Dukes Farm is working with Chocolay Ace Hardware to host a seed starting workshop for kids on Saturday May 9, at 1pm. Kids (and their grownups) can start their own seeds to take home and care for, eventually planting them in their gardens or larger pots!
RSVP using the short form, below.
WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 1pm
WHERE: The greenhouse at Chocolay Ace Hardware, in Marquette. Please carpool, if possible, so we don’t fill up the whole parking lot.
WHAT: Kids can just show up and learn about starting seeds, and start seeds themselves for their own garden. No need to bring anything with you, except perhaps water (in case the greenhouse is really warm that day).
WHAT IS PROVIDED: Dukes Farm will provide: pots, potting soil, seeds (beans, cucumbers, lettuce, nasturtiums, peas, pumpkins, sunflowers, watermelon, and zucchini). Ace Hardware has anything gardening-related you would need, as well as a seed rack you can choose from, if you want to grow something other than the seeds we are already providing.
COST: Suggested donation of $5 per participating person, to cover costs, would be appreciated. You can donate using Venmo, check, or cash when you are at the greenhouse.
RSVP/check-in by filling out this short form, please: event sign-up form
QUESTIONS?: Contact me (Gabriel), at …. Email: info@lakesuperiorfarms.com Phone: 906-360-8710
CHECK-IN: at the front counter, inside of the store, when you arrive.
It may feel like the middle of winter in the UP, but I am already planting in the heated greenhouse for the 2026 season. Little pepper sprouts are trying to find the sun, since the greenhouse has been covered by snow for a while.
If you’re craving fresh veggies like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, beans, and peppers sign up for a weekly CSA on the Weekly Veggie Boxes (CSA) page. There are options for large, medium, and small-sized boxes; as well as various options for how to get your box each week (or have it delivered to you).
If you have any questions, send me an email or text/call. Hope to see you this summer!
If you’re in Marquette, Michigan on the 18th, come and sample our six sauces! Gabriel will be at the Marquette Food Co-op from 11-1 and 3:30-5:30. Learn more at Foolazul.com
A community supported agriculture (CSA) share is a great way to get a weekly dose of fresh, healthy produce from your local farm, but the traditional “pay-up-front” cost is prohibitive for many families on a tight budget. Michigan Fitness Foundation (MFF) is working to change that through a program called Michigan Farm to Family: CSA (MF2FCSA), which offers families fresh fruits and vegetables through local CSA shares at a reduced price, and without having to pay the full CSA share cost up front. Families also receive nutrition education and tips to prepare, cook, and store the produce they receive. Continue reading Innovative program makes CSAs accessible to Michigan families
Looking forward to spring? If these warmer temps and sunshine got you thinking about your garden, you can now start planning what plant starts you want later in the spring.
We are offering plant starts in “4-packs,” “6-packs,” and “singles.” If you order a flat or more you get a discount on that configuration.
Order whatever you want in our online shop, and pay with a card, cash, check, or SNAP benefits: https://lakesuperiorfarms.com/shop/
If you want help planning your garden, or have any questions, just let me know. You can email at: info@lakesuperiorfarms.com; call or text: 906-360-8710
Within the next couple of weeks we will start seeds in the greenhouse for planting in May and June. Slow growing stuff like onions, celery, and peppers get going first. It’s always wonderful to start the season off with a clean slate, in a hot sunny greenhouse, with the snow piled outside.
We are again offering our popular CSA for the 2021 season. This year we have 3 sizes for the weekly veggie box, as well as some add-ons. You can choose as many weeks as you would like. We are also selling pickle, salsa, tomato sauce, Thai curry, pesto, and Thanksgiving boxes. Check out our shop page.
Soon we will list plant start varieties that will be available for pre-order. If you have any questions about anything, just let us know. Text me, call me, e-mail me….
You’ll hear from us again in a few weeks or so. Enjoy the last stretch of winter!
Greetings, from the farm! It has been too long since I have had the time to post on the website, so I felt compelled to provide a short update on how the farm is doing this season…
It has been such a strange season, not even counting the pandemic. The spring started off cold and snowy, much like last year, and then transitioned into Alabama-like weather for a while, which many plants did not appreciate. Nonetheless, most of our crops are doing great and we are filling dozens and dozens of CSA boxes, wholesale orders, and online store orders every week. We are busier than we have ever been.
Some of you may have noticed that we are not at the farmers’ market this year. Our decision to not attend the market was basically made for us due to the pandemic, as well as a desire to help keep the community as safe as possible. But, to be honest, we have been evolving the past few years simply due to the changing nature of the farm and customer buying habits. These changes are happening on a national level and, except for more high profile farmers’ markets, markets are increasingly not the way many people choose to interact with farms and purchase local food. Continue reading Mid season update at Dukes Farm
If you would like to garden this season, check out our guide to the varieties of plant starts we have available: Plant Start Sale List
To order, just visit our online shop and purchase either individual “6-packs” or “singles”, or full flats (at a discount). Then peruse the the plant start sale list and let us know what veggies and varieties you want. You can also just ask us to choose varieties for you. You can email us, at: info@lakesuperiorfarms.com; or call/text: 906-360-8710
With what is going on with the global coronavirus pandemic, I thought now would be an opportune time to reach out to everyone in Dukes Farm’s orbit with some initial thoughts on the 2020 farm season. This is certainly an unexpected situation, so these are not final thoughts on the matter. If you have any thoughts to share, please feel free to reach out (email: info@lakesuperiorfarms.com). Continue reading Farming and food during a global pandemic
Winter showed up early and in full force this year, as you are certainly aware. All of the snow isn’t that surprising, considering how wet the past two years have been. It seems like when it’s not raining it has to be snowing. In order to better adapt, this winter we are keeping the cover on only one of our high tunnel greenhouses. One seedling greenhouse is plenty enough work to shovel out!
2019 was, overall, a pretty good season. It wasn’t quite as challenging as 2018, but close. Spring was cold and very wet; July was bone dry; and wet weather returned in the Fall. Yet, we still showed up to every farmers’ market; delivered veggies to our wholesalers and restaurants; and kept up with each week’s CSA box. After 15 years of vegetable farming, a few challenges aren’t enough to set us back!
End of season CSA survey
We think one of the reasons our CSA program is so compelling is that we take member feedback seriously, using our end-of-season survey and comments and suggestions throughout the season to improve the CSA from year to year. This allows us to keep track of what CSA members like and don’t like and how we can change things for the next season to keep up with what everyone needs.
We received a lot of great comments and suggestions in the survey this year that we will be mulling over during the winter. But here are some of the basics from the survey….
A CSA Goldilocks might appreciate
In 2019:
98.2% of our CSA members said that their delivery or pickup option was convenient
83.6% said the amount of produce in their box was just right; 14.5% said it was too much; and 1.9% said it wasn’t enough
100% said the produce was fresh when they picked up their weekly boxes, and 94.5% said the produce stayed fresh throughout the week
69.1% want to see recipes by other CSA members posted on the website during the season
Some of the things CSA members said they loved about the 2019 CSA in the survey:
Ability to choose much of what goes in the weekly box
Freshness of the produce
Convenience
Ability to have the CSA delivered to a workplace
Variety of produce
Cleanliness of produce
CSA makes it easier to eat healthy
Some of the things CSA members said they didn’t love about the 2019 CSA in the survey (these are the kinds of things we work on improving over the winter):
Need more tips on preserving food and how to use less common items
Sometimes too much produce
Sometimes get a veggie that is not enjoyed by the household
Trying to use up all the veggies before the next box
This is the first season we are accepting early sign up for our CSAs. Some members have said they would like to purchase their own CSA earlier, and others would like to gift a CSA to a friend or family member in December. If you do choose to purchase a CSA as a gift for Christmas (or any other holiday you may celebrate), we will send the recipient a holiday card with information on what they are receiving.
If you would like to sign up early for next season’s CSA, just fill out our easy membership form: 2020 CSA Order Form. For more information on our CSAs, just visit our CSA page.
Enjoy Christmas, New Year’s and any other holidays you celebrate this festive time of year!
Foolazul hot sauce uses Dukes Farm peppers!
Customer Testimonials
Nancy Bradbury — Marquette
"I just wanted to say what a top notch CSA you provide. Your customer service and info provided is wonderful, but the quality, quantity and variety of produce has far exceeded our expectations!.”
Dukes Farm
2019-04-11T17:32:24-04:00
"I just wanted to say what a top notch CSA you provide. Your customer service and info provided is wonderful, but the quality, quantity and variety of produce has far exceeded our expectations!.”
“A big thank you to you and your crew at Dukes Farm!!! The food is gorgeous and delicious — how clean too! Thank you for all your dedication and hard work!"
Dukes Farm
2019-04-11T17:54:37-04:00
“A big thank you to you and your crew at Dukes Farm!!! The food is gorgeous and delicious — how clean too! Thank you for all your dedication and hard work!"
We just got our first box - and it is awesome! We have done and enjoyed CSA's before. However, this is the most bountiful and beautiful - especially considering it is early season - we have ever seen.
Dukes Farm
2021-01-24T23:37:44-05:00
We just got our first box - and it is awesome! We have done and enjoyed CSA's before. However, this is the most bountiful and beautiful - especially considering it is early season - we have ever seen.
"I think I am going to travel to Dukes Farm and sit in the middle of the tomato patch and just eat my favorite vegetable for the next few weeks. :-} They are SO good this year!”
Dukes Farm
2019-04-11T18:03:44-04:00
"I think I am going to travel to Dukes Farm and sit in the middle of the tomato patch and just eat my favorite vegetable for the next few weeks. :-} They are SO good this year!”
Dukes Farm is working with Chocolay Ace Hardware to host a seed starting workshop for kids on Saturday May 9, at 1pm. Kids (and their grownups) can start their own seeds to take home and care for, eventually planting them in their gardens or larger pots!
If you would like to garden this season, check out our guide to the varieties of plant starts we have available: 
