to make one of these dibbles for your own garden? I thought you might… And that’s why I created these! Here are five dibble templates you can print at home to create your own dibbles in a matter of minutes. (That’s right, I did all of the measuring for you… feel free to leave a tip at the door as you leave.) Because they are 12? long, you’ll need to print on Legal Size (8.5? x 14?) paper. I created the templates in two sections (A & B) so that they are more easily printed from a home computer (which can sometimes only accommodate paper that is 8.5? wide).

To download our free dibble templates, click here.

Wish List Wednesday | Gardening Gadgets for Kids

Welcome to another Wish List Wednesday! This week Owen will begin sowing seeds for his 4’ x 6’ raised garden, located next to his swing set in the backyard. Last summer I enjoyed watching him pick and share fresh cucumbers with his friends in the neighborhood (and they all enjoyed it too)! This year he’s growing sunflowers, dragon egg cucumbers and a watermelon plant. Since now is a great time for little ones to start getting involved in the garden and pre-garden work, I thought it would be fun to do a Wish List Wednesday featuring tools and gadgets for kids. To make the list, I consulted my resident expert on kid-friendly gardening. Here’s what he came up with.

Watering Cans

Fancy Pants Watering CanPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Lucky Elephant Watering CanPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Verdie Chameleon Kids Watering CanPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Kid-friendly Compost Bins

Children's Compost BinPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

DIY Kids Compost BinPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Garden Gloves

Kids Garden GlovesPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Harvest Baskets and Buckets

All-purpose bucket for the gardenPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Metal harvest basketPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Twigz Kids Garden BucketPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

A Garden Border Fence (To Keep Pets Out)

Garden Border FencePinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Garden Boots

Garden Boots for KidsPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Garden Boots for KidsPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Garden Boots for KidsPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Garden Tools

Morgan Cycle 6 pc. Junior Garden Tool Set - Kids Gardening Tools at HayneedlePinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Mini-Greenhouse

Mini GreenhousePinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Super simple mini greenhousesPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Mini Greenhouse from IKEAPinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Kid-Sized Wheelbarrow

A wheelbarrow for the wee ones.Pinned by Arcadia FarmsOnto In the Garden

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.    

Here’s something I’m crazy excited (if not a little late to share) about: Kalamazoo Social Media Week! According to an article on www.mlive.com by Ursula Zerilli:

“Kalamazoo Social Media Week kicks off on Sunday, April 14-18, 2013 with a week full of events and contests celebrating local businesses, pop culture in Kalamazoo and community engagement…

The community is being asked to vote now for individuals and businesses, who are best incorporating social media into their communications strategy on Foursquare, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Nominees will be judged by a panel of five people comprised of social media experts in the field to avid community supporters.

Award categories include the best local blog, most inspiring Pinterest board, best locally-produced video on social media and the most engaged business.”

Click on the image at right to learn about events hosted by Klassic Arcade, Kalamazoo State Theatre, Kalamazoo Beer Exchange, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Bell’s Brewery and Old Dog Tavern. I’m especially excited about the food truck lunch Tuesday and the Social Media Awards celebration on Wednesday!

Award?! Best Local Blog?!

Part of our farm’s mission is to share information about sustainable living with our community (click here for more on that). Kalamazoo Social Media Week is a perfect opportunity for us to share what we’re all about with our neighbors! Will you help us?

Show Us Some Love – Vote for Arcadia Farms

If you love this blog, please click here to vote for Arcadia Farms in Best Blog – Individual Category.

If you love our Pinterest boards, please click here to vote for Arcadia Farms in Most Inspiring Pinterest Board.

You can nominate as many times as you’d like… really… scout’s honor!

{Click here to see the 345+ reasons why our 322 followers think this board is inspiring!}

Not Sure What to Say?

By all means, I encourage you to use your own words. But in case the whole free-form nomination thing makes you a little woozy, here’s what I wrote (yes, I nominated myself… shameless…):

Blog Name: Arcadia Farms

Blog URL: http://www.arcadia-farms.net

Blog Author: Chief Veggie Whisperer, Katie Shank

Why is This the Best Local Blog? This blog is about a Portage family learning to live a sustainable lifestyle and focuses on eating healthy, buying local and saving money. Katie is a former HR Director who recently quit her desk job to dig in dirt full time and share the story via social media. She offers inspiration and advice from personal, wet-behind-the-ears-but-fearless experiences to other families who are new to topics like homesteading, gardening, seasonal eating and healthy living. This blog is also consistently in the top 10 blogs (often #1) at www.local-harvest.org.

Contact Email Address: katie@arcadia-farms.net

Keep In Touch

Social media is all about up-to-the minute details, right? Get all the Kalamazoo Social Media Week updates by following @tweetupkzoo and @ArcadiaFarmsCSA on Twitter! (Or check us out on Facebook where I’m much more active.)

As of today, there are about 1,500 people visiting this blog each week. If you’ve found the Arcadia Farms blog helpful or inspiring and would like to help us spread the message of sustainable living to others, we’d love to have your vote. Thanks for your support!