Memorial Day

Some call them veterans, we call them heroes.


The men and women who have answered the call when it came.


Who placed themselves in harms way.


Who wore and wear, our country's uniform.


From those brave colonists who took a stand against the British Government in our revolution, to those who fought side by side against neighbors and brothers in our civil war, to those who answered the call, and fought in WWI and WWII, to those who fought in a series of less and less popular wars in the last 60 years, and all those who wore the uniform in times of peace.


No matter why they wore it, no matter what they were asked to do, they are part of something bigger than themselves.


They are part of the great force that stands between us and the loss of everything we hold dear.


We thank them each for their service, pray for their safety, and dream of the day when their service will not be necessary.




Yeah, he's our brother, yeah, We're proud of him.

Have a Happy Memorial Day everyone, enjoy your barbecues, but please take a moment, sometime this weekend, to reflect on what Memorial Day is all about.
(This is a repost, that originally appeared on one of our other blogs.)

Fresh Veggie & Herb Salad

Hi friends!

This is a repost from my other blog. I thought it would be nice to share a recipe over here using some fresh veggies and herbs!

For me, a picture of beautiful vibrant fresh picked vegetables is just as pretty as pictures of fresh picked flowers.

I decided a fresh chopped marinated salad was in order. I know we all have our basic chopped salad recipe. It could be as simple as sliced veggies and vinegar (I do that often throughout the summer). I thought I would share my recipe.

A lot of the herbs that are growing are at the stage where they need to be topped. This forces the young plants to get fuller and bushier instead of tall and spindly. They get topped several times. Although at this stage of growth, the plants haven’t fully developed their flavor yet, there will be a very mild taste to them.

This is fresh baby fennel fronds. Fennel is one of my favorite and most used herbs.

This is baby dill. The two of them look very similar. Both fern like and wispy.

I can’t give you measurements because it really is up to your taste and the amount of veggies you use. But, this is what I add to my salad.

• A mix of fresh chopped veggies
• chopped up dill and fennel
• salt and pepper
• Splenda (you can use sugar) between a teaspoon (for a small salad) or a tablespoon (for a larger salad)
• Fresh lemon juice (or lime)
• Rice vinegar

You can use any type of vinegar you want however, rice vinegar is a milder and less acidic vinegar than white vinegar.

Toss all the ingredients together and refrigerate for a couple of hours, tossing once in awhile.

What a I love about this salad besides being yummy, easy and quick is “no fat” and very little calories. When I crave something to munch on, it is usually something with some salt and crunch to it. This fills those needs quite nicely.

This is a standard salad generally always found in our fridge throughout the summer. Enjoy!

Where Will We Be This Week?

This week will start for us on Tuesday, at the Ypsilanti Downtown Market. Held at Ferris and Hamilton, this market runs from 2-6:00 pm. You can find us on the South side, all the way down at the West end.

 

 

Wednesday we will be at the Wayne Market, in Goudy Park, from 3-7:00 pm. Look for us on the end of the line, in the inside circle around the pavilion.

 

 

Thursday we will be at the Warren Public Library at 6:00 pm, speaking about Herb Basics and Container Gardening. Read all about it here.

 

 

Saturday will find us, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, at the Ypsilanti Depot Town Market, at 100 Parket Place in Historic Depot Town. We are in the southwest corner.

 

And Sunday we will be at the Lincoln Park Market from 11:00 am 4:00 pm. This market is held in the parking area in the center median of Southfield Road, in front of City Hall. We usually set up on the North side of the market, directly across from the car wash.

 

 

Several new markets will be starting in the next two weeks so watch this space carefully to find the one closest to you.

Plant Tags ~ A Recycle

Hi everyone!

Want a quick and cheap inexpensive way to make tags for your plants?

Don’t throw away your old mini blinds. They make the perfect plant marker!

Cut them to the desired length.

Cut a little pointed end to go into the ground easier.

For ours Troy designed sticky labels to put on each tag. That way our customers know the facts about the plants.

You can use a marker and just write on each tag. Very simple, easy and you can get as many tags as you need from something that was going to be thrown away.

 

Wayne Farmer’s Market

Hi everyone!

Wednesdays from 3-7pm you will find us at the Wayne Farmer’s Market. It is in a new location this year, Goudy park.

The location is beautiful!

Lots of fun vendors are there.

It’s a really lovely place to bring the family. Enjoy the market

Then have a picnic in the park.

And the kids can play and have lots of fun!

And this time of the year it is simply beautiful!

We hope to see you there on Wednesdays!

Where we will be this week

Hi everyone!

This week we will be adding another Farmer’s Market to our schedule!

NEW FARMER’S MARKET FOR US!!

On Tuesday from 2:00 – 6:00  we will be at the Downtown Ypsilanti Farmer’s market (at Ferris and Hamilton) . This will be our first time at this location so, we are pretty excited! We hope to see you there!

On Wednesday we will be back at the Wayne Farmer’s Market from 3:00 – 7:00 at the new location in Goudy Park!

On Saturday we will be at the Ypsilanti Depot Town Market from 9:00 – 1:00.

Sunday we will be at Lincoln Park from 11:00 – 4:00

We hope to see you at one of the Markets!

 

Macomb Presentation and Plant Sale

Hi everyone!

Earlier this week we had our last presentation of the Spring series at the Michigan State University, Macomb County Extension Campus. It was also our big herb plant sale.

We brought about 1,000 potted herbs for the sale.

Good thing we had pulled the preorders for the folks in the evening class!

We had a full house! The subject of this class was “When Space is an Issue”. We talked about different container gardening and small space ideas.

We want to take a moment to thank our hostess Sandra, the Macomb County Master Gardener Coordinator, for all her help! (pictured above) 

By the end of the first class, this is all the extra plants we had left!

This class was particularly fun for me since I had the opportunity to actually be there! I met so many fun people. I have to say, the folks at Macomb really are awesome!

It was kind of sad that this is the last class until Fall. We are just so swamped from now until September-ish with all the Farmer’s Markets. But, we are already working on and putting together the Fall series and possibly winter classes!

I had the chance to talk to a few of you who were at this class and ran by some ideas for upcoming classes. I think our Fall series is going to be a blast!

We want to thank all of you at MSU Macomb Extension for attending and participating in the Spring series! We can’t wait to see you in the Fall!

And just a reminder, we will be at the Redford Library tomorrow morning (Saturday May 11) for a presentation and fun activity for kids!

Where we will be this week

Hi everyone!

It is so great to be back at the Farmer’s Markets! It has felt like we have been in hibernation all winter. I think this is going to be a busy crazy season but, also a lot of fun!

Today, Sunday 5/5 we are at the Lincoln Park opening Farmer’s Market day!

Tuesday 5/7 we will be at the Macomb County Extension Office giving a presentation on “Container Gardening”. There will be an afternoon class and an evening class.

(picture of our herbs just starting to grow) 

Also on Tuesday at Macomb, is our big kick off “Plant Sale”! Stop by and pick up some of your favorite herb plants!

Wednesday we will be at the Wayne, MI Farmer’s Market.

On Saturday we will be at the Redford Library doing a presentation and an herb craft with kids! This is going to be a fun event. It is a special day just for kids to make Mother’s Day hanging herb planters for their mom!

 

GARDENING FUN WITH A MOTHER’S DAY SURPRISE

Saturday, May 11, 11 a.m. for ages 4-11

REGISTER HERE

Troy Huffaker from DTL Herbs, will explain what plants need to grow well. We will make a special gift from recycled materials. Everyone age 4-11 is invited to join, but must bring an adult friend to share the fun. Registration REQUIRED.

 

Although we probably won’t be able to make it, the News Herald Free Plant Exchange is also on Saturday 5/11. This is such a fun event so, if you want to swap out some of your plants, check it out! For more info on the plant exchange click here!