In late April, on a mostly sunny, cool morning, with the temperature in the low fifties, I drove out from Ann Arbor on Whitmore Lake Road to Slow Farm. I found Bayer and co-farm manager Magda Nawrocka-Weekes standing at the edge of a large field on the west side of Whitmore Lake Road, near the farm’s gate.
Posts filed under Farms
Cultivating Connection: The Power of Community Gardens
A community garden is like a little shared oasis, a special spot where folks from all walks of life come together to grow delicious veggies, fragrant herbs, and beautiful flowers. It becomes a green sanctuary, where members roll up their sleeves, dig in the dirt, and let nature work its magic. Often organic, community gardens help promote soil health and community connection as much as they do delicious, locally grown food.
Holler Fest: A Happy, Hoppin' Place
Ann Arbor does summer well. This town comes alive with outdoor music from June to September, but each summer the local musicians and music lovers know that to wind-up the summer, Holler Fest is the place to be.
Stories from the Farm— Sheep: Our Sweet Wooly Babies
For as long as I can remember, February has always been synonymous with sheep. This comes from my lifetime on farms and from stories passed down by ancestors that I’ve never met, yet whose tales live on through the generations of Celtic folklore. One of my favorite folktales is of Cailleach, the divine winter hag of the Isles. Cailleach created the landscape using her basket of stones and her hammer. She would clash and fight for control of the seasons with Brìghde, the goddess of summer.
Tantre Farm Honeybee Nut Festival A Fall Celebration of Nature’s Bounty
If you’re looking for a fun, free, educational, and delicious way to celebrate fall, the Third Annual Tantre Farm Honeybee Nut Festival in Ann Arbor is the place to be on Sunday Ocotber 8th.
In Pursuit of the More Perfect Apple at Amrita Farms
Amrita Farms is the only organic apple orchard within over a 50-mile radius for U-Pick apples. The farm was started 27 years ago, on a 54-acre parcel, in order to combine sustainable farming and education in pursuit of an eco-friendly lifestyle. The owner’s first initiative was to help mother nature by planting several hundred evergreens. The farm struggled since its start to find its identity, milling through multiple products with a revenue stream not taking root because of the clay soil. Kymal, known in business circles as a serial entrepreneur, refused to accept failure
Gateway Farm: Growing with Permaculture
The mid-January day I visited Gateway Farm in Plymouth was breezy, and the temperature was in the low thirties with faint flurries falling. At the farm’s small, dirt parking lot off Joy Road, I met Bridget O’Brien who, along with her husband Dr. Charlie Brennan, is the farm’s co-director. After we greeted each other, I said, “Not the best time of the year for me to see the farm, I guess.” “It’ll be okay,” she replied cheerfully. “We’ll be able to see everything because there’s no snow on the ground. Plus,” she added, “The sorrel is still green.”
Peace, Love, and Cows
There is a feeling of peace in the cowbarns at Goloka Eco Experience in Maybee, Michigan. The farm air feels crisp as it enters the lungs—unequivocally more clear than city air. In this moment, the gentle thud of a heartbeat or thwap of a tail against the ground is one’s only soundtrack against the world. Soft, big brown eyes peer out from underneath impossibly-long eyelashes, begging for pats on the head or scratches at the nape of the neck. Goloka Eco hosts an experience one simply cannot find among the hustle and bustle of regular everyday life--an invitation to be present. To come sit. To forget about time for a while. To cuddle a cow, as volunteer Karunasindhu Nitai Gaura Dasa says, is to form a “meaningful relationship.”
A Good Crop of Mental Health: A Conversation about Animal Assisted Therapy with Laura Sanders
Laura Sanders, LMSW, ACSW, has been practicing in the Ann Arbor area for 34 years and has been teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work for 26 years. Her approach to therapy utilizes a wide variety of evidence-based and creative therapies, including trauma recovery methods, art and play therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and relational approaches through Animal Assisted Therapy.
Argus Farm Stop: Mission Driven
Mission driven in all its disparate pieces, this grocery store, that is so much more, is determined to serve many sectors of our local culture. It could seem confusing, if it wasn’t all so smooth. Argus is a daily farmers’ market, and a local grocery and sundries store. It is a coffee shop and cafe, a tavern, and an entertainment venue. It is an education center offering weekly webinars, classroom curriculum, and full trainings. And Argus Farm Stop is a crucial component that was missing for the growth of our local food system.
Detroit Nonprofit Paves the Way for Innovative Urban Agriculture
Tucked into a three-acre section of Brush Street in Detroit’s North End lies a utopia of freshly grown foods available to the surrounding communities at no cost. Made possible by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI), the project, known as America’s first sustainable urban agrihood, aims to combat challenges unique to urban communities such as Detroit. More than 120,000 pounds of food are grown from seed from this portion of Detroit’s land, which was once abandoned.
Zen and the Art of Community-Supported Agriculture
Celebrating, preserving, and sharing our areas rich Agro-Centric heritage is one of my favorite interests. A somewhat new land preservation project has gained my interest over the past year and is ongoing at the corner of Scio Church and Zeeb Road. Follow me on a journey of one family’s dream passed on. This is yet another food-farm venture of Tantre` Farm’s stewards, Richard Andres and Deb Lentz.
Community Farm of Ann Arbor-- A Look at the Past, the Present, and the Future
The Community Farm of Ann Arbor was founded in 1988. It was one of the first organic, and perhaps the only biodynamic, farm in Michigan, as well as one of the first CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). A few years after the Farm began, and up until three years ago, it was run by Annie Elder and Paul Bantle. After Annie and Paul moved to California in 2018, several other farmers ran things, and then this spring, Dan Gannon was hired to run the Farm.
The King Family: Half a Century of Farming, Making Music, Teaching Yoga, and Building Community
The King family has been a prominent presence in the Ann Arbor and Southeastern Michigan community in a myriad of ways—as farmers, musicians, teachers, and more—for nearly fifty years. The roots of the King family and their Frog Holler Farm go back to 1971, to the founding of the Indian Summer restaurant in Ann Arbor. That’s where Indian Summer’s co-founder, co-owner, and head cook, Ken King, met Cathy Munkholm. Cathy had been hired to make salads at the restaurant and worked alongside Ken, chopping vegetables.
Necessity Grows Innovative Farming In Our Own Backyard
What were once three businesses, Ann Arbor Seed Company, Green Things Farm, and the Land Loom, is now one: Green Things Farm Collective. They came together in 2020, as their website explains, “to expand production, share the management of running a diverse farm business, and develop a model of sustainable, cooperative, and responsible farming.”
Learning the Culture and Heritage of Washtenaw County through Food and Architecture
Prior to Covid-life, the Local Food Summit event took place with food diversity and food justice being the main focus. I had the pleasure of sitting with speaker, Melissa Milton-Pung, who represented a program she created in conjunction with the county’s Heritage Tourism department. The tour is called the Foodways Heritage Tour and there is a recipe guide online for those interested in our counties rich and bountiful cultural heritage.
Vestergaard Farms: Pasture-Raised Local Meats and Local Foods
This past winter I was eager to visit the newly built storefront of Vestergaard Farm, attractively situated on the farm property. Along with their farm raised meat, the store offers other goods from Matty’s Bakery in Saline, Zingerman’s coffee and treats, Calder Dairy products, The Brinery products, Aldente Pasta, Amaizin Pop Popcorn, honey, bath products, maple syrup, eggs, and many other locally sourced items.
Carnivores Unite! A Meat Eater's Guide to Supporting Local Farmers, Mongers, and Butchers
My passion for great food, and for those who produce and handle all aspects of providing it, is at times an obsession. I become a little rapt when meat and fish are involved because I have health issues that demand clean, healthy food, and environment. I place huge emphasis on the person behind the product when I embark on seeking out a farmer, hunter, monger, or purveyor. There is a symbiotic relationship between one who raises, gathers, and hunts animal meat and the end consumer. This relationship should be taken on with deep sincerity and thoughtfulness. I prefer, when possible, to purchase meat from animals bred and raised locally. The animals feed from grass in the pasture where they live and roam, until they are nearing full growth. At this point they are usually grain fed for higher fat marbling, but the lives of the animals are still cared for and properly managed.
Crazy Wisdom Kids in the Community: Kid-Friendly Animal Rescues of Ann Arbor
I know I’m not the only one who has had to learn how to care for animals and who deeply enjoys their company. A natural affinity with animals since childhood is what led me to become a trained animal whisperer and animal Reiki specialist in addition to being a journalist. It’s often hard to tell where a love of animals will take a child, but these days there are some amazing programs out there to test the waters, whether a kid is interested in learning the basics of animal encounters, adopting a new family member, or becoming a veterinarian, animal trainer, or therapist.
Local Farm and Orchard Visits
When school starts and the stars begin to twinkle a bit earlier in the evening sky, one can’t help but think of picking apples, carving pumpkins, Halloween costumes, and hay rides. We’ve compiled some of the most unique orchard and farm experiences we could find in southeastern Michigan. Grab your jacket and wellies and enjoy the crisp autumn air before Jack Frost dances on your eyelashes!
