This past Monday the other interns and I hosted a fieldtrip to Rowe’s Produce Farm (http://www.rowesproducefarm.com/) in Ypsilanti. The farm is a u-pick with fresh and ripe strawberries as well as sugar snap peas. We arrived around five in the afternoon and the sun was still baking the fields. The strawberries were warm and sweet. Also the water they contained was a welcome respite from the heat. The farm is all u-pick so the choicest berries are up for the picking while they are in season. U-pick farms are private operations that plant and care for the plants, but leave the activity of harvesting to the public, who then purchase what they pick.

Rowe’s farm has an email list that they use to notify their patrons about the picking conditions of their various crops. They call it “the” list and you can join it by emailing them at: rowesproducefarm@sbcglobal.net. The season for strawberries ends around the beginning of July so head out there soon for some fresh berries and peas!

We helped the Habitat for Humanity cluster in Ypsilanti with weeding their raised beds, but more work needs to be done to ready the beds for planting. The cluster is a very quaint neighborhood of young families. If you want to assist with the community establishing a beautiful and bountiful garden contact Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley through the email: lynnep@h4h.org and specify your interest in setting up garden spaces.

The plants in the secret garden have grown tremendously in the past few days. The corn towers over all the other crops and the tassels are now visible.

The polyculture bed’s radishes were picked, topped, and washed. By clearing out the radishes, sunlight can now reach tiny seedlings of the other plants. I will need to thin in the next few weeks and I have the agonizing decision to choose which vegetables will grow to full size and those that will not. I cannot wait until the seedlings grow larger and observe how much this method yields.