“Michigan consumers, restaurateurs, and retailers prefer purchasing Michigan grown and processed food and agriculture products for their freshness and quality, and each local food purchase strengthens our communities and family farmers”
Last week, Governor Witmer declared March to be Michigan Food and Agriculture Month. So we thought we would take the opportunity to share with you a little about what’s happening on the farm!
The farm has been bustling the past month, with a hoop house newly seeded and the greenhouse rapidly filling up. Onions, herbs, flowers, lettuce, peppers, radishes….fill the soil and trays, while the snow has been falling in early March. It’s been a peculiar feeling to be dreaming of August tomatoes amidst unbearable chills. Yet, it is life-giving to walk home with dirty hands once again.
Volunteers helping plant onions.
With help from some lovely volunteers, the process of potting four thousand onions has gone swiftly, with many more big projects to come. This past Friday (March 6), volunteers joined us in seeding the first of the tomatoes.
Lexi is a Muskegon native, and our new assistant farm manager.
The farm is excited to announce the recruitment of our new Assistant Farm Manager, Lexi Kuznar! Lexi grew up in Muskegon and has been studying Environmental Studies at Northern Michigan University. Following her graduation this coming May, she will be joining the farm in hopes to strengthen our farm crew. She is excited to be living in Muskegon once again, with hopes to expand her community and provide education to those around her. Lexi joins the Mcgrows team alongside recent intern recruit (insert name) who is taking over our compost operations for the summer.
McGrows new vermicompost machine.
Talking of compost, this past week, we have been gifted with a beautiful (new to us) vermicompost machine! Previously, our compost operation was collected into piles outside which were turned and sifted over an 8-12 week period of time. This machine will provide us with more nutrient-rich compost, escalate our educational opportunities, and allow us to better produce compost year-round. We are always open to new people to pick up food scraps from - in an effort to reduce the amount of compostable food heading to the landfill, we are offering pick-up service for a small fee.
Though we aren’t selling much these days, you can still support your farm and farmer in many ways!
Upcoming Events:
McGrow’s 2nd Annual Plant Sale, May 13-15! If you love vegetables and want to try to grow your own, get some inexpensive seedlings, plus all the FREE advice you can handle on starting your own veggie patch!May 13th -15th
We are also developing some gardening 101 workshops that will be offered throughout the summer, so follow us on Facebook to stay up to date about future ways to connect to your local urban farm!