There will be a variety of your favorite vendors in the area, plus a few [...]]]> This Saturday, December 3 is the first Meridian Township Winter Farmers Market inside the Meridian Mall. We’ll be toasty warm inside the mall from 10 until 3pm in the JCPenny corridor, located in Okemos, just off from Marsh Rd.

There will be a variety of your favorite vendors in the area, plus a few new faces.  Plus, a FREE Children’s Activity sponsored by the MSU KID Lab- from 10am to 3pm (while supplies last).

What We’ll Have to Offer:

• Carrots
• Brussels Sprouts
• Farm Fresh Eggs
• Cabbage
• Kossack Kohlrabi
• Beets
• Winter Squash including Butternut and Acorn
• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Tomatoes (yep, still from the hoophouse)
• Fresh Radishes
• Baby Romaine
• Baby Bok-Choy
• Leeks
• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Romanesco
• Garlic
• Onions
• Celeriac
• Homemade Jam (from our berries!)

Here’s the List of Vendors to Expect on Saturday!

Prepared Foods and Awesome Specialty Foods

• Samia’s Mediterranean Gourmet-Baklava, spinach pie, cookies, hummus, salsa, cakes, pies, gluten free desserts, veg. dishes, samosa, cheese dips
• Fortune House- Egg rolls, Crispy Spring rolls, cream cheese wonton and fresh soft spring rolls
• Sweetie-licious- Pies, muffins, and cookies- free samples
• 45th Parallel Pickling- Pickled produce, fruits and sauces
• JW Kettle Corn- Kettle Corn
• Seif Foods- Pita bread, pita chips, feta cheese, olives, dips, salsa, meat, & broccoli/cheese pies, soups, cookies, desserts, wraps, gluten free, dairy free and sugar free foods and desserts
• Stone Hearth Bread & Bakery- Made from scratch Artisan Breads, such as Bacon Cheddar Beer Bread, 3-Cheese Soft Pretzels, Olive Asiago Favo Bread (Great with Wine, or Dipping Oils), Spinach Feta Cheese Bread, Ruben Rolls (2 per pack), Vermont Krunchy Cookies (No flour added)
• Czech Bakery- breads and European pastries
• CJ & T Produce- breads, cookies, Cinnamon rolls, jam, jelly, maple syrup
• Sansonetti Sauces- variety of sauces from BBQ to mustards to salad- free samples
• The Country Mill- Organic Apples, cider, Cider slushes, hot spiced cider, Sparkling cider, apple cider vinegar, mulling spices, fruit leather, caramel apples, mini pies, donuts and more
• Kenzoil- flavored olive oil- free samples *NEW VENDOR!
• Katharo Fields- Gluten, lactose, and soy free baked goods for the everyday person-breads, english muffins, biscuits, cookies, and a variety of other items *NEW VENDOR!
• Paige’s Peanut Butter- Homemade peanut butter *NEW VENDOR!
• Stella’s Crazy Good Caramel Corn- Gourmet caramel corn, baked goods-holiday cookies- free samples *NEW VENDOR!

Local Meats and Cheeses

• The Shrimp Farm Market- Shrimp, whitefish, ceviche, shrimp spread, shrimp salad, shrimp burgers, cocktail sauce
• Grandpa’s Best Pork-Organic pork, a variety of cuts and organic mint oil
• Tirrell Farmstead Specialties-Beef, lamb, Farmstead Cheeses (Sheep, Goat, and Cow), dog treats, sheep milk soap, whey bread
• Country Products-Jams, maple syrup, honey, apple butter, cider, eggs, chicken, pork, beef, potatoes, cheese, beets, turkey, pies, soaps, and more

Miscellaneous Awesomeness

• Stone Cloud Gardens Ltd. – Handmade Herbal Soaps, herbs, green eggs, honey, potatoes, garlic, Seasonal Herbal Vinegars
• Great Gardens, Barb Peterson- knitted items, bulbs, and ornaments
• Never Dull-Gary Toler -Knife, yard tools, and more Sharpening
• Jennifer Rotier- knitted and crocheted items and more
• Meridian Garden Club- fresh evergreen centerpieces, small mug arrangements with greenery

Fresh and Storage Vegetables and Fruit

• Macs Market- jams, jellies, squash, beets, carrots, onions, and more
• The Country Mill- Organic Apples, cider, Cider slushes, hot spiced cider, Sparkling cider, apple cider vinegar, mulling spices, fruit leather, caramel apples, mini pies, donuts and more
• Us! Titus Farms!

Hope to see you Saturday from 10-3!

Green Zebra has long been the reigning champion of the annual Tomato Tasting, and by no small margin either. Every year we read over the catalogs to find the next tasty tomato to compete against the juggernaut and we’ve [...]]]> The results from the Annual Tomato Tasting are in and green zebra has been dethroned!

Green Zebra has long been the reigning champion of the annual Tomato Tasting, and by no small margin either. Every year we read over the catalogs to find the next tasty tomato to compete against the juggernaut and we’ve finally succeeded. This year, we crown three new champions:

1st Place: Evergreen

2nd Place: Amana Orange

3rd Place: Cherokee Green

Evergreen is a strongly flavored and highly acidic green tomato. Its beauty, size and interesting color have made it a keeper in our mind too.

Amana Orange is a larger yellow tomato. Usually, yellow tomatoes come in at the back of the pack because of their sweet but somewhat mild flavor. This year we’ve found a winner with a sweet flavored but meaty tomato.

Cherokee Green is another green-when-ripe tomato. When Cherokee Green is ripe it turns a more chartreuse hue, particularly on the bottom of the tomato. It has a fairly strong flavor, but was never our favorite because of its low yields. But, taste rules, so it looks like we’ve found another green tomato to add to our order forms for 2012.

Of course, everyone has obvious favorites based on taste preference. Sometimes you just get a weird tasting tomato too… Still, we think it’s time to let go of Mortgage Lifter. It has an interesting story, but its flavor and yields just aren’t what we need.

How you have enriched each spring with your offering. We give you almost nothing and yet you give us ambrosia. The sweet, red fruit that you bear without thought, through the sorcery of nature, enthralls us. The taste of which is so entangled with spring that the two things cannot be distinguished [...]]]> O Strawberries!

How you have enriched each spring with your offering. We give you almost nothing and yet you give us ambrosia. The sweet, red fruit that you bear without thought, through the sorcery of nature, enthralls us. The taste of which is so entangled with spring that the two things cannot be distinguished in one’s mind.

A dehydrated strawberry that formed a perfect heart. The moment couldn't be wasted!

We though of giving you up. Your temperament was different than what we had known and grown before. When others have abandoned us to the cold of winter, you stay. Growing, waiting for the days to grow longer and warmer.

As spring turns to summer, we know you have done the task for which you were created. Yet, your passing will be mourned. All we can ask is that you happily grow and wait for another spring, when you will be rejoiced again.

A little more creative than my usual fare… but we’re just really happy that the strawberries were so wonderful this year. But, (don’t tell the strawberries) we’re really happy it’s over- picking strawberries can grow old fast.

In general though, it has been a [...]]]> It’s been a busy spring, as always. This year, it seems to be a little more hectic because of the weather too. Today it is hot, hot, hot. Next week, freezing cold. Weather is always unpredictable, but a little stability shouldn’t be too much to ask for?

In general though, it has been a colder and wetter spring than usual. The tasks that are usual done in April have been compressed into the last few weeks. We just finished planting the potatoes and peas, a job which is usually done by late April. We’ve put some brassicas (broccoli, cabbage etc.) outside and we also planted out the cutting greens. We’re still holding off on any of the warm season crops like tomatoes or peppers, until we’re sure there’ll be no more frost.

We composed a little picture movie to illustrate the planting process. Many people are surprised to learn that we don’t plant much by hand. With about 4o acres to plant in any given spring, it’s just too much to do without a little assistance. Paul purchased a Mechanical Transplanter in the 70′s (or early 80′s) and we’ve been working with it ever since. It’s a little rusty now and needs a little TLC every spring to perform- but it still does wonders.

We always have trouble trying to describe exactly how it works, but hopefully the pictures help!

Click Here to See the Movie: Transplanting 2011

This will make more sense if you see the movie: it’s Paul driving and Amy and I (with dog Maggie) running on the back and planting swiss chard. And Amy didn’t know I was taking the picture of her watering- so she’s concentrating really hard.

If you’re even thinking about a *chicken share* then we need to know as soon as possible. The little cluckers are almost ready to hatch and they need to be counted and sorted.

Email rebecca (rebecca at [...]]]> We’ve just got some spots left… so we’ll be accepting applications mailed by April 15.

If you’re even thinking about a *chicken share* then we need to know as soon as possible. The little cluckers are almost ready to hatch and they need to be counted and sorted.

Email rebecca (rebecca at titusfarms dot com) with any questions or concerns!

After completing the course work and attending a few conference [...]]]> While Rebecca was at MSU, professor John Biernbaum was really beginning to push the idea of using hoophouses for year-round production. Producing crops year-round was an integral part in MSU’s Student Organic Farm’s operation, but few farmers had adopted these ideas at that time.

After completing the course work and attending a few conference sessions on the topic, we finally decided to try raising a few crops through the winter. We experimented for about two years and we finally believe it’s something we can be successful at… But what does it take?

We use something called “passive solar hoophouses”; these hoophouses are unheated greenhouse-like structures, covered in plastic with crops being grown in the ground, not hydroponically. We begin growing the crops in the fall, then when the temperatures drop, we place a smaller secondary layer of plastic or cloth over them.

One of our largest hoophouses in mid-January

This is a sample of the delicious spinach for the farmers market

Under that secondary layer the plants are able to be warmed by the sunlight during the day, but the soil reserves enough warmth for them to survive during cold nights. Plants always seem to be more resilient than people give them credit for and even though they often freeze at night they spring to life the next day after they’ve warmed.  Of course, we can’t grow tomatoes, peppers or eggplant in an unheated structure, but we are able to grow plants that don’t mind the cold weather.

It's warm under that secondary layer!

The plants don’t usually grow very much either, but contrary to what many think, it’s not the temperature (though that doesn’t help), it’s the hours of sunlight the plants receive. Now, in February, our days are progressively getting longer, so plant growth is starting to happen again!

But why do this? Well, we always love a challenge… And, of course, people love to have access to fresh things during a bleak winter. But, really, the food is phenomenal!

Each time a plant is “frozen”, then thawed, it builds up a little more sugar (one of the compounds that actually allows this process to happen). So when you taste winter grown spinach… you’ll never go back!

We hope you’ll try some winter grown veggies… or even try doing some winter productions yourself! The easiest things to grow: Kale and Spinach. Also Try: Lettuce mix, radishes, turnips or bok choy!

There are a lot of great conferences and meetings taking place that week. We hope to go to the Michigan Organic Conference. There are also meetings about maintaining a healthy flock of backyard chickens or artisanal cheese making. [...]]]> MSU has released their schedule for ANR week (held during spring break at MSU, March 4-12).

There are a lot of great conferences and meetings taking place that week. We hope to go to the Michigan Organic Conference. There are also meetings about maintaining a healthy flock of backyard chickens or artisanal cheese making. Some of the events require that you be an active member of their organization, but others are open to the public.

Here’s the link:

http://anrweek.canr.msu.edu/