The Sampler, Half and Full Shares do not require work. Work shares are available if one is looking to get their hands dirty and learn a bit along the way. See information about individual shares below.

 Our CSA harvest season runs 18-20 weeks. It begins Thursday June 14^th, June 21^st or June 28^th and ends October 25^th, weather dependant. 

Shares are available for pick-up weekly at one of 5 locations.  Shares delivered off farm will be pre-bagged in U.S. grown and sewn certified organic cotton totes.  Delicate items such as tomatoes will be distributed separately. 

Additional veggies that are ripe and available, but not included in a particular week's share at all or in the quantity desired for a particular meal will be for sale at a discounted rate on the website. Ordered vegetables will be brought to one's respective distribution site.

A newsletter will be sent out each week describing items to be received in the week's share along with recipes tailored to those vegetables. Believe us when we say there are wonderful, delicious ways to eat greens beyond romaine and spinach!  We've tried hundreds of recipes out over the past few years searching for ways to use these vegetables we could grow, but didn't grow up eating.  Our health has greatly improved because of it! 

Distribution Locations 

Davison - Bonnie's House, 2359 Venezia Dr Between Atherton Rd & Lippincott ~ 1 mile from I-69 M-15 exit

Thursday 3-7 p.m. 

Flint - Dale's Natural Foods, 4290 Miller Rd

Thursday 3:45-4:15

Downtown Grand Blanc, Physicians Park, 218 Church St

Thursday 4:45-5:45

Grand Blanc, Katie's Parent's House, 7186 Burpee Rd

Thursday 6:15-8:00 

Mayville, The Farm, 5191 Chambers Rd

Saturday 10-noon 

Share Options

 Sampler Share - $225                                                                                                           

This is for anyone wanting to support their local, organic farm and experience the flavor of farm-fresh produce, but not quite sure if they need or could use all the produce from a larger share. Five different vegetables will be included each week with an emphasis on more familiar varieties when in season (e.g. tomatoes, beans, zucchini, potatoes, salad, etc.), but also included will be the less traditional vegetables like fennel bulb, kale, kohl rabi and swiss chard.

Half Share - $360  

 A half share accommodates an individual or couple who generously adds veggies to every meal, but doesn’t make them the meal itself and the family maintaining nutrient diversity through assorted veggies in the weekly meal plan. The attempt will be made to supply various salad mixes on a weekly basis as well.  In peak season, some produce will need to be preserved to make full use of abundant crops.

Full Share - $660 

A full share accommodates individuals juicing daily and eating only veggies, a couple whose diet is heavily reliant on veggies (e.g. grain-free diet) or a family that includes vegetables into every meal.  Anticipate share amounts to increase progressively alongside the season. In peak season, some produce will need to be preserved to make full use of abundant crops. Full shares receive double proportions of half shares.

 Work Share - Full Labor Exchange

We don't know who enjoys the work shares more, us or the shares.  A Half Share of produce is exchanged for a 5 hour weekly work commitment at the farm.  Shares are expected to work the same day and time each week throughout the 20 week season.  Tuesdays, Wednesday and Fridays 8 a.m. til evening are possible days for fulfilling the 5 hr commitment. 

Please advise: weather conditions are harsh at times, extremes of cold and heat, rain and drought, and repetitious, physical labor are all realities that we must work through to ensure that planting and harvesting are completed. The number of Work Shares available is very limited.

The farm is located at 5191 Chambers Rd in Mayville.

 Share numbers are limited and are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Shares are reserved upon receipt of the signed Membership Agreement Form and full payment or deposit in the amount of the respective share by cash, check or money order. Please send form and payment to 5191 Chambers Rd, Mayville, MI 48744.  Please make checks out to Nature's Pace Organics.  We would like to accept latecomers, but we really must limit our offering to ensure quality. 

 Payment Options

 We are farmers. Hence, we understand how it feels to be low on cash, but high on expectations for personal, family and ecological health. One purpose of CSA is to provide farmers funds to support business operation until planted seeds come to fruition and can be sold for a monetary return. We absolutely need that early financial support, but we also understand that not everyone can make lump-sum commitments at this financial level.  Shares will be reserved with a minimum deposit of 1/3 the share price. The remainder of share price may be sent with postdated checks dated for the first day of each consecutive month for a maximum of 3 months.

 Example:

Check 1 (1-1-12) for full share picking up at the farm is the minimum $218. Check 2 (2-1-12) 144. Check 3 (3-1-12) $144. Check 4 (4-1-12) $144. 

 or

 Check 1 (12-10-12) for a sampler share picking up at the farm is the minimum $75. Check 2 (1-10-12) $50. Check 3 (2-10-12) $50. Check 4 (3-10-12) $50. 

 or

 Check 1 (3-2-12) for a regular half share picking up at the farm picking up at the farm is $200. Check 2 (4-1-12) $160. 

 or

 ....whatever... if you need to work something different out, just call us.  We're flexible.  As long as checks don't bounce, we'll work together just fine.

 Jacob, Forrest and I were scheduled to distribute vegetables for the winter CSA at my parent’s house, 45 minutes south of our home, from 4-7:30 on the 5^th.  At 1 p.m. I had my first contractions for the day. By 2 p.m. contractions had been timed at 7 minutes apart and were getting to a point where soon I would not be able to talk through them, so we decided to send Forrest with our intern, Evan, to distribute the shares. By 6:20 p.m. we were holding little Freeda in our arms on the floor of our living room.    

 We are so grateful to our friend Robin for assisting in the birth and being an invaluable friend and mentor.  We are also fortunate to have had all your thoughts and positive energy along our journey.  Many of your faces and the experiences you shared with me passed through my mind before, during and after the labor. Thank you for your friendship.

If you are not in a place to immerse completely into a full internship, consider a work share with our CSA and glimpse into the demands and rewards of sustainable agriculture in exchange for a share of the harvest.  


General Description:

We are young, passionate, hard-working growers ready to begin our fourth spring as a certified organic farm.  Consisting of 20 acres, the farm is surrounded by woods on all sides in a quiet, rural area located 15 miles east of Frankenmuth.  Seven acres of vegetables are grown and marketed through a 100 member summer CSA, a 25 member winter CSA, farmers markets and natural foods markets.  Five hoophouses are used for germination and season extension.  Laying hens, broiler chickens and a couple of pigs are raised on a very small scale. 

Our crop focus is on high quality, staple vegetables along with some herbs and specialty crops. Anticipated projects for the 2012 growing season include the the construction of a “new” walk-in cooler made out of recycled materials, the erection of an additional 1/2 acre of high tunnel, the organization and welcoming of two dairy cows to be rotated on the fields,  the construction of a milking parlor and further organization of fields and post-harvest facilities.

Interns will assist in plant propagation, transplanting, cultivation, harvesting, CSA and market prep, animal husbandry, composting, beehive maintenance, putting up the hoophouses and other projects. Interns will also manage and attend a weekly farmers market. We work 5 1/2 to 6 days each week.

Internship Starts: Open ended - February, March and April are all great times to start, but later throughout the season we accept new interns.

Internship Ends: Late October or negotiable for longer stay
Number of Interns: 3-4
Minimum Length of Stay: preferably at least 3 Months

Meals: At least one communal meal are shared weekly prepared by the farm. Interns prepare the remainder of their meals with free access to all produce grown and eggs on the farm.

Skills Desired: Priority is given to individuals strongly motivated to grow organic produce for their communities. Priority is also given to individuals who desire to experience the entire growing season of winter, spring, summer and fall. Quality is an extremely important component of our farm; therefore, attention to detail is imperative.

Educational Opportunities: We are committed to instructing interns in the "whys and hows" of the various techniques employed on our farm, mainly through periodic field walks, informal discussions during meals and fieldwork, and through meetings where intern goals are discussed and addressed.  Interns will also manage and sell at a local farmers market.  Tractor and welding experience as well as general construction and repair are additional avenues for learning if desired.  For individuals committed to learning, this internship teaches the skills necessary in establishing a small farm.

Stipend: Interns receive housing, free access to produce and eggs on the farm, weekly meal prepared by the farm, between $400-$600/month.  An additional bonus is paid out at the end of the season based on performance and commitment.

Housing:  Interns live in a decagonal "ten-sided" house. Private sleeping quarters with communal kitchen and living area. 

Contact: Jacob or Katie Mullane-Bach

Phone: 989-843-0678

Email: email@naturespaceorganics.com

Basil in front, fennel bulb behind, unable-to-be-seen parsley behind the fennel and tomatoes trellised up along the stakes. Drip tape beneath basil and fennel for irrigation .

Radish seedlings to the far right, green beans plants with drip tape beneath in the center and the onion, shallot and leek patch to the far left.

All the leeks, onions and shallots were planted two rows close next to each other. We use a tractor implement to "hill" the soil up over the base of the leeks. With sunlight unable to reach the base, they become blanched, which is what allows leeks to have more white along their base. The onions and shallots (not-photoed) have a line of drip tape between each row.

The celery and celeriac patch. With so many plants spaced so closely, we're using overhead sprinklers to water in dry times.

Our precious water source for irrigating the fields, and our precious little Forrest who loves to look for fish and snapper turtles within. 60,000 ft of drip tape lining the fields total.

Did I mention he was precious? Here's a bouquet of wildflowers Forrest surprised me with last week.

Spaghetti squash plants also benefiting from the water source. Beneath these masses of leaves at the base of each plant drip tape is laid (above). The discoloration of yellow seen is some of the above plants is caused by squash bugs nymphs, but thanks to the nematodes, hardly a cucumber beetle to be found in the lot. Below Forrest is holding two mating adult squash bugs next to an immature spaghetti squash plant(below).

All this rain has finally given us time to work on building the pavilion, which is where the "new" cooler will be and where we will wash and pack vegetables for distribution.  The structure is geographically close to the pond, so water used for washing will be directed to flow into the pond.

The Nightshade Field...

Included in the nightshade family are tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, tomatillos and potatoes. All the nightshades are planted in the same field to make crop rotation manageable. Because species in the same families are often inflicted with the same pathogens, it helps not to plant anything from the same family in the same field within a four-year period. Next year nightshades will be planted where the alliums and curcubits are planted this year.

Tomatoes in the very front, two rows of eggplant in front of that, peppers beyond there and potatoes plants until the woodline. 

Do you see the eggplant nestled in waiting to be harvested? We are so grateful that we had drip tape laid beneath these plants as it helped to water just the eggplant during dry times and the not the spaces between. With the eggplant being such as large leaved plant and the close spacing we used, the leaves served as great shading to prevent lots of weed seed germination. We only had to do an initial hoeing when the plants were small and hand weed a few later on and the field is weed free.

Forrest between a row of peppers and eggplant. He's about 2/3rd up the field with the nightshades which extends to the woodline.

Forrest was given his own 10 x 10 space to grow as he pleased. One day as Jacob and I were both working up fields before a rain in early spring, Forrest was snagging heat-loving plants from the germination high tunnel and planting them in his space. As part of our philosophy on child-rearing we did not advise to remove the plants even though it seemed too early in the season and the plants risked succumbing to frost.  We feel it's his experiment and opportunity for discovery to see what lives and dies and why. However, we did not receive any frosts thereafter and he ended up with this little garden of very early tomatoes, green beans and basil (sporadic though the plants were :) Above are a few plants Forrest transplanted into containers he rounded up from somewhere (I have no idea) which had been close to death. In the yellow lug is soil he transferred from a different garden bed for his experiment of transportable carrots. He planted the seeds before a rain and they actually germinated quite well. Lamb's ear is the plant to the far right, which he chose to keep to use as bandages.

What a successful grower he is! This photo is proof to my father that we harvested a two-pound tomato. This is from the variety "Italian Tree" which can supposedly grow up 15'. Sorry you won't get these in shares as Forrest and I just planted 2 seeds in an experimental garden. This tomato ripened so early because of the crevice that's seen to on the right side of the tomato. Tomatoes with damage will ripen early, so the first tomatoes to come from field are not always the best.

Tomatoes from the early tomato plants Forrest planted. We're so grateful he took that risk : ) Also pictured is a version of eggplant parmesan dish - recipe included in this week's newsletter.

Planted just after Memorial Day, these aspargaus plants are zipping up nice and dense promising a solid 1/4 acre supply of delicious spears for spring 2013. 

Heavily mulched blueberry plants were established for the farm's future eating enjoyment.

Lots and lots and lots of onions, shallots and leeks.  These along with the brassicas were all put in using the transplanter and tractor.  Below Samantha is womyning the tractor. This portion of the blog is proof to some non-believing friends and family of hers that yes, she is running show.

Our newest and very experienced intern, Christina, not only helped put the onions in (above), but she also cultivated (weeded) them (below) with a hand push cultivator with multiple tines.

The rest of the vegetables that were not transplanted with the tracotr or seeded directly into the soil were planted by hand, such as these beautiful red romaine (above). More plants can fit into a smaller space with this planting style, and it uses less diesel and tracor hours.  However, it entails a the weeding method that is not enjoyed by all: hoeing. Intern Vicki (below) is a speed hoer and super hard worker.  The weedy baby lettuce seen above is weed free now thanks to Vicki, Samantha and work share Bill.  THANK YOU!!

Hand planted celery and celeriac (above). Hand-planted peppers, eggplant and tomatoes (below). The stakes will be used to trellis the tomatoes upright. As this is being written a mulch of hay is being laid down at the base of each tomato plant to keep weeds out, supply the soil with a steady supply of added nutrients and keep the soil moist and more even tempered.

A few projects were accomplished as well with the many hands that grace our farm daily.  A cement slab was made for the base of our worm-composting bin (above). This will prevent nutrients from running into the soil and provide a level base for the tractor bucket to scrape up the compost. Below is the luxurious new chicken home on wheels to house the two dozen chickens we'll be picking up tonight. The tractor will pull the house to a new space every few days so the chickens will have fresh access to new bugs, grubs and grass. This is a great pest control. If you can't tell, we really make us of the slab wood from the sawmill 1 1/2 miles down the road.

It may look like we're working really hard, but one of us manages to find plenty of time for play. Can you imagine the weekly laundry that goes through this place! Thankfully, this love labour rewards us with plenty of sunshine, time for meditation and delicious, nourishing food. No vegetables rewards our family's heart more than a delicious kohlrabi (below). 

Difficult for most to believe but Forrest is swimming in pure earthy gold. That little pile of compost cost over $3,000.  The contents of that compost are formulated specifically to our soil's needs. We're extremely excited for our first growing season with really nutrient-balanced soil. (Pictured left).  The picture to the right is intern Persephone heading out to spread yet another load of manure on the fields. We had major pressure to get the fields manure spread and the top sod flipped before more possible rains came, and with Persephone's help we were able to get it accomplished. THANK YOU Persephone! 

Along with a few lettuces we have in the ground, this plastic hoop houses cold-hardy and well established seedlings that were started in the germinating hoophouse beginning in February.

This is the germinating hoophouse. These two benches have a plastic skirt along their perimeter along with platic that goes over top the hoops for added protection from night time cold. Additionally, when temperatures dip below freezing, we have propane tanks underneath the benches to create a temprary greenhouse.

These celery seedlings look gorgeous lined on the bench.

Tomatoes galore! All so healhty!!

This is the hoophouse that is 150 foot long. A series of hoops keeps the light weight, light penetrating row cover from touching the tops of the plants. Lots of green under those tunnels as well!

The well insulated platform...

The inside is subdivided into three lower level bedrooms. The ten sided ring seen to the right will be the base of the cupula at the top of the structure.  The cupula will not be constructed initially.

The roof is domed in a similar fashion to the yurt's.

A view from inside. A loft rests above the bedrooms with a dormer window and peaked roof for extra space.

It's coming together...

The roof shingled with wood from the local sawmill.

5 a.m. March 18^th

I woke up unusually early with the full moon illuminating our bedroom. The news reported it as being the brightest and fullest moon in 18 years. Everyone was sleeping, but me. I was almost up the stairs after reloading woodstove in the basement when I heard the front door fly open and someone enter. Who could that be? My heart jumped for a second before I rounded the corner to reveal our Grand Blanc neighbor, Brennan, who had been sleeping in the yurt for the night along with his friend, Jeremy. Along with Jacob they planned to leave at 6:30 a.m. to rent a skid steer and trencher to put in 2,000 feet of irrigation line in the fields.

“The yurt’s on fire,” Brennan told me, his face confirming truth, though I still repeated his statement in disbelief. Before I could repeat it a second time to wake Jacob, he was already up and moving towards the door having heard Brennan’s original statement from somewhere deep in his sleep. He grabbed a flannel along route and put it on in transit. He almost exited in his boxer briefs before I stopped him and threw some pants his way. He hesitated a moment before deciding to put them on. Were these the 10 seconds that could have saved the yurt?

I heard him mutter something about hose, buckets and water as he was leaving. I ran to the basement and turned on the water that’s connected to the hose outside, forgetting that we own an actual fire hydrant hose and water pump already hooked up outside from earlier field water diversion. Trenches full of water lined the farm. I ran outside and went for the harvesting buckets before realizing the futility of my efforts. From behind the barn fiery, red streaks reached high and foreboding. One of those indescribably auditations of stark realization escaped my lips.

The yurt was a torch. The entire outer canvas and frame blazed, the spread of the fire having been catalyzed by the beeswax/vegetable oil salve coated on the outside of the canvas as a water repellent. Ironic. The bark of the birch trees surrounding the yurt danced with fire. The full moon sat large and ominous high over the western horizon adding dramatic effect.

Jacob embraced me. Tears sat in both our eyes as the magnitude of the moment ands its influence in our own microcosm of reality ebbed and flowed in our consciousness. Interns were supposed to live in the yurt. Their labor and cognitive help is seen as imperative in lessening our own body burden and making this lifestyle one we can physical sustain. Could our bodies handle another season without them? Now with a mortgage and a loan out to pay for the pond, irrigation, produce van and soil amendments we need their help more than ever.

The load roar of the flames tumbled in my thoughts, and the financial and business mind-set finally receded bringing forth the memory and meaning of each of those hemlock cut and sanded 2 x 4s. Images of Jacob’s mom and my Aunt Sue and Uncle Kevin sewing the raw canvas outside on the day of our wedding floated up, as did the months that Jacob spent sewing the top canvas pieces in the garage, cold, in the depth of winter.

The dutch doors were wide open and the burning objects within were displayed for their last viewing. The wood working table angled down to the flooring of the yurt, one side of its legs burned down, flames angled up to precede on in solidifying the reality that nothing was coming out. The top had been converted into a kitchen counter by my father with old, earth-toned tiles, hand-painted images of swiss chard leaves and flowers adorning the bordering each tile.

The yurt, our tribute to the dedication of a “hand-made life,” to each other and to the life and goals we had created, burned away. The energy of our families and friends as they helped to build and erect the yurt on our wedding day tampered out. The circle we had walked clockwise around holding Forrest in our arms moments before saying “I do” in front of our family, friends and the law was now the ring of fire. The very symbol of our combined nomadic past was being put to rest.

Only a circular glow of burning embers remained an hour after the chimney fire began its elevated sparks. At this time Jacob, Brennan and Jeremy left to pick up the heavy equipment for putting the irrigation in. Forrest and I headed in to make hashbrowns and eggs to fuel our six bodies for the long day of work ahead of us.

As the crew started trenching in the lines, 10 buffalo were sighted for the first time since our move to Mayville in our neighbor’s woods. Along with a few other exotic animals our neighbor has a herd of buffalo. They are majestic, beautiful animals. They are revered as a symbol of abundance, and, according to shamanistic belief, they teach us that true prosperity comes when we are grateful for what we have.

We were awed, humbled, inspired and at peace.