Seeds & Spores Family Farm

01/18/2026

Last fall, NMU student Miki Rogers surveyed small-scale farmers in the U.P. for her senior project. She also visited and interviewed us, Full Plate Farm, and Partridge Creek Farm. If you would like to watch her final video, here is the link:
https://youtu.be/jnIj4RIG37E?si=yVfNVp0QQ3LGsIdr

11/24/2025

Hello Local Food Lovers~

We will be delivering to town on TUESDAY instead of Wednesday this week. This includes the last CSA share of the season and Farmazon orders, as well as our drops to the Marquette Food Co-op and Lakeshore Depot. It would be so helpful to receive Farmazon orders by 10am Monday. We do have beef back in stock!

Here are a few words on Gratitude. Actually, this is a shortened version of a potentially very long newsletter. First of all, thank you to our CSA members for eating through another season! Those finishing up the winter CSA this week will have received 24 weeks of farm fresh produce. It was a great growing year, so the shares were voluptuous. We hope that you all feel nourished!

We had an amazing potato harvest this year, and we are grateful that 2500 pounds of our potatoes are heading to the food pantries in Marquette, Gwinn, and Ishpeming. Thanks to UPCAP for providing the funding to make this happen. We are happy to think of the recipients enjoying our delicious potatoes. This week's photo shows Chris, Cole, and Taylor sorting and bagging spuds for the pantries.

Speaking of the crew, WOW! What an amazing group of people working together to keep such nutritious, quality produce heading into our community. We know that organic farming sounds dreamy, but it is a lot of hard work and hustle. Endless thanks, especially to the core crew still showing up at the end of November.

I received a story from a customer who had been out of town for several weeks and had to buy produce at a regular grocery store. Upon his return, he placed an order. His description of the experience of seeing, smelling, touching, and tasting the fresh produce flowed out of his mouth like poetry. Receiving his gratitude was heartwarming.

And, to top it off, I am glowing with gratitude for the opportunity to eat a meal prepared by a world class chef who is grateful to use our ingredients.

I hope gratitude circles around you this season of sharing meals.
~ Leanne

06/19/2025

Hello Local Food Lovers!

This Saturday's Farmers Market in Marquette has been cancelled due to predicted thunderstorms and windy conditions. This is unfortunate because we have a lot of beautiful food ready to harvest on Friday. If you are interested in driving out to the farm to pick up some fresh produce on Saturday, place a Farmazon order! We are extending the ordering deadline until Friday 8:30 am. The Saturday farm pickup hours will be extended from 10am- 1pm. Since the market is cancelled, we will not be delivering Farmazon orders to town. Shoot us an email if you have questions. Thanks for your flexibility!

06/07/2025

We are thrilled to be hosting our first Farm to Table dinner of the season this Tuesday, June 10th, at 6pm. Chef Alex P will be creating a Vibrant Spring Salad and Farm Fresh Ramen. The Ramen will be served in beautiful porcelain bowls made by Niikah at Niik Creative Co. Tickets are limited! Please make your reservation via [email protected]. Tickets are $75 per person, and you get to bring your Ramen bowl and chopstick set home with you! We hope to dine outdoors in the farmyard but will move indoors if necessary.

04/06/2025

Spring!

We have circled past the Spring Equinox. Like each new season, Spring offers the opportunity for a clean slate and an invitation to reconnect with the rhythms of nature. Spring pulses with renewal and beginnings. What is your intention for this season? What seeds deep within you want to germinate, anchor into the nourishing earth, and send new growth towards the light? What sweet sap is rising within you?

Spring is full of hope and possibility. What changes do you want to embrace? Could it be a shift in your attitude, actions, or dreams? Can the new season mark a new era in the new you? Transformation is not always easy. There might be a struggle. Have you witnessed a seedling trying to emerge from the soil? A chick pecking through its shell? A newborn mammal adapting to breathes of air instead of water? The metamorphosis of a butterfly? Trust in the process. Transitions can be difficult, so be kind to yourself (and others) and don’t forget to laugh.

The life force is strong and palpable at this time of year. Tap in. Harness the inertia with positivity, hope, and love. Express gratitude and feel the ripple effects. New growth is malleable, but flexibility builds resiliency.

The energy of spring is here now, even if we aren’t yet witnessing flowers, warm sunny days, and colorful birds. We can anticipate these hallmarks, but since we live in the northland, it is helpful to keep enjoying the snow. Cheers to the potential of this new season!

(I wrote this reflection on Spring for 's April newsletter)

11/18/2024

Hello Local Food Lovers!

"Food as Medicine" is a familiar buzz statement. It can mean many things, but most often is used in reference to the physical properties of food and its impact on the body. This might include topics such as general nutrition, micro and macro-nutrients, "whole foods," and absence of toxins or adulterants. Quality agricultural practices can be an underlying theme. I could dive into many related issues, but I would rather share a story.

Some dear friends asked for help for a day with projects that needed many hands. A circle of friends and neighbors responded with enthusiasm to share their time and talents. I was asked to bring a roast to feed the crew. Of course, I had to embellish. As the roast was cooking, I gathered other ingredients to add... onions and garlic from the seed house storage, root veggies from the walk in cooler, and fresh herbs from a hoop house. Figuring I should bring some side dishes, I chose jars of gingered carrots and burgundy kraut... and then the last of the grape tomatoes... and a 5L thermos of hot Tulsi Tea. I'm a better cook than carpenter, and the food was my way of contributing to the day.

I know the food from our farm is amazing, because it is what we eat every day. It's grown and/or raised with integrity, is nutritious, tastes great, and clearly qualifies as "Food as Medicine." However, as I was preparing the meal for our friends and neighbors, it felt as though the gift of the food was the real Medicine.

Many hands have helped tend our land over the years of our agricultural adventure. The hard work is done with good intentions. We have actively improved the soil and fostered increasing biodiversity. Working in harmony with nature is good Medicine for both the Earth and for those doing it. Preparing food to share with others is just another extension of the process.

We are entering a season of gatherings that might center around food. Prepare and share it with love!

10/13/2024

This is recently released by Mason Hutchinson of Herb Rally. The tour was one year ago.

SIGN UP for the HerbRally newsletter to discover HERBALISM EVENTS in your neck of the woods [and online] PLUS GET 13 HERBAL FREEBIES | https://mailchi.mp/her...

06/07/2024

12/30/2023

Well, it's been awhile since we used this here social media thing. Thought you all might want to see Leanne's podcast. Here is the link -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p178kRhtZ2U&t=18s

07/30/2023

What a beautiful morning to move the herd of cattle. They were walked from the furthest paddock south to the furthest paddock north, almost a half mile. It went quite smoothly. It was also a nice opportunity to observe how healthy the herd looks and to check the quality of the pastures, which are lush with a combination of perennial grasses, clovers and vetch.

During the walk, it was easy to ponder the complexities of our nation's food supply. The contrast of how our animals are raised versus those being fed genetically modified grains containing herbicide and pesticide residue, while living in confined feedlots, is almost incomparable. We do not have to inject our animals with mRNA vaccines or routinely give them antibiotics or dewormers. Cattle fed grain also have a less favorable fat profile in their meat and have higher levels of pathogenic bacteria in their manure, as their complicated digestive system is meant to digest grass, not grain. The grain alters the pH of the rumen and changes their microbiome, including increasing levels of E. coli.

The way that our cattle are grazed actually sequesters carbon into the soil. They are rotationally grazed on about one acre for about two days. They are then moved to the next paddock and the last is allowed to rest and rejuvenate. In this way, they are moved around the checkerboard of our fields and are either eating, trampling, or defecating on each square foot of pasture. This obviously adds fertilizer, but also pushes any remaining grasses into contact with the earth, feeding the soil. This cycle of disturbance and rest keeps the soil active and builds fertility. The manure and spent hay from where they overwinter is composted and added to our vegetable fields and hoophouses as a premium fertility booster. It's a lovely closed loop system for our farm.

We understand a lot about different methods of agriculture and food politics. We have been vegetarians and vegans and have come full circle to understanding that high quality animal protein is a good choice for our health. We are concerned that animal proteins grown in labs and from genetically altered animals are now approved to enter our food supply and are being celebrated as "better options." Stores are lined with meat alternatives, most of which are high in genetically modified ingredients, sodium, and preservatives. The long term health impacts of ingesting these new foods are an experiment.

We are passionate about our small farm's impact on the health of our community, and hope you feel nourished when eating our products!

07/23/2023

We finally took a picture of the 2023 farm crew! As you can imagine, it is a group effort to keep everything going on the farm, and this family of farmers rock! If you have been visiting our stand at the Farmers Markets, hopefully you have had a chance to interact with everyone. The money you spend on local food purchases from us stays right in our community and supports these incredibly hard working folks. Thanks from all of us!

It's time for a "mid summer rearrange the walk in freezer" sale. For the next two weeks, we will offer 10 pounds of ground beef for $70. Please pre-order off the Farmazon online store or send an email to [email protected], as we don't keep enough inventory in our small freezer at the market.

Enjoy the last week in July!

07/16/2023

Another excerpt from our weekly newlsletter.
We made it past a huge milestone this past week. It's officially been a decade since the raging fire that took down our barn. It wasn't just a "barn." The 8000 square foot structure was the center of the farm and included our pack shed, walk in cooler, walk in freezer, milking parlor, mushroom fruiting room, egg washing room, mineral storage, office, kitchen, fully equipped workshop, general farm supply and CSA bin storage, apiary, timber and hay storage, greenhouse supplies etc etc. The fire also engulfed and destroyed five vehicles, our market trailer, and a fleet of bikes. If you remember the fire, you also must remember how the community rallied around us. Within a day, there was a makeshift wash/pack station under a tent in the orchard, and we didn't miss a delivery of produce. A fundraiser was held at the Ore Dock. Donated supplies were dropped off. Our friends helped build a packshed of the side off the old farmhouse. Our customers cheered us on and encouraged us to keep on keeping on. The financial and emotional stresses were challenging, but we moved forward. Our motto for the summer was CHARD but not BEET.

It has been a decade of building and restructuring. Instead of one large barn, multiple smaller buildings were erected, including a workshop with a loft, the granary, a small workshop, and the packshed. The old gutted farmhouse was fixed up to house the farm office, commercial kitchen, consultation room, apothecary, and store. A wood fired pizza oven and pavilion were built near the farmhouse. The pigs got a new barn. We installed a full array of solar panels and an outdoor wood gasification system which heats the shop, seedhouse, and farmhouse. A few more hoop houses were erected. And, most importantly, our farm products have kept flowing into the community.

It's been 26 years since we started growing food in the U.P. Our deepest gratitude goes out to you for joining us and supporting us on our farm adventures and misadventures!
Leanne and Jeff