The Harvest

Everything Harvest is Here!

The Harvest at Bowers Farm extends from My through October. Many of our plants are started in our greenhouse, along with extended growing seasons in our hoop house. The larger gardens are planted during the typical Michigan growing season and maintained as natural as possible.

Our Harvest Club registration is now full. However, feel free to stop by weekly to purchase fresh produce in our Farm Store.

Follow our Harvest Instagram account for up-to-date information surrounding our harvest.

View fullsize We grow a wide variety of tomatoes here. Yellow, orange, purple, pink, and even a few red. And yes, they do taste different! In general, the lighter color tomatoes (yellow and orange) are less acidic and more mild in flavor. The darker tomatoes (purp
View fullsize I’m more comfortable in the vegetable field - it’s what I know. But I’m having fun cultivating and harvesting the flowers. We’re making bouquets for the store, hoping to find some time to dry some, and planning on adding some
View fullsize We seed lots of vegetables in succession. Patty is seeding our latest round of beets. Scroll through to see the other successions is order of smallest to biggest. Planting in succession means that once we start harvesting beets, we will be able to ha
View fullsize We grow cover crops for the soil. They return nutrients, add organic matter, protect from erosion and soil loss, and make the soil more resilient in the face of extreme weather. This sorghum sudan grass is as tall as me which means it’s past ti
View fullsize This is my favorite time of year to cook. I usually don’t follow a recipe. I open my fridge and pull out the items that need to be eaten - a beet that didn’t make it to the store because a rodent took the first bite, a bunch of kale that
View fullsize Cucumbers are coming in hot! The plants have climbed their trellis and formed a wall of cucumbers. I’m harvesting twice a week now and picked 50lb last time I harvested. Souri is making pickles so we’ll have lots of fresh and pickled cucu
View fullsize I love how the farm looks in the rain. The view is slightly blurry and faded, making it easy to overlook the weeds. But the plants seem extra green and lush. Check stories for some more pictures from this vantage point over the season.
View fullsize I’m pretty excited about the newest addition to the vegetable field. We’ll use the left side for washing and packing vegetables and the right side for storing all our tools and supplies. I’m grateful to have a spot to keep vegetable
View fullsize And tomato season has begun! If you’ve had a fresh tomato off the vine or from a farmers market, you know that grocery store tomatoes can’t hold a candle to the real thing. We choose our varieties for flavor and texture, not for the abili
View fullsize We have a great variety of farm products to help you celebrate the holiday weekend. Open today only 9-4.

Vegetable Availability

We have a short season for growing vegetables here in Michigan, but we pack a lot in. This chart is meant to give you an idea of what we grow and when it is in season. Crops are projected to be available when they are highlighted in green.

Please note: Vegetable availability when you visit the store will depend on many  factors including weather, pest & disease pressure, demand, and other variables. We will do our best to make sure there is a bountiful selection whenever the store is open, but we can’t guarantee that any specific crop will be available on any specific date.

How We Grow

The vegetable fields are managed by our Agriculture Production Coordinator, Kate Debs. Kate joined the Bowers team in May 2022 and has over 10 years of experience growing vegetables on a number of farms, including running her own small farm for four years in the Upper Peninsula. Kate loves working outside and growing food for her community. 

Kate is joined in the vegetable fields by Patty Watson. Patty joined Bowers in January 2022 and is a farm guide during the school year, teaching students who visit the farm about the importance and history of farming. She is currently pursuing an associates in Liberal Arts and a certification in fruit and vegetable production and management at Michigan State University. She intends to obtain a bachelors in agronomic sciences. Patty has 2 years of professional growing experience.

Although we are not certified organic, all of our growing experience and philosophy is centered around organic practices. We prioritize healthy soil as the most important aspect of growing healthy and vibrant plants and employ many practices in order to care for and improve our soil. These include adding compost, cover cropping, crop rotation, and minimal tillage. We do not spray herbicides or pesticides on our vegetables. We love to talk about farming so we welcome questions and curiosity about our growing practices.

Questions? Email kdebs@bloomfield.org

Want access to fresh, local veggies? Our farm store is open to the general public and we keep it well stocked with our produce. Check here for store hours.

Harvest Club

Share in the bounty of our harvest and enjoy a great deal on fresh produce in our Harvest Club

2023 Harvest Club is sold out. Please check back here in March for information on 2024 Harvest Club sign up.

We are pleased to introduce a brand new program called Harvest Club. A mash up of a traditional CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and a modern subscription plan, the Harvest Club is great way to source fresh and local produce for your family while supporting Bowers School Farm.

Why you’ll love it:

  • A great deal on fresh produce grown right here on the farm

  • The flexibility to choose the vegetables you’d like to pick up whenever the farm store is open

  • An opportunity to meet your farmers, eat seasonally, and tour the fields where your food is grown

  • A great way to support Bowers School Farm while eating well

How it works:

  • Decide what size is right for you and purchase using the button below

  • Visit the store (Fridays and Saturdays) June through November and use your Harvest Club Credits to purchase Bowers grown produce and flowers

  • Excludes special single event sales: Native Plant Sale and FFA flower baskets

  • Please note that while other products, such as meat and eggs, will be available for purchase, your Harvest Club Credits can only be used for produce and flowers

  • You choose exactly what you want from our seasonal harvest each time you visit — take as much or as little at a time as you want, just be sure to use up your balance by the end of the year (unused balances do not roll over from 2023 to 2024)

  • Keep an eye out for your exclusive invitation to join us for a tour of the vegetable fields this summer

Sizes and pricing

Small - $200

You’ll receive $200 in credits to spend on vegetables in the store. Each time you use your credits, you’ll receive 10% off the retail price.

Medium - $400

You’ll receive $400 in credits to spend on vegetables in the store. Each time you use your credits, you’ll receive 12% off the retail price.

Large - $600

You’ll receive $600 in credits to spend on vegetables in the store. Each time you use your credits, you’ll receive 15% off the retail price.

Example: You purchase a medium share for $400. When you visit the farm store in June, you pick out 2 bunches of carrots and a bag of spinach. The marked price (or general population price) for these items is $10. When you check out you tell the guest services associate that you are a Harvest Club Member. The associate finds your member card (kept at the cash register) and rings you up with your discount and member number. Since you get 12% off the retail price, $8.80 is subtracted from your credits. You now have $391.20 in remaining credits.