February Update

Whooo! I can’t believe I let the better part of winter get away from me! I have a good excuse, don’t worry! I accepted a position back in October helping to preserve farmland in Michigan through this innovative program called MIFarmLink. MI Farm Link www.mifarmlink.org. I’ve really been putting a lot of time and effort into the new project to get it off the ground. I have developed a 5-year Strategic Plan and have overhauled the website to make it more user friendly for farmers. Lots of progress that I can feel good about! Then just as I thought things were starting to settle in, our Executive Director up and leaves! For a good reason as well. She accepted a position with the MI Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development. So, in the meantime, I have been asked to serve as the Co-Interim Executive Director to help the transition process for the Washtenaw County Conservation District.

Bees: The bees have been able to get out of the hive during this spring like week in February. We are starting to note which hives are flying and their activity levels.

Baas and bleats (sheep and goats): The sheep and goats are munching away on their hay storage. They are enjoying these sunnier days to bask in the pasture.

Buds (plants, herbs, trees, greenhouse, hoophouse, fruit orchard): The fruit orchard is getting a pruning job. garden is being composted and mulched. The hoophouse is planted with spinach, lettuce, cilantro, and other cool weather crops have gone in the ground.

Baawks (chickens): The chickens are picking up egg laying again as the daylight hours are extending.

Business (Market Shed): The market shed has been such a wonderful asset. This is the first winter being able to keep my eggs out all year round (yippee for no frozen eggs!) and always having honey available. In addition, over the holidays some local wood crafted items were available from lazy susans to whittled spoons. Currently, maple syrup, potatoes, eggs, honey, beeswax, hand cream, fresh parsley, garlic, jams, and creamed honey is available. There is also a complimentary rotating library, puzzle, and seed exchange. Take one, borrow one, or drop one off.

October is nearly here.

The leaves are starting to change. The earliest signs are the birch and walnut trees begin to lose their leaves. The sugar maple trees are starting to color and I start thinking about our Fall Family Photo shoot we take on the farm each year. We are starting and hopefully finishing a brick project to connect all our buildings and keep the mud out! We took a quick trip to Mackinaw Island. It was filled with long bike rides, a horse and history carriage ride, fudge, ferry rides, and fort tours. I also attended the Farm Bureau Annual meeting and was elected as the newest board member! Along with accepting a new job at the Washtenaw County Conservation District representing the MI Farm Link program. Here are some of the details. MI Farm Link . So I imagine the next year will be fairly busy.

Bees: The bees have gone through some of their last hands in the beehive for the year. Meaning we took the supers off the beehives (the top boxes that contain honey) and are starting to extract the last of the season’s honey. The rest of the honey the bees put up in the fall is for them, alongside the reserves of everything they saved throughout the summer. The drones are being kicked out of the hive. The goldenrod is in full bloom.

Baas and bleats (sheep and goats): The sheep and goats are starting to fluff out in preparation for winter.

Buds (plants, herbs, trees, greenhouse, hoophouse, fruit orchard): The garden is being composted and mulched. The hoophouse is planted with spinach, lettuce, cilantro, and other cool weather crops have gone in the ground. The apples are so sweet on the tree. Garlic will be planted soon. The harvests of late are hops, flowers, tomatoes, peppers, and soon loofahs.

Baawks (chickens): The chickens are molting and regrowing feathers.

Market Shed (Business?): The market shed is filled up! The last of the tomatoes are available, along with; creamed honey, pasture raised eggs, raw honey, peach, grape, red pepper jam, herbs, cut flowers, zucchini, cranberries, heirloom apples, honeycomb, 100% beeswax bars, pears, hand cream, maple syrup, gift baskets, live plants, garlic, hops, and hot peppers. There is also a complimentary rotating library, puzzle, and seed exchange. Take one, borrow one, or drop one off. In addition there is a community board for Webster Township, MI to share some local news.

The Frosty Apple Orchard is open Sept 29, 2023. Come get apples and honey from us!

THE MARKET SHED IS OPEN!!!

This has been a long time in the making! I’ve always wanted a little market shed. One, to share what we produce here on the farm. Second, to share our neighbors produce. Lastly, to create a more rural community hub where you can exchange books and puzzles, and share on the community board. So come by grab eggs or just say hello. It’s a self serve, open 7 am-9 pm. farmer’s market shed. We’ll have pasture raised eggs, raw honey, honeycomb, flowers, jams from our fruit orchard, maple syrup, produce, elderberry syrup, herbs, and more.

July 2023 photos

Available this weekend (JUNE) in the market shack:

Garlic scapes, Raw honeycomb, Pasture raised eggs-non GMO, Raw honey, Elderberry syrup, Creamed honey, Live plants-herbs, strawberry, Beeswax cream, Grape & peach jam from our orchard fruits.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FARM IN APRIL?

April moved slow with the cool, rainy spring. Beekeeping season started but it was really hard to get some good bee days in while temps weren’t conducive to opening up the hive boxes (think above 50’s and sunny). The Washtenaw County Tree and Shrub sale happened. We sold over 34,000 trees in Washtenaw County, Michigan. I did my part and planted 29 new trees and shrubs on Earth Day.

Bees: Queen rearing, hive checks, and splits are all happening. That means another 12 nuc boxes will be ready to go out to customers near the end of May. We raised our own Michigan queens with a nifty new technique that we’re getting the hang of. I really need to take more “in the beehive pictures” it’s just difficult with bees in your hands and gloves on. Hives are really adding on numbers of bees. It’s neato at this time of the year to see the queen often in the hive. She’s super long compared to her counterparts. I’m happy to announce our honey is now sold at Blue Barn Meadows. A new market located on N. Territorial rd.

Baas and bleats (sheep and goats): The sheep are out to pasture now all of the time. They are enjoying spring time with fresh baby grass. The goats have really settled into their plush upstairs barn. They are routinely getting goat walks throughout the back 10 acres. Oreo, our adventurous goat, even crossed Arms Creek on a fallen log.

Buds (plants, herbs, trees, greenhouse, hoophouse, fruit orchard): I’m pleased to say we have some plant starts in the farm shack. Chamomile, strawberry, aloe, anise hyssop, and cilantro to name a few. The fruit orchard is in peak flower mode. Every year, we get more and more fruit. This year will be no exception.

Baawks (chickens): Chicks hatched! There are roughly another 30 chickens to add to the flock. I aim for keeping 80 productive chickens at a time. These gals won’t start laying till fall. Eggs are plentiful now and the fridge is always stocked.

Market Shack update last week of April 2023

We have baby plants available! We have chamomile and strawberry starts currently. More to come as the cool weather finally goes away. Concord grape jam, peach jam, creamed honey, elderberry syrup, raw honey, and pasture raised eggs are all available.

What happened on the farm in March?

From snow to spring! March started with a farm tour event through the Washtenaw County Conservation District at my farm and ended with a family vacation. In between I enjoyed a Master Rain Gardener class where I’ll be implementing a new rain garden this summer.

Bees: March is the first month of beekeeping again! It’s (usually-everything with bees is weather dependent) where you get to see your winter survival rate and start taking down the insulation. It’s a hopeful period where you did all you could to ensure your bees survival but it’s all a bit of a bummer when one of your best producing hives didn’t make it through the winter.

Baas and bleats (sheep and goats): the goats are losing their fluffy coats that protected them all winter. I’m brushing out loads and loads of fluffy hair. The sheep are the opposite. They’ll keep their fluffy wool coats till we shear them. Usually in Michigan it’s late spring for the Shetland sheep.

Buds (plants, herbs, trees) Oh spring! Planting season has begun. I finished up pruning the fruit trees in February/early March. Next, seed starting has begun in the greenhouse.

Baawks (chickens) Chickens are producing. I’m taking some fertilized eggs now for the incubator. It’s time to start some new chicks!

Wood: Online orders are always being fulfilled. We get a lot of pre-wedding orders at this time of the year for lazy Susan’s, wood place card holders, and wood magnets. The kiln will be starting soon.

Market Shack: Stocked up currently with pasture raised non GMO eggs, raw honey, creamed honey, peach jam, Concord grape jam, elderberry syrup, and herbs by request (parsley, mint, cilantro).

Market Shack March Update!

A few offerings from the market farm shack this week. Concord grape jam (from our grapes this past summer), peach jam (our fruit trees), raw honey (from our bees), elderberry syrup (from a local farmer friend + Rustic Roots Farm honey), and pasture raised eggs. Open anytime the temperatures are above 28 degrees. Many more offerings will be available this summer. Also, pickups are available on wood products, wool, and beeswax balms. Milling services as well as kiln drying is also available (especially after those storms). Message me for more info.

FARM NEWS

FUTURE 2023 PLANS

The solar shed was built in 2022. This is allowing us “free” energy from the sun. So far, its been great in most months minus December and January where the lowest light hours exist. We continue to improve upon the solar system and make our farmstead more efficient. This years’ goal is to attach the passive in ground greenhouse which will provide earlier spring and later fall growing. The fence will be updated surrounding the garden providing deer proofing and lighting. Mushrooms will be inoculated in the garden area using a few different techniques, one along the garden mulched pathways, another growing on oak logs. Bricks will be added to the outdoor kitchen area, finally getting rid of mud in that area. Maple syrup tapping will begin on a small scale this late winter. Early spring, queen bees will be sold alongside nucs, which are small bee colonies. The dairy goats will be bred late fall in order to begin milking them. The short term goal is to make cheese and have milk on hand, no idea what the long term goal will be for dairy goats. This will also get our goat numbers up to around 6-8 goats. Lastly, the new market shed will come to fruition this summer (see drawing). It will be located closer to the road (where the stakes are positioned) and provide year-round service as well as a parking area. This will allow more local goods to be sold from our farm as well as surrounding neighbors farms.

FEBRUARY 2023

Bees: Checking on the bees this false spring season and our bee losses are minimal. Losing 20% of your hives is now considered normal in the beekeeping world. It was great to see the bees out flying and being able to poop outside of their hives. If you are ever around beehives in the winter and there is snow on the ground, you will see little brown spots in front of the hive and that is bee poop! That is important as bees want to prevent dysentery in the hives so it’s much cleaner to go outside the hives when the temperatures warm up. It’s nice to finally get an idea of how your bees did through the winter and to get back to beekeeping at least for a day or two in the winter. Honey is in good stock this year. It helps that we had record honey flows. Elderberry syrup is now available through the market shack from a good friend of mine made with Rustic Roots Farm raw honey.

Baas and Bleats (sheep and goats): The wool batts are in from the Shetland sheep! I have mainly King size comforters still available. Head to my Etsy shop for pricing. www.etsy.com/shop/RusticRootsFarm If you’re local, you can save a bunch of money on delivery costs. The goaty girls are quickly learning the ropes of following anyone with treats in their pockets for walks into the woods. Here they eat delicious delicacies of thorny brambles, oak leaves, twigs, and white pine needles.

Buds (plants, herbs, trees, greenhouse): Seeds are started! This is the time that the greenhouse gets an overall. Seed trays come out and the greenhouse gets filled in again. All these lovely sunny days are making the seed starts happy. I’m focusing on food for our family, but also herbs and some extra veggies to sell at the new market shed (opening summer 2023). These will be alongside our fruit produce of peaches, pears, and grapes. This is the best time to prune your trees. I spent several days pruning and re-shaping some of my fruit trees as well as other trees in the vicinity.

Baawks (chickens): I know many folks are concerned about the shortage of eggs in the grocery store. We will incubate eggs again this year. It will happen in March this year starting out with our fertilized eggs. If we have extras, I may choose to sell them. This is nice added security for any type of home and extra protein! Eggs are also in stock anytime the temperatures are above 28 degrees. With the longer daylight hours egg production has increased.

Wood: The wood barn is being cleaned out, getting ready for bee season. Hive boxes need to be cleaned and painted and re-assembled with frames inside.

January 2023

The month of farm taxes and USDA surveys. Can anyone else relate? At least I get a little reprieve with adorable goats running through the snow. Here’s a little breakdown of what’s been going on with the farm.

Bees: The bees are all tucked in for the winter months. They have insulation around their boxes to maintain higher temperatures so they don’t need to eat as much of their honey reserves. Honey bottling is in high production. This is the time of year I go through buckets and buckets of honey busy bottling it away and taking it to local storefronts. My family eats more honey on oatmeal and in tea.

Baas and Bleats (sheep and goats): The goats have fluffed out with their winter coats and the sheep have a thick coat of wool to be sheared off in the spring time. The animals are now relying on hay more and more that was stocked away in the fall.

Buds (plants, herbs, trees, greenhouse): Supplemental light is needed at this time of year in overcast Michigan with our lake effect weather. Plants are basically hanging on in the greenhouse, not growing but maintaining. I’m looking forward to seed starting very soon!

Baawks (chickens): The chickens are deep into winter now. They venture out when the sun is out and the snow is clear, or at least a pathway is cleared. The chickens receive a lot more human food leftovers this time of the year. They also get treats from the raised bed veggie garden where they appreciate the old greens. I look forward to the coming February with the longer daylight hours as egg production will increase and I’ll finally be able to keep up with my new and returning customers! Note: If the temperature is higher than 28 degrees Fahrenheit, I will keep the egg fridge stocked. If not, email ahead of time for a pickup window within an hour. Thanks for being patient with the winter egg system! Next year, with the addition of the new (4 sided with a door!) farm shed it won’t be a problem.

Wood: All the wood projects are in full force.

Coming soon are the future 2023 farm plans. Thanks and have a wonderful New Year!

December 2022

Holiday honey baskets!

November 2022

Let’s try this again…at some point in the year the season gets away from me and my updates become fewer and farther in between as the work piles up. It’s only in November that I can reflect again on the growing season and all that we’ve accomplished. Here’s some November highlights and I’ll save the rest for the annual update at the end of the year.

Beees: Our bees did great this fall. We ended the bee season strong as we kept/maintained 50 beehives going into the winter. As long as we have a decent survival winter rate that means we’ll be sitting pretty for more honey again next year. The honey total for 2022 brought in nearly 1500 pounds of honey. We also got a speciality honey of Alfalfa from an across the road farm field blooming (seemingly) for the benefit of our bees. The bee boxes all received their winter insulation after a gorgeous October.

Baas and bleats (sheep and goats). The sheep reside at my in laws 10 acre farm. The wool from this spring’s sheep shearing was sent in to the Wool mill. They will be turning it into soft, wool comforters. The goats are toddlers at Rustic Roots Farm. They are doing their job and causing trouble as only goats do. They are adorable and all puffed out now with their thicker coats. They are helping eat down invasives while trying to eat the good stuff that I planted. More fencing will fix that.

Buds (plants, herbs, trees): The hoophouse (polytunnel) was planted with cold hardy crops. The greenhouse is now filled to the brim with everything moved in from the gardens. The fruit orchard is dormant now. The fall tree seedlings (conifers) have been planted.

Baawks (chickens): The chicken coop has been winterized. This means plastic is hung to keep the snow/rain out of the chicken run. Chicken water heaters are brought out so water doesn’t freeze. Fresh bedding flakes is piled on.

Wood: Now this is the start of business back in the barn! Tis the season for building stuff indoors. Lazy Susan’s and custom tables are just a few of the products. Head over to my Etsy shop to see all that is available. www.Etsy/shop/RusticRootsFarm.com

Lastly, the farm shack is currently still open. Eggs are in shorter supply as daylight hours wane. It’ll be open through the December. Typically in January and February I have to shut it down as the mini fridge freezes. This problem will be addressed next year. Don’t worry you can still get your eggs and honey from Carosello Pasta year round.

A new addition to our farm: barn cats! Here’s the one we see the most, meet Maggie! She’s a five year old rescue. She’s warmed up to us and the kids. She gets along with goats and dogs so we’re all pretty happy here.

October 2022

Pears! Last fruit of the season. These are some old fashioned pears. They are harder on the bite but sweet once they turn yellow. My 8 year old thinks they are delicious! Selling now at the farm shack and starting Thursday at Carosello Pasta shop located in downtown Dexter, MI.

September 2022

This year was the year of grapes! We had himrod sweet grapes and many Concord grapes. So we made concord jam. It was all hands and feet on deck! It turned out delicious. It’s a tedious yet good family project. From harvesting the grapes to squishing the seeds out to jamming. We will surely enjoy many a peanut butter and grape sandwiches.

August 2022

Produce in stock: peaches, spring raw honey, creamed honey, and pasture raised eggs.

JULY 2022

Happy 4th of July!

JUNE 2022

This weekend you can grab eggs, raw honey, peach jam, and cannas (flowers for summer planting).

MAY 2022

Whew! Spring has sprung! With it all the hubbub of activity. Where to start…

Spring projects! Many folks may be wondering what the heck else we’re building on the property that looks like huge slanted posts coming out of the ground. It’s the foundation for our solar project. We keep working towards sustainability on our farm. We laid the concrete for the solar shed and hope to get the roof end before the month is over.

Bees! May is bee month! This is our first priority as weather really plays a role when you can and cannot bee-keep. We have done a ton of splits, created 20 nucs, installed queens, added supers, checked on queen cell formations, and done all the regular inspection checks this month. May is a pivotal month as you’re laying the foundation for your bee season whether that’s through promoting honey production or selling bees. Especially if you let swarms happen. Nucs headed for their homes the last week of May.

Plants and all things green! The garden went in. This year it expanded; again. There are now 24 raised beds with a plethora of all the vegetables. We have been munching on asparagus, spinach, romaine lettuce, herbs, and radishes. This year I focused on planting a few more perennial vegetables those being walking onions, sea kale, self seeding tomatillos, and sorrel. More fruit trees were added. I expect peaches, pears, and a few nectarines and apples this summer. More raspberry and blackberry varieties were added too. The greenhouse was just cleaned out. So many plants went out into the ground. It feels good to reset and prepare for another greenhouse season.

Animals: Chickens and goats It just feels right to have goats on the farm. They are our newest addition to the farm. Currently they are a bundle of joy and not much help munching down the weeds but we have great hope for them in the future! We are teaching them to be collar trained on a leash so they may rotate on pasture more easily in the future. The chickens are ever producing! We have so many young, great laying hens. Our eggs are now available at Carosello Pasta located in Dexter, MI. Check them out for their delicious fresh pasta. You can also grab eggs from Whitney Farmstead and Rustic Roots Farm shack.

Baaas: I’m afraid I’ve let this department slide a bit. I’ve been meaning to hand pick the fleeces and get pics up on my Etsy shop but that has taken a backseat to spring planting and beekeeping. I promise it’s on my to do list!

Buds: Wood projects are also on hold as it’s building project season. More updates to come on the progress in June.

THE GOATS ARRIVE!

Excited to introduce two new members of our farm! Two Nigerian Dwarf goats. Meet Oreo and Hershey.

April 2022

Spring. What a cool, slow spring. I’ve been trying to get what we can get finished on these few nice days that we’ve had. You can’t really work bees unless it’s above 60. That hasn’t happened much in the month of April. The garden too has been slow to be out planted. Too many frost days were in the forecast. So instead we ended up starting our solar shed project. This involved putting in the 20 post. Installing the rat wall and backfilling with gravel. Next up we will be installing the roof then the solar panels. We sheared the sheep, fleeces will be going up on my farm shop Etsy page soon. I added more fruit trees to our orchard, peaches, pears, and nectarines. I planted blackberries and raspberries and expanded the raised bed garden.

And just this morning, we had a lovely view of several male turkeys wooing the females near the greenhouse.

March-April 2022

March has flown into April already. Here’s my last farm month update. The month of March is a transitioning time on the farm. It’s still cold but the warmer weather affords the beginning of some early spring projects. We’re tackling new electric fencing for goats. We’ve laid out the design plans for the Solar house. Seeds are being planted every week. Organization is also tackled right now. A new dumping zone just for bee gear and boxes is restructured. April is when farm infrastructure begins. The garden has again doubled in size. When all is finished the garden will contain 27 raised beds which work well in our clay soil. It will have some open ground as needed for corn, pumpkins, watermelon, and sunflowers. There are designated piles for holding over mulch and soil too. If you cannot tell, I love farm organization and infrastructure. Speaking of infrastructure, this is the Year of Solar! Our solar shed project has begun. Posts have been laid out and dug. Supplies acquired. The layout is determined. The posts will hopefully go in this lovely 70 degree weekend. As will many of my starter plants I’ve been growing in the greenhouse. They are ready to be out planted. The bees are going bonkers without us being able to do much so far with this cool weather. Weekly spring checks will start happening to insure there are no new queen cells and no swarms are happening on our watch. The sheep are getting their yearly haircuts at the end of the month. We should have some beautiful soft lamb fleeces available.

February 2022

The last month of that true winter feeling. With March around the corner the farm kicks back into gear! Seeds are started, bees are being looked at for survival rates, equipment is being sharpened, fruit trees are being pruned, chickens are back to producing eggs at full capacity. The greenhouse is in full production with every seed tray started. Brush management is starting. It’s the best time to get into the woods and work without any leaves out yet. The sheep are out to pasture more often. Woodworking involves making more bee boxes and getting out inventory up for the Etsy shop. This is the time of the year where we don’t easily leave the farm. There’s too much going on. Too much we don’t want to miss out on.

Updates: The farm shack is back open! Self serve, open anytime. We are selling bee nucs and a small amount of queens. If interested email me at rusticrootsfarm@gmail.com. Honey is at an all time low. We’ll stock up again come June/July. We’ll be planting a pollinator conservation cover this season and working on our solar project this spring.

January 2022

January the time of the year to relax as a farmer…just kidding! Although this time of the year is a bit slower than (crazy spring) it does include a lot of planning. Seeds have to be purchased, goals must be defined, projects must be planned, budgets have to be adjusted. It’s a great time to reflect on what worked and what doesn’t make sense from a business perspective. Even if I adore it (hmmm goats). That is especially true when I’m doing our taxes. This means putting my effort and focus into beekeeping and woodworking primarily. We do a lot of winter walks planning out new fencing in the snow, laying out new buildings (solar!), and dreaming of high season tunnels to come.

On these far and few between warmer days of winter, I make sure the chicken coops are cleaned out from the thawing out pee and poop. The bees are getting a renewed interest from me. Making sure hives have survived the winter as well as making sure they have enough feed. We are still not out of the clear yet in regards to bee winter survival but we’re getting much closer. We’re beginning to take customers for bee packages either for nucs or queens. Email rusticrootsfarm@gmail.com to be put on the list. It will be first come, first served in the order of the list. The greenhouse is taking my main focus now. I really can’t complain on these single digit days and the sun is shining and it’s 70 degrees inside while I’m starting pepper, onion, and leek seeds. Lastly, this is the best time to hire my woodworker (my husband) for those custom orders. Come spring time we do not have time to spend in the wood barn. We’ve been keeping busy maintaining our Etsy shop orders and hopefully getting some wood inventory lined up. If you haven’t had a chance to peruse what we do here, take a look. Rustic Roots Farm Etsy

If you’re interested in supporting Rustic Roots Farm, you may purchase eggs through the farm by pre-ordering (since eggs can freeze in these frigid temps in the farm shack) or getting them on Saturday at Whitney Farmstead (open 11-2) just around the corner from us. They also have meats, breads, jellies, salad mixes, pasta, our honey, and soap. You can find our honey still available at Dexter Bakery though it will be sold out soon. We’re hoping this next year honey production will be higher. Many beekeepers were affected last year by the pollen flow timing. I’ll leave you with this beautiful sunrise over the greenhouse.

August 2021

Bees…the bees are going into winter configuration mode. This means on deep box with one medium box on top. Also pulling the propolis traps and ever extracting more honey from the goldenrod pollen flow. We are in talks of opening up a brand new 5th bee yard with some friendly organic growers. This shall be revealed next spring or sooner. Honey is available at Rustic Roots Farm shack, Dexter Bakery, Argus Farm Stop (Liberty), soon Frosty Orchard, and Slow Farm.

Baawks…the last batch of new baby chicks have arrived. They have the deluxe set up. Eggs are plentiful. This winter the egg supply should keep up as we introduced many new chickens to our flock.

Buds….the peaches and pears have come and gone. Peach jam is being whipped up and canned. The greenhouse will start going into full production mode. I will be moving some of my summer loving plants into the warmth of the sunny glass. Tomatoes and herbs will flourish here for a few good more months. The plan is to continue to grow food here into the winter. This first year will be experimental. Anything extra will be sold

Wood…Jeff is building a custom hickory table. This is about the time of the year when we start opening up custom table requests again.

July 2021

Every growing season I get more and more excited with every piece of infrastructure we put into the farm. This summer (in the thick of it all still) I’m looking back at what we’ve accomplished already this spring. We finished the raised bed garden by expanding it by 4 extra raised beds, fencing it in, digging a new water hydrant, and installing a drip irrigation system. We completed the new summer garden from scratch. This is new ground that hosts sunflowers, corn, watermelon, and pumpkins.

We have a total of 52 beehives. Our goal is always to have 50 so going into Fall we are looking good. We installed a brand new bee yard at our generous neighbors property making our bee yards total 4.

We started from 6 ft down to the ground up, building a greenhouse. This is by far the fanciest building that feels like it’s all mine. She-shed (nah) more like glass mansion. I’m so looking forward to the weather cooling and really getting my hands in the dirt all winter. I’m hoping to grow whatever I can possibly grow whilst testing out the greenhouse capacity and all it’s functions.

Our sheep expanded! My in laws brought in 12 more sheep to add to their flock. Some really adorable, friendly babies. We will have lovely lamb fleeces next year!

We hatched, raised, sold, and grew many chickens so far. This year we will re-supply our egg layers with some interesting breeds.

We just turned our attention to the wood yard. We (mainly Jeff) milled two oak logs and we’re re-stocking the kiln. Now is the best time to use the kiln and dry out the wood in order to use it this winter. We have personal plans to install wood flooring in our old ranch house. We also have several table projects coming up.

Our peaches are coming in hot! We’ll have many sweet, organically grown peaches very soon. Available through the farm stand or Slow Farm (Wednesday-Sunday) Pears are also nearing readiness. Apple crop looks descent this year. We hope to have a good apple cider year. Our apples never look good. We don’t spray but we do enjoy apple cider and making apple cider vinegar.

June 2021

July is here and it’s heating up!

With the 4th of July this weekend we have our 11 year wedding anniversary and 9 year farmversary! the kids are officially on summer break. Seems like that happened a few months ago already.

This month we continued harvesting our liquid gold. The Spring honey is always such a surprising and delicate taste. It also differs from each beeyard.

Chicken eggs are plentiful! I like to think I’ve inspired some of my loyal customers because several are now getting chickens of their own!

The sheep are sheared! Naked sheep are the cutest and now they are refreshingly cool. There will be new fleeces to start cleaning and picking out the best ones to offer up. Wool Batting comforters are in the shop and surprisingly breathable in the warm weather too.

We finished some good looking tables. Here’s a few pics of them. Here’s even a retrofitted table that Jeff made for the family camper. Super sturdy!

I’d like to mention that I am now a part of the Washtenaw Organic Collaborative. It’s a cool online shop where you can purchase farm goodies from several local farms in the northern Washtenaw county area. You can pick up at a few locations close by. There are so many farm products available, meat, eggs, veggies, flowers, honey, bread, etc.

May 2021

So much happened in the month of May! Both on the farm and off. Here’s a little recap. We continued work on the greenhouse getting the insulation foundation down, the garden raised beds and all the hoops are in place, the summer garden is fenced in and planted, bee swarms were caught, beehives were split, queens were delivered, and the 4th bee yard was established. I made more bee and wood product. I turned 40 (yikes!), chickens are constantly hatching and trees are planted. Trees were donated to Beacon Elementary and the Washtenaw Organic Collaborative (online order for local farms) started up again!

April 2021

Bees-The pollen is out! Willow, dandelions, and maples are the first pollen available to honey bees. We prepped our fourth bee yard. We will be taking off the insulation from the bee hives this month.

Baas-the sheep are out to pasture.

Buds-We are working on some custom projects, live edge shelves and large lazy Susan’s. We’re also expanding the current raised garden beds from 14 to 18. These have become the centerpiece for many of our perennial vegetables. We have asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, perennial herbs, lavender, and a tree seedling bed. Lastly, and most exciting for me is the construction of the greenhouse which starts the beginning of this month.

Baawks- 16 baby chicks hatched! More (hopefully fertilized) eggs will be added to the incubator. We’re hoping for marans and Easter eggers for more dark red and green/blue eggs.

March 2021

The farm shack is now open! Self serve.

Baawks: Spring-ish weather has commenced. With it an on slot of early chores. Finally, the chicken coop gets a deep clean as the poop piles up in the winter months unable to move due to frozen piles. Fifty baby chicks have started the incubation process. We will see how many extra chicks we have once hatched in about 20 days. The hens are starting to ramp up their egg production with longer daylight hours.

Buds: Wood sourcing begins again! We received some logs from a new build saving lovely lumber from firewood. This month the greenhouse kit arrives. This is a dream come true. Building plans will start as the ground thaws. This will be highly documented! The raised bed vegetable garden gets some attention.

Bees: Bee hives have been checked. We had a decent survival rate so we are able to sell nucs this spring. Waiting on some tree pollen to come in to ramp up baby bee production.

Baaas: 20 Shetland sheep will be getting green pasture soon enough. They look forward to spring and their fresh haircuts.

January 2021

The year 2020 was something else. Covid19 affected everyone’s lives whether through illness or with life’s circumstances changing. After having only 6 months full time farming (for the first time ever!) my 6 and 8 year old’s started virtual school back at home. This lent little time to develop and plan for the farming season but it did ensure I had more helpers. With my husband home for his day job and no commute time he was able to help out with woodworking orders. With the kids home, they helped out with farm and household chores than ever before while simultaneously teaching them.

This year proved good in terms of agriculture. For that I am grateful. We got the chance to meet more of our neighbors, we developed greater relationships with local farmers through the Washtenaw Organic Collaborative, as well as having more time (perhaps too much at times!) with my family. Fortunately, we were able to increase our honey production to over 1200 pounds of raw honey. Including propolis, beeswax, and a limited supply of honeycomb. We could even continue beekeeping while social distancing with John, the beekeeper and myself. We sheared the sheep in the spring and continue to have some really beautiful fleeces from our in laws Shetland sheep. Our 80+ chickens allowed us to feed our community. Practically speaking, we dug up our backyard to bring water to the chicken coop. This has brought a smile to my face everyday this winter when I don’t have to drag buckets of water in 20 degree temperatures. We insulated the attic portion of our barn. This enables us to store and dry more wood. It also ensures our bee equipment is safe from the elements. We laid the groundwork for our future hoop house by literally moving in soil to build up and level out the area for construction. We continued to expand our brick driveway. It looks rather nice but more importantly with our heavy machinery it keeps the mud to a minimum. The farm shack got a bit of a makeover with better signage and with neighbors being able to stop by at anytime. This unfortunately doesn’t work in the winter as a mini-fridge full of eggs died in our cold winter. Limited eggs are available through a planned pickup time. It’ll open back up in the spring 2021 and we’ll hopefully have a better design next winter.

In 2021, the plans are being drawn up to lay the groundwork for a greenhouse. This has been a dream of mine since buying the farm. Perhaps it’s the dreamy escape from a Michigan winter in January to retreat to a balmy warm atmosphere surrounded by beautiful green plants. Or the ability to sink your hands in soil in the off season. More practically speaking it’s to continue to produce food, seedlings, and grow a wider variety of plants in our northern zone. This will allow me to have rarer plant material available. I will continue to plant the 14 raised beds. I will continue my focus on eradicating invasive species from our acreage, planting trees, and laying seeds for pollinator friendly plants.

My in laws hope to add new baby lambs to the Shetland flock. Lambs fleece is the softest! Following their success hatching out chicken eggs last fall, they plan for more batches this early spring. John, the beekeeper is concentrating on raising nucs (small honeybee colony) this year, expanding into another bee yard, and mentoring new beekeepers through the Chelsea Area Beekeepers club.

Spring 2020

What an odd beginning to this spring. Quarantine went into effect March 13. Just when I thought I was going to get my first farm season alone...now I’ve become a homeschool teacher and farmer!

Bees...spring time is bee time! After checking on all the bees, removing the winter insulation, we’re gearing up for some new queens. Fun fact they arrive in the mail usually the queen is marked. We’re dividing and conquering this bee season. John will take the two bee yards closet to him, I will tend to our beeyard. This quarantine means beekeeping is a solo affair this season.

It’s a good thing it’s already May because honey supply is quite low. I’m still serving honey for my Rustic Roots Farm shack customers, Etsy shop, and Dexter Creamery curb side orders. A first honey extraction is (fingers crossed) ready end of May or into June.

Baawks...(chickens). I ordered 80 day old chicks in February. They are nearly 12 weeks old now and living in the “baby” chicken coop. Unfortunately with this shipment of babies came an additional 15-20 roosters for “extra warmth”. Therefore I’ll be culling these guys before they cause problems. If you are interested there will be chicken meat available in June. Otherwise, the eggs are plentiful this time of the year and Rustic Roots Farm shack is stocked full.

Baaas...(sheep). Spring time means haircut time! The sheep will be sheared in a few weeks. That means more beautiful fleeces to look forward to and more cleaning to do. We’ll be making more wool comforters as I sell out each year.

Buds...(this is wood). We’ve been accepting custom orders. We don’t have nearly as much time in the spring as we have to build the deck onto the barn to be able to open the door to no where. We do a lot more milling in this season, grabbing wood, kiln drying, etc. Our Etsy shop still carries many of our smaller wood projects.

Business.... I’ve looked deeper into organic certification and the payoff doesn’t seem to be there for beekeepers. There are standards in Europe but no USA standards for organic certification. We continue to be as natural as possible. There are many beekeepers now who treat their hives often. We try to promote our own healthy genetics in our bees.

Farm... We’re prepping to build a hoophouse. This will allow us to grow later in the season and start earlier. This will also add veggies to the farm stand. This spring was such an easy start! I have 14 raised concrete block garden beds in place and getting them ready for planting was the easiest I’ve had in 9 years. I may add more by the end of the season.

Many neighbors have found us now with the addition of our farm sign. I feel like we finally found our community and love seeing neighbors stop by the farm stand.

Upcoming Projects...the deck. We are attaching a deck to the barn in order to load up wood and bee stuff into the loft space. It’ll also provide an area below for a covered garden space for tools. We’ll also be expanding our brick area on the driveway. It keeps cut down on mud. We’re working on a turn around area for the farm shack.