Selah Farm is a new market garden near Chesterfield, growing vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers for farmers markets. I’ve grown plants at home and will take horticulture classes in 2027, planning to plant in 2028. I’m looking to lease a quarter to one acre with water in northern Macomb or southern St. Clair County, ideally with a hoop house, and to learn from an experienced grower. I offer careful stewardship, a written lease, and my own insurance.
Preferred location: Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, Wayne
Desired Transitional Agreement: Farm Seeker/Farm Owner Partnership, Lease, Lease to buy, Mentorship
Oct 20, 2026
Desired Acreage
- 1-5 Acres
- 5-10 Acres
- 11-25 Acres
Desired Infrastructure
Desired Land Usage
Goals, Values, Vision
My goals
- 2027: Learn. I’ll be taking horticulture classes at Macomb Community College and the MSU Extension Foundations course, visit working market farms, and find land to lease.
- 2028: Plant my first season on a small plot, about a dozen beds, using organic practices, and sell at two or three farmers markets. I want to learn what grows well, what sells, and how much work it really takes.
- The next few years: Grow steadily as the farm earns it, adding beds, a high tunnel for a longer season, and a small weekly vegetable share.
- Long term: Make Selah Farm my full-time work, selling at markets across southeast Michigan, including Eastern Market in Detroit. If it goes well, I’d like to add things like eggs and handmade soap.
My values
- Organic growing and care for the land. I plan to grow organically, without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, building healthy soil with compost and cover crops. I want to leave any land I farm better than I found it, and keep it in agriculture.
- Doing it slowly and well. I’d rather grow a few things carefully than too much poorly. Quality and freshness come before quantity.
- Honesty and good relationships. I want landowners, mentors, and customers to know exactly where they stand with me, and to trust me to show up and do what I say.
- Learning from others. I’m new, and I know it. I’m looking for people who’ve done this and are willing to share what they know, and I want to pass that on someday.
- Family and community. This is a family effort, and I want to feed my neighbors food I’m proud of.
My vision
Selah is a Hebrew word meaning to pause, and that’s the heart of the farm. I imagine a small, well-kept farm where food is grown with attention, sold by someone who knows how it was raised, and enjoyed by people who slow down to taste it. The name also carries letters from my children’s names, because this is being built for them as much as for me.
I picture people coming to my market stall every week because the greens are crisp, the tomatoes taste like tomatoes, and they know my name. I picture food grown the organic way, without shortcuts, that I’d be proud to feed my own family. I picture a landowner who sees their land being cared for, and a mentor who’s glad they helped. And I picture a farm that supports my family and gives something steady back to the community around it.
Farming Status
Current Farming Status
Not currently farming, Current active business plan
Farm Experience/Education
Formal agricultural education, No experience farming
Mentoring
I am seeking mentorship
Farming Plans and Practices
Farming Method
Organic Practices
Organic from the start. I plan to grow organically, without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. I’m not certified, and I’ll learn the USDA organic standards through my classes so I can follow them closely and describe my food honestly. I’ll check land history carefully and ask any landowner what’s been applied and when.
Small, intensive beds. I plan to grow in permanent beds 30 inches wide and up to 75 feet long, with 18-inch paths. Plants go in close together so a small area produces a lot, and keeping the beds the same size makes tools, irrigation, and row cover simple to manage. I’ll start with about a dozen beds and add more as I learn.
Building the soil. Healthy soil is the foundation. I plan to feed it with compost, use cover crops to protect and rebuild it between plantings, and test it before I plant anything, including for heavy metals. I’ll keep tillage as light as I can, using hand tools such as a broadfork and a wheel hoe rather than heavy machinery. (Edit this line if you decide on a different approach.)
Rotation and succession. I’ll rotate crop families from bed to bed each year to limit pests and disease and to keep the soil balanced. I’ll also replant beds as soon as a crop finishes so they stay productive through the season.
Water. I plan to use drip irrigation, which puts water at the roots and uses less of it, with a reliable water source and simple filtering. I’ll test the water for produce safety.
Pests, weeds, and weather. I’ll rely on prevention first: healthy soil, crop rotation, row cover over young plants and insect-prone crops, and regular scouting. For weeds, I’ll use mulch, close spacing, and hand and hoe cultivation. If something needs treatment, I’ll use only organic-approved options, and only when needed.
Season extension. In the first year I’ll use row cover and low tunnels to stretch the season. As the farm grows, I’d like to add a high tunnel or use an existing hoop house or greenhouse to grow earlier in spring, later in fall, and possibly winter greens.
What I’ll grow. To start, I’ll focus on salad greens, spinach, radishes, kale, chard, scallions, herbs, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, beets, and cut flowers such as zinnias and cosmos. I’d rather grow a short list well and sell it all fresh than grow too many things.
Harvest and handling. I’ll harvest in the cool of the morning, wash with clean water, and keep produce cool and covered until it’s sold. I’ll follow food safety practices for harvesting and washing, and learn more through my coursework.
Records and learning. I’ll keep a written log of what I plant, harvest, sell, and spend, and track my hours, so I can see what’s working and adjust each season. I’ll keep learning through classes, mentors, and other growers.
